Gold vs Silver: when Gold costs less
Gold plans are supposed to cost more than Silver plans. Often they do not. We compared the cheapest Gold and the cheapest Silver plan in every 2026 rating area. In 105 of 349, Gold was cheaper. In 77 of those, Gold also had a lower deductible and no higher out-of-pocket maximum.
The short version
Most people sort plans by metal level and assume the order holds. Bronze, then Silver, then Gold, each one costing more than the last.
That order breaks a lot.
We compared the cheapest Gold plan against the cheapest Silver plan. We did it in every 2026 rating area we hold rates for. Gold was cheaper in 105 of 349. In Texas it was cheaper in all 27.
Why Silver got expensive
The reason is a pricing quirk called silver loading.
Insurers must give lower deductibles and copays to marketplace buyers with low incomes. Those discounts are called cost-sharing reductions. The federal government stopped paying insurers for them in 2017.
Insurers still had to provide the discounts. So they raised premiums to cover the cost.
Most states told insurers to put that cost on Silver plans only. Silver is the only metal level where the discounts are available (KFF).
Gold premiums were left alone. Silver premiums went up. From 2017 to 2018, benchmark Silver premiums rose about 17 percentage points more than Bronze (KFF).
This is not a loophole anyone is closing quietly. The 2026 payment rule codified silver loading where the state regulator allows it (KFF).
What the metal levels actually mean
The metal level describes what share of costs the plan pays on average.
| Plan category | Plan pays | You pay | Deductible |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bronze | 60% | 40% | High |
| Silver | 70% | 30% | Moderate |
| Silver with extra savings | 73–96% | 6–27% | Low |
| Gold | 80% | 20% | Low |
| Platinum | 90% | 10% | Low |
Source: HealthCare.gov plan categories.
Gold covers more than Silver. That is the point of the tier. So a cheaper Gold plan is a better plan for less money.
What our data shows
We hold the 2026 individual-market rate tables in our own database. We took the cheapest Gold plan and the cheapest Silver plan in each rating area. All figures are at age 40.
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| State and rating-area combinations with both Gold and Silver | 349 |
| Combinations where the cheapest Gold costs less | 105 |
| Share | 30.1% |
| Median monthly saving in those 105 | $59.97 |
| Largest monthly saving | $128.73 |
| Smallest | $0.33 |
The median saving works out to about $720 a year. The largest is over $1,500 a year.
The states where Gold always wins
Seven states had Gold cheaper in every single rating area.
| State | Rating areas | Gold cheaper in | Largest monthly saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 27 | 27 | $128.73 |
| West Virginia | 11 | 11 | $81.62 |
| Missouri | 10 | 10 | $53.86 |
| Iowa | 7 | 7 | $55.59 |
| Arkansas | 7 | 7 | $106.19 |
| Alaska | 3 | 3 | $107.98 |
| Wyoming | 3 | 3 | $89.98 |
Tennessee was split at 4 of 8. Ohio was 6 of 17. Florida was 20 of 67.
Fourteen states had no rating area where Gold came in cheaper. South Carolina, Indiana, Michigan and North Carolina were among them.
The biggest gaps
These are the ten widest gaps we found, at age 40.
| State and rating area | Cheapest Gold | Cheapest Silver | Monthly saving | Gold deductible | Silver deductible |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TX 14 | $650.35 | $779.08 | $128.73 | $1,550 | $6,000 |
| TX 22 | $589.08 | $705.60 | $116.52 | $2,000 | $6,000 |
| TX 20 | $588.89 | $705.37 | $116.48 | $2,000 | $6,000 |
| TX 17 | $810.29 | $920.02 | $109.73 | $550 | $6,000 |
| AK 2 | $927.52 | $1,035.50 | $107.98 | $2,000 | $6,000 |
| AK 1 | $903.00 | $1,010.00 | $107.00 | $2,000 | $6,000 |
| AR 4 | $646.55 | $752.74 | $106.19 | $5,900 | $6,000 |
| AR 3 | $646.55 | $752.74 | $106.19 | $5,900 | $6,000 |
| AR 7 | $646.55 | $752.74 | $106.19 | $5,900 | $6,000 |
| AR 2 | $646.55 | $752.74 | $106.19 | $5,900 | $6,000 |
You are not giving anything up
A cheaper price often means a worse plan. Not here.
We pulled the deductible and out-of-pocket maximum for each of those 105 Gold plans. Then we compared them to the Silver plan they beat.
| Measure | Gold | Silver |
|---|---|---|
| Median deductible | $2,000 | $6,000 |
| Median out-of-pocket maximum | $8,200 | $8,900 |
Gold had the lower deductible in 104 of the 105. In 77 of the 105, Gold won three ways. It was cheaper, had a lower deductible, and had an out-of-pocket maximum no higher than Silver's.
That is a better plan at a lower price, in 77 markets.
Age does not change the answer
We ran the same comparison at ages 21, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 64.
The count was 105 of 349 at every single age. Rate tables scale premiums by age using the same factor for every plan. So the ranking holds.
What changes is the size of the gap. The best saving was $100.73 a month at 21 and $302.18 a month at 64.
At 64 that is $3,626 a year.
When Silver is still the better buy
This is the part the comparison tables leave out.
If your income is between 100% and 250% of the federal poverty level, you qualify for cost-sharing reductions. Those are only available on Silver plans (KFF).
The effect is large. We checked the same 1,453 Silver plans across their variants.
| Silver variant | Median deductible |
|---|---|
| Standard | $6,000 |
| 73% variant | $3,000 |
| 87% variant | $700 |
| 94% variant | $0 |
A Silver plan with a $0 deductible beats a Gold plan with a $2,000 one. If you qualify for the strongest discount, take the Silver plan.
Gold gets no such discount, at any income.
What this does not tell you
Three limits worth stating plainly.
We compared list prices, before any premium tax credit. Your own subsidy shifts the math.
We compared the cheapest plan at each metal level. The cheapest Gold plan may use a narrower network than the Silver plan you were looking at.
We used the individual rate. Our rate tables carry individual premiums only, not family rates.
Check the network and the drug list before you switch. Price is one input.
How to check your own area
Pull up the plan list for your county. Sort by premium, not by metal level.
Then look at where the cheapest Gold plan lands against the cheapest Silver one. Say Gold lands at or below Silver. If you do not qualify for cost-sharing reductions, Gold is very likely the better buy.
It takes two minutes and it is worth up to $1,500 a year.
Where these numbers come from
Source file: CMS 2026 Marketplace Public Use Files, individual-market rate and plan-attribute tables, loaded into our own database.
Source URL: CMS Marketplace PUF
Records behind this page: 1,235,067 rate rows in plan year 2026. 1,453 Silver and 1,172 Gold standard components. 349 state and rating-area combinations carrying both metal levels, across 30 states.
Queried: 2026-09-03.
Computed here, and nowhere in the source file:
- The cheapest Gold and cheapest Silver premium in each state and rating area, and the gap between them.
- The count and share of combinations where Gold is cheaper, at six ages.
- The median deductible and out-of-pocket maximum of those cheapest Gold and Silver plans, side by side.
- The count of markets where Gold wins on premium, deductible and out-of-pocket maximum at once.
Questions people ask
Is a Gold plan cheaper than Silver everywhere?
No. We found it in 105 of 349 state and rating-area combinations, or 30.1%. In fourteen states we found no rating area where it happened.
Why would a more generous plan cost less?
Silver loading. Insurers put the cost of low-income cost-sharing discounts onto Silver premiums only. Silver is the only tier where those discounts exist (KFF).
Does Gold have a lower deductible too?
Usually. Among the 105 cases we found, Gold had the lower deductible in 104. The median was $2,000 for Gold and $6,000 for Silver.
Should I always take Gold if it is cheaper?
No. If you qualify for cost-sharing reductions, Silver may still be better. The 94% Silver variant carries a median deductible of $0 in our data.
Does this change as I get older?
The answer stays the same. The dollars get bigger. Our best-case saving grew from $100.73 a month at age 21 to $302.18 a month at age 64.
Is silver loading going away?
Not right now. The 2026 payment rule allows it where the state regulator permits it (KFF). A 2025 attempt to fund cost-sharing reductions directly was ruled out of order in the Senate.