DAILIES AquaComfort Plus vs Focus DAILIES

A head-to-head comparison of DAILIES AquaComfort Plus and Focus DAILIES - both manufactured by Alcon Inc. a Novartis company.
Focus DAILIES were introduced in the early 2000s by CIBA Vision, long before the company got acquired by Alcon Inc. It was one of CIBA Vision's top daily contact lenses and this continues today with DAILIES AquaComfort Plus, which was first made available in 2009. The two lenses are almost like twins when looking at each of the spec sheets.

Let's start with the prescription parameters which are identical. You can get into these lenses if you need vision correction between +10.00D and -6.00D with a tiny difference in the base curve and diameter parameters. The base material of DAILIES AquaComfort plus and the phased out Focus DAILIES is Nelfilcon A, a time-tested non-ionic hydrogel. Combined with various wetting agent technologies, both lenses get to a 69% water content.

For ease-of-use, both lenses are tinted in blue and with a daily cost per day of around $0.53 to $0.63, you can get into daily replaceable contacts for much less than with other lenses on the market.

DAILIES AquaComfort Plus		Focus DAILIES
Product Image
Manufacturer	Alcon Inc.	CIBA VISION® Corporation, now Alcon Inc.
Release Date	2009	2002 (date unconfirmed)
Prescription Parameters
Replacement Schedule	Daily	Daily
Wearing Details	Daily wear	Daily wear
Sphere Powers	+0.50D to +6.00D in 0.25 steps -0.50D to -6.00D in 0.25 steps -6.50D to -10.00D in 0.50 steps	+0.50D to +6.00D in 0.25 steps -0.50D to -6.00D in 0.25 steps -6.50D to -10.00D in 0.50 steps
Base Curves	8.7 mm	8.6 mm
Diameters	14.0 mm	13.8 mm
Technical Parameters
FDA Group	II	II
Lens Material	Non-ionic hydrogel (Nelfilcon A)	Non-ionic hydrogel (Nelfilcon A)
Lens Design	Spherical	Spherical
Wetting Agents	Yes - HPMC - PEG - PVA	Yes - PEG
% of Material	31%	31%
% of Water	69%	69%
Center Thickness	0.10 mm	0.10 mm
Oxygen Transmission	26 Dk/t	26 Dk/t
Modulus	0.5 MPa	0.90 MPa
Other Features
Special Features	AquaComfort Technology Lightstream Technology™ for a thin edge. Triple Action Moisture using: - Hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) - Polyethylene glycol (PEG) - Polyvinyl alcohol (PVA)	AquaComfort® Technology Lightstream Technology™ for a thin edge
UV Blocking	No	No
Dynamic Light Absorption	No	No
Visibility Tint	Yes Light Blue (VISITINT®)	Yes Light Blue (VISITINT®)
Inside-out Mark	Yes (OK)	Unknown
Packaging, Pricing and Offers
Packaging Details	30 lenses per box or 90 lenses per box	30 lenses per box or 90 lenses per box in Phosphate-acetate buffered saline solution with up to 0.02% Poloxamer 108
Price Range	$25 - $28 (30 lenses) $50 - $60 (90 lenses)	$20 - $25 (30 lenses) $44 - $53 (90 lenses)
Cost per Day	$0.83 - $0.93 (30 lenses) $0.56 - $0.67 (90 lenses)	$0.67 - $0.83 (30 lenses) $0.49 - $0.59 (90 lenses)
Online Retailers	Special Deals	Offer 1 - USA Offer 2 - USA

Our Conclusion

These two daily disposable lenses from the same manufacturer look remarkably similar on paper using the same base material: A non-ionic hydrogel called Nelfilcon A. Most technical parameters are the same or very similar and Alcon kept the daily cost per eye stable when they introduced DAILIES AquaComfort Plus.

Have you tried any of these lenses or migrated from Focus DAILIES to DAILIES AquaComfort Plus? Share your experience here.