Cataract Lens Prices in China: Monofocal vs Toric vs Multifocal IOLs

In mainland China's public hospitals the artificial lens (intraocular lens, IOL) is a separate line on a cataract bill. When the hospital uses a selected (中选) product, the lens is sold at the price fixed in the national procurement of late 2023: about ¥630–830 for a standard aspheric monofocal lens (about ¥950–1,030 preloaded, ¥1,136 for the one "vision-improving" model), ¥1,500–1,900 for most toric (astigmatism-correcting) monofocals, ¥3,600–9,100 for extended-depth-of-focus (EDOF) lenses and ¥9,000–18,400 for trifocals^[3][5]. The operation and tests are charged on top under government caps — in Shanghai's tier-3 public hospitals, up to ¥2,104 for removing the cloudy lens and ¥2,113 for implanting the new one, per eye, from 30 June 2026^[16][17]. VIP clinics and private hospitals set their own prices, and which lens fits your eyes is a decision for your surgeon after the measurements. For the operation itself and trip planning, see cataract surgery in China.

Lens prices at a glance (public hospitals)

The fourth national high-value consumables procurement priced IOLs in eight categories — by optical design, and by whether the lens also corrects astigmatism ("toric") — and every price includes the injector used to insert the lens^[4][6]. Selected prices per lens, valid in public hospitals using the selected product:

Lens category in the tender	What it is generally for	Selected price per lens (CNY)
Aspheric monofocal (非球面-单焦点-非散光)	One focusing distance, usually set for distance; most people then wear glasses for reading[22]	628–834 standard; preloaded 950–1,034; one "vision-improving" model 1,136 (24 suppliers)[3][5]
Toric monofocal (非球面-单焦点-散光)	A monofocal that also corrects astigmatism[22]	1,496–1,897; a preloaded "vision-improving" (视力改善) toric added to Beijing's list in January 2025 at 2,839[3][8]
Bifocal (双焦点), non-toric / toric	Multifocal design: near and distance focus at the same time[23]	1,796–2,880 / 2,298–3,103[3]
EDOF (景深延长), non-toric / toric	One "extended" focal zone covering more than one distance[23]	3,596–6,990 / 6,836–9,090[3]
Trifocal (三焦点), non-toric / toric	Multifocal design with three focal points	8,996–14,537 / 12,996–18,388[3][5]

Three details explain most of the spread inside each category:

• Preloaded and "vision-improving" versions cost more, by formula. A lens supplied ready-loaded in its injector (预装) is priced exactly ¥200 above the same company's standard version — ¥984 instead of ¥784 for a monofocal, for example, or ¥18,388 instead of ¥18,188 for a toric trifocal. The tender's pricing rules spell out this step for monofocals and bifocals (toric or not), and its maximum allowed bids are ¥200 higher for preloaded lenses in all eight categories. Lenses the tender classes as "vision-improving" (视力改善: the registration documents describe continuous vision over a range of distances, backed by clinical evidence) are priced at 1.4 times the company's standard price for monofocals and toric monofocals and 1.2 times for bifocals, plus ¥200 if also preloaded — which is how one monofocal reaches ¥1,136 and one preloaded toric ¥2,839. These are pricing rules, not a ranking of which lens is better for a patient^[4][5][8].
• Material does not set the tier. Each company bid a single price per category, whatever the material (hydrophilic or hydrophobic acrylic) or model^[4].
• No markup. Hospitals buy at the selected price and pass it on: Chongqing's rules, for example, tell hospitals to charge patients the selected price^[5].

How the 2023 procurement changed prices

• What and when. Bids were opened in Tianjin on 30 November 2023 and final results were published on 13 December 2023^[1][2]. The tender covered all IOL types — monofocal, bifocal, trifocal and EDOF — plus the viscoelastic gels used during surgery^[1], but not rigid lenses or phakic IOLs such as the ICL^[4]. For ICL prices see LASIK, SMILE and ICL prices in China.
• How much prices fell. IOL prices fell by about 60% on average, with projected savings of ¥3.9 billion a year; across the whole tender, which also covered sports-medicine devices, 126 of the 128 bidding companies had products selected^[1]. At the bid opening, a pharmaceutical-pricing professor quoted by Xinhua gave two examples: an imported EDOF lens launched in 2023 fell from ¥11,000 to just under ¥3,600 (¥3,596) and an imported new-generation monofocal from ¥10,000 to just over ¥1,100 (¥1,136)^[1][5]. A prize-winning popular-science essay by a medical student, published on the NHSA website (not an official statement), says a domestic monofocal fell from about ¥2,500 to about ¥800 and a trifocal from about ¥23,000^[12]; that trifocal's selected price is ¥8,996^[3]. In Hubei, one patient's lens went from ¥11,066 to ¥6,990^[11].
• When patients got the new prices. Provinces switched between late May and July 2024 — Ningxia on 27 May, Jiangsu on 1 June, Beijing on 29 June and Hubei on 10 July^{[9][10][6][11]}.
• Where things stand in October 2026. The cycle was set at two years (in Beijing, 29 June 2024 to 28 June 2026)^[7]. Provinces have kept the selected prices running in a transition period: Inner Mongolia's procurement centre, for example, says the original results stay in force, with selected companies supplying at the selected prices, until a renewal round takes effect^[13]. A new national round covering IOLs is being prepared — Beijing hospitals reported their 2025 and early-2026 purchase data for it in June 2026^[14]. We found no published renewal prices as of 30 October 2026, so use the table above as the reference and check the lens line on your quote.

For other procured implants, see our price guides to dental implants and joint replacement implants.

Which lens does what — and the trade-offs

Lens choice is medical first and financial second. In outline:

• Monofocal lenses are the most common IOL: one focusing distance, usually set for distance, with glasses for reading or close work^[22]. An NHS hospital trust in London describes them as the standard lens^[25].
• Toric lenses correct astigmatism^[22]. The surgeon rotates the lens into position; it may not remove all astigmatism, reading glasses are still needed, and if the lens turns after surgery a second operation may be needed to reposition it^[25].
• Multifocal lenses (bifocal, trifocal) have zones set at different powers, giving near and distance focus at the same time^[23]. In a Cochrane review, people with multifocal lenses were less likely to need glasses but more likely to report glare and haloes (rings around lights) than people with monofocal lenses^[24].
• EDOF lenses have a single corrective zone that "extends" to cover more than one distance, which may mean less effort refocusing^[23].

The American Academy of Ophthalmology lists halos and glare, lower contrast sensitivity and less sharp vision in dim light or fog among the possible side effects of presbyopia-correcting lenses (multifocal and EDOF). It notes that pilots, night drivers and people who spend a lot of time at a computer may find them a problem, that people with existing eye disease are at higher risk of poor results, and that it can take 6 to 8 weeks to focus fully at all distances^[23]. In England, NICE recommends that multifocal lenses not be offered for cataract surgery on the NHS^[26]. None of this says which lens suits you: your ophthalmologist can help you choose based on the health of your eyes and what you need from your vision^[23].

What else is on the bill

The lens is one line among several. In a guideline for ophthalmology price items announced in January 2025, the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) created a separate lens-implantation price item, split into routine and complex cases; its announcement names suspending the lens or placing a capsular tension ring as complex cases^[15]. The fees themselves are set locally: Shanghai and Fujian, for example, converted their price lists in 2026, billing lens removal and lens implantation as separate items^[16][18]. Shanghai's list defines complex cases more broadly — implanting a lens in an eye that keeps its natural lens (a phakic lens such as the ICL), suspending a lens, placing a capsular tension ring and similar cases — so ICL implantation is billed as complex there^[17]. These are the published maximum fees for public hospitals in two places; hospitals may charge less^{[16][17][18][19]}:

Item (per eye unless stated)	Shanghai tier-3 hospitals, from 30 June 2026	Fujian provincial tier-3A hospitals (Fuzhou), from 15 April 2026
Lens removal (晶状体摘除费)	¥2,104	¥2,000
Lens implantation, routine (人工晶状体植入费)	¥2,113	¥1,600
Lens implantation, complex	¥2,535	¥2,400
Axial length measurement (眼轴测量费)	¥30	¥9
Corneal topography	¥70	¥77
OCT scan, per scan type	¥190	¥45
Slit-lamp examination, per visit	¥9	¥6

Other lines to expect: anaesthesia; the viscoelastic gel, itself procured in the same tender at ¥19–225 per pack depending on type and volume^[5]; eye drops and other medicines; consultation fees for the pre-op and follow-up visits; and ward or day-surgery charges if you are admitted (see hospital admission and inpatient stays). Price lists also contain billing rules — Shanghai, for instance, halves the implantation fee for the second eye, routine or complex, and charges a second, different procedure through the same incision at 75%^[17] — so ask for an itemised estimate rather than adding up the caps yourself.

Example (partial bill, one eye, routine case, Fujian provincial tier-3A hospital): lens removal ¥2,000 + routine implantation ¥1,600 (Fujian's list allows both to be charged in the same operation^[19]) + a ¥797 aspheric monofocal lens^[3] = ¥4,397, before anaesthesia, tests, gel, medicines and follow-up visits. With an ¥8,996 trifocal instead, the same three lines come to ¥12,596.

VIP, international and private prices

In ordinary public departments the same item prices apply to everyone: Beijing's official guide for foreigners says international patients are charged the same standard as residents and pay out of pocket or through commercial insurance^[21]. Other tiers price differently:

• VIP (特需) services are priced separately. Shenzhen Eye Hospital, for example, publishes fixed VIP prices of ¥15,000–30,000 per procedure for femtosecond-laser-assisted cataract surgery with lens implantation, in five tiers that each include a ¥12,000 technical-service component; the lenses listed in those packages carry their procurement prices, such as trifocals at ¥8,996 and ¥14,537 (price list checked October 2026)^[20]. Its VIP consultation fees range from ¥100 to ¥800 depending on the doctor^[20].
• Private hospitals are not bound by the public caps, which apply to public institutions^[16], and quote their own prices.
• International departments of public hospitals: ask whether a quote follows the ordinary item prices or a separate VIP schedule — see international departments explained.

Non-selected and newer lenses. Hospitals must give priority to selected products but may buy others. A selected company's other models count as selected if listed at no more than its selected price for the category, and other companies' products listed at no more than the category's highest selected price are not held against the hospital^[6]; Beijing also applies a published price ceiling to non-selected products^[7]. New models can be added during the cycle — a preloaded "vision-improving" toric was added to Beijing's list in January 2025 at ¥2,839^[8] — while lenses outside the tender, such as phakic ICLs, are not covered by these prices^[4].

How China compares abroad

• United States: without insurance, standard cataract surgery starts at about $3,000 per eye, and at about $6,000 per eye with a premium lens. Insurance generally covers a standard monofocal lens; the extra out-of-pocket cost of a premium lens is commonly estimated at about $1,000–2,500 per eye for a toric lens and $2,000–3,500 per eye for a presbyopia-correcting lens (All About Vision, updated June 2026)^[27].
• United Kingdom: an NHS hospital trust's patient leaflet says multifocal and EDOF lenses are not available on the NHS and must be arranged privately^[25], and NICE recommends against offering multifocal lenses^[26].

The China figures above are line items in public hospitals, not package prices. When you compare, add flights, accommodation and time for the first follow-up checks — costs and price comparison shows how, and insurance for treatment abroad covers what policies reimburse.

What your written quote should list

1. The exact lens model, its tender category (for example 非球面-单焦点-非散光), the per-lens price and whether it is a selected (中选) product^[3].
2. Each surgical item: lens removal, lens implantation (routine or complex) and any laser-assisted step.
3. Pre-op tests: axial length and lens-power measurement, keratometry, corneal topography, OCT and corneal cell count.
4. Anaesthesia, viscoelastic gel and other consumables, and medicines.
5. Which follow-up visits are included, and the price for the second eye.
6. Whether the quote is for the ordinary department, a VIP clinic or the international department.

Send these questions in Chinese with the bilingual inquiry letter tool; online consultation before you travel explains how to share records in advance. Keep the lens card or sticker (model, power, serial number) for your doctor at home: medical records and follow-up.

Who should be careful with premium lenses

• Previous laser eye surgery. If you have had LASIK or similar surgery, tell the team: it makes the lens-power calculation harder and the result less predictable^[25].
• Other eye disease. Existing eye disease raises the risk of a poor result with presbyopia-correcting lenses^[23].
• A short trip. Adapting to a premium lens can take weeks^[23], so arrange follow-up with an eye doctor at home. Trip length and flying rules are in cataract surgery in China and common eye surgeries in China.

Next steps

• Compare hospitals offering cataract surgery or eye departments in Shanghai, and read ophthalmology in China.
• Prepare your file with medical records to bring to China and read your first hospital visit without a Chinese ID.
• Plan the exam, surgery, check-ups and rest days with the CareAtlas planner.