BACKGROUND: Cost is a common barrier to accessing surgery for cataract, the leading cause of blindness and the second commonest cause of visual impairment globally.1 A better understanding of how willing patients are to pay for cataract surgery is vital as payment of a rational price is important to any project trying to set up a sustainable cataract surgery program. Knowledge of the amount patients are willing to pay and the factors that determine their willingness is essential to increasing the uptake of cataract surgical services and the long term sustainability of these programs. AIM To determine the willingness to pay for cataract surgery among patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS Consecutive new adult patients with operable cataracts in one or both eyes presenting to the eye clinics of the Jos University Teaching Hospital (JUTH, tertiary health institution) and the Church of Christ in Nations Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre (CHRC, secondary health institution) over a six month period were recruited. Interviewer administered questionnaires on willingness to pay were employed using bidding formats. The main outcome variables were the willingness to pay for cataract surgery, the amount patients were willing to pay, knowledge of cataract and cataract surgery and the factors that influenced these. The data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences, version 20 software (SPSS Inc. Chicago, Illinois, USA). Frequencies, means, median, interquartile range and standard deviations were generated to observe the distribution pattern of the variables among the i patients. Statistical significance was tested using the Pearson’s chi-square test, student t-test and Fisher’s exact test where the expected frequency of a cell was ≤5. Odds ratios and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals were calculated and a p-value ≤0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results were displayed using tables and bar charts. RESULTS A total of 166 participants were interviewed; 83 in JUTH and 83 in CHRC. A total of 96.4% and 90.4% of patients were willing to pay for cataract surgery at JUTH, Jos and CHRC, Mangu respectively. There was no statistically significant difference in willingness to pay between both groups(P=0.12). Participants in JUTH were observed to pay higher amounts(P=0.02). The mean amount participants were willing to pay in JUTH was 16,988±11,810NGN (US $56±39) and 15,840±6,541NGN (US $52±21) in CHRC with no statistically significant relationship between participant’s characteristics, willingness to pay for surgery and amount they were willing to pay. Forty-six (55.4%) and 44(53%) of the participants in JUTH and CHRC respectively had knowledge of cataract and cataract surgery. Individuals with formal education were more likely to possess such knowledge(P=0.00). CONCLUSION Most individuals with operable cataract in both secondary and tertiary health institutions were willing to pay for cataract surgery. However, the mean amount they were willing to pay is below the price set for it. There is therefore a need for government subsidy for patients if they will meet up with the price of cataract surgery. Education of the populace on cataract and cataract surgery by eye healthcare workers will be beneficial in order to improve patients’ willingness to pay for surgery.