Zenni Optical Review: Options, Pros and Cons, Is It Worth It?

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Anyone who has ever needed eyeglasses knows the headache.

They&#;re always more expensive than you expected, and then there&#;s the task of choosing something that will sit on your face all your waking hours. And it&#;s hardly a one-time purchase: Glasses break, prescriptions become outdated, and personal style preferences change.

Some customers have tried to solve these issues by purchasing their glasses online. Zenni Optical was one of the first online eyeglass companies on the market.

Here&#;s a breakdown of what Zenni offers those looking to take the headache out of their next glasses purchase.

What is Zenni?

Zenni Optical is an online-only retailer of prescription glasses and sunglasses. It was founded in San Francisco in .

The company keeps prices lower by selling glasses directly to consumers, without an intermediary and avoiding overhead costs.

Pros and cons of Zenni

Here are some pros and cons of their offering to consider. 

Pros

• It has a more affordable lineup of eyeglasses, starting at $6.95.
• Zenni boasts a large selection of frames, with different sizes, styles, and colors.
• Customers say the online platform is easy to use, offering features like a digital ruler to measure the distance between your eyes and try-on tools that help you determine which frames look best on your face.

Cons

• The company doesn&#;t accept insurance.
• If you have stronger prescriptions that require high-index lenses, you&#;ll likely find that Zenni&#;s glasses won&#;t meet your needs.
• You won&#;t find major brand names in their lineup.
• It doesn&#;t include free shipping. Shipping costs $4.95 and arrives in 2 to 3 weeks.

What&#;s available from Zenni?

Zenni Optical offers a catalog of more than 1,600 frames for people of all ages. It also offers a host of options for lenses, including:

• sunglasses (most of their frames are available as sunglasses)
• no-lense frames
• single vision
• bifocals
• progressives

All Zenni eyeglasses come with anti-scratch coating and UV protection for no extra cost. The company offers blue light protection, called Blokz, starting at $16.95.

Zenni also offers protective glasses and sports glasses.

The company doesn&#;t offer contacts. 

The wide selection of frames is what most customers like best about Zenni Optical. One customer, Healthline editor Roman Gokhman, says: &#;The selection was great, and the glasses fit really well.&#; 

How much do eyeglasses from Zenni cost?

With Zenni Optical, the price for glasses can range from $6.95 for the most basic set to $50 for higher end frames with add-ons such as Blokz for blue light protection.

If you have a strong prescription (greater than + or &#; 4.25), you may want to consider high index lenses. Zenni Optical offers three types of high index lenses:

• 1.61 at an additional cost of $19.95
• 1.67 at an additional cost of $34.95
• 1.74 at $74.95

So, if you need the high index lenses, you&#;re looking upward of $100 for eyeglasses, depending on the frame.

Though Zenni doesn&#;t accept insurance, some insurance companies may offer reimbursement. If you have insurance, check your coverage details.

Consider that some customers with strong prescriptions question the quality of Zenni&#;s high index lenses.

How Zenni works

Zenni Optical owns a production facility in China.

Once you place your order, it goes straight to the factory where all the frames and lenses are made, according to the company. There, the lenses are cut and assembled into your frames using the pupillary distance and prescription information you have provided.

Their quality control department analyzes each pair of glasses for defects before it&#;s shipped to you, according to the company.

What you&#;ll need before ordering

You&#;ll need your prescription and your pupillary distance (PD) measurement.

Your prescription details from your most recent eye exam may have these measurements and you can request this from the prescriber&#;s office. You can also measure your PD yourself.

To measure your PD, follow these steps:

1. Look into a mirror and hold a ruler against your brow line.
2. Starting with the right eye, align the ruler&#;s 0 mm with the center of your pupil.
3. Measure the distance from your right to your left pupil. 

How to order from Zenni

All orders are placed online.

Goto yanggu to know more.

1. Start by filling in your PD measurement and lens type.
2. Use the filters to choose your color, shape, material, and frame size. You can see how the glasses look on your face by using the try-on feature with your built-in camera. There&#;s also a 3D try-on tool that you can use by uploading a video of yourself.
3. Once you select a frame, fill in your prescription information and select any add-on coating you may want, such as anti-reflective or oil-resistant coatings. 

Getting your Zenni shipment

Zenni Optical uses UPS, FedEx, or USPS to ship its glasses from its facility in China to customers all over the world. Its website estimates a delivery time of 2 to 3 weeks from when the order is placed. Many customers report accuracy with this estimate.

&#;I needed new glasses last March, just as the pandemic started. Even though the glasses are manufactured in China, and they messaged that they would likely be late, they still came on time,&#; Gokhman says.

Zenni return policy

Zenni Optical offers a 30-day return policy, but note it only offers a one-time-use 100 percent store credit (excluding shipping) or a 50 percent refund (excluding shipping).

You must call customer service for a return authorization number within 30 days of the date you received your glasses. 

Zenni doesn&#;t offer a repair service.

Zenni customer reviews and brand reputation

Zenni Optical has an excellent reputation for being a trusted and straightforward company selling affordable online eyeglasses. Their Trustpilot rating is 4.6 stars, with many reviewers pleased with fast shipping, reasonable pricing, and top-notch customer service. Those few displeased Trustpilot reviewers were unhappy with the craftsmanship and overall quality.

Meanwhile, the reviews at the Better Business Bureau were less complimentary, giving the company a 2.78-star rating. A few customers expressed they were happy with the affordability and convenience. Several other reviewers, however, were displeased with wrong orders and poor quality.

How Zenni compares with other online retailers

CompanyFree shippingAccepts insurance3D try-on optionZenninonoyesWarby ParkeryesyesyesLens.comnononoGlassesUSAyesyesyes

Notes for buying online

Buying eyeglasses online can be worthwhile, especially for those with basic requirements. Here are some tips to keep in mind when buying eyeglasses online:

• Give it a try in person: If this is your first time buying eyeglasses, or it has been some time since you&#;ve gotten new frames, it may be worthwhile to go into a brick-and-mortar optician&#;s office and try on some lenses, just to see the type, shape, and style you&#;re going for.
• Get help with measuring: Get a friend or family member to assist with measuring your PD as it&#;s much easier with two sets of eyes.
• Ask for your most recent prescription details: Double-check the prescription with your doctor to make sure you have the most recent version and are filling in the correct fields.
• Use the try-on feature: Companies like Zenni and Warby Parker have pretty accurate &#;try&#; features.
• Keep your prescription on file: When you&#;re prompted to save your prescription, take the time to do it. That way if you need to return them for a different lens, it will make the job easier.

Frequently asked questions

Why are Zenni Optical glasses so cheap?

There are various reasons why Zenni Optical can keep the cost of its eyeglasses low. Zenni glasses are made at a dedicated factory and shipped directly to the consumer. Also, because Zenni sells its glasses online, they don&#;t pay for brick-and-mortar retail space. This means they can avoid costly markups, and they pass that savings onto their customer.

Is Zenni Optical trustworthy?

Zenni has an excellent customer review score on Trustpilot. The rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars means that most customers reviewing Zenni were pleased with the ordering process and the results. And it&#;s not just feedback from a few people &#; that rating is from over 134,000 reviews.

However, the average review rating on the Better Business Bureau was only 2.78 out of 5. Many reviewers were displeased with the overall quality, which did not meet their expectations for the brand.

Where is Zenni Optical located?

Zenni has no brick-and-mortar locations and only sells glasses online at Zennioptical.com.

Is Zenni Optical worth it?

An online service such as Zenni Optical can be a good choice, especially for more straightforward eyeglass prescriptions. It also can potentially save you hundreds of dollars. 

If you have a stronger or more complex prescription, getting your glasses through an optician or a company with in-person stores and services may be a better bet.

When I was in college, my glasses vanished a week before finals began and I started panicking about the headaches I would inevitably acquire while attempting to write all my papers. But then a good friend reminded me about Zenni&#;an online glasses retailer that promises affordable and stylish frames&#;and how my problems could be solved fairly quickly. All I had to do was pick out the pair I wanted, input my prescription info, and voilà: glasses, delivered straight to my doorstep. My glasses arrived before finals and I was all set. However, the glasses I got then swiftly moved out of my daily rotation, so I was a little nervous to try Zenni again, knowing that my first pair from them hadn&#;t been my favorite.

A few years later, I was pleasantly surprised by the overall quality of Zenni's glasses and how easy the ordering process was. The company has expanded its styles and collections and embraced new trends. It also does a wonderful job of offering styles for kids, teens, and toddlers, so if you're in the market for some fancy new glasses for your little ones, Zenni is a great place to check out.

Here's how Zenni stacked up against other glasses retailers we've tried, including Warby Parker, GlassesUSA, and Yesglasses.

What does Zenni Optical sell?

Credit: Zenni

For Wednesdays.

Zenni&#;s selection of glasses is top-notch. It offers prescription glasses and sunglasses in both trendy and classic styles for men, women, and children. It also offers blue light lenses (known as Blockz lenses). There's a line of glasses specifically built with blue-light blocking treatment for gamers, a collection specially curated by Rashida Jones, and even prescription protective goggles for those in scientific fields and beyond. Zenni's sunglasses selection surprised me&#;it has a bunch of different styles on offer, as well as polarized sunglasses and novelty sunglasses at great prices.

In order to help you pick out your best pair of glasses, Zenni offers a Frame Finder, which can help you whittle down the massive selection by categories, including frame style, frame material, and more. Zenni also offers a Virtual Try-On program that works, but ultimately wasn&#;t as comprehensive or workable as others we've tried.

One of my favorite aspects of Zenni&#;s website was its blog, where you can find articles and listicles that group products by theme or by pop culture phenomenon. Frame styles are grouped by zodiac, fashion trends, Harry Potter houses, and more.

Zenni usually has some form of promotion going on, so be sure to hop onto the home page if you're looking for a promo code.

What is the ordering process like?

Credit: Zenni

I love the pair I chose.

Ordering from Zenni is extremely easy. Similar to the process with other glasses retailers, you choose a set of frames, then you have the option to choose which lenses you prefer and the types of add-ons (such as blue-light blocking and UV coating) you want. If your prescription is a little more heavy-duty, you'll likely pay more for the listed price for your glasses. Overall, prices were fairly low on the site and comparable to other online retailers.

These glasses came fast. As in, so fast I momentarily thought the pair that arrived was meant for one of my roommates who&#;d coincidentally ordered before me. Each pair of glasses comes with a case and a cleaning cloth. Overall the packaging was fairly bare-bones, but the case is made of plastic so it's unlikely your glasses will arrive damaged.

I wanted clear glasses with a little bit of flair, and the end result was amazing. I&#;m pretty obsessed with these glasses&#;they immediately entered my daily rotation. The blue light coating isn't discolored, which is great since the frames are clear and discoloration would have been really noticeable. I will say I noticed a slight difference between the prescription quality of my Zenni glasses compared to others I've tested, in that other glasses with the same prescription worked a bit better for me.

What we liked about Zenni

Credit: Zenni

Kids in glasses > kids without glasses.

Zenni offers great avenues for those that struggle to whittle down their choices when it comes to eyewear. The Zenni Frame Finder allows you to be extremely specific in your search and curates based on your choices. What I liked about the Frame Finder, in particular, was that it aggregated trendy styles as well as classic styles, so there was something for everyone no matter how specific the search terms were.

Additionally, Zenni has awesome product lines available for kids and teens. The website places an emphasis on teen eyewear, specifically, which I haven't seen many other online retailers doing. The styles available in the Teen section managed to be trendy without trying too hard. Zenni also has highly durable eyewear for kids and toddlers that's designed to move as they move and stand up to play, which is great.

What we didn&#;t like about Zenni

Credit: Zenni

Zenni will match your horoscope to a set of frames&#;but you'll have to dig deep in the blog to find this functionality.

Compared to other online glasses retailers and services we&#;ve tested, Zenni is a bit low on amenities. While I enjoyed browsing through its curated search avenues, I'm not certain that everyone would take the time to look through the blog posts or roundups in order to find glasses when other search functions like the Frame Finder exist.

We talked a bit about this before, but the Virtual Try-On program with Zenni really didn&#;t measure up. This might be an individual issue, but twice when I tried to use the program it shut down my Chrome browser. It also requires you to allow Zenni&#;s website access to your camera, so if you get antsy about security issues it might not be for you. When I finally got it to work, I was satisfied with the results, so feel free to give it a whirl if you&#;re a fan of Virtual Try-On software. If you&#;re on the fence about using it, we&#;d recommend taking a pass. They also have the less-involved option of uploading a photo to fit the frames over.

Should you buy glasses from Zenni?

Credit: Zenni

Should you purchase frames from Zenni Optical?

Ultimately, it depends on what you're looking for. Zenni really does have a great selection, and the glasses come fast. They're great if you find yourself in a bind and in need of eyewear within a specific window of time. As we mentioned, if you have kids that love to stay on-trend, Zenni is a great place to shop for their prescription glasses. But if you need a high-quality pair of frames that's catered exactly toward your prescription, you may have better luck paying a little more at another retailer, like GlassesUSA.

Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.

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