Reading Glasses Strength Chart: What Strength Do I Need?

The short answer

Most people start to need reading glasses in their 40s, and the strength they need tends to go up slowly from there. Use the chart below to find a starting point for your age. Then check it the simple way: the right strength makes small print sharp at the distance you normally hold a book or phone. An optometrist can confirm it.

Reading glasses strength chart by age

This is a rough starting point, not a prescription. Eyes change at different rates and plenty of people fall outside these ranges.

Our lightest strength is +1.00.

How to check your strength at home

Hold a book, a menu or your phone where you normally read it. For most people that is about 35 to 40 cm (14 to 16 inches) from the eyes. Try a pair and look at the smallest print.

• Just right: the print is sharp right where you normally hold it.
• Too strong: you have to bring the page closer to get it sharp.
• Too weak: you have to push the page further away, or it never gets quite sharp.

If you are between two strengths, most people are happier with the lower one. Every product page lists the strengths that style comes in.

Why on-screen test charts don't work well

Online charts ask you to read lines of text on your screen. But the same chart shows up at a different size on a phone, a laptop and a big monitor, so the result depends on your screen as much as your eyes. Trying a real pair at your own reading distance is more reliable.

Books and phones vs the computer

A book or phone is usually held about 35 to 40 cm away. A computer screen usually sits further, often 50 to 70 cm. Because the screen is further away, your book strength can feel too strong at the computer. Many people choose a strength about +0.50 to +1.00 lower for screen work.

Reading glasses vs sun readers

Sun readers use the same scale as reading glasses, so your strength carries over. The difference is the lens: reading glasses are clear for indoors, and sun readers are tinted with 100% UV protection for reading outside. Most of our sun reader styles come in +1.50, +2.00 and +2.50, and a few go lower or higher. If your exact strength isn't there, the next lower one is usually the more comfortable pick.

Some of our sun readers, like Vivara and Calder, are bifocal: no magnification in the top of the lens and a small reading area at the bottom, so you can look up without taking them off. Take care on stairs and curbs, where you look down through the reading area.

When to see an optometrist

Ready-made reading glasses have the same strength in both lenses and only help with seeing up close. See an optometrist if:

• one eye seems to need more help than the other
• you have astigmatism
• your distance vision is blurry too
• your near vision changed suddenly rather than slowly
• you need help up close before 40
• you have eye pain, flashes of light, new floaters, double vision or wavy lines (go soon, don't wait)

Reading glasses don't replace a regular eye exam.

Shop by strength

• +1.00 reading glasses
• +1.25 reading glasses
• +1.50 reading glasses
• +1.75 reading glasses
• +2.00 reading glasses
• +2.25 reading glasses
• +2.50 reading glasses
• +2.75 reading glasses
• +3.00 reading glasses
• +3.25 reading glasses
• +3.50 reading glasses
• +4.00 reading glasses

Or browse all reading glasses, men's reading glasses, women's reading glasses and sun readers.

Questions people ask

What strengths do you carry?

Our reading glasses come in quarter steps from +1.00 to +3.50, plus +4.00. Most sun reader styles come in +1.50, +2.00 and +2.50. Each style's page shows its own strengths.

Is +1.25 very different from +1.50?

Each quarter step is a small change. Some people notice it right away and some barely do, so try both if you can.

Can two people share reading glasses?

Only if they need the same strength. Both lenses are the same, so a pair that suits one person can be wrong for the other.

Can I wear reading glasses over contact lenses?

Many people do, if their contacts are for distance and they need help up close. Ask whoever prescribes your contacts if you are not sure.