The 7 Best Solar Eclipse Glasses and Viewers for Watching the 2024 Total Eclipse

Next week, on April 8, 2024, a total eclipse will cross parts of North America. The astronomical spectacle is what happens when the moon passes between the sun and Earth and completely blocks the sun, darkening the sky during daytime. According to NASA, the eclipse will start in the “South Pacific Ocean and will cross North America, passing over Mexico, United States, and Canada.” Weather permitting, the phenomenon will be visible in Texas before traveling through Oklahoma, Arkansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine, before exiting continental North America at 5:16 p.m. NDT.

But as enticing as it is to stare into the sky waiting for the eclipse, looking directly at the sun is never a good idea unless it’s completely blocked by the moon—like what’ll happen this April. Otherwise, stick to proper eye protection in the form of solar eclipse glasses.

“Regular sunglasses are not OK to watch the eclipse with,” says Kelly Korreck, PhD, NASA’s eclipse program manager in Washington, D.C. “We are protecting our sight with these simple tools.”

Luckily, it isn’t too hard to tell which eclipse glasses are safe—the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) 12312-2 certification has set clear guidelines for glasses that’ll keep your eyes protected. Korreck says, “This is the beauty of a standard—the glasses that meet this standard all should work about the same and protect one of our most valuable tools—our sight.”

If you don’t want to make your eclipse viewer at home—or use one of Korreck’s recommended indirect eclipse viewing methods—we found a slew of solar-viewing glasses that are certified for safety so you can look at the eclipse as it happens. These protect your retinas from permanent eye damage or even vision loss while providing a glimpse at annular eclipses and this year’s total eclipse, right before the phenomenon hits totality.

From bargain buys to sun-spotting binoculars, these are the best solar-viewing glasses and products for protecting your eyes from the sun’s harmful rays.

Update 3/11/24: In preparation for the total eclipse, the American Astronomical Society has issued a warning about counterfeit glasses. We’ve vetted all of the products we recommend here to ensure they’re genuine.

Update 4/1/24: Several retailers and institutions are rolling out special promotions for the upcoming total eclipse, many of which are handing out free eclipse-viewing glasses. We’ve outlined some of those below and will continue to update this list before the eclipse itself.

• Boost Mobile: Over 160 participating Boost Mobile stores are giving out free pairs of solar eclipse glasses while supplies last. Find a store near you.
• Sonic: The fast food chain is giving away free eclipse glasses with the purchase of its new Blackout Slush Float. Available while supplies last—find your nearest Sonic here.
• Solar Eclipse Activities for Libraries (SEAL): The nation’s most extensive single eclipse outreach program, SEAL, has distributed 5 million solar viewing glasses among 13,000 American libraries. Find your nearest participating library here.
• Warby Parker: From April 1 through April 8, all Warby Parker stores are giving away free ISO-certified solar eclipse glasses, custom-designed for viewing the total solar eclipse safely, while supplies last. Find more details here.

The Best Solar Eclipse Glasses

• Best Overall: American Paper Optics Eclipse HD Solar Eclipse Glasses
• Best Budget: American Paper Optics Solar Eclipse Safety Glasses (4-Pack)
• Best Welding Glasses: Phillips Safety Welding Glasses with Black Frame and Shade 14 Lenses
• Best for Wearing Over Eyeglasses: Phillips Safety Fitover Solar Eclipse Glasses With Shade 14 Lenses
• Best for Smartphone Photography: Kesseph Solar Eclipse Glasses with Photo Filter (10-Pack)

What to Consider

Safety

Solar-viewing glasses, also called eclipse glasses, have specialized lenses that block harmful radiation from penetrating your eyes and protect them from vision issues or even blindness. It doesn’t matter how dark or thick those glasses are; regular sunglasses are unsafe to use to look at the sun.

According to Richard Tresch Fienberg, PhD and Project Manager of the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force at the American Astronomical Society: “such filters are at least 1,000 times darker than the darkest ordinary sunglasses. They not only dim the sun’s visible light by a factor of 100,000 to several million, but also block potentially harmful ultraviolet and infrared radiation.”

The safest solar-viewing glasses carry the ISO compliance label on their packaging. Look for any solar-viewing glasses marked as being in line with the ISO 12312-2 (sometimes labeled as ISO 12312-2:2015) international safety standard. Although ISO sets the standards, a third-party lab tests products against the standard—the ISO does not approve or certify products itself. ISO-compliant sunglasses reduce sunlight to safe viewing levels and block solar UV and IR radiation.

Although the ISO is independent, both NASA and the American Astronomical Society recommend using its approved products. Alternatively, NASA says welding glasses with number 14 shades—considered the highest caliber of eye protection for welders—can also be used for viewing the sun.

“At no time during an annular or partial solar eclipse is the entire disk of the sun covered,” says Fienberg, “and even the tiniest sliver of the sun’s brilliant face cannot safely be viewed directly. Looking at the sun without eye protection risks injury to the retina, the light-sensitive surface lining the inside back of the eye. Our instinct to turn away from intense light protects us from retinal injury.”

Even when you’re wearing eclipse glasses, don’t look through a camera lens, binoculars, or telescope as it’ll amplify solar rays and cause them to burn through the retina.

“Extremely bright light causes photochemical reactions in the retina’s rod and cone cells, damaging them so that they no longer respond properly,” Fienberg says. “If the exposure is brief, the injury will heal over time. But if the exposure is too long, the damage will be permanent, leaving you with blind spots.”

If your lenses are scratched or torn, throw them away—you need complete protection to keep those eyes from UV and IR harm. And make sure to wear your glasses before and after the event to reduce the risk of injury.

Style and Budget

Fienberg says that the most common and least expensive eclipse glasses have cardboard frames with lenses made from a thin, metal-coated polyethylene film or a thin black polymer resin, sometimes with a metal coating on one side.

Plastic frames with thicker, more durable lenses are slightly more expensive, while 3-by-5-inch handheld viewers made with the same materials as cardboard eclipse glasses are available as well.

Legitimacy

Ebay, Amazon, and other major retailers often see an uptick in counterfeit solar-viewing glasses from third-party sellers in the days leading up to an eclipse. You can find a list of reputable manufacturers at the American Astronomical Society’s website. These have been tested by the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force and are guaranteed to protect your retinas from temporary or permanent damage.

While NASA recommends only using ISO-approved eclipse glasses, it doesn’t officially endorse any pair. Products labeled “NASA-approved” or similar rely on marketing tactics to sell safety. Avoid them.

As for trusted brands, Fienberg only recommends U.S. companies “that have been around for decades and are likely to be around long after the 2023 and 2024 solar eclipses are behind us,” specifically calling out products by American Paper Optics and Rainbow Symphony. “They both use metal-coated black polymer film manufactured by Thousand Oaks Optical, and most of the resellers on our list get their glasses from either APO or RS—including some big retail chains such as Home Depot, Lowes, and Walmart.”

Eclipse Glasses With Prescriptions

If you wear prescription eyeglasses or contacts, you may be worried about comfort during your eclipse spotting. Denise Hill, heliophysics communications and outreach lead at NASA, has good news for you: Solar-viewing glasses are constructed to work with existing frames. “Eclipse glasses are meant to be worn over prescription glasses or contacts,” Hill says. “They are not for ‘viewing,’ but rather, they act as a shield.”

For those with eyeglasses, consider grabbing a larger pair of eclipse glasses or even solar binoculars to assist.

Counterfeits

The AAS released a statement on March 11, 2024, advising spectators to be mindful of bad actors making a fast buck off this phenomenon. The closer we get to the eclipse, the more questionable products will flood the market, even at retailers like Walmart and Amazon. We've cross-examined every pick below with the AAS's reputable manufacturers list to ensure legitimacy, but if you're buying a pair of eclipse glasses elsewhere, please do the same.

Note that some overseas manufacturers may print the name of a trusted American manufacturer on their viewers. Some may even open fake storefronts and share that brand name with Amazon or a third-party retailer. The best way to verify if your glasses are legit is to follow the guidance of the AAS Solar Eclipse Task Force.

How We Evaluated

To find the best solar eclipse glasses, we followed advice from authorities in astronomy and well guidance from NASA’s eclipse safety webpage and Senior Advisor to the Executive Officer and Project Manager for the American Astronomical Society Richard Tresch Fienberg, PhD. Our list consists of glasses from reputable manufacturers according to the American Astronomical Society, plus two alternatives to traditional solar-viewing glasses: binoculars for strong magnification and a pair of welder’s glasses for a sturdier build.

Our initial guide to solar eclipse glasses awarded Rainbow Symphony’s plastic Solar Eclipse Glasses our Best Overall distinction due to its frequent recommendation from space experts, critics, and the experts we spoke to. The glasses have since sold out. So, in our latest update, we gave American Paper Optics the top spot due to the acclaim above and its availability.