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Independent LASIK research. No sales pressure. Compare surgeons, costs, and risks in your city, then decide.
Free: LASIK Cost Cheat Sheet by State
2-page PDF with 2026 cost ranges for all 50 states, typical financing options, and the three questions we recommend asking a surgeon. Delivered instantly.
Am I a Good LASIK Candidate?
A first honest screen before you spend two hours in a surgical consultation. Not medical advice.
You May Qualify If
- You are 21 or older with a stable prescription for at least 12 months
- Your corneas are thick enough for the ablation your prescription requires
- You are in general good health with no active eye disease
- You have realistic expectations about outcome and possible enhancement
- You are not pregnant or breastfeeding
You May Not Be Ideal If
- Your prescription has changed in the past year
- You have severe dry eye that has not responded to treatment
- You have keratoconus or another progressive corneal condition
- You have an autoimmune condition affecting healing (lupus, RA, etc.)
- You have a very high prescription that exceeds the FDA range for LASIK
LASIK Cost by City
Published 2026 ranges for the metros we track most closely. Individual quotes vary by prescription strength, technology (bladeless vs. traditional), and surgeon experience; always get 3 quotes.
Los Angeles
Per eye · Bladeless custom LASIK · 5 vetted clinics reviewed
See LA surgeons →San Francisco
Per eye · Bladeless custom LASIK · 4 vetted clinics reviewed
See SF surgeons →Denver
Per eye · Bladeless custom LASIK · 4 vetted clinics reviewed
See Denver surgeons →Boston
Per eye · Bladeless custom LASIK · 4 vetted clinics reviewed
See Boston surgeons →Virginia / DC
Per eye · Bladeless custom LASIK · 5 vetted clinics reviewed
See VA/DC surgeons →Your city not listed?
Get every state’s typical range in one PDF, updated Aug 2026.
Send me the cheat sheet →Ranges compiled from published clinic websites, industry association reports (Refractive Surgery Council, American Academy of Ophthalmology), and secondary review of publicly-listed procedure pricing across the metros above. Individual quotes vary by prescription strength, technology tier (Contoura, iDesign, SMILE, PRK), astigmatism complexity, and surgeon experience. Always obtain a minimum of 3 written quotes before booking.
The Three Stages, In Plain English
Not marketing copy from a laser manufacturer. Three real stages: what happens, how long it takes, and what you actually feel.
Candidacy Consultation
90-minute exam. Corneal topography (pachymetry) measures thickness. Dry-eye screen. Manifest refraction confirms your prescription. Wavefront scan maps how light actually enters your eye. If any measurement disqualifies you, the surgeon says so before quoting.
The Procedure
Under 15 minutes for both eyes. Numbing drops. A femtosecond laser creates a thin corneal flap; an excimer laser reshapes the tissue below. You feel pressure, not pain. You’ll see a countdown from the surgeon and blurry shapes throughout.
Recovery
Most see clearly enough to drive the next morning. Wear protective shields at night for a week. Use lubricating drops for 3-6 months. Full stabilization takes 3 months. Your surgeon should schedule follow-ups at day 1, week 1, month 1, and month 3.
A corneal topography scan is one of the two measurements that most often disqualifies a candidate. Ask your surgeon to walk you through yours.
Real Outcomes, Real Trade-offs
Not marketing quotes. Representative patient stories showing the honest range, including the small trade-offs (temporary halos, dry eye) that resolve within months.
“I could read my alarm clock at 5 a.m. the morning after. First time in 22 years I didn’t reach for glasses on the nightstand.”
“Had halos around headlights for about 6 weeks. Gone by month 3. Would do it again; knowing the trade-off up front made the wait easier.”
“The consultation flagged mild dry eye first. I did drops for 2 months, then re-tested. Grateful my surgeon didn’t just book me the first visit.”
Disclosure: photos and quotes above are representative examples of common LASIK outcomes documented across published clinical follow-up studies. As real patient testimonials are gathered from network partners, they will replace representatives and drop this tag. See our Editorial Standards.
The two questions that screen out a bad LASIK fit: ask about corneal pachymetry measurements in microns, and ask about your surgeon’s enhancement rate. An enhancement rate above 5 percent is a signal to keep interviewing.Eye Laser Institute Research Desk
Answers Before You Book a Consultation
The questions we hear most often from readers who have finished researching and are deciding whether to schedule.
Does LASIK actually hurt?
No, not during the procedure. Numbing drops fully anesthetize the eye surface, and you feel pressure but not pain. Immediately after (2-6 hours) you’ll feel gritty, like sand in your eye, and light-sensitive; most people sleep through this stage. The next morning, discomfort is typically gone and vision has already improved substantially.
How long does LASIK actually last?
The surgical correction is permanent. However, your eyes continue to age normally, and roughly 40 percent of people over 40 develop presbyopia (age-related reading difficulty) which requires reading glasses regardless of LASIK. Enhancement procedures (a second, smaller LASIK) are available if prescription drift occurs, typically 8-15 percent of patients within 10 years.
What’s the difference between LASIK, PRK, and SMILE?
LASIK creates a corneal flap and reshapes underneath; fastest recovery, most common. PRK removes the corneal surface layer entirely and reshapes; recovery is slower (5-7 days) but better for very thin corneas or high-impact-activity patients. SMILE is a newer flapless procedure using only the femtosecond laser; approved for myopia and mild astigmatism, faster dry-eye recovery, currently more expensive.
Is there a chance LASIK will make my vision worse?
Serious vision-loss complications are rare (below 1 percent in FDA post-market data), but they do exist and any legitimate consultation covers them. Under-correction and over-correction are more common (up to 15 percent in some studies) and typically fixed with an enhancement procedure. Ask any surgeon to walk you through their own complication and enhancement rates; they should have exact numbers.
Will insurance cover LASIK?
Almost never; LASIK is classified as elective. However, HSA and FSA accounts nearly always cover it, a significant tax-advantaged discount for most families. Many practices also offer 0-percent financing through CareCredit or Alphaeon; the effective monthly cost typically lands between $80-$180 depending on term length and total price.
How do I choose the right surgeon?
Three signals matter most: (1) board certification with the American Board of Ophthalmology (verify at abop.org, not the practice’s website), (2) high individual procedure volume (5,000+ lifetime LASIK procedures is a reasonable floor), (3) transparent complication and enhancement statistics they’ll share without prompting. Price alone is not a signal; the cheapest surgeon in a market is a red flag, not a bargain.
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