A contact lens is not like a little lens for eyeglasses. They actually replace the front surface of the eye. Some lens designs actually create a lens of your own tears between the eye and the contact lens.
There are a lot of factors, that need to be considered, the most important being your motivation to have natural sight without painful surgery.
There is no way to tell completely until you are examined carefully. It is important that you have a general eye examination and then some special tests for the wearing of contact lenses.
A recent study showed that the average mail order price was some 20% higher than the prices in many doctors offices. In other cases they had a membership fee for which you were allowed to be their customer.
Bifocals help us see up close. Contact lenses can be designed as bifocals and work well for many people. I have helped many people with this need.
Some contact lenses have corrected astigmatism for a long time. What you may find suprising, is that it is easier to compensate for larger amounts of astigmatism than some lower degrees of astigmatism. Most patients that are motivated to wear contact lenses for astigmatism, can be be sucessful.