Store fees read 30 September 2026 · Medicare CY2026

Types of Eye Exams Explained: What Each Costs in 2026

A screening and a comprehensive exam are not the same thing, and neither are their prices. Only two kinds of exam price are published in the US: the fees optical stores print on their own pages (a $95 median for the standard exam across 1,280 stores) and the Medicare amount for each billing code ($149.64 for a comprehensive new-patient exam). Every price below is one of the two.

Eye Exam Types at a Glance

Exam Type	What It Checks	Published Price	Where the Price Comes From	Who Needs It
Vision screening	Visual acuity only	Not priced	Not sold as a separate service by the stores in our data	School, workplace or licence requirement
Eye exam at a retail store	Acuity, refraction, eye health	$95 median ($80-$120 middle half)	Starting fee printed by 1,280 US stores, 30 September 2026	Glasses wearers, annual checkups
Comprehensive exam (CPT 92004 / 92014)	Full vision and eye-health assessment	$149.64 new / $127.26 established	Medicare CY2026 national amount	Everyone, at the interval their optometrist advises
Intermediate exam (CPT 92002 / 92012)	A narrower exam than the comprehensive codes	$84.84 new / $90.52 established	Medicare CY2026 national amount	Follow-up visits
Dilation (add-on)	Drops widen the pupils for a fuller view of the retina	$15 median where charged	336 stores print a fee; 645 include it in the exam	Over 40, diabetes, family history of eye disease
Retinal imaging (add-on)	Digital photograph of the retina	$39 median	908 stores print a fee; Medicare $37.07 (CPT 92250)	A year-to-year record, or an alternative to dilation
OCT scan of the retina	Cross-section scan of the retinal layers	$32.73	Medicare CY2026 amount, CPT 92134	Macular disease, diabetic eye disease, glaucoma monitoring
Visual field test	Peripheral vision, the standard glaucoma test	$63.80	Medicare CY2026 amount, CPT 92083 (extended)	Glaucoma suspects and patients
Contact lens exam or fitting	Exam plus corneal measurements and trial lenses	$129 median	1,234 stores print a contact-lens starting fee; some include the eye exam	Contact lens wearers
Medical eye exam	Diagnosis or management of an eye condition	Billed to medical insurance	Under the same exam codes or office-visit codes, at the plan's rate	Eye disease, sudden symptoms

Store figures are starting fees printed by LensCrafters, Target Optical and Pearle Vision stores on their own pages. Medicare amounts are national unadjusted non-facility amounts: what Medicare pays a practice, not a cash price.

Screening vs Comprehensive: The Critical Difference

A vision screening is not an eye exam

A screening only checks whether you can read a chart. It cannot detect glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy or retinal detachment, all of which can be present with normal acuity in their early stages.

A vision screening checks:

Visual acuity (distance vision)
Sometimes: near vision
Sometimes: colour vision

A comprehensive exam also checks:

Refraction (your exact prescription)
Eye pressure (a glaucoma check)
The retina and optic nerve
Binocular vision and eye movement
Lens clarity (cataracts)

When to See an Ophthalmologist Instead of an Optometrist

Routine vs medical: optometrists handle routine exams and prescriptions. Ophthalmologists are medical doctors who treat eye disease and operate. A medical eye exam is billed to medical insurance, not a vision plan.

See an ophthalmologist for:

Sudden vision loss or changes
Eye pain
New floaters or flashes of light
Persistent redness or discharge
Glaucoma, cataract, macular degeneration management
Eye surgery (cataract, LASIK)
Referral from your optometrist

See an optometrist for:

Routine comprehensive exams
Glasses and contact lens prescriptions
Annual checkups with no symptoms
Contact lens fittings
Dry eye
Monitoring stable conditions

Detailed Breakdown by Exam Type

Vision screening

A check of visual acuity at distance, used by schools, employers and licensing offices. It says whether your vision meets a minimum standard and nothing about eye health: you can see 20/20 and still have early glaucoma.

Routine or comprehensive eye exam

What a retail store sells as its eye exam: acuity, refraction for your prescription, eye pressure and a look at the front and back of the eye. LensCrafters' store pages call it "a normal, comprehensive eye exam". At the stores that publish a price, the middle half charge $80-$120.

Dilated eye exam

The same exam with drops that widen the pupils, which gives a much wider view of the retina and optic nerve. Expect blurred near vision for some hours afterwards. 645 of 1,280 publishing stores include dilation in the exam fee.

Contact lens exam

An exam plus the measurements a contact lens needs: corneal curvature, the tear film, trial lenses and usually a follow-up check of the fit. It produces a contact lens prescription, which is separate from a glasses prescription.

Medical eye exam

An exam to diagnose or manage an eye condition, such as monitoring diabetic retinopathy, managing glaucoma or assessing a cataract for surgery. It is billed to medical insurance, not a vision plan, and Medicare Part B covers it when medically necessary.

FAQ: Eye Exam Types

What is the difference between a vision screening and a comprehensive eye exam?

A vision screening is a basic check of visual acuity: whether you can read a chart. It does not examine eye health, measure eye pressure or look at the retina, so it can miss glaucoma, cataracts, macular degeneration and diabetic retinopathy. A comprehensive eye exam covers refraction, eye pressure, the front of the eye and the retina and optic nerve.

Does dilation cost extra?

At about half the stores that publish a fee it is already included: 645 of the 1,280 store exam-fee lines read on 30 September 2026 say "Includes Dilation". Where a store charges for it separately, the 336 published dilation fees run $5 to $89, median $15. Ask whether the quoted exam price includes it.

What is retinal imaging and is it worth it?

A digital photograph of the back of the eye, offered as an add-on to the exam. 908 US stores print a retinal imaging fee, median $39 (range $10-$76, read 30 September 2026). Medicare's CY2026 amount for fundus photography (CPT 92250) is $37.07. It gives a record that can be compared year to year, and some people choose it instead of dilation because it does not blur vision afterwards.

When should I see an ophthalmologist instead of an optometrist?

See an ophthalmologist for sudden vision changes or loss, eye pain, a sudden shower of floaters or flashes, redness that does not settle, management of a diagnosed eye disease, or surgery, or when an optometrist refers you. Routine exams and prescription updates are handled by optometrists. A medical eye exam is billed to medical insurance rather than a vision plan.