UK eye test prices: what each chain charges, and the free NHS sight test
If you qualify, an NHS sight test is free. If you do not, the chains sell tiers, and they price the same appointment differently depending on whether you qualify for NHS help. A private test without a retinal scan runs £25–£39; with a scan, £30–£99. Upgrading an NHS-funded test to a scan-included tier costs £6–£49.
6 of 6 optical chains tracked have a fee confirmed in the last 60 days.
Fee pages last read 8 November 2026.
The NHS route: free sight tests and optical vouchers
England: who gets a free NHS sight test
nhs.uk says you can get a free NHS eye test if you:
- are under 16
- are 16, 17 or 18 and in full-time education
- are 60 or over
- are registered as partially sighted or blind
- have been diagnosed with diabetes or glaucoma
- are 40 or over and your mother, father, sibling or child has been diagnosed with glaucoma
- have been advised by an eye doctor (ophthalmologist) that you're at risk of glaucoma
- are a prisoner on leave from prison
- are eligible for an NHS complex lens voucher
- are entitled to or named on a valid NHS certificate for full help with health costs (HC2)
You are also entitled if you or your partner receive, or you are under 20 and the dependant of someone receiving:
- Income-based Jobseeker's Allowance
- Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
- Universal Credit and meet the criteria
People named on an NHS certificate for partial help with health costs (HC3) may also get help with the cost of a private sight test.
Source: nhs.uk: Free NHS eye tests and optical vouchers, read 26 October 2026 (page last reviewed 19 July 2023).
What the NHS sight test is listed at
NHSBSA lists the NHS sight test at £23.53, or £64.33 for a sight test conducted at home. (NHS Business Services Authority: KA-03997: What are the current costs of NHS treatment in England?, read 11 November 2026) If you qualify, you pay nothing for it. If you do not, you pay the optician's own private fee, which is set by each chain.
England: NHS optical voucher values
A voucher goes towards glasses or contact lenses; your optician says which one your prescription entitles you to.
| Voucher | Value |
|---|---|
| Optical voucher A (single vision) | £42.40 |
| Optical voucher B (single vision) | £64.26 |
| Optical voucher C (single vision) | £94.14 |
| Optical voucher D (single vision) | £212.40 |
| Optical voucher E (bifocal or varifocal) | £73.10 |
| Optical voucher F (bifocal or varifocal) | £92.72 |
| Optical voucher G (bifocal or varifocal) | £120.48 |
| Optical voucher H (bifocal or varifocal) | £233.56 |
| Optical voucher I (hospital eye service) | £217.58 |
| Optical voucher J (hospital eye service) | £61.77 per lens |
(NHS Business Services Authority: KA-03997: What are the current costs of NHS treatment in England?, read 11 November 2026)
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
- NHS eye examinations are free in Scotland for everyone who usually lives in the UK, and for refugees and asylum seekers. (NHS inform (Scottish Government): NHS community eyecare, read 11 November 2026)
- Wales and Northern Ireland: sight-test eligibility and voucher values not tracked.
How each route pays for an eye test
| Route | What it covers | Wait | Price | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NHS sight test (England)If you qualify | A free NHS sight test for the groups nhs.uk lists | Not trackedNo sight-test waiting time is published | No charge to you |
|
| NHS eye examination (Scotland) | NHS eye examinations are free in Scotland for everyone who usually lives in the UK, and for refugees and asylum seekers. | Not trackedNo eye-examination waiting time is published | No charge |
|
| NHS sight test (Wales, Northern Ireland) | Not trackedEligibility rules for Wales and Northern Ireland have not been read | Not tracked | Not tracked | None for this row |
| Private: Bayfields Opticians2 in-store tiers published | Advanced Eye TestIncludes an OCT retinal scan | Not trackedNo appointment waiting time has been read | £64lowest in-store tier |
|
| Private: Boots Opticians3 in-store tiers published | Essential Eye TestNo OCT retinal scan | Not trackedNo appointment waiting time has been read | £29.95lowest in-store tier |
|
| Private: Leightons3 in-store tiers published | Leightons private eye testNo OCT retinal scan | Not trackedNo appointment waiting time has been read | £39lowest in-store tier |
|
| Private: Optical Express2 in-store tiers published | Essential Eye TestNo OCT retinal scan | Not trackedNo appointment waiting time has been read | £25lowest in-store tier |
|
| Private: Specsavers2 in-store tiers published | Standard eye testNo OCT retinal scan | Not trackedNo appointment waiting time has been read | £25lowest in-store tier; checked by hand 2026-11-07 |
|
| Private: Vision Express | Advanced Eye TestIncludes an OCT retinal scan | Not trackedNo appointment waiting time has been read | £30lowest in-store tier |
|
What the free NHS sight test costs to upgrade
If you qualify for an NHS sight test, the examination is free. What differs is the fee to upgrade it to a tier that includes a retinal scan: £6 at Vision Express and £49 at Bayfields Opticians. Vision Express prices its upgrade by nation, so the figure changes if you book in Scotland.
Full private fees, if you do not qualify for NHS help
What an adult who does not qualify for an NHS sight test pays. A chain with several tiers appears once per tier, because they are different products.
| Optician | What they call it | Retinal scan | Published fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bayfields Opticians Read from fee page 8 November 2026 | Advanced Eye Test | Included | £64 |
| Bayfields Opticians Read from fee page 8 November 2026 | Ultimate Eye Test | Included | £77 |
| Boots Opticians Read from fee page 26 October 2026 | Essential Eye Test | Not included | from £29.95 |
| Boots Opticians Read from fee page 26 October 2026 | Advanced Eye Test | Included | from £54.95 |
| Boots Opticians Read from fee page 26 October 2026 | Ultimate Eye Test | Included | from £79.95 |
| Leightons Read from fee page 8 November 2026 | Leightons private eye test | Not included | £39 |
| Leightons Read from fee page 8 November 2026 | Leightons enhanced eye test | Included | £69 |
| Leightons Read from fee page 8 November 2026 | Leightons ultimate eye exam | Included | £99 |
| Optical Express Read from fee page 8 November 2026 | Essential Eye Test | Not included | £25 |
| Optical Express Read from fee page 8 November 2026 | Advanced Eye Test | Included | £50 |
| Specsavers Checked by hand 7 November 2026 | Standard eye test | Not included | £25 |
| Specsavers Checked by hand 7 November 2026 | Standard eye test plus OCT retinal scan | Included | up to £35test plus add-on, not one published figure |
| Vision Express Read from fee page 8 November 2026 | Advanced Eye Test | Included | £30 |
NHS-eligible upgrade fees: a different product
What you pay on top of an NHS-funded sight test to add the scans, published separately by each chain. Never averaged with the private fees above.
| Optician | What they call it | Retinal scan | Published fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bayfields Opticians Read from fee page 8 November 2026 | Advanced Eye Test — NHS clients | Included | £39 |
| Bayfields Opticians Read from fee page 8 November 2026 | Ultimate Eye Test — NHS clients | Included | £49 |
| Optical Express Read from fee page 8 November 2026 | Advanced Eye Test — NHS upgrade | Included | £25 |
| Vision Express Read from fee page 8 November 2026 | Advanced Eye Test — NHS upgrade (England, Wales, NI) | Included | £6 |
| Vision Express Read from fee page 8 November 2026 | Advanced Eye Test — NHS upgrade (Scotland) | Included | £10 |
Home eye tests: a visit, not a tier
A private home visit is priced apart from in-store appointments and kept out of the ranges above.
| Optician | What they call it | Retinal scan | Published fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Specsavers Checked by hand 7 November 2026 | Home eye test | Not included | £60 |
Child fees, where published separately
Under-16s get a free NHS sight test (nhs.uk). These are published fees for paid upgrades.
| Optician | What they call it | Retinal scan | Published fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bayfields Opticians Read from fee page 8 November 2026 | Advanced Eye Test — children | Included | £19.50 |
| Bayfields Opticians Read from fee page 8 November 2026 | Ultimate Eye Test — children | Included | £24.50 |
What this page does not cover, and why
Most UK opticians are independent practices whose fee pages this site does not read, and the GOC register holds no price field. That gap is left open rather than estimated.
Some chains refuse automated reads of their fee pages. Their figures are marked checked by hand with the date. 18 of the 21 fees shown were read from the fee page directly.
Related eyecare pages
Sources
- nhs.uk: Free NHS eye tests and optical vouchers. Read 26 October 2026.
- NHS inform (Scottish Government): NHS community eyecare. Read 11 November 2026.
- Bayfields Opticians published eye-test fees. Read 8 November 2026.
- Boots Opticians published eye-test fees. Read 26 October 2026.
- Leightons published eye-test fees. Read 8 November 2026.
- Optical Express published eye-test fees. Read 8 November 2026.
- Specsavers published eye-test fees (checked by hand). Read 7 November 2026.
- Vision Express published eye-test fees. Read 8 November 2026.
How these prices are collected
Each fee is read from the operator's own published fee page, one row per tier, with the URL and the date. Where a chain blocks automated reads, a person checks the page and the figure is dated as such. Fees are never averaged across tiers, operators or audiences. NHS sight-test and voucher figures come from NHSBSA, eligibility from nhs.uk. Nothing is estimated. Read our methodology →