Is it still affordable to get prescription glasses or eye tests in Thailand compared to the UK?

Got varifocal lenses put into my old frames late last year, 24,000 baht if I remember correctly. My chemist, lovely Indian fella in Ubon, said he gets his from India for a lot cheaper price and has said he'll take my prescription, and another old frame, and get me a pair next time he goes home!

Very very very expensive ! They made me pay 500thb for a small wipe and quality of glasses very low !

Same price if not more expensive. Had mine in January, would say that after the test they gave me the price and I said doesn't matter too much . And they knocked about 3k off .

I have had the standard vision tests, and glasses replaced a few times here. It's certainly a lot less expensive.. You can always spend more but my last pair of glasses costs about $200/USD. In the US, ten years ago, that would have started at $200 and by the time I am done paying for frames, exam, lenses, lens extras, $500.

Penang or KL English is the language and in Malay health is health in Thailand health is a way to make $$$$$

I just picked up my new prescription glasses today. Payed 52K bath for premium frames & LEICA lenses. Now I can't see sh**. Zero dept of field or side-view, totally useless.

Lense are worse than my spare 400 bath glasses. Very disappointed 🙁

Lazada online

My glasses were stepped on and it cost me more than double to have them replaced a year ago in Thailand. Never again will I travel without a backup pair!

It depends on your prescription but for complex prescriptions and thin lenses, the UK is the best globally in terms of expertise and price.

Tbh even for straightforward prescriptions the UK is cheapest due to the price competition.

Similar price to home if not more expensive

20-20 vision means they saw you coming .

Instead of getting mad at people who make different suggestions, you should add in your post that you are not interested in going to other countries to get them. Those suggestions are actually useful for people who travel around. I’ve also had glasses made in Japan and Taiwan during my travels.

Definitely no difference in price than at home for me. Maybe even more!

Yes. Just last week I took my wife to this company for a test and reading glasses cos she’s 52 now.

We were then quoted 6500 baht for just cheap frames. Plenty of exotic name brands there on display for much higher prices, Beautiful displays and ladies in blue suits

Total Bullshit.

Eventually settled on 4200 baht for frames and lenses.

I pay no more than this price back in Australia.

Two days later her Bro in law said he pays no more than 1000 from his friend in town.

Too expensive.

Cost the same as in Canada ….very expensive .

I got a pair of progressive lens at Top Charoen for around 400€. I took my own frame.

Very happy.

Price can vary depending on the type and quality of lens you want. Zeiss,Essilor, Rodenstock,Varilux lens just to name a few. Plus the add ons like UV protection, anti reflective coating etc. All depends on how much you’re willing to spend. Personally, my eyesight is priceless.

I agree that you do get good service

But yes concerning prices

Now they are about the same as in USA

The best Deals in Thailand are Dental services

Compared to USA

In Thailand it’s up to 90% cheaper for simple procedures

Quoted over baht for glasses at a opticians in that operate out of Lotus. Told them to expensive. Dropped it by baht. Then another . Walked away and went to Specsavers back home. Paid £180 for two pairs with designer frames.

I went to a well known company in Thailand 14 years ago. Firstly there was no real eye check with proper machinery and a microscopic look at my eyes. They sat me in a chair and kept giving me glasses to try on until I got a pair where I could see clearly. I got 2 pairs of glasses for 9,000 baht. In Australia totally different. Went to Specsavers and had a free eye examination where they had all the gear to check your eyes properly, no guessing. I could have got 2 good pairs of glasses for 4,400 baht but opted for a better style with anti glare, that came to 6,600 baht (equivalent to AUD). The Australian service by proper medical professionals and 2 pairs of glasses included was far better and cheaper than Thailand.

It helps knowing your prescription ahead of time. Small shop next to Arcadia beach resort sells them 2000 a pair.

More expensive Thailand . 100% . Spec savers 2 for one plus free eye test in U.K.

I did an eye exam and reading glasses last year in Udon Thani.

Ray Ban titanium frames and Zeiss glass (just basic prescription)

5200THB

I brought my prescription with me to buy new ones here as I thought Specsavers were a bit dear.ffs😱 here is much more expensive🤬I was literally picking up the phone to Specsavers back home to make them and my mum can send them on. They are varifocals with reaction lenses

So, I'm guessing you can't see well enough to compare for yourself?

Prices for glasses are higher than prices in the United States right now. I was expecting glasses to be cheaper but they were the same price as in the US, without insurance. For $10 a month you get free glasses in USA.

It's definitely less expensive than for the same services and products in the US.

Cheaper for lenses but not the frames. The last pair I brought, I’d question the authenticity, even though they came from a reputable shop, the frames haven’t lasted well. Now I buy frames in Singapore and get the lenses done in Thailand.

I bought 2 pairs last year, cost was about the same as Australia and one pair broke 3 months later. Only one experience so perhaps I just chose the wrong place.

More expensive than Australia by double and inferior as well. Learnt the hard way

Just as expensive as Australia I found

I get my glasses in China . Have bought many over recent years. Very good prices, light/colour changing - even varifocals. Much cheaper than UK. Very quick service and collect within a couple of days. 🤷‍♂️

I’m in Thailand but the prices here for similar glasses seem high in comparison

But to answer the OP question, I have to say that I don’t really know the comparison process to the UK any more but definitely cheaper and quick in China. Good tests and good quality.

I do know that the varifocals I had Magee there last year (my first!!) were super good value compared to UK because I asked some friends. 🤷‍♂️

Hopefully someone else can give you a more up-to-date reply.

I will go to an ophthalmologist at RAM Hospital for a new prescription and then order glasses from Zenni in the US. An ophthalmologist is going to be more thoroughly trained is my thinking. If you go to most optometrists in CM, they won’t even sell you the prescription. Prices were nutso on glasses.

Glasses are really expensive in CM. Get your rx and send it to Specsbypost in the UK - you can even send in the frames you like - I buy mine from TK often..

I testede my eyes and bought new glasses in Vigan City in the Philippines . I even got senior discount and payed 2860 peso for test and glasses.

last year and again this year we got frames and transition lenses (the kind that turn into sunglasses) for 1500 baht from a small neighborhood store. They send the order to a factory and it comes back ready in 2 or 3 days. For the eye exam I had my prescription already, but for the second pair we went to the Big C building and asked a few glasses shops if they can do the exam for us. If you ask nicely they will usually do it for free. Three different shops gave different results. But one shop was super professional and did alot more tests so we stuck with that result and made glasses with their prescription. The glasses stores at Big C I think were charging minimum 3000 but usually 5000-7000 baht for glasses. But we only paid 1500 in our neighborhood. For normal lenses I think it would have been 500 at the cheapest but usually 700-1000. I would suggest getting your eye exam and prescription at a real doctor or in your home country and then just shop around at little glasses stores in the neighborhoods for a good deal.

Super sight bkk pattaya hospital.. 200k for artificial lenses both eyes

No more glasses.. changed my life.. do yourself a favor.. 40 mins surgery.. 6 hours later.. can see perfect..1 night stay over

You can do 1 at a time but I chose to do both from recommendations from friends.. life changer

@Cary *****

the posted company,top Charon, looked at my lenses and quoted me 60,000 to come close to the ones my employer gave me for free and they said it's still a lesser quality!?!

Lenses are not cheap but the frames are

Agree just as expensive as UK prices

Zenni, vooglam etc all ship international. The virtual try on works well. I paid $150 (including express shipping) for progressive, photogray designer frames. The last pair I got at airport was $500

I've had a couple of pairs of varifocals done with my UK prescription at

@Pattaya*******

and they've been spot on. Lots of choice, competitively priced and good customer service.

I'm long-sighted and can't see shit up close inc. phone, menus, ATMs, etc hence my need for varifocals. Lens for an existing frame cost me 7,500 baht and a separate lens with a quality frame cost me 10,000 baht. Any purchase has a one year warranty too.

That's a better deal than what I was paying for lens back in the UK before we moved here 2 years ago. I have what they call a 'complicated' prescription! 🙄

We live here full-time and I'd have to try on and test drive any glasses wherever I'd be so if you added flights, accommodation, etc to glasses costs I'm better off here at these prices even if they have gone up.

Cambodia is the cheapest country to buy glasses. I have never found glasses to be cheap in Thailand.

In my experience, getting medical I treatment is more cost-effective here. I’ve been to the eye hospital in Bangkok twice with really good results and low-cost.

However, in my experience again, by eyeglasses in Thailand, will not save you any money

it is much cheaper in thailand, essilor lenses are made in thailand, and after all it depends on the choice eyeglass frame!!

I love my optician here but the glasses I had made in Australia were cheaper than the ones I had made here. It’s the cost of the materials I think.

I've had repairs to my specs, then a sight test, and a new prescription. A regular clear pair of varifocals put in my own frame and a pair of prescription sunglasses in a new frame. From an optician who operates from a stall in a large market, but who brought the finished products to my home. Total cost about 7,000 baht. That's maybe a third of the cost for the same glasses in the UK

I need special glasses and they are not cheap. Baht is what I paid a few years ago so probably more now, For most people very cheap.

news flash...top charoen is expensive

Interesting post thank you. I get my eyes checked every two years and I use the optician at Asda Supermarket in the UK. The eye test is free as I'm over 60 years and my varifocal glasses and decent frames costs about 1800 baht

Glasses in Thailand are not a bargain but I have gotten decent prices when there is a sale or promotion.

Glasses are now just as expensive in thailand.

Also some countries (like Australia) if you are on a pension they are subsidised

I’ve done multifocal thin lenses with anti glare with the prescription from Australia for around AUD350, the quote for the same lenses n Australia was $750. Frames were not much different than in Australia but I bought designer one. So, in my case it was way cheaper in Thailand. By the way, they’ve re-checked my script for no extra cost and delivery was 2 days against a week in Australia.

I went to top last year when my glasses were damaged had a uk prescription for varifocal lenses the cost after haggling were about the same as the uk

lasik surgery is cheaper.. and reading glasses are cheaper off shopee..

compleet 6000

Last time I checked at KT Optic I was quoted 26k for a pair of Oakley frames with progressive lenses. More than in the US.

I have a complex prescription which makes a big difference in cost. For me, I found that something like the buy 1 get 1 free offer from Specsavers in the UK was about the same cost as a single set of glasses here.

No idea. I always do eye stuff in Taiwan as it’s super cheap

Zennioptical.com

It’s funny I haven’t priced here but I spend part of my year in Kuala Lumpur and for my prescription the price would have been just as much as in America. My sight isn’t that bad but I have a “complicated” prescription.

I'm a cheapskate and buy frames from Lazada and get the lenses fitted by an excellent optometrist in MBK. Lazada frames vary in quality, but I have been lucky the last couple of times, at ridiculously cheap prices. It's been a long time, but this is the optometrist's contact: Serin 0865605529

I’m a keen amateur photographer and want the best glasses, so I opted for Nikon lenses and some rather expensive German frames. Add to this that I needed varifocals so I paid a record amount for this pair at KT Optic. I think that if I’d opted for two pairs, one for reading and one for long distance and I wasn’t too bothered about quality then I may have got a cheaper deal than in the U.K.

Best optical shop in Pattaya with first class eye check devices in their shop like in hospital.

I have bought prescription glasses every year in Thailand but have found over the past two years that the price and convenience (quick delivery) is almost no different to home.