Pair Eyewear Logo
star star star_half star_border star_border

3.2

Overall Score

Author: Kaitlyn Short

LAST UPDATED: May 28th, 2024

Founded in 2017 by two Stanford University students, Pair redefined glasses for kids. Founders Nathan and Sophia spoke with over 500 families to see what they were looking for in glasses for kids, and they found that the biggest problems were price and variety. Working to solve these problems, they formed Pair and became the first online prescription eyewear provider that makes low-priced customizable eyeglasses for kids.

Top Ranked Companies

thumb_up

The Good

  • Prescription Eyewear and Base Frames
  • Interchangeable Frames
  • Exclusive Frames
  • Kid-Friendly Frames
  • PAIRCare
  • Polycarbonate Lenses
  • Pricing
  • Free Shipping and Returns

Prescription Eyewear and Base Frames

The first and most important part of your experience with Pair is finding the right pair of frames for your child. Pair Eyewear offers five different basic styles with both rectangular and round frame shapes. Each style is sized slightly differently according to face shape and size.

Important note: The reported measurements are representations of facial measurements in millimeters.

  • The first number = Lens width
  • The second number = Bridge width
  • The third number = Temple arm width

The following frames styles are currently available online:

  • The Cedro — This frame is a fairly basic rectangular frame that is sized for kids on average between the ages of 5 and 9 years old. Its measurements are 46-17-135.
  • The Serra — The Serra is also made for kids between the ages of 5 and 9 years old, but instead of being rectangular, it has more of a rounded shape. Its measurements are 45-18-135.
  • The Otero — For kids between the ages of 9 and 12 years old looking for a rectangular frame, The Otero is a great option. Its measurements are 49-17-140.
  • The Twain — The Twain is one of the biggest frames available online and the frames are rounded similar to the Serra frames mentioned above. It is recommended for individuals from 9 year old to adults (with small heads). Its measurements are 47-18-135.
  • The Larkin — For kids with bigger heads that are just too small for adult-size glasses, The Larkin is the way to go. This frame is rectangular in shape and fits kids ages 10 and up. Some adults with small heads have purchased them as well. Its measurements are 51-17-140.

Interchangeable Frames

One of the most popular reasons that kids like Pair Eyewear is because of the interchangeable frames that allow kids to change the color or design of their glasses instantly. Though many other well-known glasses brands offer kids prescription eyewear, this feature is unique to Pair.

Exclusive Frames

Soon after Pair launched its interchangeable frames, customers started to request that other colors and designs be made in addition to those available online. To keep up with these requests, the Pair team decided to create limited edition frames during certain months providing customers a chance to expand their collection of frames.

Kid-Friendly Frames

Purchasing glasses for your children from an optical or eyewear stores can be frustrating for a number of reasons, but one challenge that continues to cause angst between parents and kids is when kids break their glasses. Kids’ glasses are often made of cheap materials since it is expected that they will be broken.

To combat this issue, Pair has created "adventure-proof" glasses. These frames are made from durable hand-polished acetate and the lenses are scratch-resistant and kid-proof. To further ensure that glasses are not easily broken, Pair glasses are equipped with flexible spring hinges making them much less likely to break.

PAIRCare

Pair wants to make sure that customers are satisfied in the long run. To do this, PAIRCar, which can be purchased for an additional $40.00, will replace your kid’s glasses if they end up breaking or getting scratched. PAIRCare is good for up to one year after original purchase. With this guarantee, you don't need to worry about constantly having to buy new pairs of glasses.

Polycarbonate Lenses

Once your child has selected the frames that they want, you are able to select what type of lenses that you would like. Options for lenses are detailed below:

  • Classic Single Vision — These clear lenses are scratch resistant, anti-reflective, and accommodate basic vision correction.
  • Blue Light Filtering — For kids who spend a lot of time with screens, these clear lenses help protect the eye and reduce digital eye strain from blue light.
  • Premium Ultra Thin — For kids with strong prescriptions, the ultra thin lens will help keep the overall thickness of the lens thinner than other basic lenses.
  • Sunglass Lenses — These polarized lenses are scratch resistant and they block 100% of the UV rays that your child may be exposed to.
  • Light Responsive — These lenses help your eyewear act as glasses and sunglasses as they transition from clear to tinted when under direct sunlight.

Pricing

A major advantage of purchasing prescription eyewear from Pair is the pricing. Pricing information is listed below:

  • Frames — The basic frames with prescription lenses are sold for $60.00.
  • Top Frames — Each additional top frame costs $25.00.
  • Blue Light Filtering Lenses — An additional $49.00
  • Premium Ultra Thin Lenses — An additional $49.00
  • Sunglass Lenses — An additional $49.00
  • Light Responsive Lenses — An additional $100.00
  • PAIRCare — An additional $40.00

The overall pricing for these kids glasses is competitive with a number of other online prescription eyewear providers.

Free Shipping and Returns

To add to the list of good things about Pair, the free shipping and returns policy sweetens your deal. This only applies to standard shipping which should take between four and seven days. If you are not satisfied with Pair's glasses, or if they are broken or don't fit, you can return them for free during a 30-day trial period according to the current return policy.

thumb_down

The Bad

  • Don’t Come in Adult Sizes
  • Online Prescription Entry

Don’t Come in Adult Sizes

One of the only apparent downsides of this company is that it is not currently selling glasses for adults. After its quick success, some adults thought it would be fun to have customizable glasses too. Though Pair does not currently sell prescription eyewear for adults, the largest size of kids glasses fits adults with small heads. If you consider your head to be on the small end, you may be able to try either the Larkin or the Twain frames, as they are the largest frames available.

The fames are sized as follows:

  • Twain — 47-18-135
  • Larkin — 51-17-140

Online Prescription Entry

If you are planning to purchase a pair of glasses from Pair, you will need to either provide a picture of your current prescription, or your eye doctor's information. The Pair website does not allow you to enter in the details of your prescription yourself. Though this feature does help ensure that errors are not made in the ordering process, it also can be a hassle if you do not have a physical copy on-hand or if you don't feel comfortable providing your eye doctor's information.

gavel

The Bottom Line

If you are looking for children's eyewear, we recommend that you look into Pair Eyewear. Not only are these glasses made for kids, but they are built to last. Pair glasses will let your kids have the option to wear different color glasses throughout the week instead of the same generic pair every day.

Even though these glasses are not sold in adult sizes, and therefore cannot provide eyeglasses for the whole family, we think that it will be worth getting them for your kids. With free standard shipping and free returns (during the 30-day risk-free trial), these glasses are a great option for those seeking quality glasses and a hassle-free purchasing process.

Was this content helpful?
thumb_up Yes thumb_down No

Star Rating

info

2.4

star star star_half star_border star_border

45 Reviews

Review Breakdown

5 grade

27%

4 grade

2%

3 grade

4%

2 grade

16%

1 grade

51%

Sentiment Criteria

Value

star star star_half star_border star_border

Quality

star star star_half star_border star_border

Service

star star star star_border star_border

Trustworthiness

star star star star_border star_border
cancel

Filter by:

arrow_drop_down

Sort by:

arrow_drop_down
info
star star star_border star_border star_border

Chloe Lovecat Vancouver, BC

The pros- HUGE SELECTION of frame tops. I have one for every outfit. Ongoing compliments, especially with the sparkly frames. Cons: I have LOST several of the tops because with one small nudge they go flying! This IS NOT user friendly. The magnets are too weak and the frame tops are not being held on very well. I Iost a set in the deep snow, another at a dance, (impossible to find in a sea of people) and another time as I was carrying a box to my car. They are not easy to locate when they fall off in an inconvenient location. At $25 to $30 per Top Frame, this becomes expensive and wasteful. Furthermore, my sunglass tops have fallen off several times and gotten scratched. The smallest nudge will cause them to drop to the ground. Also the sunglass tops are made from a cheaper material- definitely not polycarbonate. This causes some distortion when you look through them as it’s like looking through a tinted film. For these reasons, the glasses, although stylish and fun, can be a pain in the arse, so I would not recommend them to others, unless and until they improve the magnets and make them stronger.

1 year ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

Nic Mac

It’s a wonderful concept but horrible execution. First, they’re big (wide) and it took months to find a place that would help form them to my face. Second and most importantly, I specifically bought them so I could finally wear sunglasses after 39 years without! The magnetic piece is literally garbage. I have lost 2 sunglasses frames due to normal wind while walking outside. I lost another while driving with the windows down. Also, dumb but super annoying! Dare you be in the passenger seat and push your glasses up with the sunglass frames on because slightest touch/movement they fall off. Sometimes I’ll scratch/touch my face near my glasses and whatever frames I have on will fall off. Speaking of frames. I don’t like how you can see the actual frame when they’re on the glasses. The black frames are the worst. I can’t read with them on because not only can I see the frame, I can see a line of light between the frame and the glasses. Do not recommend. I did have to work with CS when I got my order because they forgot to send frames I paid for and they were great!

1 year ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

Kimberly Ellis-Brown Houston, TX

I was so excited to receive my first order from Pair Eyewear. I ordered the crystal clear Casper frames with blue light filtering lenses, 3 pairs of colorful toppers, and one sunglasses topper. Shipping took a few weeks. When I received them and first put them on, something seemed wrong with the prescription. It just didn’t look in focus enough and when I looked in certain directions such as down, the floor looked crooked however it was just with the glasses on. I started getting headaches daily and I never get headaches. I have it two and a half weeks before I decided that it wasn’t a good fit. Aside from the issue with the lenses I also had an issue with the toppers, they didn’t lay flat on the frames so they would constantly fall off. The frames were also very cheaply made and were always so hard for me to get on because the ear pieces were so stiff that it was nearly impossible to get them behind my ears correctly. When I took them to my usual eye doctor to have the side adjusted they told me they didn’t feel comfortable resizing because after looking at them they could see they were made of plastic and not made very well and they didn’t want to risk breaking them. I do realize that any eye doctor would try to persuade you to buy their glasses so they can make a profit but I had already noticed the cheap quality before they had said anything anyway. Overall, yes Pair Eyewear is cheaper. But you’re going to get what you pay for. I had paid $208 and was not satisfied with them. For $100 more I got a new pair of glasses from my eye doctor that are excellent quality all around.

1 year ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

Susan Elizabeth Baldwin Monroe, NY

I found this idea to be very attractive, but the company has some tweaking to do moving forward, in my opinion. I've been wearing glasses a very long time, and these just fall short. The ordering process was a little worrisome, particularly when it came to the pupillary distance measurement. Using their online PD measurement process I came up with numerous different measurements which was problematic for me. I finally just chose one of the measurements that came up more than once and used that. Secondly, I find them heavier than other frames; i'm assuming because of the magnets. They are heavy even before you add on the additional frames. Thirdly, the sunglass add-on frame is horrible - don't even bother with it because the sun breaks through in between the frame and the sunglass add-on and creates a terrible glare. I couldn't use them at all, they were a total waste. Lastly, they slide off too easily, and there is no place for me to have them adjusted, unless i drive into NYC which is almost 2 hours from me. Overall, I wouldn't recommend them until they do some revamping of their design, making them more lightweight with better fitting measurement capabilities. I wouldn't purchase again for sure.

2 years ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

Auntie K Lincoln, NE

After a month of not receiving what I ordered I contacted them and they told me they would ship a new order right away. Ten days later I contacted them again as I had not received any tracking or shipping info on the new order. I had order holiday frames and the holiday is now gone, so I couldn't even wear what I ordered. Two months after my initial order I finally received what I had paid for. I asked for a refund and they told me they were not able to issue one since my order had already shipped, but did offer me a whopping 10% discount on my next order. Each time I emailed them I had to wait several days for a reply. Good product. Horrible management of that product.

3 years ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

Jennifer Marth Woodbridge, VA

Was excited to order from them. Nearly a month later no glasses. Upon contacting them was told waiting on backordered toppers. They really should send the actual glasses and the backordered items when available. Simple change in process could make customers much happier

3 years ago

star star star_border star_border star_border

JoDee Mahlberg CA

For the price, it’s a bit ridiculous . Toppers fall off constantly. Different story if they were cheap. Won’t buy again

2 years ago