Updated August 26, 2026 · current for the 2026-2027 plan year
COBRA charges you the whole premium your employer used to split, plus a fee. A marketplace plan is priced on your income, and income between jobs is often low enough for a large subsidy. Put the number from your COBRA letter in and see both, side by side.
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The price gap is the obvious part. These four are the ones that cost people money after the fact.
Voluntarily dropping COBRA later does not open a special enrollment period. Once you elect it you generally stay until it is exhausted, until open enrollment, or until another qualifying event. Compare before you elect, not after.
A high salary you earned for eight months and then lost still counts toward the year. But if you are out of work for the rest of it, your projected annual income can be far lower than your old salary suggests, and the subsidy follows the projection.
You get 60 days to elect COBRA and 60 days of special enrollment on the marketplace, both counted from roughly the same event. Waiting out the COBRA window does not extend the marketplace one.
If you are mid-treatment, have met most of your deductible for the year, or need to keep a specific specialist in network, paying more to keep the identical plan is often worth it. This tool compares price. It cannot compare your doctors.
Usually not, once subsidies are counted. COBRA charges the full premium your employer used to share, plus up to a 2 percent administrative fee, so a plan that cost you $150 a month as an employee often lands at $650 or more on COBRA. A marketplace plan is priced on your household income, and income while between jobs is frequently low enough for a large premium tax credit. COBRA wins mainly when you are mid-treatment and need the exact same network and deductible.
Sixty days from the later of the date your coverage ended or the date your election notice was sent. Losing that coverage also opens a 60-day special enrollment period on the marketplace. The two clocks run at roughly the same time, which is exactly why the decision is worth making early instead of on day 59.
Not freely, and this is the part that surprises people. Voluntarily dropping COBRA does not create a special enrollment period. Once you elect it you generally stay on it until it is exhausted, until open enrollment, or until another qualifying event happens. Exhausting COBRA does open a window. Cancelling it does not.
Not necessarily. If you are still inside the 60-day special enrollment period your loss of coverage opened, you can usually still enroll in a marketplace plan instead. Once that window closes you are generally waiting for COBRA to run out or for open enrollment. Check the date rather than assuming.
No. An offer of COBRA does not disqualify you from a premium tax credit. An offer of active employer coverage that is affordable does. If you have been offered COBRA and nothing else, you can take a subsidized marketplace plan instead, and most people in that position pay less for it.
Because this comparison uses regional averages and your real options depend on the plans sold in your ZIP code. There is also usually a date question worth getting right, and those are faster to sort out on a call than in a form. Your email is optional, and there is no cost or obligation.