Prescription safety glasses are an essential piece of PPE that should be provided by your employer if you are doing a job which is deemed to pose a risk to your eyes. You may never have to ask how much do prescription safety glasses cost.

However there might be a time that you are looking for a pair of prescription safety glasses online for yourself or are required to buy a pair of prescription safety glasses and then claim back the money from your employer.

In these circumstances it is useful to have an idea of how much prescription safety glasses cost and what options might be available to you to either reduce the cost or increase the protection available.

Which prescription safety glasses should I choose?

Firstly, in terms of safety all prescription safety glasses should be EN166 rated if you are based in Europe or ANSI rated if you are based in the USA.  If there is anything that you should look for when buying safety glasses, this is it!

Secondly, you will then also need to think about what you need your safety glasses for.  For example, if you are working in a dusty environment, you might choose safety glasses with a dust dam which will help prevent debris from reaching your eyes.  If you are outdoors for your job, you might consider adding a UV coating to your lenses to prevent eye damage from the sun. 

There are lots of options to choose from and each person, job and pair of safety glasses are unique.  For this reason, the cost of prescription safety glasses online can vary dramatically.

So, how much are prescription safety glasses?

As mentioned earlier, your safety glasses should be rated for safety standards according to where you live in the world.

A basic pair of EN166 rated prescription safety glasses with single vision (distance or reading) should cost you around £60 - £70 (plus any VAT and shipping charges).  This will usually be for polycarbonate clear lenses and no coatings.

We have used Prescription Safety Glasses Model 15011 for this demonstration which are our most popular safety frame at Safety Protection Glasses.

If you are looking for a different lens type such as bifocal or varifocal, this will increase the cost of your prescription safety glasses.  In this case you will be looking at around £85 or £92 respectively.

How much do different lens materials cost in prescription safety glasses?

The lens material that you choose can also affect the cost of your overall safety glasses.  The industry standard is polycarbonate as this is a safety rated material that is also used for high impact and generally regarded as the industry standard. 

However, you might also be offered Trivex.  This material is lighter and thinner than polycarbonate and offers a slightly better optical clarity.  They are very similar in terms of their low impact resistance capabilities and so the only benefit would be a better optical clarity on the Trivex.  This would add another £10 (plus VAT) to your costs.

High Index Plastics are also commonly used when a prescription is +/-3.00 as it can make the lens thinner for those who often have what we call ‘milk bottle’ lenses.  The lenses we hold come in 1.67 and 1.74 High Indexes.  There are no benefits if you have a normal prescription to using High Index plastics.  However, if you require this lens material it would be another £35 (plus VAT) or £95 (plus VAT) respectively.

How much do tinted lenses cost?

Lens colours for your glasses can also be an important decision that will be driven by what you need your glasses for.  Most safety glasses will be provided with clear lenses as standard; however, you might have an option to substitute the clear lenses for additional tints such as yellow, orange, smoke etc.  Adjusting the colour of your lenses can help you see better in some conditions, such as, yellow tinted lenses for low light conditions, brown lenses for enhanced contrast. 

You can read our Lens Colours article in our Resource Centre to find out more about the different colours available.

If you choose to add coloured lenses to your frame this will add between £10 - £15 onto your frame choice.  If you decide to go with a polarized option, this will add £50 to your total and the addition of Transition or Photochromic lenses will add between £50 - £90 onto your total cost.

How much do lens coatings cost?

You will then need to decide if you require any lens coatings on your glasses.  Lens coatings can be a useful addition in increasing the longevity of your glasses. 

Lens coatings can include Anti-Scratch coating, UV protection, Anti Fog, Anti Reflective or Anti Reflective with Blue Blocker Coating and can be applied all together or not at all.  Some jobs may require the addition of a UV coating if they are working outside or an anti-scratch coating if they are working in a dusty environment.  Which lens coating you choose will depend on what type of job you do or what additional protection you would like to add to your frames.

An Anti-Scratch or UV Coating will add another £10 to your order.  An Anti-Fog permanent coating, an Anti-Reflective coating or an Anti-Reflective with Blue Blocker coating will all add another £50 to your order.

You can mix and match the lens coatings as you require them but be aware that due to the drying times between each coating this can add additional time on to the production of your order.

Conclusion - How much do prescription safety glasses cost?

You can see from the costs above that the cost of prescription safety glasses can vary dramatically from order to order and is specific to the person who builds their own unique frame.  Your needs might be very different from the next customer.  At Safety Protection Glasses, our team of customer service agents are well versed in the options available and can make recommendations to you if you need them.  You can contact us at support@safetyprotectionglasses.com.