Eye surgery · laser vision correction
What laser vision correction costs
LASIK and the procedures offered beside it are priced per eye, and centers publish that price three ways: one fixed figure, a range, or a “starting at” price that holds for some eyes only. This section gives each published price in the unit it is quoted in, with its source and its conditions beside it.
LASIK, typical price
Estimate$2,000 – $2,700per eye, from fixed published prices
Estimate from 46 centers’ fixed published prices in 26 states. Newest price seen October 11, 2026.
Procedure by procedure
The price per eye
A typical price is given once four local centers have a standing fixed price; before that, the span of the fixed prices published. Different procedures: a price for one is not a price for another.
- LASIK$2,000 – $2,700typical per eye · estimate from 46 centersLASIK cost
- PRK$2,000 – $2,600typical per eye · estimate from 15 centersPRK cost
- SMILE$2,400 – $3,000typical per eye · estimate from 6 centersSMILE cost
- ICL (implantable lens)$3,900 – $4,900typical per eye · estimate from 9 centersICL cost
- Refractive lens exchange$6,000 – $8,270per eye · the span of 6 standing fixed prices, not a typical costRefractive lens exchange cost
Reading a price
Three kinds of published price
Counted across the 162 prices from 82 centers in this section. Only the first kind enters a typical price.
118
A fixed price
One figure the center charges, per eye or for both eyes. Where its page names a technology level, the level is shown beside the figure.
29
A range
A span the center says its price falls within. What its page says moves the price is shown beside it.
15
A “starting at” figure
A floor: the lowest figure the page prints. What its page says about who gets it is shown beside it, and so is a page that does not say.
10 of them are quoted for both eyes together rather than per eye. Those are shown as printed, with half beside them as arithmetic, and are never counted as per-eye prices.
Paying for it
Insurance, FSAs and HSAs
What the pages say, each linked and dated. Each procedure’s page has more.
- The Refractive Surgery Council, an industry group, says health plans often treat laser vision correction as elective and can limit or deny coverage, and that some vision plans offer discounts, which it puts at typically 15 to 20 percent and up to 50 percent in network.Source: Refractive Surgery Council (an industry group): does insurance cover LASIK? (opens in a new tab), published February 11, 2026. Checked October 11, 2026.
- IRS Publication 502 lists eye surgery to treat defective vision, naming laser eye surgery, among the medical expenses that can be included.Source: IRS Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses (opens in a new tab), Publication 502 (2025), for 2025 returns. Checked October 11, 2026.
- IRS Publication 969 says distributions from a health savings account and reimbursements from a health flexible spending arrangement are tax-free when used for qualified medical expenses.Source: IRS Publication 969, Health Savings Accounts and Other Tax-Favored Health Plans (opens in a new tab), Publication 969 (2025), for 2025 returns. Checked October 11, 2026.
Procedures
Guides and calculators
Not medical advice. This page is about what things cost. Prices change: the newest here was seen on its source page on October 11, 2026.
What that means, and how we check prices
Not medical advice
This page is about what things cost. It does not say what anyone should take or have done; that is a decision for you and a licensed clinician. Statements from labels and agencies are quoted from the sources linked beside them and have not been clinically reviewed.
Prices change
Every price here is a published price as it was seen on its source page — the newest on October 11, 2026. Sellers change prices and end offers; the seller’s page is the authority.
How we check prices
Each price is read from the seller’s own page and checked against its source before it appears, with the unit it is quoted in and the conditions printed beside it. Published prices are re-checked monthly. How we estimate · How this site works