Some things in life don’t come cheap, and that’s painfully obvious when looking at gamer gear. Whether you are looking to buy a headset, mouse, or keyboard, you may have to shell out some money to get a quality product. You don’t want a controller or keyboard breaking down on you right as you are about to get that sweet headshot. 

But is it true for gaming glasses? You can nail that Travis Touchdown or Adam Jensen look, without breaking your bank.To make sure you are buying a product that will fit your needs, we will help you understand what goes into their price. 

How much do gaming glasses cost? Here is a complete guide. 

In this guide:

• What’s the Point of Gaming Glasses
• How Exactly Do Gaming Glasses Work?
• How Is the Price of Gaming Glasses Determined?
• How Much Do Gaming Glasses Cost?

What’s the Point of Gaming Glasses?

Looking at the space of gaming accessories and products it’s hard not to be a little cynical. Gamer drinks, gaming socks, and just putting RGB lights into anything to shoot up its price. I love RGB lights as much as the next guy, but they won't make me a better gamer.

On the other hand if you are looking for something useful, gaming glasses will help you by protecting your eyes so you can keep on gaming all day and night. You should not get fragged because you didn’t notice that guy creeping on you.

Let’s be real. The average gamer spends hours (or even days) looking at a digital screen. And all that aggressive artificial light, especially that harsh blue light isn’t good for you.

At best, you’ll only suffer mild irritation after a long gaming session. At worst, you are looking at some seriously bad long-term issues(macular degeneration is starting to appear in a few studies).

Ever wondered why your eyes burn and it’s hard to sleep after a long gaming session? Glare, bad contrasts, reflections, blue light... Lots of bad stuff is attacking your eyes while playing. 

And you might just brush it off as “the price of gaming”, but once it starts affecting your gameplay, you’ll come around.

Looking at a computer screen in the dark for long hours will take its toll on you.

 If you care about your eyes, you’ll want something to protect them during your gaming marathons. That’s the point of gaming glasses. And even if you don’t, and you should care, they can actually improve your game.

How Exactly Do Gaming Glasses Work?

Gamer glasses are designed specifically for viewing computer monitors, tablets, portable gaming console screens, cellphones, and other screens that give out bright harsh light and particularly blue light.

You think ESports players wear them just to look cool? Think again. They normally have an amber, yellow or clear tint (and anything in between) that allows them to absorb most of the blue light emitted by your screen (as a rule of thumb, the darker, the better protected).

Some also have a special coating called anti-glare or anti-reflective that reduces the reflection of light on the surface of your lenses. This helps control the amount of light they let through and actually gives you a clearer vision. No more getting killed because of irritated eyes or screen glare. 

Unless you are playing Dark Souls, no amount of eye protection can save you there.

There are usually 3 types of tinted lenses for gamer glasses: 

• Clear / Crystalline
• Yellow
• Amber

Yellow and Amber Lenses

This is the traditional option for gaming glasses, and overall the best one if you are looking for higher protection. You might see a pair of these on a Counter Strike tournament. Amber lenses provide you with the best protection against harmful blue light, absorbing up to 90% in some cases. They also enhance your perception of contrast. However, the tint does affect your perception of color ever so slightly so it does take a little time to get used to.

Crystalline / clear

If you don't like tinted glasses, there are clear options. They offer much less protection.

Crystalline lenses can filter out about 10% of high-intensity blue light, but if you absolutely need to perceive a balanced color spectrum, they are a great choice to cover your basis. So if you do color grading or play a lot of games where being able to notice small differences in the environment is critical, like Metroidvanias, then you might be better off with these lenses.

On top of helping protect your eyes, gaming glasses can actually improve your sleep if you tend to game a lot at night. They protect the natural cycle of melatonin, one of the most important hormones responsible for your sleep. 

That’s not necessarily an invitation to game all night, you still want to take care of yourself and get some rest but they do provide a significant protection if you need to game late. Just don’t fall for that “one more match” mentality or you’ll be seeing the sun rise from your chair.

Now that we’ve covered the way they work, let’s discuss what makes each pair different.  

How Is the Price of Gaming Glasses Determined?

There are a lot of factors that go into calculating how much gamer glasses cost. In fact, they are not all that different from your standard glasses, as far as price goes. 

When thinking about the price of a pair, you need to think about the following:

• Lens technology : Tint, magnification, anti reflective / anti glare, prescription
• Material: What is their frame made of? Aluminum? Plastic? Nylon? TR90? Stainless Steel?
• Brand: Are you paying just for a name?

Lens technology

What you want to look for here is a technology that filtrates 100% UV light and as much of the blue light contained in the following spectrum: 380 to 450 nanometers. That is the most dangerous blue light.

Not that many brands communicate on it but it is what makes your glasses perform. Be wary of brands that don’t tell you their protection range.

A note on prescription glasses: Some blue light blocking gaming glasses can be adjusted to your vision by equipping them with prescription lens. In that case the price will me significantly higher (probably at least double the amount of a regular pair).

Frame material

Plastic tends to be the most common material for glasses frames, and also the cheapest. A frame made of Nylon will be pretty affordable and not too fragile. We personally really like polycarbonate, an excellent mix of affordability, lightness and durability.  

One exception in terms of price for plastic frames are those made out of TR90. 

TR90 is a thermoplastic polymer material that is really durable, flexible, and lightweight. This makes the frame very resistant to bending or impact, but the process of making TR90 frames is more complicated so they also tend to be pricier. 

As for metal frames, these are really durable and reasonably flexible. The price range can vary a lot though. Stainless steel frames in particular are really good for their price point but some alloy will seriously shoot the price up.

You also need to consider cosmetic factors such as the style of the frame, and its color. These last two have no practical purpose, but you want glasses that look cool and fit you well. If you feel good, you will have that tiny boost of self confidence that can sometimes make the difference. 

Brand names

Lastly, there’s the brand of your glasses. We all know that brand name carries a lot of weight, regardless of the product itself.

But be wary of overpaying for a product because of its brand. Make sure you are getting your money’s worth by checking what matters mos (see above). And check out reviews from other players to help you out.

Any gaming setup will have a lot of accessories from different brands

Ok, enough chit-chat. You came here to know what they’ll cost you. So let’s dive headfirst into the price of gaming glasses. 

How Much Do Gaming Glasses Cost?

There are a couple of price tiers you’ll find online when shopping for gaming glasses. It’s kind of like gear-quality levels in an mmorpg. There are cheap gaming glasses that (if you are lucky) offer you decent protection at an affordable price, but they might not be the most durable.

Then you’ll find your mid-tier glasses, these tend to have an excellent balance of price and durability. Finally, you have the high-end stuff. We are talking glasses used by gaming professionals and pro streamers. These will cost you more, but will also probably protect you better 

Let’s look at some numbers for each price range:

The Common Stuff

Your gray and white items. You’ll actually find a lot of glasses that are not technically gaming glasses at this price range, such as computer glasses. They might lack some features, like anti-glare coating, or not offer the same level of protection. Not to mention, less durable frames.

Most of them do not mention what or how they filter dangerous light.  

Entry-level gaming glasses can cost around $9.99 at the cheapest, to $21.99. That's really the basics and we'd recommend to avoid most of those. Check the mid-tier instead. 

Mid-tier | Rares and Epics

Blues and purples, here’s where you really gear up. As we mentioned before, this tends to be the sweet spot between price, features, and durability.

The midrange glasses traditionally come with AR/AG coating, good protection, and a nice range of options when it comes to frame styles, colors, and materials. 

Midrange gaming glasses will cost between $30.00 to $50.00, though you can probably find a good discount if you shop around.

Check out the  Horux X Casual for clear lenses or Horus X One. Or check out our guide about the best budget friendly gaming glasses.

High end | Legendary?

Finally, the high end stuff. The higher price point of gaming glasses comes with all the features of the midrange stuff, and not always that much difference when it comes to the level of protection or coating so beware.

The price is sometimes more of a brand / style thing, but can come also come with great features if you know where to look. Extra features such as better filters or high end materials like TR90, stainless steel, or titanium. They might also come with additional accessories to help justify the price.

We'd like to recommend the Revolution glasses, once more this brand really know what they're doing ;)  Alternatively, Gunnar optiks has got some good glasses as well, these would be our second choice (they are a bit more expensive for similar technologies and the style is a bit old school to our taste). 

Buying glasses in this price point will set you back anywhere between $50 and $200.00.

Pro tip: We believe you should not spend more than 100 dollars when buying a non prescription pair of gaming glasses. Anywhere above is simply outrageous. 

You can get a reasonable price and all the protection features you are looking for in a 50 to 90 dollar range. But hey, who hasn’t splurged a little bit when buying something? Whatever you decide to buy, just make sure it fits your needs.

Wrapping Up

Let’s be honest, there are lots of nonsensical so-called “gaming” products out there, but gaming glasses are legit.

With them, hours spent in front of digital devices won't hurt you as much. They protect you from digital eye strain and potential long-term effects of harmful blue light. And now you know all that goes into answering the question of just how much do gaming glasses cost. As far as gaming gear goes, some gaming glasses are actually very fairly priced. They don’t suffer from the normal overpricing you see when the “gaming” label is attached to something. You can get real value and real purpose when you buy a pair. 

And if you are looking for an excellent pair of gaming glasses, at an affordable price point, then look no further than Horus X. Our gaming glasses will provide you with long-term protection, better sleep, and improve your gaming performance. Just check out our collection.