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Health Insurance Premium Calculator

Use this free health insurance premium calculator to estimate what a health plan costs each month. Enter your age, plan tier, smoker status, household size, and state cost level, and it works out an estimated monthly premium — with editable default rates you can adjust to match quotes in your area — plus the annual cost and a note about subsidies.

How it works

A health insurance premium is a monthly price for cover, and it is set by a handful of factors the insurer is allowed to use. The plan tier sets the starting point: Bronze plans cost least per month but leave you paying most of the bill when you get care, while Platinum plans cost most per month but cover most of the bill. Your age pushes the price up, because older people use more care on average. Smoking pushes it up further, and where you live matters too, because care costs more in some states than others. This calculator multiplies those factors together to give an estimated monthly premium.

Plan tier is the metal level of the plan. Bronze plans have the lowest premium and the highest deductible — the insurer pays about 60% of covered costs on average. Silver plans pay about 70% and sit in the middle. Gold plans pay about 80% with a higher premium and lower costs at the visit. Platinum plans pay about 90% with the highest premium and the lowest costs when you use care. The base monthly premium field starts with an editable default for the tier you pick — $350 for Bronze, $450 for Silver, $550 for Gold, and $650 for Platinum, as planning estimates from November 2026. Changing the tier resets the field, and you can edit it at any time to match a real quote.

Age factor follows the pattern insurers use: under 30 is 0.75, ages 30–39 are 1.00, ages 40–49 are 1.30, ages 50–59 are 1.80, and 60 and over is 2.50. Federal rules cap the spread so the oldest adult pays at most three times the youngest for the same plan. Smoker status matters in most states, where insurers may charge tobacco users up to 50% more — a 1.5 factor — though a few states do not allow the surcharge. Household size estimates a family premium: each additional person adds about 60% of the individual premium, because children and additional adults cost less to cover on a family plan than a separate individual plan would. State cost level reflects that the same plan costs less in lower-cost states (0.90) and more in higher-cost states (1.15).

One thing the estimate does not include is the premium tax credit — the subsidy. If you buy a plan through the marketplace, you may qualify for a credit that lowers your monthly premium, depending on your household income and size, and it is paid directly to the insurer so you pay less each month. Many people who think insurance is out of reach qualify for a credit that cuts the premium by hundreds of dollars. The number on this page is before any subsidy, so check the marketplace for your state to see what you qualify for before deciding a plan is too expensive.

Worked example

Suppose you are 35 years old, a non-smoker, in a one-person household in an average-cost state, choosing a Silver plan. Here is how the premium works out, step by step.

Step 1: Start with the base premium. The Silver default is $450.00 per month.
Step 2: Apply the age factor. Age 35 falls in the 30–39 band, so the factor is 1.00 and the premium stays at $450.00.
Step 3: Apply the smoker factor. A non-smoker is 1.00, so the premium stays at $450.00.
Step 4: Apply the state factor. An average-cost state is 1.00, so the premium stays at $450.00.
Step 5: Work out the totals. The household has one person, so the household premium is also $450.00 a month, and the annual premium is $450.00 × 12 = $5,400.00.

Enter the same numbers — age 35, Silver, non-smoker, 1 person, average-cost state — and the calculator shows exactly the same result: $450.00 per month, or $5,400.00 per year. Switch the tier to Gold and the same person pays about $550.00 a month; switch the smoker status to smoker and the Silver premium rises to about $675.00 a month — try both in the selectors.

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