The short version. Costco is probably the best-value contact lens seller in America and you will barely see it mentioned in online price comparisons. There is a reason for that, and it is not that Costco is expensive.
What we found
When we built our price index we tried to pull prices for twelve lenses from seven retailers. Costco’s site returned an automated-access block on almost every attempt. We got exactly one lens through.
That one lens was Precision1, 90 pack, at $67.87 — the cheapest price for that lens anywhere in our index, and cheaper than the online-only specialists that build their entire marketing around being cheap. Lens.com listed it at $77.74, LensDirect at $68.99, Discount Contacts at $84.14.
One data point is one data point, and we will not pretend it is a pattern. But it is consistent with what people report, and it points at something structural worth understanding.
Why Costco is missing from every comparison article
Two reasons, and neither is about price.
First, Costco blocks automated price checking. Anyone building a comparison table has to check prices somehow, and if a retailer will not let you, the easy thing is to leave them out.
Second, and more to the point, Costco does not run an affiliate program that pays publishers the way the online lens specialists do. If a site earns a commission from 1-800 Contacts and nothing from Costco, Costco tends not to make the list. We would rather tell you that than pretend our own incentives do not exist. We earn nothing if you buy from Costco, and if you are a member you should probably check them first anyway.
The catches, and they are real
Membership is required
You need an active paid Costco membership to buy contact lenses through their online storefront. If you are already a member this is a non-issue. If you are not, the annual fee has to go into your comparison — check the current rate, because it has changed in recent years, and a single annual lens order may not justify joining on its own.
They cannot ship to Arkansas
This one is genuinely obscure and catches people out. Arkansas state law requires contact lens sellers to maintain a relationship with a named in-state supervising optometrist, and Costco does not ship contact lenses there as a result. It is the same category of state-by-state licensing rule that makes national online lens selling harder than it looks.
Returns are not the famous Costco returns
Costco’s no-questions-asked return policy is legendary, and it has a specific carve-out for prescription eyewear. Costco Optical does not routinely refund or exchange prescription glasses, with an exception for defective product or an incorrect prescription within roughly 60 to 90 days.
We could not confirm that the same window applies identically to contact lenses rather than glasses. Do not assume the general Costco return culture covers your lenses. Ask before you order a year’s supply.
The parts that work well
Verification is fast if you help it along. Upload a photo of your prescription at order time and orders ship within one to two business days. Skip the upload and Costco has to contact your doctor’s office, which puts you into the standard eight-business-hour window under the FTC Contact Lens Rule, and in practice often longer.
Insurance and FSA both work. Costco accepts most vision plans, though acceptance can vary by plan and location so it is worth confirming for yours. HSA and FSA funds are accepted.
There is a real optometrist in the building. Costco warehouses have optical departments with independent optometrists, which matters if something goes wrong with a fit. That is not something an online-only seller can offer at any price.
On ratings, we are going to decline to give you a number
You will find articles quoting a Costco Optical star rating. We could not find a legitimate one and we are not going to invent one.
There is no consolidated Better Business Bureau or Trustpilot profile for Costco’s online contacts storefront. BBB profiles exist for individual warehouse optical departments. Costco Wholesale’s national BBB profile carries an A+ without accreditation alongside a very low review-tab average, but that reflects sentiment about Costco’s entire retail business — groceries, tyres, returns queues — and tells you nothing useful about contact lens fulfilment.
Anybody presenting a single “Costco Optical rating” is combining sources that should not be combined.
Our view
If you are already a Costco member, check them before you order anywhere else. The one price we verified beat every online specialist, they employ optometrists, and they take insurance. The friction is that you have to actually go and look, because no comparison site is going to do it for you.
If you are not a member, run the arithmetic including the membership fee. For a single annual supply of monthly lenses it probably does not pay. For a household in daily disposables, spending $456 to $813 a year per person, it might comfortably.
If you live in Arkansas, this option is closed to you regardless.
Contact Lens HQ does not sell contact lenses. We earn no commission from Costco. Some links elsewhere on this site do earn us a commission, and none of them influenced anything above. Reviewed by Dr. Teresita Bollar, OD.
Read next
- What contact lenses actually cost — the full price index
- 1-800 Contacts vs Lens.com
