Review of The Framery (formerly Liingo Eyewear): How Do They Compare with Warby Parker?

In this review, I explore my (very good) experience with The Framery (formerly Liingo Eyewear) and their blue-light blocking prescription glasses. Find out why I think they’re a great alternative to Warby Parker for prescription eyeglasses.

A few years ago, after multiple months of COVID19-induced working from home, I found myself thankful for many simple items around my house, which serve as small comforts.

High on that list is my pair of blue light blocking glasses from The Framery — formerly known as Liingo Eyewear. I’ve enjoyed getting to know the Utah-based startup brand, testing out The Framery’s home try on kit and wearing their Murray frames with blue light prescription lenses.

Keep reading to find out how The Framery stacks up to Warby Parker, Zenni Optical and Eyebuydirect.

Disclosure: Back when it was Liingo, the company provided a pair of eyeglasses to me at no cost.

About The Framery (Formerly Liingo Eyewear)

Entrepreneurs Amy Larson, Brandon Adams, Douglas Harris and Peder Singleton launched startup Liingo Eyewear in Draper, Utah in 2016.

Their journey began with Peder’s shock at paying nearly $400 for a pair of prescription glasses that he didn’t even really like.

They were focused on enabling customers to “tell their stories” through glasses. As they wrote on an earlier version of Liingo’s “About Us” page:

Glasses should serve as an outward expression of personality: an extension of style. Visual language. A voice. We want to help people tell their stories through eyewear.

While their mission continues, their ownership structure changed in in January 2018, when the entrepreneurs sold Liingo to 1-800-Contacts, another Utah-based business.

In 2025, 1-800-Contacts changed the name from Liingo to The Framery.

While my experience with the company began when they were known as Liingo, to make it simple I’m going to refer to The Framery throughout the rest of this article.

Reviewing The Framery’s Home Try-On Program

The thing that first attracted me to The Framery was their home try on program.

Like Warby Parker, The Framery will deliver eyeglass frames of your choice straight to your home to see which ones you like best. The Framery is one of more than a dozen companies that offers a home-try on program for glasses similar to Warby Parker.

I tried The Framery’s home-try on program for myself, and from that try-on kit chose to have lenses installed in one pair.

Here’s how The Framery’s home try-on program works:

1. First select 5 frames to try at home.
2. Enter your shipping address.
3. Enter your credit card information. (The Framery requires credit or debit card details even though the trial is free. They promise that, “you won’t be charged unless you don’t return the frames.”)
4. Once you receive your kit, you have 5 days to explore the frames and send back the box.

Overall, I found that ordering The Framery’s try-at-home kit was straightforward, easy, and hiccup-free.

In particular, they designed the home try on kit box to be extremely easy to seal back up and return.

After sending back my home try-on kit, I went back online and logged into my account. Once in my account, The Framery made it easy for me to choose one or more of the frames from my home try-on kit to purchase.

Assessing The Framery’s selection of frames and user experience 

Scrolling through the selections, my first impression was that The Framery’s glasses are attractive and occasionally unique, though they rely heavily on black, dark brown and tortoise shades. There aren’t very many pops of color among their frames.

When initially choosing frames, there are some filters that can help narrow down the choices.

Some competitors like Zenni Optical allow customers to filter by very specific dimensions of frame height and width and arm length. That granularity is extremely useful to narrow down the universe of glasses that fit.

That said, The Framery shines with a virtual try on option that uses your computer’s camera and a pretty nifty “find my size” tool to uncover glasses that fit you on its site.

You can also filter by the color of the frames and by glasses that The Framery categorizes as appropriate for the shape of your face (round, oval, heart or square).

First impressions: Receiving The Framery’s Home Try on Kit

For my home try on kit, I selected five frames: Maddox in Matte Bugundy, Maddox Small in Tortoise, Moab in Eggplant, Murray in Tortoise Slate and Payson.

All of the frames struck that right balance for me of feeling sturdy and well designed without being heavy. 

(I find some glasses, including a pair I own from Warby Parker, tend to feel heavy on my face while other, inexpensive ones from the likes of Zenni and Eyebuydirect can be amazingly lightweight but feel a bit less sturdy. Though, if affordability is your top priority, see my separate guide to where to find the cheapest prescription glasses online.)

All of those frames looked good as well. I was particularly struck by the sharp Matte Grey Horn design of the Payson, as well as the light-slate tone that graced the underside of the tortoise Murray.

Ultimately, I found their Murray glasses to be a perfect combination of fit and style for me.

I placed the order, and my glasses arrived at my house a remarkably-quick seven days later via DHL shipping with my prescription intact.

How much do The Framery’s glasses cost?

• The Framery’s frames including single-vision lenses start at $49 and can be found for even less on sale.
• Progressive multifocal lenses cost an additional $179, though I’ve seen that discounted to as low as $126.
• The Framery offers a lens upgrade for $42 for filtering blue light.

How to order glasses from The Framery

Once you’re ready to purchase glasses, The Framery’s website is clean and easy-to-navigate, making ordering super-straightforward.

1. Identify frames that you like. If you have ordered a home try-on kit, you can choose to add frames from that kit directly into your shopping cart, even while you are still in possession of that try on kit.
2. Once you have selected your frames, choose your lens type. The Framery offers single-vision lenses in thin, light and impact-resistant premium polycaronate for free, while progressive/multifocal lenses are available for an upcharge. You can also choose to upgrade to thinner lenses for an upcharge.
3. Proceed to the checkout process, where you can select coatings for your lenses. Liingo Eyewear offers various lens upgrades, including to filter bluelight.
4. Enter your prescription information.
5. Enter your shipping and payment details and complete the order.

Reviewing The Framery’s Prescription Eyeglasses

My verdict?

I absolutely adore my eyeglasses from The Framery.  I love the way they look on my face. They’re lightweight. And they were exactly what I was looking for to help my tired eyes that have been looking at the computer for too long.

Alongside its home try on program, The Framery also offers free shipping, returns and exchanges on all of its prescription glasses and sunglasses.

That generous shipping and return policy gives additional assurance to new customers. I have been nothing but pleased with The Framery’s customer service, quality of frames, and website functionality.

Alternatives to The Framery

I really like my glasses from The Framery, but there are other alternatives for prescription eyewear out there as well.

There are a number of other online eyeglasses retailers who will send home try on kits, including Warby Parker, David Kind, and ROKA.

Other retailers, including Discountglasses.com, Felix Gray and Ambr Eyewear, have generous free shipping and free return policies, enabling you to try glasses with prescription lenses already installed at home and return them if you don’t like them.

Still other retailers, including EyeBuyDirect, Zenni Optical and Abbe, offer such ridiculously affordable prescription glasses that you can try several pairs out without worrying too much about the cost.

A number of brands also specialize in blue light blocking glasses. Look to GlassesUSA.com, Felix Gray, and MVMT (which also makes a great selection of bracelets for men and women) for a great selection of blue light blocking glasses.

And, if you’re looking for over-the-counter reading glasses, see my separate guide to some of the best online options for buying stylish reading glasses and cheaters for as low as $5.

Have you tried The Framery (formerly Liingo Eyewear)?

Please share your experience in the comments.