Health Sharing Cost Index — 2026
We track the published monthly costs of 16 vetted health sharing and crowdfunding plans and recompute this index from the underlying data — so the numbers below are the current snapshot, not a stale roundup. The median individual starting cost across the 16 plans that publish pricing is $115/mo, with a floor of $67/mo (Solidarity HealthShare) and a ceiling of $617/mo (Altrua HealthShare). Medi-Share and Sedera set final pricing by personalized quote, so the ranges shown for them are their published estimates.
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Across all 16 vetted plans, individual health sharing runs from $67/mo (Solidarity HealthShare, cheapest complete cost) up to $617/mo among plans that publish rates; families start at $169/mo (JHS Community (Jericho Health Share)). IUAs span $300–$12,000 per incident. Medi-Share and Sedera price by personalized quote, so their ranges are published estimates. CrowdHealth's $60/mo is a membership fee, not a complete monthly cost, so it is reported separately.
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Key findings
- Cheapest complete individual cost: $67/mo — Solidarity HealthShare. This is the published floor for a single member (requires the plan's highest IUA of $12,000). CHM is the cheapest plan that's widely recommended, at $115/mo.
- Median individual starting cost: $115/mo — across the 16 plans that publish pricing. That's the midpoint of what you're likely to pay when you start shopping.
- Families start at $169/mo — JHS Community (Jericho Health Share). Family costs vary enormously (up to $706/mo at the top of published ranges), so family size is the single biggest lever on total cost.
- IUAs span $300–$12,000 per incident — that's the amount you pay out-of-pocket before sharing kicks in. Choosing a higher IUA lowers your monthly cost; CHM's $300 IUA is the lowest available.
- 10 of 16 plans require a faith affiliation — Christian (strict or light), Catholic, or Jewish. 6 plans are open to all members regardless of belief, including some of the fastest-growing options.
- 4 of 16 plans are HSA-compatible — meaning you can pair your health sharing membership with a Health Savings Account for pre-tax medical spending.
- 6 of 16 plans have no coverage cap — unlimited per incident or per year. The remaining 10 have annual or lifetime limits ranging from $50,000 to $1,000,000 per incident.
- Oldest plan: CHM (Christian Healthcare Ministries) (founded 1981). Newest: CrowdHealth (2021). Track record matters — newer plans have less history of actually paying large claims.
The headline numbers
Price aggregates cover the 16 plans that publish rates. Medi-Share and Sedera set final pricing by personalized quote, so their published ranges are included here as estimates. CrowdHealth's $60/mo is a membership/advocacy fee (members also contribute to others' bills, capped), so it is reported separately and not counted as the cheapest complete cost.
Why the spread is so wide
A $67/mo floor and a $617/mo ceiling for the same category of product is strange until you understand what's actually varying. It's not just brand — it's three things that move in opposite directions.
Your IUA is the biggest single lever. The IUA (Initial Unshared Amount) is the amount you pay before the plan starts covering your bills. Solidarity's $67/mo floor requires a $3,000 IUA — meaning you eat the first $3,000 of any medical incident. CHM's $115/mo floor requires only a $300 IUA. The monthly savings look appealing until you run the math on a real hospitalization. Most households doing honest scenario modeling land on a mid-range IUA, which moves the effective monthly cost toward the median.
Faith requirements correlate with lower cost. The strictest Christian ministries (CHM, Samaritan) set floors around $115–$199/mo. They can do this partly because of their membership size — CHM has over 300,000 members — and partly because of lifestyle underwriting: members who don't smoke, drink heavily, or use drugs typically generate fewer large claims. Secular plans (Zion, Knew Health, CrowdHealth) run slightly higher on a price-per-month basis but skip the faith screening, the annual church letter, and the lifestyle accountability.
Coverage cap is a hidden pricing variable. 6 of 16 plans have unlimited coverage per incident. The other 10 cap out at anywhere from $50,000 to $1,000,000/year. Liberty HealthShare's $50,000 annual cap is a meaningful ceiling — one serious hospitalization can exceed it. The plans with the lowest monthly floors often have lower caps, a higher IUA, or both.
The full index — all 16 plans
| Plan | Individual | Family | IUA range | Pre-existing wait | Faith req. | HSA | Founded | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zion HealthShare | from $114$114–$320 | from $334$334–$899 | $1,250–$5,000 | Phase-in period applies | No | ✓ | 2019 | 4.8 |
| CrowdHealth | from $60$60–$200 | from $240$240–$660 | $500–$500 | 2 years ineligible | No | — | 2021 | 4.6 |
| Medi-Share | $115–$470 | $390–$850 | $3,000–$12,000 | 36 months | Yes | — | 1993 | 4.5 |
| Sedera | $153–$438 | $378–$1,203 | $500–$5,000 | 12-36 month phase-in | No | ✓ | 2014 | 4.5 |
| CHM (Christian Healthcare Ministries) | from $115$115–$299 | from $345$345–$897 | $300–$1,000 | 12 months | Yes (strict) | — | 1981 | 4.4 |
| Samaritan Ministries | from $199$199–$365 | from $699$699–$715 | $300–$1,000 | 12 months | Yes (strict) | — | 1994 | 4.4 |
| Knew Health | from $142$142–$379 | from $400$400–$950 | $1,000–$5,000 | Phase-in | No | — | 2017 | 4.2 |
| HSA Secure | from $114$114–$320 | from $334$334–$899 | $1,250–$5,000 | 12 months | No | ✓ | 2019 | 4.0 |
| Impact Health Sharing | from $73$73–$400 | from $378$378–$700 | $1,000–$10,000 | 36 months | Yes | — | 2020 | 3.8 |
| United Refuah HealthShare | from $199$199–$199 | from $499$499–$499 | $500–$1,500 | 12 months | Yes (Jewish) | — | 2018 | 3.5 |
| JHS Community (Jericho Health Share) | from $127$127–$566 | from $169$169–$1,381 | $2,500–$10,000 | 12 months | No | ✓ | 2021 | 3.2 |
| OneShare Health | from $73$73–$415 | from $331$331–$949 | $5,000–$10,000 | 24 months | Yes | — | 2016 | 3.2 |
| Liberty HealthShare | from $87$87–$362 | from $319$319–$999 | $1,000–$1,000 | 12 months | Yes | — | 1995 | 3.0 |
| Altrua HealthShare | from $356$356–$617 | from $706$706–$1,145 | $500–$500 | 24-60 months | Yes | — | 1996 | 2.8 |
| Solidarity HealthShare | from $67$67–$399 | from $275$275–$599 | $3,000–$12,000 | 12 months | Yes (Catholic) | — | 2016 | 2.5 |
| netWell HealthShare | from $144$144–$269 | from $350$350–$560 | $5,000–$10,000 | 24 months | Yes | — | 2020 | 1.8 |
* Medi-Share and Sedera publish no public rate card — pricing is quote-only and excluded from the headline aggregates above. Individual prices show the starting (“from”) rate with the full published range underneath; rates vary by age, household, and IUA. CrowdHealth's individual $60/mo is a membership/advocacy fee — members also contribute separately to others' bills.
Faith-required vs. open-to-all: what it actually means
10 of the 16 plans require some form of faith affiliation — Christian (strict or light), Catholic, or Jewish. 6 are open to anyone. The practical difference is bigger than it sounds.
Strict-faith plans (CHM, Samaritan Ministries) require you to be a practicing Christian — CHM asks for a pastor's signature, Samaritan sends a monthly newsletter with prayer requests. They also have lifestyle requirements: no tobacco, no illegal drugs, alcohol in moderation. In exchange, they have the largest member pools (CHM: 300,000+, Samaritan: 250,000+) and some of the lowest monthly floors.
Light-faith plans (Medi-Share, Altrua, others) ask you to affirm a general Christian statement without a pastor's letter. These attract a broader audience but still screen out non-Christians.
Secular plans (Zion, Knew Health, CrowdHealth, HSA Secure, Sedera) have no faith requirement at all. They're growing quickly — Zion is at 75,000+ members since launching in 2019 — partly because they serve the large share of households that want the cost savings of health sharing without the religious affiliation requirement.
One honest caveat: secular plans are younger. CrowdHealth launched in 2021, Zion in 2019. CHM has been operating since 1981. The track record for paying seven-figure claims simply doesn't exist yet at the same scale.
What the monthly cost comparison doesn't tell you
Monthly cost is the wrong primary filter for health sharing. The plan with the lowest monthly cost is often the worst value once you account for everything else. A few things that matter as much as the number:
What happens when you actually use it. All 16 plans look cheap on a clear month. The question is what you pay when you have an ER visit, a surgery, or a chronic condition flare. The IUA is part of that answer, but so is the co-share percentage, whether your provider is in-network (or whether there even is a network), and how fast the plan processes claims. Some plans' processing times run 30-45 days; others run longer.
Pre-existing conditions. Every plan in this index has a waiting period for pre-existing conditions — ranging from 6 months (CHM) to 5 years (Altrua). If you're managing an ongoing condition, the “cheap” plan with a 36-month exclusion can cost you far more than the more expensive plan that starts sharing after 6 months. Check the pre-existing column above carefully.
Coverage limits. 10 of the 16 plans cap coverage — the lowest is $50,000/year (Liberty). One serious hospitalization can run $100,000–$500,000. If a plan's cap is below your worst-case scenario, you're not actually covered for it.
None of this is a reason to avoid health sharing. It's a reason to match the plan to your actual health picture rather than sorting by monthly cost ascending. The advisor below does exactly that.
Methodology
Every figure traces to each plan's own published monthly contribution rates, pulled from our structured plan data and reconciled against each ministry's official rate information. The “individual” column is the cost for a single primary member; the “family” column is a multi-member household. Ranges reflect the spread from age band, chosen IUA, and household size — the low end is the typical entry price, the high end the top of the published band.
Price aggregates exclude quote-only plans. Medi-Share and Sedera do not publish a public rate card, so they are listed in the index for completeness but left out of the cheapest / median / highest / span calculations.
CrowdHealth is handled honestly. Its $60/mo figure is a membership/advocacy fee — members also contribute to others' medical bills (capped per month). Because that is not a complete, predictable monthly cost, the “cheapest complete cost” headline goes to Solidarity HealthShare at $67/mo.
Limitations. This is a current 2026 snapshot. We do not publish year-over-year trends because we only hold current data — the index is updated as plans change their rates. Health sharing is not insurance, so these costs are not directly comparable to insurance premiums. Last verified June 2026.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest health sharing plan in 2026?
Among plans with a complete published rate, Solidarity HealthShare starts at $67/mo (requires a $12,000 IUA). CHM is the most commonly recommended budget option at $115/mo with a much lower $300 IUA. CrowdHealth's $60/mo is a membership fee, not a complete monthly cost.
What is the typical monthly cost for health sharing?
The median individual starting cost across the 16 plans that publish pricing is $115/mo. Most people end up paying $120–$250/mo depending on age, household size, and the IUA tier they choose.
What is an IUA in health sharing?
IUA stands for Initial Unshared Amount — the amount you pay out-of-pocket before the plan starts sharing your bills. It works like a deductible. Across all 16 plans in this index, IUAs range from $300 (CHM's lowest tier) to $12,000 per incident.
Do health sharing plans require a statement of faith?
10 of the 16 plans in this index require faith affiliation — Christian (strict or light), Catholic, or Jewish. 6 are open to all members regardless of religion.
Which health sharing plans are HSA-compatible?
4 of 16 tracked plans are designed to work with a Health Savings Account: Zion HealthShare, Sedera, HSA Secure, JHS Community (Jericho Health Share).
Not insurance; sharing is not guaranteed.