An important note
In January 2022, the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that the government will require Hubble Contacts to pay civil penalties and consumer redress “as part of a settlement to resolve allegations that Hubble violated the Fairness to Contact Lens Consumers Act and the FTC’s Contact Lens Rule.” Readers should take this into consideration before deciding to purchase from the company.
Contact lenses provide a method of vision correction that’s preferred by many for their comfort and convenience. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that about
There are many types of lenses and brands available, with advantages and disadvantages to each type. Read on to learn about the contacts offered by Hubble.
Hubble sells their own brand of daily contact lenses online, directly to consumers. Their business is based on a subscription service, which costs $39 per month plus $3 shipping.
According to the American Optometric Association (AOA), the company has been criticized over the last few years for their product quality, prescription verification process, and customer service.
Hubble sells their own brand of contact lenses, eyeglasses, and sunglasses.
Hubble contact lenses are made by St. Shine Optical, a manufacturer of contact lenses approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Their daily disposable contact lenses are made with a high grade hydrogel material called methafilcon A, offering 55 percent water content, ultraviolet (UV) protection, and a thin edge.
Hubble offers contacts ranging from +6.00 to -12.00, with a base curve of 8.6 millimeters (mm) and a diameter of 14.2 mm, which is only suitable for some contact lens wearers.
Q. What is methafilcon A and why does it matter for contact lenses?
Methafilcon A is an older contact lens material that was first approved for use in contact lenses by the FDA in 1986. Technology has changed a lot since that time and one big change is lens breathability. This is how much oxygen the lens allows to pass through to the eye and is measured in a value called DK. The higher the DK, the more oxygen that gets to the eye. Methafilcon A has a DK of 18 while most newer lenses on the market have a DK over 100. More oxygen is healthier for the eye and causes fewer complications over time.
— Ann Marie Griff, OD
Hubble contacts are purchased as a monthly subscription. For $39 per month, you’ll get 60 contact lenses. Shipping and handling costs $3 extra.
Hubble reels you in with a pretty sweet deal: With your first shipment, you’ll get 30 contacts (15 pairs) for $1.
They’ll charge your card each time your lenses are shipped, but it’s possible to cancel your subscription via phone or email. Hubble doesn’t take insurance, but you can use the receipt to apply for reimbursement through your insurance provider.
If you’re interested in purchasing Hubble contact lenses, you’ll sign up for your first shipment of 30 lenses for $1. After that, you’ll receive deliveries of 60 lenses every 28 days for $36, plus shipping costs. Hubble lenses have a base curve of 8.6 mm and a diameter of 14.2 mm.
Before you buy, check your existing prescription to make sure it matches this information. Your prescription and doctor’s name are added at checkout.
If you don’t have a current prescription, Hubble will recommend an optometrist for you based on your zip code.
If you don’t have your physical prescription handy, you can indicate your power for each eye and select your doctor from a database, so that Hubble can reach out to them on your behalf.
After you set up your subscription, you can change the frequency of your shipments.
About your prescription
Keep in mind that your prescription includes the brand of contact lenses and indicates the material recommended for you.
The power, base curve, and diameter for your contacts should also be part of your prescription.
Does Hubble sell contacts by other brands?
Hubble references a limited number of other contact brands, including Acuvue and Dailies, on their site. To purchase these brands and others, you’ll click through to their sister site, ContactsCart.
ContactsCart carries multifocal, color, daily, and biweekly contact lenses by many manufacturers. They also carry contacts that correct for astigmatism.
Getting your order
Hubble uses economy shipping through the U.S. Postal Service, which takes an estimated 5 to 10 business days, according to their website.
What’s Hubble’s return policy?
Hubble doesn’t offer returns on their contact lenses, but they encourage customers to get in touch with them if anything is wrong with their order.
Keep in mind that for regulatory and safety reasons, businesses can’t take back opened packages of contacts from customers. Some businesses will offer refunds, credits, or exchanges for unopened and undamaged boxes.
Hubble Contacts has an F rating and 3.3 out of 5 stars from the Better Business Bureau. They get 1.7 out of 5 stars at TrustPilot, where 88 percent of their reviews are listed as bad.
Critics of Hubble call into question the quality of their contact lenses, noting that methafilcon A is not the most up-to-date material.
Their prescription verification process has also been called into question by professional organizations, including the AOA.
Customers say
Some users report a burning, dry sensation when wearing the contacts. Others say that canceling their subscription is practically impossible.
Other reviewers complain that the Hubble offerings are too limited, and that a base curve of 8.6 mm and a diameter of 14.2 mm isn’t a proper fit for contact lenses.
This is tied into another complaint, which is that Hubble isn’t calling to properly verify prescriptions with doctors.
Experts say
In a 2019 letter to the FTC, the AOA cited several direct quotes from doctors. They detailed the consequences of patients wearing Hubble contacts that weren’t in keeping with the prescription requirements, including keratitis, or inflammation of the cornea.
In 2017, the AOA even sent letters to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, asking them to investigate Hubble contacts for possible irregularities related to prescription verifications.
This allegation is significant since it’s illegal to provide contact lenses to customers without verified prescriptions. That’s because the needs of each patient vary, not only in terms of the amount of vision correction needed, but also in the type and size of contact recommended to fit each eye.
For example, if you have dry eye, your doctor may require contacts with a lower water content percentage to prevent your eyes from drying out.
Hard to cancel subscription?
Their customer ratings on sites such as Trustpilot speak to many of the issues above, with a pattern of customers reporting it was difficult to cancel their subscription. Hubble doesn’t offer a way to cancel online. It’s only possible to cancel via telephone or by email.
The Hubble subscription service offers a much cheaper alternative for contact lens wearers, and the positive reviews reflect it. That said, their reputation is far from crystal clear.
There are other well known players in the online contact lens retail space. Some alternatives to Hubble include:
- Contact Lens King. Contact Lens King is an online retailer that sells a wide variety of contact lenses. They have an A+ Better Business Bureau rating. They carry specialized lenses, and accept most major vision insurance plans.
- GlassesUSA. GlassesUSA carries a large selection of eyewear, including contact lenses. If you find your lenses at a better price elsewhere, GlassesUSA offers a price match guarantee and 100 percent money-back guarantee.
- LensCrafters. LensCrafters has many options for glasses and contacts, and accepts many types of insurance and HSA/FSA plans.
- Coastal: Coastal is an online-only eyewear store that offers a price match guarantee. They sell both contacts and glasses. And as part of their mission, with every purchase, they donate a pair to someone in need.
You can always work directly with an eye doctor for your contacts. Many offices can set up contact refills by mail. Need an eye doctor? Search for eye doctors near you.
If you want to try contacts from Hubble, ask your eye doctor if they feel this is a good brand for you. Make sure that you have an up-to-date prescription handy when you sign up for the subscription. The office where you got your prescription is required to give you a copy if you ask for one.
Started in 2016, Hubble is a relatively new business in the contact lens space. They offer subscription service for their brand of contacts at an extremely competitive starting price.
But eye doctors point out that there are other contacts made with better and newer lens materials that are safer and healthier for people’s eyes than the methafilcon A found in Hubble contacts.
While the business is relatively new, eye health professionals say the lens material it’s built off of is outdated.