About CobraCalc
CobraCalc is a free tool that helps you answer one stressful question: after you lose job-based health coverage, is it cheaper to keep your old plan with COBRA, or to buy your own Marketplace plan (also called Obamacare or the ACA) — which may come with a subsidy? It compares the two, year by year, using 2026 rules. Everything runs on your own device. Nothing you type is sent anywhere or saved.
Why we built it
When you get laid off or retire early, the COBRA letter that arrives can be a shock — often $600 to $2,000 a month. The other choice, a Marketplace plan, is hard to price because your subsidy depends on your income, your age, your household, and where you live. Most calculators online only do part of this, and many are out of date for 2026 — when the extra pandemic-era help ended and the 400% income cliff came back. We built CobraCalc to put the whole decision in one place, with the new rules built in.
Who makes CobraCalc
CobraCalc is an independent project — not run by an insurance company, a broker, or the government, so it has no reason to push you toward one choice over another. Every figure comes from a public, official source (listed below), and the math is open for anyone to check. The goal is simple: show you the real trade-off in plain numbers so you can decide for yourself.
How we keep the numbers accurate
Every figure in the tool comes from a public, official source, and we update them when the rules change each year:
- Federal Poverty Levels — U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).
- The subsidy (premium-tax-credit) percentages — the IRS yearly table.
- The age-rating curve — the CMS default age factors (how price rises with age).
- The benchmark Silver premium — national-average data (KFF).
We are open about exactly how the math works and where each number comes from. See How it works for the step-by-step method, and Sources & methodology for the source list and the date each was last checked. Marketplace prices are a national average, not your state's exact rate — you can type in a real local quote to make your estimate much closer.
Your privacy
The numbers you enter — your income, your COBRA price — never leave your browser. There is no account, no login, and nothing you type is sent to a server or stored. We use privacy-friendly analytics to count page visits only; that never includes anything you enter into the calculator.
How CobraCalc stays free
CobraCalc is free to use. In time, it may earn money through clearly-labeled links to insurance or planning services, or through ads on the guide pages. When it does, we say so. We will never sell the information you enter — affiliate links simply send you to a partner's own site, where you choose what to share. See our disclaimer and affiliate disclosure.
This is not advice
CobraCalc gives an estimate to help you plan. It is not insurance, legal, or tax advice, and it is not a real quote. Rules have special cases this tool does not cover, and laws can change. Before a big decision, check your exact options with a licensed insurance agent or a tax professional. See the full disclaimer.
Contact & corrections
Found a number that looks wrong, or have a question? We want to know. Email support@cobracalc.com.