title: "Zion HealthShare vs CrowdHealth: The Two Best Secular Options Compared" description: "Zion ($185–268/mo, health sharing) vs CrowdHealth ($60–200/mo, crowdfunding). Both are secular with no faith requirements. Here's the real difference." author: "WhichHealthShare Editorial" published: "2026-05-28" updated: "2026-05-28"
Zion HealthShare and CrowdHealth are the two most popular secular health sharing alternatives. Neither requires faith, church attendance, or lifestyle statements. But they work very differently — Zion is a traditional health sharing ministry with predictable monthly costs and an unlimited sharing cap; CrowdHealth is a healthcare crowdfunding platform where members fund each other's bills voluntarily, with lower costs but no guarantee of payment.
Quick Comparison
| Factor | Zion HealthShare | CrowdHealth | |--------|-----------------|-------------| | Monthly Cost | $185–268 (individual) | $60–200 (advocacy fee + crowdfunding) | | Model | Health sharing (pooled) | Healthcare crowdfunding (voluntary) | | Coverage Cap | Unlimited | None (crowdfunded — not guaranteed) | | Pre-existing | Phase-in; HBP/cholesterol/diabetes: month 1 | 2-year ineligibility | | Faith Required | No | No | | Network | Any provider | Any provider | | Members | 50,000+ | 17,000+ | | Prescriptions | Covered | Covered | | Mental Health | Covered | Covered | | Founded | 2017 | 2021 | | State Availability | All except WA | Most states |
The Core Difference: Pooled vs Crowdfunded
This is the most important thing to understand before choosing.
Zion operates like traditional health sharing: all members contribute monthly to a shared pool, and when you have a qualifying medical need, the pool pays your bills. The obligation is defined by their member guidelines. If your need qualifies, it gets shared — full stop.
CrowdHealth works differently. When you have a medical need, CrowdHealth submits it to the community and members voluntarily fund it. Historically, 99% of submitted needs have been funded. But "historically" is doing a lot of work in that sentence — there's no legal or contractual obligation for the community to fund your bill. In a bad year, if the community doesn't fund, you're responsible.
For most people with typical health needs, CrowdHealth has worked. For someone facing a $200,000+ surgery or a rare chronic condition requiring expensive ongoing treatment, the "voluntary crowdfunding" structure is a meaningful risk that Zion doesn't carry.
Cost: CrowdHealth Is Cheaper, But Check the Math
CrowdHealth's base cost is $60/month (advocacy fee). On top of that, you contribute to other members' health events — typically averaging ~$140/month total under 55, with a cap of $200/month. For a healthy 35-year-old, you're probably paying $100–160/month in practice.
Zion starts at $185/month for individuals (Basic plan, $500 IUA). That's more than CrowdHealth's average, but it includes a guaranteed sharing pool — not voluntary community contributions.
Annual cost comparison (individual, age 35):
- CrowdHealth: ~$1,200–2,400/year (avg ~$1,680)
- Zion Basic: ~$2,220/year
- Zion Standard: ~$2,580/year
CrowdHealth saves $500–1,000/year on average. Whether that's worth the structural difference in coverage guarantees is the question.
Pre-Existing Conditions: Both Have Limits
Neither plan covers all pre-existing conditions from day one.
Zion covers three specific conditions from month 1: high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes — provided none resulted in a hospitalization in the prior 12 months. All other pre-existing conditions (heart disease history, cancer history, autoimmune conditions, etc.) face a phase-in period before becoming eligible for sharing.
CrowdHealth has a 2-year ineligibility period for pre-existing conditions. During years 1–2, pre-existing conditions are not eligible for community crowdfunding. After year 2, you may be eligible for up to $25K/year in crowdfunding for pre-existing needs.
If you have significant pre-existing conditions, neither plan is ideal. But Zion is somewhat more favorable — the phase-in begins sooner, and the 3-condition day-1 exception covers the most common chronic conditions.
Coverage Depth: Zion Has More Predictability
Both plans cover the same categories on paper: emergency care, surgery, hospital stays, maternity, prescriptions, mental health, telehealth, preventive care. No faith requirement, no network restriction — see any provider.
The difference is reliability. Zion's unlimited sharing cap means a $500,000 hospital bill gets shared if it qualifies under member guidelines. CrowdHealth's "no cap" crowdfunding means theoretically unlimited coverage too — but that coverage depends on community participation, not a contractual obligation.
For low-to-moderate medical events ($5,000–$50,000 range), both plans have historically performed well. For catastrophic events, Zion's structure provides more certainty.
Member Size and Stability
Zion: 50,000+ members, founded 2017, based in Denver. CrowdHealth: 17,000+ members, founded 2021, based in Austin.
Zion's larger pool and longer track record matter. A smaller crowdfunding pool faces more variance — if a bad year hits the 17,000-member community hard, the percentage of needs funded could drop. Zion's shared pool model is more insulated from individual community behavior.
Neither plan has the decades of track record that Medi-Share (1992) or CHM (1981) do. Both are newer organizations that have operated only in relatively healthy economic periods.
Who Should Choose Zion
- You want predictable monthly costs you can budget around
- You have a pre-existing condition that might become shareable in 1–2 years
- A catastrophic health event ($200K+) is a realistic concern for you
- You value the contractual structure of health sharing over crowdfunding
- You're fine paying $185–268/month for a more defined structure
Who Should Choose CrowdHealth
- You're young, healthy, and realistic that you won't need major care
- Saving $500–1,000/year matters more than structural guarantees
- You understand and accept the voluntary crowdfunding model
- Your pre-existing conditions are non-existent or manageable
- You want the flexibility of month-to-month membership
The Bottom Line
CrowdHealth is cheaper. Zion is more structured. Both are secular with no faith requirements.
If you're deciding purely on cost and you're in excellent health with no pre-existing conditions, CrowdHealth's $60–200/month beats Zion's $185–268/month. But you're accepting a different model of coverage — one where payment is historically reliable but not contractually guaranteed.
If you want the closest thing to the reliability of traditional health sharing without faith requirements, Zion is the better structure. The extra $50–100/month buys you a defined sharing pool, not voluntary community funding.
Want more details? Zion HealthShare review | CrowdHealth review | All plans compared