Free Health Insurance Cost Estimator — See Your Options for Your Situation

Ryan Michalek, Licensed Health & Life Insurance Agent, NPN 21043091. Tampa, FL. Last updated November 8, 2026 · Read my Google reviews

Estimating health insurance if you're self-employed

There's no single sticker price, and anyone who gives you one before knowing your situation is guessing. What you pay depends on your age, where you live, how many people you're covering, the plan tier you choose, and whether you qualify for income-based marketplace help. That's why this tool is an educational estimator, not a quote engine: it shows you which paths are worth comparing so you walk into a real conversation already knowing the map. When you're self-employed, the two big paths are usually the ACA marketplace (where a subsidy can lower your cost based on income) and the individual, private under-65 market (where flexibility and network are the draw). The right answer is the one that fits your income, your doctors, and how you use care. For 2027 full-price figures, see what self-employed health insurance costs.

What if you make too much for an ACA subsidy?

This is the spot a lot of successful self-employed people land in: your income is high enough that the marketplace subsidy shrinks or disappears, the so-called subsidy cliff. It's easy to assume that leaves you stuck paying full sticker price on the exchange, but that's exactly the moment to look wider. Once income-based help is off the table, the marketplace's biggest advantage is gone, and private, under-65 health insurance is worth comparing on both price and network flexibility.

Private health insurance vs. the marketplace comes down to this: subsidized marketplace coverage usually wins when you qualify for real help; when you don't, medically underwritten private plans (the kind that ask some health questions before you enroll) are worth comparing on price and coverage, though they work differently and aren't the right fit for everyone. If you're self-employed and earn too much for a subsidy, comparing the two side by side is the single most valuable thing you can do before you enroll. Run your situation in the estimator above, then let's compare them on your real numbers.

Comparing COBRA with your other options

COBRA lets you keep your exact job-based plan after you leave, but you pay the full premium yourself, with no employer contribution, which is often a shock. It's not your only option. Losing job-based coverage usually opens a special enrollment window, so you can compare COBRA against a marketplace plan (often subsidized) and private under-65 coverage side by side. For a lot of healthy people, one of the alternatives is worth comparing on price and flexibility. It doesn't always come out ahead, which is exactly why it's worth running the numbers both ways before you default to the priciest route. Use the estimator above to see the paths for your situation, then read whether COBRA is worth it for you.

What does this estimator actually tell me?

It maps your coverage paths in plain English: which categories fit your moment, what each one is good for, and what to watch out for. It deliberately does not quote a premium or name a carrier, because an honest number needs your real details. Think of it as the briefing before the conversation: you'll know the right questions to ask and won't get talked into the wrong plan. The next step, whenever you're ready, is a free call where I run your exact numbers and lay the real options side by side.

From your result to a decision

The estimator gives you two to three paths and a "watch out" for each. Here is how I'd read them, and what to do next, depending on what came back:

• The marketplace path, and your income may be under the line. Your next step is the income test, not a plan search. Check which side of the 2027 subsidy line you're on; if you're under it, a subsidized plan is usually the first thing to price, and a licensed partner I work with handles that enrollment.
• "I earn too much for a subsidy." Every path is now at full price, so the comparison is price, network and how you use care, side by side. If you're above the subsidy line and looking for help, that's the comparison I spend most of my days running. Private plans are medically underwritten, so approval isn't guaranteed.
• "My premium went up" or "my insurance company is leaving." Put this year's number next to next year's in the renewal increase check before you decide whether to switch.
• A life change: a job ending, turning 26, a baby, a move, a marriage, a divorce. The paths matter less than the clock. Most of these open a window of about 60 days, so confirm yours with the special enrollment checker first, then compare.
• Retiring before 65. You're pricing a bridge, not a forever plan. How many months until Medicare decides whether COBRA, the marketplace or a private plan makes sense for the stretch.

How a health insurance subsidy calculator gets its number

Every marketplace or Obamacare price calculator runs the same three steps, and knowing them makes any result easier to trust or question. First, it finds the benchmark plan: the second-lowest-cost silver plan for your ZIP code and ages. Second, it works out your expected share, a set percentage of household income; for 2027 coverage it's 10.22% for anyone from 300% to 400% of the poverty level. Third, the credit is the benchmark price minus your share, and you can put it toward any metal level.

A worked example with 2027 numbers: a couple, both 60, expecting $80,000 of household income. That's about 370% of the poverty level for two, so their expected share is about $681 a month. Across the 34 cities in my 2027 price check, the middle benchmark for a couple that age was about $2,912 a month, which puts their credit near $2,230 a month. If their income comes in at $88,000 instead, they're past the $86,560 line for a household of two, the credit is zero, and the full price is theirs. Same couple, same plans, an $8,000 difference in income. That's why the first question I ask isn't "which plan?" but "which side of the line?"

The other big input is age. Federal rating rules let a plan charge an older adult up to three times what a 21-year-old pays, and allow up to 1.5 times more for tobacco use. In my check, a 60-year-old's benchmark ran about 2.4 times a 30-year-old's in 33 of the 34 cities, and a little lower in the other, and the city prices for a 30-year-old ranged from about $429 to about $1,063 a month. So if you're wondering how to calculate a health insurance premium yourself, start with your age and ZIP code; everything else moves the number less.

Illustration only, not a quote; figures rounded. Sources: IRS Rev. Proc. 2026-26 (2027 applicable percentage table); HHS 2026 poverty guidelines (Federal Register, January 15, 2026); 45 CFR 147.102 (age and tobacco rating limits); MHS public marketplace price checks, benchmark silver, no subsidy, October 31 and November 1, 2026 (see the full city-by-city table). Checked November 8, 2026.

Why this tool asks so little

People ask where they can get an instant health insurance quote without giving their personal info. This isn't a quote, but it's built for that worry: an age band, a household size and a ZIP code, no name, no health questions, and nothing stored unless you ask me to follow up. A real quote does need more, and when you want one, it's me on the phone, not a call center.