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8 July 2021

Opticians stores compared

We surveyed nearly 6,200 Which? members to find out which opticians they rated the best and worst.

Anna Studman

Person holding out pair of glasses 439917

Our table below reveals the best and worst optician shops, as voted for by thousands of their customers in a 2020 Which? poll.

All major high street chains are rated, 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 different aspects including price, value for money, special offers and product quality.

Not yet a member? Join Which? today and get access to the results below, plus all the reviews on our website including the best places to buy glasses, and best and worst laser eye-surgery companies.

Best and worst opticians stores

Log in or join Which? to find out how customers rate optician stores in the table below.

Optician shop	Customer score	Booking an eye test	Thoroughness of eye testing	Product quality	Offers when buying glasses	Price when buying glasses	Range of glasses	After-sales	Customer service	Overall value for money
Asda Opticians
Boots Opticians
Leightons
Local independent optician
Scrivens Opticians
Specsavers
Vision Express
Table notes: Table last updated July 2020. Based on Which? survey of 3,148 members, conducted April/May 2020. Stores had to get at least 30 responses to be included in the overall table. If there were fewer than 30 answers for any area - for example, customer service - a rating is not given. Customer score is based on satisfaction with the store on last visit and likelihood of recommending to a friend.

Our unique customer-survey insight gives an overview of how each store rates for attributes such as product quality, price and aftercare.

But it's less easy to judge whether your optometrist is doing what it should, including the performing the right eye tests and giving an accurate prescription.

In October 2017, we sent undercover researchers to 30 optician stores for check-ups. We found that a worrying 13 out of 30 visits were rated poor or very poor by our expert panel of optometrists.

Poor eye consultations could leave you with the wrong glasses

In the worst cases, optometrists issued inaccurate prescriptions that didn’t correct eyesight problems such as astigmatism or double vision, which would have left our researchers with unsafe glasses.

Other failings included:

some optometrists failing to warn patients about common eye-health problems
important tests being missed, such as checking the pressure of the eyes or looking at the health of the front of the eye. These tests could reveal potentially serious eye-health problems.

We did see some examples of great practice, too, including one visit to an independent optometrist that was rated ‘excellent’ because of the thorough eye test, clear advice and accurate prescription.

See our advice on the best place to have an eye test to find out how to recognise each eye test and what it's for, and to get tips on taking control of your consultation.