Progressive Lens vs Bifocal - Which is Better for You?

📒 Show Notes 📒
If you are looking for new eyeglasses and require magnification to help you see up close, then oftentimes your eye doctor will prescribe a bifocal, a trifocal or a progressive eyeglasses lens. Bifocal glasses have two lens powers built into one lens, typically one for distance viewing and then a magnification lens at the bottom for near viewing tasks. A progressive lens is similar to a bifocal except it has the powers all blended together. When comparing a progressive lens vs bifocal you may notice a progressive lens has no line on the lens, this allows for a gradual change in lens power to view through giving you more options for intermediate distance visual tasks. However, progressive lenses do also have distortion zones that make your eyesight blurry if you are not looking through them correctly.

⏰ Timecodes ⏰
0:00 Progressive Lens Vs Bifocal
0:47 Bifocal Glasses
1:14 Who invented bifocal glasses?
1:44 Cons of bifocal lenses
2:43 Trifocal Glasses
3:00 What are progressive lenses
3:30 Progressive lens review
4:30 Progressive lens distortion
5:25 Progressive lens designs
6:26 Progressive lens price

Lens Coatings Guide: (COMING SOON)

✅ Recommended playlists:

Eyeglasses Tips and Tricks to help you!

💡 Videos for frequently asked questions:

Sunglasses Guide:

Let’s Connect! Dr. Allen on Social Media:

For more information about no line bifocals and progressive lens tips, check out our blog!

⚡ Doctor Allen is now seeing scheduling new patients at

1239 2nd St N # 741, Sauk Rapids, MN 56379

Cameras and Gear Used To Shoot This Video

About This Video: Not sure if you should get a single vision vs bifocal vs progressive pair of glasses? In this video, Dr. Allen reviews progressives lenses and how they differ to bifocal glasses. If you are wanting to know more about the pros and cons of bifocal vs progressive lenses, this is the video for you.

#bifocal #progressivelenses #doctoreyehealth

DISCLAIMER: All content in this video and description including: infor­ma­tion, opinions, con­tent, ref­er­ences and links is for infor­ma­tional pur­poses only. The Author does not pro­vide any med­ical advice on the site. Noth­ing con­tained in this video or it’s description is intended to estab­lish a physician-patient rela­tion­ship, to replace the ser­vices of a trained physi­cian or health care pro­fes­sional, or oth­er­wise to be a sub­sti­tute for pro­fes­sional med­ical advice, diag­no­sis, or treatment. You should con­sult a licensed physi­cian or appropriately-credentialed health care worker in your com­mu­nity in all mat­ters relat­ing to your health. Also, some of the links in this post may be affiliate links, meaning, at no cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase. All non-licensed clips used for fair use commentary, criticism, and educational purposes.

[shakey]

As an airline pilot, for me, progressives just didn't work. My instrument panel was more than an arms length away. Farther than standard reading distance. When I tried flying with them, there was only a very small spot on the panel that was in focus. I had to move my head around, a lot, to read the panel and get the information I needed to fly the aircraft. This can cause vertigo. The preferred method for scanning is to leave your head in one place and move your eyes. This is not possible with progressives. I had bifocals made that had the lower part focus at about 40 inches rather than the std reading distance, and had the bifocal line moved up 2 mm. That put the line right at the top of the instrument panel. Also, had the lower portion widened more than normal so I can leave my head in one place and let my eyes do the wandering to read the panel. My doctor resisted all these changes but in the end, she agreed and has become the "go to" doc for many airline pilots in our city.

[outhouseamericana]

Having spent years on motorcycles and racing on the track, I became very dependent upon my peripheral vision. When I grew older I tried progressives and felt unsafe as I could not discern what was coming at me from the sides as well as I could before. Also when I would scan the night skies for meteors, could not take in as much of the sky as before. I junked the progressives in favor of trifocals and now feel safer driving and I feel that I'm seeing much more of the natural world without having to readjust my line of sight. I'm an old man now so why should I care if I look old? Actually if anyone would judge me on the basis of my eye glasses; well I probably wouldn't want anything to do with that person after all.

[JBass]

I just saw this video (9/2023) and someone may have already made this comment. I have worn tri-focals for 40 years. I tried progressive lenses about 20 years ago and they weren’t for me. I was recently talked into trying them again and I couldn’t remember why I didn’t like them. I remembered right away when I got them again. The reading and middle distance portions were exceptionally small. I had to keep moving my head from left to right to read anything. I went back to tri-focals. I had the middle distance portion moved up and widened. That is perfect for reading and computer work (and reading the dashboard). And at 73 years old, I couldn’t care less about people thinking I look older.

[BobMartinsback]

I had progressive lenses for several years and never really warmed to them, I found myself always 'hunting' with minute head movements for an elusive clearer field of vision. Last year, I needed to renew my glasses and chose bifocals, and I have found that clear delineation between far away and close up much easier to manage. So when driving for example, it feels like the most natural thing in the world to hold my head where I can eyeball down for the speedo and eyeball up for the road ahead. Different strokes for different folks.

[paulhirschman]

At last---someone tells the facts, and doesn't blame the shortcomings of the lens on the wearer. Thanks!

[tedbomba]

I was prescribed my first pair of bifocals when I was in first grade. That was seventy years ago. Back then the lenses were made of glass. Because my vision needed so much correction the lenses were quite thick which made the eyeglasses very heavy; the bridge of my nose was constantly red and sore. Today I have trifocals with the lines. Despite my lenses being very complicated with prisms in both, the new lens materials have now resulted in my eyeglasses being light as a feather and comfortable to wear from morning to night !

[leebarker]

Just a comment on your presentation: Remarkable and commendable. Not a word wasted, not a single repetition. You honor me as your viewer when you create this polished, fact-filled content. Thank you. I am about to get glasses again and will consider lined. I had fallen into the "newer, so it must be better" trap. I also thank the commenters for contributing to this very discussion.

[Tachsman]

I tried wearing progressive lenses for a week, which gave me constant headaches. I took them back and the optometrist told me about 2% of people cannot adapt to them. I use trifocals now and I do a lot of reading, and they allow you to read a whole line without having to move your head. I had to constantly move my head to maintain the sweet spot with progressives.

[GroovyGrov]

I moved from bifocals to progressives 15-20 years ago. Astigmatism in the left eye and need more magnification. I have never experienced the distortion everyone talks about. I guess I learned how to use the lenses quickly. I really like that I have decent vision at any distance.

[joemato]

Since I used the two types for quite a while I settled for two separate pair of glasses, one for distance and one for reading. This way I eliminated the dizziness I got from progressives and the limited reading area I got from bifocals. I got used to the inconvenience of replacing them for reading or distance.

[rainesonne]

I felt blind wearing the progressives! I kept getting horrible headaches! I love my bifocals! I’ve never had any problems with my bifocals! I didn’t think I looked old!

[LandNfan]

I have worn glasses since I was 11, 65 years ago. By the time I was in my 50’s, my prescription was around -7 in each eye. When my ophthalmologist suggested bifocals, I went straight to progressive lenses. It only took me about 20 minutes to get used to them. I actually welcomed the onset of cataracts! Now I need almost no correction for distance. My ideal glasses now are progressive and transition lenses, combining 4 pairs of glasses into one.

[kathrynmettelka]

One of my lenses got scratched when I fell. The replacement cost for one progressive, thin, coated lens cost me $476. I had chosen progressive lenses because I was a CPA and needed to be able to see far for driving, close for reading, and mid-range for the computer. I already had to change glasses for sunglasses, I did not want any more pairs of glasses. Progressives are not perfect, but seemed to be the best choice. Other people like having dedicated computer glasses. I want the eyes I had before puberty.

[scottphillips]

I have had both types. I had standard bifocals first and enjoyed them for several years. I was encouraged to move to progressives. I wore them for about 5 years and decided I wanted to go back to standard bifocals one year ago. My OD said, "no, you need to stay with the progressives. You must." So, I did. The new lenses cost about $700 without frames. I used the frames I had for the replacement. When I finally received the progressives, I had the distortion problem the minute I was driving out of the parking lot from the OD's office. Oncoming traffic was distorted and I thought my entry lane was clear. I was almost struck by a vehicle that was in the entry lane but appeared to be in another lane. I turned around, went back to the OD office, and asked for standard bifocals to be ordered. Also, I believe it is a myth that you have a "progressive" focus change with progressive lenses. There is the distance vision area of the lens at the top, which is huge. Then there is this pencil-eraser-sized area at the bottom that is for near vision. Everything in-between is unusable because the focal points are so small. Heck, even the near vision area is difficult to find and takes a lot of practice. I really like my standard bifocals and am glad I made the decision to ignore my OD's insistence to stay with progressives.

[KurtVW]

Progressives for me were a non starter right from day one. I'm a computer programmer, I also work with digital images.. And just to make that worse I'm a car geek too.

For me, dedicated computer glasses are the win. I can have large monitors entirely in focus as all angles. Critical especially for image work. But a big help for coding as I am not constantly resetting my head.

For the rest of the time, I like traditional bifocals. I have two distinct focal ranges, I know where they are and the line never mattered after the first 24 hours.

I have my add lenses about 2mm taller than most opticians suggest for most people because a lot of my more 'tinker' hobbies, such as automotive or computer building, etc happen inside of arms-length. But I like the larger field of view for these things as I work a lot at these distances. The only time I really need to see far away is walking, biking or driving. So sacrificing a couple millimeters at the bottom of my vision didn't hurt any of these activities.

I have no fashion related reasons for avoiding lines. I'm perfectly happy to be the mad scientist. Doesn't bother me a bit to look a little older.

[Loisaidalisa]

This is the best video explainer for the difference between bifocal and progressive lenses that I didn't know I needed to see. No optician in all my decades of wearing glasses for nearsightedness has ever indicated to me that there's a difference in the types of progressive lenses on offer, so thank you for making this video.

[elsullo]

I am old, and I do not care who notices it! What REALLY makes you look old is struggling to deal with the many different distortions on a complicated lens, constantly dizzy from rolling your eyes. I carry two different glasses, and use the one most appropriate, or just wear reading glasses on a neck chain to raise when I need them! Shocking news: Perhaps old news to most people, but I discovered that I could use my out-dated reading glasses for excellent middle-distance TV watching! My reading glasses are 2.5 now, but my old 2.25 glasses are wonderful for very clear TV eight feet away! Life is much nicer if you don't obsess over how old you

[lindastansbury]

I started wearing bifocals when I was 40. I hated the visible lines because they were distracting. I didn't like how my eyes felt, switching back and forth, and couldn't get used to them. Switched to progressives and loved them from the first moment I put them on. I have an astigmatism, one eye is weaker than the other. I had no trouble adjusting to progressives and have been happily wearing them ever since.

[iiiDartsiii]

I've been using progressive lenses for a couple of years now and I must say that they're really good for outdoors since there is a wider distance variations of objects and also good for driving but not very good indoors especially when sitting on my computer.

[GRAHAMAUS]

The mistake I made with progressive lenses was going for a frame design that had not much height. It meant the different zones were very narrow, causing neck pain because I had to hold my head so still to keep the right part of the lens in front, whatever I was doing. I went back to a fixed distance pair after that, and just took them off for reading (albeit blurrily). I'll probably try again, but with a much taller design of frame.