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Best opticians stores
Our exclusive large-scale consumer survey reveals the best and worst optician brands, as voted for by people who have used their services – with some surprising results.
We surveyed 10,936 people who have had an eye test and/or bought glasses or contacts in the past two years. We asked them to rate the brands they had used on a range of measures, including value for money, store environment, glasses quality and customer service.
The results show that when people consider a brand value for money, they rate it highly. But just being cheap isn't the only thing that matters - some pricier brands were highly praised for excellent customer service and thorough eye test exams.
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Best and worst opticians stores rated
Our ratings cover all the major high street chains, including Boots Opticians, Specsavers and Vision Express, as well as independents.
Logged-in Which? members can find out which opticians received the highest customer score, and which were rated best for factors such as price, value for money, eye tests and product quality. You can use the links to jump to fuller reviews of each brand below the table.
If you aren't logged in, you'll see an alphabetically ordered list of brands with no scores.
Not yet a member? Join Which? today and get access to the results below, plus thousands more reviews, brand surveys and ratings on our website.
| Opticians brand | Overall customer score |
|---|---|
| Asda Opticians | |
| Bayfields | |
| Boots Opticians | |
| Costco Optical | |
| Independents | |
| Leightons | |
| M&S Opticians |
Table notes: Results based on a survey of 7,375 Which? Connect panel members and members of the public in May-June 2024 who had an eye test and bought glasses from the same optician. Brands need a minimum of 30 respondents for us to display ratings. Overall customer score Combines how well a brand performed for eye tests and purchasing glasses in store, according to respondents who used the same brand for both. It takes into account customer satisfaction and recommendation scores.
Specsavers vs Vision Express vs Optical Express: optician brands compared
Logged-in Which? members can see summary verdicts of how each brand was rated by customers on different attributes below, ordered by overall customer score.
If you aren't logged in, you'll see an alphabetically ordered list of brands and some basic information about what they offer.
Not yet a member? Join Which? today and get access to the results below, plus thousands more reviews, brand surveys and ratings on our website.
Asda Opticians
Asda Opticians opened its first in-store opticians in 2000 and now has 157 practices in stores across the UK.
Join Which? today to see our exclusive ratings, including how Asda Opticians ranked against high street brands.
Bayfields
Bayfields first opened in 2004 and now has more than 50 stores in England. Find out how the eye care and hearing care specialist did in our exclusive survey by joining Which? today
Boots Opticians
With more than 500 stores in the UK, Boots is another heavy hitter on our survey. But how do customers rate its opticians services?
To find out, join Which? today and get access to the full ratings as well as thousands of other reviews.
Costco Optical
Costco Optical, which has 29 warehouses in the UK, might not spring to mind as a place to buy glasses or have an eye test.
Join Which? today to get access to our exclusive results and see if it's worth a go.
Independents
Independent opticians aren't part of a large retail chain but they still make up a large proportion of all opticians.
To find out if they have the edge on the competition, join Which? today.
Leightons
The first Leightons store opened in 1928 – making it the oldest brand in our survey – and it now has 35 stores in England.
Find out how the company stands up against the competition on price, glasses quality and eye tests by joining Which? today
M&S Opticians
A new entrant in our survey, M&S has 40 opticians within its stores.
It's a well-loved retailer, but how how do customers rate its glasses and eye exams? To find out, join Which? today
Scrivens
Family-owned business Scrivens opened its first store in 1938 and now operates 169 stores in the UK.
The company says its aim is to provide customers with fantastic customer service and eye care. Find out whether customers agree by signing up to Which? today
Specsavers
With more than 900 stores in the UK, Specsavers is the largest opticians chain in our survey. To access our exclusive results and find out how consumers rate the brand, join Which? today
Vision Express
With more than 500 stores in the UK, Vision Express is another major player in our survey.
To find out how thousands of people rate its customer service, after-sales care and store environment join Which? today
In need of a new dentist, too? See our guide to the best-rated dentist brands
How we find the best opticians
Our unique biannual opticians brand survey is many months in the making and is designed to build a thorough and statistically robust insight into the performance of different opticians brands, as rated by real customers who have used their services.
We quizzed more than 10,000 consumers about their experiences with the UK's leading opticians brands, asking them to rate brands based on measures we know are important to customers – from value for money to how thorough the eye test was, staff help and the quality of the glasses or contacts on offer.
Our expert statisticians then analyse the data, using it to produce an overall customer score and star ratings for different factors, such as value for money, to make it easy for you to see which brands are best and make your choice.
For our overall ratings, we only include people who had an eye test and bought glasses at the same store. Our best opticians scores are based on more than 7,300 customers who did just that.
While most people shop with big opticians brands such as Specsavers, Boots or Vision Express our survey shows that it's worth shopping around, as it often throws up some surprise winners that you might not associate with opticians services. It's also valuable to see how independent brands compare, and which opticians excel at different specialities, such as buying varifocals.
Why it's important to choose the right opticians
Our exclusive survey ratings reveal how each store is rated by customers for attributes such as product quality, price and aftercare.
It's harder as an individual to judge whether your optometrist is doing what they should, including performing the right eye tests and giving an accurate prescription.
Previous mystery shopping research by Which? at a range of brands uncovered some concerning examples of poor practice. In the worst cases, we found optometrists issued inaccurate prescriptions, which would have left our researchers with the wrong glasses, or failed to warn customers about key eye health issues.
So it pays to be discerning. As a rule of thumb, you should expect an eye test to take at least 15 minutes and longer than that if you have any eye health issues or complex prescription.
If you have any concerns about your eye test or prescription, then your first port of call is to speak to your optician.
If that doesn't resolve it, you can seek a second opinion or escalate a complaint to the Optical Complaints Service.
See our advice on the best place to have an eye test to get the lowdown on what to expect, from how to recognise key parts of an eye test and what they're for to top tips on taking control of your consultation.