How to Choose Between Daily vs. Monthly Contacts

Daily Contacts

Daily contact lenses are meant to be worn for just one day. They are disposable, so when you're ready to remove them, simply take them out and toss them. No  cleaning, disinfecting, or storage is necessary. If you have difficulty with the care and maintenance of your contact lenses, then daily contacts might be a good choice for you.

Pros of Daily Contacts

Because they're only worn for a day, daily contacts have a low risk of infection. This makes them less likely to incur a buildup of deposits, like proteins and allergens. Buildups like this can cause chronic inflammation and make the lens uncomfortable to wear. Since they don't require cleaning and storage, daily contacts are also more convenient than monthly contacts. They can save you time in your daily routine, as you don't need to clean your lenses before you put them in. When you're done wearing them, simply throw them away — or better yet, learn how to properly recycle them.

After purchasing your daily contacts, you won't need to buy other contact lens supplies, like contact lens solutions. Some people find the solutions or cleansers used with contacts to be irritating. Since there's no disinfecting involved, your eyes won't be exposed to lens care solutions, meaning you won’t experience irritation.

Cons of Daily Contacts

Daily contacts are made of thinner materials, which may increase the risk of the contact tearing during the day. As such, it's a good idea to carry a spare set of lenses and a backup pair of eyeglasses. The upfront cost of daily contacts is higher. That means you'll pay more initially for a supply of daily contacts. However, you may save money later, since you won't need to buy lens solutions to clean and disinfect your contacts.

Unfortunately, throwing away lenses each day produces more waste than monthly contacts. Though there are other kinds of waste associated with monthly contacts, the waste from daily contact lenses piles up quickly. You can learn how to recycle your contacts properly to reduce waste. When disposing of your lenses, we recommend that you never flush them down the toilet or wash them down the sink. This can contribute to waste issues in sewer systems.

Monthly Contacts

Monthly contact lenses are meant to be worn for an entire month, which is about 30 days. This type of contact must be removed, cleaned, disinfected, and stored each night. When the 30 days are up, you dispose of your lenses and start fresh with a new pair.

Pros of monthly contacts

An advantage monthly contact lenses have is that the cost of purchasing them is lower than the cost of purchasing daily lenses. Though you may have to buy saline solutions and disinfectants, it costs less than replacing daily contacts over the same period of time.  Additionally, the thicker material used to make the lens makes monthly lenses less prone to damage and tearing. This is beneficial because you are less likely to need backup pairs of lenses.

Cons of monthly contacts

Because monthly contacts are built to be handled more often and last longer than daily contacts, they're composed of stronger materials. Therefore, monthly contacts might feel thicker, and possibly less comfortable, in your eye than daily contacts.

Additionally, since they're worn for longer periods of time, debris can accumulate on the lenses, interfering with clear vision. If deposits like proteins and allergen particles are allowed to build up, they could cause eye irritation and even an eye infection. That's why cleaning and storing your monthly contacts properly is important. Since monthly contacts require maintenance,  this adds the cost of lens care solutions to your eye care budget. Additionally, the care involved can add time to your schedule.