Four companies make almost every contact lens sold in the United States: Alcon, Johnson & Johnson Vision, CooperVision and Bausch + Lomb. They compete on a narrower set of things than the marketing suggests — surface technology, oxygen transmission, and how many prescriptions they actually stock.
The one specification worth learning
Dk/t, not Dk.
- Dk measures the raw material’s permeability. It always looks good.
- Dk/t measures how much oxygen gets through that lens at that thickness. It is the number that affects your cornea.
Because thickness changes with power, a −6.00 lens transmits less than the same model at −1.00. When a manufacturer publishes only Dk, they are publishing the flattering number.
How the four line up
| Maker | Known for | Flagship daily | Flagship monthly |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alcon | Water gradient surfaces | Dailies Total 1 | Total30, Air Optix |
| Johnson & Johnson | Tear film stability, widest UV protection | Oasys 1-Day | Acuvue Vita |
| CooperVision | Parameter range — the widest by far | MyDay, clariti | Biofinity |
| Bausch + Lomb | Moisture retention, and it also makes the solutions | Biotrue ONEday | ULTRA |
What each one is actually betting on
Alcon — the surface. Its water gradient materials have a core around 33–55% water and a surface approaching 100%, so what touches your eyelid behaves like water rather than silicone. That reduces friction, which is a real driver of end-of-day discomfort. See the Alcon range.
Johnson & Johnson — the tear film. Rather than changing what the lens feels like, its HydraLuxe approach aims to keep your own tears spreading evenly across the lens with every blink. It also puts Class 1 UV blocking — the highest level available in a contact lens — across much of the Acuvue range.
CooperVision — availability. Less glamorous and frequently decisive. If your prescription is unusual — high correction, an uncommon cylinder or axis, presbyopia and astigmatism together — CooperVision is often the only company that makes your lens. That is a clinical argument, not a marketing one.
Bausch + Lomb — moisture over the full day. Its MoistureSeal process targets retention at the sixteen-hour mark rather than the first hour. It is also the only one of the four with a complete solutions line, which matters if you react to preservatives.
Where the real differences are
Three places, in order of how much they affect you:
1. Silicone hydrogel or conventional hydrogel. This is a bigger gap than any brand rivalry. A conventional hydrogel daily runs a Dk/t around 26; a silicone hydrogel daily runs 120–156. For an eight-hour day the cheaper material is fine. For fourteen hours it is not. See the materials explained, and Dailies AquaComfort Plus for what a good conventional hydrogel looks like.
2. Whether your prescription exists. A superb lens you cannot get in your cylinder is not an option. Toric and multifocal ranges are narrower than spherical ones, especially in dailies.
3. Replacement schedule. Daily versus monthly changes your annual cost and your infection risk far more than the badge on the box — see the comparison.
Why “equivalent” lenses are not equivalent
A retailer offering a cheaper comparable lens is matching the power. Power is the one thing that transfers.
What does not transfer: base curve geometry (8.6 in one brand is not 8.6 in another), diameter, material, oxygen transmission, edge design and surface treatment.
This is also why a prescription names a brand, and why substituting it is a violation of the FTC Contact Lens Rule rather than a favour.
How to actually choose
Not from a table. From a trial.
- Ask for trial lenses and wear them through a full real day — not an hour in the chair. A lens that feels perfect at hour two and awful at hour eleven is the wrong lens.
- Describe the failure precisely. “Dry by 4pm” and “vision fluctuates when I look up” point at completely different fixes.
- Price it after, not before — check current prices, annual-supply rebates and where to buy. The spread between retailers on the identical lens usually beats the spread between brands.
Comfort depends on your tear film, your lid anatomy and your corneal shape. None of those are on a spec sheet. See how to choose contact lenses.
Sources
- Manufacturer technical specifications for the lens families named
- FDA classification of contact lens materials (groups I–V)
- FTC Contact Lens Rule, 16 CFR Part 315 — §315.5(f)
We are not affiliated with any lens manufacturer. General information, not a substitute for a fitting. Reviewed by Dr. Teresita Bollar, OD.
What these lenses cost right now
How we make money. Prices below link to the retailer. Some of those links earn Contact Lens HQ a commission if you buy — it never changes the price you pay, and it plays no part in the ordering here. The table is sorted by price, and the cheapest wins whether it pays us or not. We do not sell contact lenses.
Prices checked 23 August 2026. Every figure is the price that retailer showed on its own product page that day, per box, before rebates.
| Lens | Pack | Lens.com ⓘ | ContactsDirect ⓘ | LensDirect ⓘ | Discount Contacts ⓘ | Costco ⓘ | Cheapest listed, per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acuvue Oasys 1-DayJohnson & Johnson · daily | 90 | $77.24 | $104.11 | $92.99 | $112.19 | — | $627 |
| Acuvue Oasys 2-WeekJohnson & Johnson · 2-week | 24 | $100.74 | $186.49 | $149.99 | $196.34 | — | $218 |
| Dailies Total 1Alcon · daily | 90 | $77.24 | $119.36 | $108.99 | $129.19 | — | $627 |
| Dailies AquaComfort PlusAlcon · daily | 90 | $56.24 | $90.61 | $77.99 | $115.17 | — | $456 |
| BiofinityCooperVision · monthly | 6 | $44.74 | $44.49 | $49.99 | $59.49 | — | $178 |
| Biofinity ToricCooperVision · monthly | 6 | $54.24 | $60.49 | $64.99 | $69.69 | — | $217 |
| Air Optix plus HydraGlydeAlcon · monthly | 6 | $44.24 | $67.49 | $59.99 | $73.09 | — | $177 |
| Total30Alcon · monthly | 6 | $61.70 | $69.49 | $63.99 | $78.19 | — | $247 |
| Bausch + Lomb UltraBausch + Lomb · monthly | 6 | $39.14 | $66.99 | $54.99 | $67.99 | — | $157 |
| MyDay Daily DisposableCooperVision · daily | 90 | $74.84 | $92.61 | $84.99 | $94.77 | — | $607 |
| Acuvue Oasys 1-Day for AstigmatismJohnson & Johnson · daily | 90 | $100.24 | $131.49 | $110.99 | $134.29 | — | $813 |
| Precision1Alcon · daily | 90 | $77.74 | $78.36 | $68.99 | $84.14 | $67.87 | $551 |
“Cheapest listed, per year” is the lowest price above multiplied by the boxes two eyes actually get through in a year — about 8.1 boxes of 90 dailies, 2.2 boxes of 24 two-week lenses, 4 boxes of 6 monthlies. It is the only fair way to compare a 90-pack against a 6-pack. It is the price on the product page, so read the notes below before assuming it is what you will be charged.
What each retailer does not put on the product page
- Lens.com
- The listed price is not what you pay. Truth in Advertising documented more than $100 in "taxes and fees" added at checkout on top of the advertised price, plus $9.95 shipping. The lowest advertised prices also require a mail-in rebate paid as a prepaid card, which customers widely report being denied or never receiving. The BBB rates Lens.com F and records that it has not responded to any of the 27 complaints filed against it. A February 2024 Illinois class action alleges the fee inflates advertised prices by 30 to 50 percent. Treat the number above as a starting point, not a total.
- ContactsDirect
- Owned by EssilorLuxottica. Free shipping with no minimum order. The price shown is already discounted from a higher list price.
- LensDirect
- The price shown already includes a 20 percent discount applied automatically rather than requiring a code. Free shipping over $49.
- Discount Contacts
- Also trades as AC Lens and DiscountContactLenses.com. Same company, same stock.
- Costco
- Requires a paid Costco membership. Costco blocks automated price checks, so we could verify only one lens here, and it was the cheapest price we found anywhere.
