Buying guide
Nearsighted, farsighted or astigmatism — what your vision type means for swim goggles
Most people search for "prescription swim goggles" without realizing that the single most important detail isn't the brand — it's which of four vision types they're buying for. Get that wrong and you'll either overpay for capability you don't need, or end up with goggles that were never going to correct your eyes properly in the first place.
1. Nearsighted (myopia) — the easy case
If your prescription is all minus numbers (e.g. −3.00) with no cylinder, you're nearsighted with no astigmatism — the most common combination, and the one off-the-shelf goggles are actually built for. Fixed-diopter lenses in 0.5-diopter steps, typically covering about −1.5 to −8.0, will fit most nearsighted swimmers well. This is where a Ready-Rx goggle makes sense: fast, cheap, and accurate enough.
2. Farsighted (hyperopia) — the one the shelf usually skips
Plus-power prescriptions (e.g. +2.00) correct farsightedness, and they're far less commonly stocked than minus powers — most mainstream optical swim goggles, including the popular Speedo Vanquisher Optical, only sell minus powers. If your SPH is positive, you'll likely need to go straight to custom-ground lenses rather than searching for a ready-made plus-power goggle that may not exist in your strength.
3. Astigmatism — the one that gets ignored, not corrected
Astigmatism shows up as a CYL (cylinder) value plus an axis (1–180°) on your prescription. Off-the-shelf goggles don't correct it at all — the standard workaround is folding half your cylinder into your spherical power and accepting the remaining blur, which is fine for very mild astigmatism (under about −0.75 CYL) but leaves real distortion beyond that. Correcting it properly needs a toric lens ground to your exact sphere, cylinder and axis. See our full astigmatism guide for how that process works.
4. Presbyopia — the one that shows up later
If you're over about 40 and finding it hard to read your phone at arm's length, that's presbyopia — a separate, age-related change that's unrelated to nearsighted/farsighted/astigmatism. For swimmers it rarely matters, but for divers checking a dive computer at depth it does: see our gauge-reader dive mask option, which adds a small magnified reading zone without affecting the rest of the lens.
5. Quick reference
| Vision type | Prescription looks like | What to buy |
|---|---|---|
| Nearsighted only | Minus SPH, no CYL | Ready-Rx (fixed diopter) |
| Farsighted | Plus SPH | Custom-Rx (plus powers rarely stocked) |
| Astigmatism | Any meaningful CYL + axis | Custom-Rx (toric lens) |
| Presbyopia (reading) | Add power, usually age 40+ | Gauge-reader add-on (dive/snorkel masks) |
Most people are actually some combination of the first three — nearsighted and a bit of astigmatism is extremely common. The diopter finder checks all of it against your real numbers rather than asking you to self-diagnose.
FAQ
Do prescription swim goggles work if I'm farsighted?
Yes, but check the range before you buy. Most off-the-shelf prescription goggles only stock minus (nearsighted) powers, typically −1.5 to −8.0. Plus (farsighted) powers are far less commonly stocked and usually need to be custom-ground.
I'm nearsighted with no astigmatism — what should I buy?
A ready-made, fixed-diopter goggle is usually the fastest and cheapest option. Off-the-shelf spherical lenses in 0.5-diopter steps cover most nearsighted prescriptions well.
How do I know if I have astigmatism?
Check your glasses or contacts prescription for a CYL (cylinder) value. If it's blank or 0.00, you don't have meaningful astigmatism. Any other number means you do, and the axis value next to it tells a lab how to orient the correction.