About

About cobravsmarketplace

A free, open calculator for one of the most stressful money decisions after a job loss: keep COBRA, or move to the Marketplace?

When you lose job-based health insurance, COBRA lets you keep your exact plan — but you pay the full premium (up to 102% of it), which is often a shock because your employer used to cover most of it. The ACA Marketplace is the alternative, and many people qualify for a premium tax credit that lowers the cost. The catch is that the two are rarely compared side by side, the subsidy math is opaque, and there’s a hard 60-day deadline to switch.

cobravsmarketplace turns a few inputs — household size, region, estimated annual income, your COBRA premium, and how many months you need — into a clear cost comparison. It computes your income as a percentage of the 2025 federal poverty level, determines your 2026 premium-tax-credit eligibility, estimates the net premium for the benchmark Silver Marketplace plan using the published 2026 applicable-percentage table, and totals each option over your coverage gap. It also counts down the 60-day Special Enrollment deadline. Every figure follows a disclosed method — no black box — and runs entirely in your browser. It is informational only, not insurance, tax, or financial advice, and not affiliated with the IRS, CMS, or any insurer.

It’s worth knowing that the rules changed for 2026: the enhanced premium tax credits from 2021–2025 expired, the amount people pay toward a benchmark plan rose, and the 400%-of-poverty subsidy cliff returned — so higher earners now pay full price. This tool reflects those 2026 rules, but Congress was still debating an extension, so always confirm current rules and your own quote.

Informational only — not insurance, tax, or financial advice, and not affiliated with the IRS, CMS, HealthCare.gov, or any insurer. Subsidy and premium figures are estimates; your actual premium depends on your age, county, and plan. Confirm everything and get real quotes at HealthCare.gov or your state exchange. Open the calculator →