Short version: almost every lens replacement company can put good lenses in your frames. What separates them is how many decisions they force on you, what's actually included in the first price you see, and whether the company cutting your lenses is the company you're buying from.
The short answer
- Simplest prescription order, lab in-house: LensOnUs — from $79, four lens choices, coatings included, cut in our own Utah lab.
- Best known name: Lensabl — from $97, but it routes orders to third-party partner labs.
- Widest catalog: LensDirect — from $79, though it also sells contacts and new eyewear.
- Cheapest non-prescription sunglass lenses: Revant Optics — from $25, DIY install, mostly non-prescription.
- Best for sport and performance sunglasses: SportRx — from $99, in-house opticians, built for athletes. Anti-reflective is a paid add-on, and the catalog is sunglasses-first — it's not really set up for everyday optical wear.
- Most options to sift through: ReplaceALens — from $69, with a long a-la-carte list.
- Built for safety and industrial eyewear: Rx-Safety — from $40 (single vision, polycarbonate), but almost every coating is priced separately. Add anti-reflective and you're at $80+ before frames, scratch coat, or UV are even in the cart.
The comparison
Headline prices are easy to compare and almost meaningless. What decides your final total is the add-ons: anti-reflective coating and shipping. Prices checked August 2026 — promotions move constantly, so treat these as starting points, not quotes.
| Company | From | AR coating | Anti-scratch | UV protection | Prescription | Free shipping both ways | Owns its lab |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LensOnUs Lens replacement only. Four lens choices. | $79 | Included | Included | Included | ✓ | ✓ | Yes — Utah |
Lensabl Also sells frames and contacts. | $97 | Included | Included | Included | ✓ | ✓ | No — partner labs |
LensDirect Also contacts and new eyewear. | $79 | Included | Included | Included | ✓ | ✓ | Yes — in-house |
Revant Optics Sunglass lens replacements you install yourself. | $251 | Not standard | Not stated | Included | Limited2 | ✗3 | Yes — Portland, OR |
SportRx Built for sport and performance sunglasses. | $994 | Paid add-on | Included | Included | ✓ | ✓ | Yes — in-house5 |
ReplaceALens Long a-la-carte option list to work through. | $69 | Paid add-on6 | Included | Included | ✓ | Partial7 | Yes — Denver |
Rx-Safety Built for safety and industrial eyewear. | $408 | Paid add-on ($40–50) | Paid add-on9 | Paid add-on9 | ✓ | Not stated | Yes — Middlesex, NJ |
- Revant's core product is DIY, mostly non-prescription. A separate “Custom Cut” prescription service exists at a much higher price point (~$229 in third-party reviews).
- Prescription only available through Revant's separate Custom Cut service, not their standard catalog.
- Standard Revant orders are pop-in-yourself — no frames mailed in. Custom Cut prescription orders do require mailing frames in.
- $99 is SportRx's own in-house “SportRx Collection” (frame + Rx lens). Branded replacement lenses (Oakley, Ray-Ban, etc.) start lower, around $90, and are made in the original brand's lab, not SportRx's.
- True for SportRx-brand lenses. Branded lenses (Oakley, etc.) are produced at that brand's own lab.
- ReplaceALens' anti-reflective option is a step up from their base coating tier (e.g., progressives $89 vs. progressives with anti-glare $149).
- ReplaceALens publicly commits to free priority return shipping; outbound shipping cost isn't stated on their site.
- $40 is Rx-Safety's own stated starting price for single vision in polycarbonate — this matches a $25 base lens + $15 poly upgrade breakdown. Safety frames are priced separately, from $20 to $75. Stack anti-reflective ($40–50) plus a frame and you're well into the $120–140+ range.
- Rx-Safety's own pages aren't fully consistent here — one lists scratch and UV as $10 each; another bundles them into a single “Super Scratch + UV” add-on. Either way, neither is included in the base $40 the way LensOnUs, Lensabl, and LensDirect bundle theirs in.
Who actually owns their lab
This is the part nobody spells out on their homepage, and it's the difference you feel only when something needs fixing. Lensabl — the best-known name in the category — doesn't cut your lenses. It takes the order and routes it to partner labs. Revant cuts its own lenses too, but almost entirely non-prescription. SportRx also owns its lab and does take real prescriptions — but their frames are built for sport, so there's no everyday optical side to the business. LensDirect and ReplaceALens both state they run their own labs as well.
So the real split isn't "has a lab" versus "doesn't." It's whether the lab that cuts your prescription is the one you can reach. We're a Utah lab that does nothing but re-lens existing frames — clear optical and sunglasses both — and the optician who inspects your lenses works in the same building as the person who answers the phone.
Real photos from our Salt Lake City lab — take the full tour.
Why people pick us
Stop paying extra just to see clearly at night.
Most sites price a bare lens, then charge separately for anti-reflective, scratch coat, and UV — by checkout, the add-ons cost more than the lens did. Here, all three are already in the $79. The first price you see is the price you pay.
Finish your order in about three minutes.
The usual configurator makes you choose an index, an abbe value, three coating tiers and a lens brand you've never heard of — so people abandon the cart. We give you four choices: single vision, readers, progressives, plano.
Talk to the person holding your glasses.
Lensabl takes your order and routes it to a partner lab, so a question has to travel through them and back. Your frames come to our own Utah lab, get cut here, and get inspected by an optician here. One phone number.
Keep the frames you already love, with your real prescription in them.
Revant replaces sunglass lenses — largely non-prescription, often DIY install. SportRx does take real prescriptions, but only for sunglasses. We put your actual Rx in your actual frames — optical or sunglasses — and hand-fit them before they ship back.
Get everything from one place instead of three.
Sunglass-only shops can't do your everyday pair. Clear Rx, readers, progressives, blue light, photochromic and tints all come out of the same lab, in the same frames.
We only sell you the thing you came for.
Lensabl and LensDirect also sell frames, contacts and eye exams, so their site is built to move you along. We only do lens replacement. There's one question here: what lenses go in your frames.
What to look for (even if you don't pick us)
- Are the coatings in the price? Anti-reflective alone is often a $40–60 add-on elsewhere. Compare finished carts, not headline prices.
- How do they handle your PD? A company that can measure pupillary distance from your frames is less likely to hand you a bad pair.
- Is there a written frame-damage guarantee? Re-lensing is safe, but you want the policy in writing before you mail anything.
- Is the lab in the US, and is it theirs? Ask directly. A broker will usually say "our lab partners."
- What's the remake policy? Prescription errors happen everywhere. What matters is who pays to fix them and how long it takes.
- How many decisions do they force? If you can't get to checkout without picking an index, an abbe value, and three coating tiers, that complexity is being sold to you, not for you.
Also worth knowing
- RenewLens — small send-in service, limited catalog.
- Overnight Glasses — built around fast turnaround at a premium.
- Tajima Direct — Japanese lens designs, longer lead times.
- Zenni and Warby Parker — worth naming only to rule out: they sell new lenses rather than re-lensing yours, which is a different purchase entirely.
Where we land
If you want the most options in the world, we're not it. If you want your favorite frames back with excellent lenses in them, from $79 ($199 for progressives), cut in our own lab, with coatings already included and about three decisions to make — start your order. You can also see the lab or read how re-lensing old frames works.
Frequently asked questions
Which lens replacement company is cheapest?
On headline price, Revant Optics is cheapest for non-prescription sunglass lenses (from about $25) because you install them yourself, and Rx-Safety advertises prescription single vision from about $40. But those are bare lenses — Rx-Safety prices anti-reflective at $40–50 on top, plus scratch and UV. For prescription lenses installed for you, ReplaceALens starts around $69, LensDirect and LensOnUs at $79, and Lensabl at $97. The number that matters is the finished price: at LensOnUs, anti-reflective, scratch-resistant, and UV coatings are already in the $79, so there's nothing to add.
Lensabl vs. LensOnUs — what's the actual difference?
Two things. Price: Lensabl starts at $97, we start at $79. And who cuts the lenses: Lensabl routes orders to partner labs, while we are the lab — your frames are cut and inspected in our own Utah facility. Lensabl also sells frames and contacts; we only do lens replacement.
Does it matter whether a company owns its own lab?
It matters when something goes wrong. If a company brokers your order to a third-party lab, a remake or a question about your prescription has to travel through them and back. When the lab is in-house, the person answering the phone can walk over and look at your glasses. It also tends to mean faster turnaround and fewer shipping legs.
Is mailing my frames somewhere safe?
Yes, in practice. Frames travel well when packed with the case they came in. Every reputable service inspects the frame before cutting and tells you if it's too brittle or damaged to re-lens. We email you a prepaid inbound label, you use your own box, and if we think your frame won't survive the job we tell you before we start.
Can any frame be re-lensed?
Most can. Full-rim plastic and metal frames are the easiest. Rimless and semi-rimless frames can be done but carry a bit more risk because the lens itself holds the frame together. Very old, brittle, or already-cracked frames are the usual no. If you're unsure, send a photo before you order.
Do I need my PD to order replacement lenses?
It helps, but it isn't a blocker. PD (pupillary distance) is on many prescriptions; if yours doesn't have it, we can measure it from your frames when they arrive, or walk you through measuring it at home.
How long does lens replacement take?
Most services quote 7–14 days door to door, and much of that is shipping in both directions. Progressives and high-index materials add a day or two of lab time.
What if I don't like the finished lenses?
Ask about this before you order anywhere — policies differ a lot. Look for a written remake policy for prescription errors and a stated frame-damage guarantee. Ours is on our return and refund policy page.
