COBRA vs Marketplace Insurance Tool
Compare the planning cost of keeping your employer insurance through COBRA with an ACA Marketplace quote you have received.
This planning tool only adds the amounts you enter. It does not determine eligibility, tax credits, covered care, or final claims cost. Use your official plan documents and Marketplace quote. This is not insurance, tax, legal, or financial advice.
Things to Know
COBRA vs marketplace — what most people miss
Want to see how this fits YOUR situation? Try the Job Loss Decision Support Engine →
The 60-Day WindowCritical deadlines you can't miss
A COBRA plan must provide at least 60 days to elect coverage, measured from the later of the election notice or the loss of coverage. Loss of job-based coverage generally creates a Marketplace Special Enrollment Period for 60 days before or after the loss. Compare effective dates before ending any coverage; voluntarily ending COBRA early does not by itself create a new Special Enrollment Period.
Subsidy MathMarketplace subsidies in 2026: check before you assume it is cheaper
One change matters more than anything else on this page for 2026. The enhanced premium tax credits expired on 31 December 2025, and the eligibility cliff at 400% of the federal poverty level is back. Below that line a credit is available and a marketplace plan will often beat COBRA; a dollar above it, the credit disappears entirely rather than tapering, and COBRA can be the cheaper option. Run the numbers rather than assuming, because the answer flipped for a lot of households this year. The Marketplace estimates premium tax credits using projected household income, tax-household information, and eligibility for other coverage. The credit is reconciled on your federal tax return, so report income or household changes promptly. Use the official Marketplace result in this tool instead of relying on a generic subsidy formula. See the IRS premium tax credit guidance.
When COBRA WinsThe specific situations where keeping employer insurance makes sense
COBRA may be useful when you are mid-treatment, need the existing provider network or formulary, have already made substantial progress toward the plan deductible or out-of-pocket maximum, or need continuity for a short gap. Compare the plan documents and actual quotes; price alone does not identify the better coverage.
The Hidden COBRA TrapWhy the 2% admin fee is the least of your concerns
COBRA can require you to pay the full group-plan premium, including the portion the employer previously paid, plus an administrative charge permitted by law. Use the exact premium and payment schedule in your election notice rather than your former payroll deduction.
COBRA vs Marketplace: The Complete Comparison
After job loss, compare the full COBRA offer with the Marketplace plans available where you live. COBRA generally continues the same group plan and provider network. A Marketplace plan may have a different network, formulary, deductible, and out-of-pocket maximum, and the official application may determine that you qualify for savings.
Use actual quotes for the same coverage period. Review premiums, expected out-of-pocket costs, deductible progress, covered prescriptions, providers, and effective dates before choosing.
How to Switch
To elect COBRA: Follow the instructions and dates in your election notice. The plan must provide an election period of at least 60 days from the later of the notice or the date coverage would otherwise end. Plans must allow at least 45 days after election for the initial payment. See the U.S. Department of Labor worker guide.
To enroll in the Marketplace: Loss of job-based coverage generally allows plan selection during the 60 days before or after the loss. Apply through HealthCare.gov or your state Marketplace and confirm the coverage effective date before ending other coverage.
People Also Ask
Is COBRA or marketplace cheaper?
Neither option is always cheaper. Compare actual premiums, expected cost sharing, provider networks, covered prescriptions, and any deductible progress for the period you need coverage.
How long does COBRA last?
COBRA is generally available for up to 18 months after job loss or reduced hours. Certain qualifying events and extensions can allow longer coverage. Check your election notice and plan documents.
Can I switch from COBRA to marketplace?
You can switch during Open Enrollment. Outside Open Enrollment, you may qualify when COBRA runs out, when an employer contribution or government subsidy ends and you must pay the full cost, while you are still within 60 days of losing job-based coverage, or after another qualifying event. Ending COBRA early does not by itself create a Special Enrollment Period.
Do I qualify for Marketplace savings after job loss?
The Marketplace determines eligibility from projected household income, tax-household information, and eligibility for other coverage. Apply for an official result; do not assume job loss automatically makes you eligible.
COBRA Coverage: The Complete Guide
COBRA can temporarily continue the same group health coverage after a qualifying event. Job loss or reduced hours generally permits up to 18 months, while some events or extensions allow longer. The qualified beneficiary may have to pay the full premium plus an allowed administrative charge.
COBRA timeline: The election period is at least 60 days from the later of the election notice or the loss of coverage. If elected on time and paid as required, coverage generally reaches back to the date prior coverage ended. The plan must allow at least 45 days after election for the initial payment, which can include all retroactive premiums. Confirm every date and amount in the plan notice.
What to compare: Review the provider network, formulary, deductible and out-of-pocket progress, premium, covered dependents, and remaining coverage period. Do not delay care or assume retroactive enrollment is a no-cost substitute for coverage.
ACA Marketplace: Your Alternative
The ACA Marketplace offers individual and family plans with local premiums, networks, formularies, and cost sharing. The official application checks potential eligibility for premium tax credits, cost-sharing reductions, Medicaid, or CHIP.
How savings work: The Marketplace estimates advance premium tax credits from projected household income, family composition, and eligibility for other coverage. Actual eligibility is reconciled on the federal tax return, so update the Marketplace when circumstances change.
Use the official quote: Premiums and benchmark plans vary by location, age, household, and year. That is why this comparison asks for the premium from HealthCare.gov or your state Marketplace rather than calculating a generic subsidy.
The Decision Framework
COBRA may fit better if: continuity with current providers or treatment is essential, deductible progress is valuable, the plan covers needed prescriptions, or the gap is short.
A Marketplace plan may fit better if: the official quote produces a lower total cost, its provider network and formulary meet your needs, and its effective date avoids a gap.
Before deciding: Verify enrollment deadlines, effective dates, the first payment due date, provider participation, prescriptions, and total cost under realistic care scenarios. If the choice is unclear, use free Marketplace enrollment help or consult a licensed benefits professional.
What Federal Guidance Actually Says
Two clocks start when employer coverage ends, and they run in parallel rather than in sequence. You have 60 days to elect COBRA continuation coverage, and 60 days to enrol in a marketplace plan through a Special Enrollment Period. Missing both means waiting for the next Open Enrollment, which for most people means November.
COBRA is priced at up to 102% of the full premium — the employer’s share as well as yours, plus a 2% administrative charge. That is why the number is so much larger than the deduction you were used to seeing: on 2025 employer survey averages, single cover came to roughly $793 a month and family cover to about $2,294 at that ceiling. A marketplace premium, by contrast, is priced on your post-job-loss income, which is usually far lower than the income that set your previous contribution. Get an actual quote before assuming which is cheaper; the comparison changes completely once a premium tax credit is applied.
A safe decision sequence
Elect nothing until you have both real numbers. COBRA election is retroactive to the day coverage ended, so the 60 days are genuinely yours to use — if you have no claims in that window, you can compare at leisure and elect at the end without a gap. What you cannot do is let both windows close.
Check three things before choosing on price alone: whether your current doctors are in the marketplace plan’s network, whether any deductible you have already met this year carries over (with COBRA it does; with a new plan it does not), and whether a prescription you depend on is on the new formulary. A plan that is $200 a month cheaper and drops your specialist is not cheaper.
Methodology and limits
The comparison above is arithmetic on the two quotes you enter, not a recommendation. It counts premiums and expected out-of-pocket costs over the months you specify. It does not price network differences, formulary changes, or a deductible you have already partly met — the three things most likely to make the cheaper plan the wrong one. The premium figures quoted in this section come from the 2025 employer health benefits survey and move each autumn.
Insurance Gaps: What to Watch For
Confirm when job-based coverage ends and when replacement coverage begins. Marketplace coverage does not necessarily begin on the date employment ends, and COBRA requires a timely election and full required payment. Check prescription formularies and provider networks before enrolling, and keep copies of notices, applications, confirmations, and payment records.
COBRA and Marketplace for Families
Family members may have different coverage needs and, under COBRA, qualified beneficiaries can have individual election rights. Compare each option’s dependent coverage, pediatric and specialist networks, prescriptions, deductibles, and total family out-of-pocket maximum. Use the household result from the official Marketplace application rather than a national average.
Share this
Losing Your Job: everything in one place
16 pages cover this. The one you are reading is marked, so you can see what the others do differently.
Walk the decisions 2
Run your numbers 6
- COBRA vs Marketplace Insurance Tool you are here
- Emergency Fund Runway Tool
- Resume Gap Cost Tool
- Severance Pay Tool
- Side Hustle Revenue Tool
- Unemployment Benefits Estimator