LASIK Cost Statistics (2026)

LASIK costs an average of $4,492 for both eyes, or $2,250 per eye, according to the Refractive Surgery Council, in a page published in June 2026. The council is funded by laser and device makers, so this is the industry's own figure.

No government agency publishes a LASIK price. Asked how much LASIK costs, the FDA answers that it "does not regulate the marketing of or any fees" associated with the lasers it approves.

The same council page also gives $4,400 as the average, so treat the national figure as roughly $4,400 to $4,500 for both eyes.

Surgeons price LASIK per eye because each eye can need a different correction (Refractive Surgery Council). The $4,492 average is for both eyes; one eye at the per-eye average is $2,250.

Other council pages put the per-eye average at about $2,200 for 2022 and at $2,000 to $3,000 (April 2025).

The council says conventional LASIK is typically the least expensive option, and that treatments using more advanced technology cost more.

The council says LASIK cost about $4,000 in 2008, which it puts at more than $6,000 in today's dollars, and calls the current $4,492 "about a 30% reduction." By its own numbers the real cut is about 25%.

It also says the average worker needed about 225 hours of work to pay for LASIK in 2008 and 150 hours now. An earlier version gave 186 and 146 hours, so the comparison has been revised.

In nominal dollars the price has been flat. The council's figures were $4,000 to $5,000 in 2021, about $4,400 in 2024 and $4,492 in 2026.

Advertised LASIK prices of $99, $199 or $299 per eye usually apply only to people with a small amount of nearsightedness, less than about -1 diopter, according to the council (Refractive Surgery Council).

The FDA tells patients: "Don't base your decision simply on cost," and warns against centers that advertise "20/20 vision or your money back" or "package deals."

A quote is easier to compare when it states what it includes: the technology used, follow-up visits, and whether a second treatment is covered if it is needed.

The surgery itself takes less than 30 minutes. Patients should see their doctor within 24 to 48 hours afterwards and at regular intervals for at least the first six months (FDA).

Vision can take three to six months to stabilise. If a second treatment is needed, the FDA advises waiting until eye measurements are consistent at two visits at least three months apart.

Before the first evaluation, contact lens wearers have to stop wearing them for two to four weeks depending on the lens type, which can mean a few weeks in glasses.

PRK reshapes the surface of the cornea without cutting a flap. About 90% of people who have it end up with 20/40 vision or better without glasses or contacts, and the procedure takes about 15 minutes (AAO).

Recovery is slower: eye pain for two to three days, gradual improvement over three to five days, and a month or longer to reach the best vision.

The council says PRK is often less expensive than LASIK or SMILE, a newer procedure introduced in the US in 2016. Its cost page gives no dollar figure for PRK, SMILE or implantable lenses.

About 9 out of 10 people who have LASIK end up with vision between 20/20 and 20/40 without glasses or contacts (AAO). Almost everyone with excellent distance vision still needs reading glasses after about age 40.

In the FDA's PROWL studies of 574 patients, more than 95% were satisfied with their vision. Dissatisfaction with vision ranged from 1% to 4% and with the surgery from 1% to 2% (JAMA Ophthalmology, 2017).

A 2009 review of 19 studies found 95.4% satisfaction (Solomon et al.). A 2016 review of 97 articles covering 67,893 eyes found 99.5% of eyes better than 20/40 uncorrected and 1.2% of patients dissatisfied (Sandoval et al.).

Up to 46% of PROWL participants who had no visual symptoms before surgery reported at least one three months after it, such as glare, halos or starbursts. Halos were the most common, reported by up to 40% (FDA).

Up to 28% of participants with no dry eye symptoms before surgery reported them at three months. Fewer than 1% had a lot of difficulty with usual activities because of any one symptom.

Participants were more than twice as likely to report symptoms on a questionnaire as to their provider. The FDA's risk list also says some patients lose vision and some develop severe dry eye, and that long-term data are not available (FDA).

Candidates should be 18 or older, ideally over 21, when vision is more likely to have stopped changing (AAO). No lasers are approved for LASIK in people under 18 (FDA).

The FDA advises against LASIK for anyone whose glasses or contact prescription changed in the past year, and says a patient who cannot stare at a fixed object for 60 seconds may not be a good candidate.

The FDA also says that although the cost is coming down, "it is still significant," and lists cost among the reasons LASIK may not suit someone.

More than 150 million Americans have a refractive error (National Eye Institute), and 45 million wear contact lenses (CDC).

Nearsightedness has become much more common. Among people aged 12 to 54 it rose from 25.0% in 1971-72 to 41.6% in 1999-2004, and high myopia rose from 0.2% to 1.6% (Vitale et al., NEI).

The council says more than 20 million LASIK procedures have been performed in the US. That is a cumulative industry figure; no federal source counts procedures each year.

"Most medical insurance will not pay for refractive surgery," according to the FDA. TRICARE says it "doesn't cover LASIK eye surgery."

Medicare does not cover routine eye exams for glasses or contacts (Medicare.gov), and Part B covers glasses or contacts only after cataract surgery, at 20% of the approved amount (Medicare.gov).

Vision plans more often offer a discount. The council puts these typically at 15% to 20%, and up to 50% with in-network surgeons (Refractive Surgery Council), and says the full cost is rarely covered.

IRS Publication 502 lets you count "eye surgery to treat defective vision, such as laser eye surgery" as a medical expense. That makes LASIK eligible for health FSAs and HSAs, and deductible for itemizers within medical costs above 7.5% of adjusted gross income.

The 2026 health FSA limit is $3,400, with up to $680 carried over if the plan allows it (Rev. Proc. 2025-32). The 2026 HSA limits are $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage (Rev. Proc. 2025-19), rising to $4,500 and $9,000 in 2027 (Rev. Proc. 2026-24).

At the $4,492 average, LASIK on both eyes is $1,092 more than one person's 2026 FSA limit, by our arithmetic. FSA elections are made for the plan year, so the timing of the surgery matters.

The council says most practices offer financing, some at 0% interest (Refractive Surgery Council), and that some plans give up to five years to pay (2021).

Many 0% offers on medical credit cards are deferred-interest plans: if the balance is not paid off when the promotion ends, interest is charged back to the purchase date. The CFPB found people incurred that interest on 20% of healthcare purchases made this way from 2015 to 2020, and on about 34% for borrowers with credit scores below 619.

Between 2018 and 2020, deferred-interest cards and loans paid for almost $23 billion of healthcare across more than 17 million purchases, and people paid $1 billion in deferred interest. The CFPB put the APR of the typical medical credit card at 26.99%, against about 16% for general purpose cards.

The council puts popular daily disposable contacts at about $600 a year, or $12,000 over 20 years (Refractive Surgery Council). It does not say where the $600 comes from.

At $600 a year, the $4,492 average equals about seven and a half years of contacts, by our arithmetic. Most people with excellent distance vision after LASIK still need reading glasses after about 40 (AAO).

A full comparison depends on what a person spends each year on lenses, exams and solution.

The Consumer Price Index for eyeglasses and eye care rose 1.1% in the 12 months to September 2026, against 3.7% for all items and 1.5% for medical care (BLS, our calculation from index values).

Over a longer stretch the gap is wider. From 2016 to 2025 the eye care index rose 15.6%, medical care 25.1% and all items 34.1%, using annual averages.

This index covers glasses, contacts and eye care services. BLS publishes no LASIK price index, so it describes the cost of the alternative, not of the surgery.

Every LASIK price on this page comes from one industry-funded body, and its figures have changed between versions of its pages. Check whether a quoted price is per eye or for both eyes.

Outcome figures come from the FDA, the AAO and peer-reviewed reviews. The PROWL symptom rates are the higher of the two studies at three months.

This page describes costs and published outcomes. It is not medical advice; an ophthalmologist can say whether LASIK suits a particular pair of eyes.