Walmart Eye Exam Cost
Almost all Walmart locations across the United States offer a vision center right inside their stores. To be certain, however, you can use their official search tool here to know for certain if your local Walmart of choice has one available.
Offering a variety of services, ranging from purchasing prescription glasses to eye exams, Walmart claims to have “top brands for way less.”
How much does an eye exam at Walmart cost?
As almost all Walmart vision centers are employed by an independent doctor of optometry, who choose Walmart as their location, technically making Walmart the landlord, the prices will vary based on what the optometrist determines is the best price for his or her business. You can read about how the process works via this ReviewofOptometry.com article.
According to eye exam prices we found online, however, the costs, without any vision insurance coverage, seemed to range from anywhere from $60 to $100+ for a comprehensive basic health and vision exam to about $115 to $135+ for a basic contact lens exam. Additional fees would be charged for those who either have an astigmatism or needed a bifocal correction.
| Procedure | Average Price Reported |
|---|---|
| Basic Eye Exam | $50-$90 |
| Contact Lens Exam | - $85-$120 for standard - $95-$145 for bifocal contact lens |
| Pupil Dilation | + $15-$30 |
| Frames | $10-$150 |
| Lens | - Plastic starts at $30 - Polycarbonate with anti-scratch, UV, and anti-reflective coating starts at $100 - Bifocal plastic lenses starts at $40 - Bifocal polycarbonate lenses starts at $100 - Progressive plastic lenses start at $100 - Polycarbonate progressive lenses starts at $230 - High index polycarbonate lenses start at $350 |
| Transitions | + $40-$80 |
NOTE: Keep in mind that these are estimates we found online and are in no way guaranteed to be accurate. For exact pricing for your local Walmart Vision Center, we highly recommend you either visit the office in person or call them over the phone for an exact estimate for your situation. Again, each location is independently owned and the prices will not be the same across the board.
According to one member on this CBetterNow.com forum thread, for example, he walked into his local Walmart and was quoted $53 for the eye exam and another $20 for pupil dilation, making his total $73; however, for a contact lens exam, the total was $85 for standard contacts or $105 for bifocal contact lenses.
On this Yelp review for the Antioch, California location, one reviewer stated he was quoted $58 for a basic eye exam.
For insurance, it seemed as if most Walmart Vision Center locations would accept vision plans, but again, depending on the doctor office policy, you may find this to be true or untrue. If covered, then you will be responsible for what your plan covers. To be certain, talk with your vision insurance company to see if your local Walmart is in the company’s network, and if so, what you will be responsible for.
Do the Walmart Vision Centers accept Medicaid? Again, it will greatly depend on the location you visit, but from what we read, some will while some won’t, making it hard to give a definitive answer. For confirmation, we do recommend you call your local vision center.
Are Walmart glasses good?
According to EyeExamsPro.com, an optometrist who has an office located in a Walmart, he sated Walmart will custom make your glasses using one of its six modern labs, only using a high-quality lens and frame materials, all of which the company continues to upgrade to keep customer satisfaction high. Due to Walmart’s buying power and size, you will often find the prices to be much less than competitors, but this shouldn’t be reflective of the quality. If you look at the offerings in store, you will notice they do offer many of the top brands on the market such as Acuvue, Dailies, Air Optix and Biofinity, to name a few.
Tips to know
As all locations will vary with customer service, we highly recommend you check reviews online, such as Yelp and Google, to see what others are saying about the vision center.
There are times when a local center may offer a free exam if you commit to either purchasing a certain frame/lens or meeting a minimum spending requirement. While this isn’t offered online, but rather in person, it may be best to check out your location the next time you shop to see if any deals are currently available.
Most Walmart Vision Centers are opened seven days a week, usually from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday and 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. These are the average hours and may vary. Use this search tool to find your local center’s exact hours.
Aside from an optometrist using Walmart as his or her location, some Walmart locations will use associate doctors instead.
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Average Reported Cost: $0
