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Best Prescription Sunglasses for 2024

17 Mar


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When creating a custom pair, you have a variety of lens tints to choose from, as well as options like polarized or mirrored lenses, both of which reduce sun, UV rays and reflection glare — and yes, you want some anti-glare coating at a minimum, that’s a must. Gray, green and brown tints are the most popular. I tend to go with gray, but some sites also offer yellow, blue or rose options. (This is a good guide to lens colors.) Tint density is also important, with a higher density blocking out more sunlight. Nonfashion sunglasses’ tint density tends to range from 50% to 80%. You can also get gradient tints that offer more density in different parts of the lens.

Best overall prescription sunglasses

Our top pick for this roundup of prescription glasses is Warby Parker. Besides affordability, Warby Parker offers a wide array of stylish sunglasses that you can customize to your needs. It also has a great app that helps you see how your sunglasses will look on you.

Best prescription sunglasses

Several CNET editors have bought their glasses from Warby Parker, which has a good selection of sharp-looking eyeglass frames. While glasses start at only $95 with a single-vision prescription, chances are you’re going to pay a bit more — around $150 to $200 — based on the type of frame options you choose, your prescription and the type of eyeglass lenses. Sunglasses start at $175, and progressive lenses in both eyeglasses and sunglasses start at $295. Based on my and my co-workers’ experience, the finished products tend to be a step up from what more budget-oriented sites offer. 

Notable site features: The company’s iPhone app — sorry, there’s no Android version yet — allows you to search the site by frame size and to try on various frames virtually (it works surprisingly well) and better yet, you can try up to five frames at home for five days for free. Once your five days are up, you place your box in the mail with the prepaid return label. Hopefully, you find at least one style that you like from among the five you picked for the home trial. There’s also a $15 online virtual vision test to renew outdated prescriptions. (Based on the test, you may not be eligible.) 

Shipping times: According to Warby: “Single vision glasses take seven to 10 business days to reach you from the time we have all of your order information. Sunglasses and progressives take 10 to 12 business days to reach you.” (These estimates jibe with the experience of CNET editors who have used the service; my pair arrived in six business days.) You can pay more for expedited shipping.

Knockaround doesn’t have a prescription service, but it sells regular sunglasses, including polarized and mirrored coating for $25 and even slightly less (prices start as low as $15). They’re not premium glasses obviously, but the lenses are pretty decent and the glasses look more expensive than their low price would indicate. These designer sunglasses also seem pretty durable. Several different styles, colors and lens options are available. These are the glasses to get if you don’t want to worry about losing your sunglasses. 

Notable site features: A design-your-own feature lets you take sunglass frames and customize the colors of each part of the frame (each arm can be a different color, for example) and lens options.

Shipping times: About five to seven days, although custom orders can take up to 12 days.

Roka started out making athletic glasses for runners, bikers and triathletes, and many of its prescription frames are bendable at the ends and have rubberized tracks that help you get a more secure fit. The frames also come with three sizes of grippy nose pads to ensure a better fit. These glasses and prescription sunglasses are among the most comfortable glasses I’ve worn — and they really stay on your face. I personally like the small Oslo frame in clear. 

Like Warby Parker, these are at the higher end of the online prescription eyeglasses spectrum, with prices of around $200 for a completed pair of prescription glasses, depending on some of the lens upgrades you might add. But Roka has some of the best glasses — and sunglasses — frames out there. Roka’s lens technology gives you a choice of a progressive lens, polarized lens, or blue-light-blocking lens in choosing your perfect prescription sunglasses. 

Notable site features: Like Warby, there’s a home-trial program. You can try up to four frames at home for up to seven days. The box ships with a prepaid return label — you just drop it off at a post office to send it back.

Shipping times: Roka doesn’t provide general estimates, and instead will give you a shipping time estimate when individual orders are placed based on which shipping option you choose (next-day, second-day or ground).