Head-to-head, from CMS Plan Year 2026 data.
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Alabama is the cheaper of the two: a 40-year-old pays about $680/month for the median Silver plan, versus $828 — a difference of $148/month (22%) before subsidies.
| Alabama | Arkansas | |
|---|---|---|
| Median Silver @40 | $680 | $828 |
| Cheapest Silver @40 | $583 | $753 |
| Most expensive county @40 | $1,124 | $879 |
| Age 27 | $478 | $617 |
| Age 60 | $1,238 | $1,599 |
| Carriers | 4 | 4 |
| Counties | 67 | 75 |
| 1-carrier counties | 7 | 0 |
| Plan types | EPO, PPO | POS, PPO |
Source: CMS Plan Year 2026 Qualified Health Plan Landscape. Full-price filed rates before premium tax credits; not a quote or an offer of coverage.
This page sets two states against each other. For county-by-county carriers, plan data and help actually enrolling, I publish a page for each state on Coverage by County: Alabama or Arkansas. There is also a blog covering deductibles, subsidies and special enrollment periods.
Change the age or income and both states recalculate: the 2027 marketplace price after any tax credit, and the private plan estimate.
| Monthly, age 45, $85,000 | Alabama | Arkansas |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace benchmark Silver, full price | $880 | $927 |
| Tax credit | none | none |
| You pay for the benchmark plan | $880 | $927 |
| Private plan estimate (low end: no deductible) | $350–$470 | $350–$505 |
At 45 on $85,000, the benchmark plan costs $568 a year more in Arkansas than in Alabama, at full price in both, since that income is over the tax-credit line.
2027 estimates: KFF 2026 benchmark raised by each state’s average 2027 change, on the federal age curve; 2027 tax credit rules. Your county will differ. Every state at once: what you would pay in each state.
Put your ZIP code in and a licensed agent will show you the carriers filing in your county, what the cheapest plan costs, and what you would actually pay after any help you qualify for. No cost, and you talk to a licensed agent — not a call center.
You do not have to wait for the next open enrollment. A permanent move between these two opens a 60-day special enrollment period from the day you arrive, which is the window in which you would pick from the 4 carriers writing across Arkansas’s 75 counties. Watch the fine print: qualifying coverage for at least one day in the preceding 60 is generally required, and a move for medical care or a vacation does not count.
Your plan will not come with you. Marketplace coverage is sold state by state, so the Alabama policy ends and a Arkansas application begins — new network, new premium, even if the name on the card stays the same.
No insurer spans both. Alabama has 4 carriers filing, Arkansas has a separate 4, so a move means a new company as well as a new plan.
PPO availability is total on both sides, 67 counties in Alabama and 75 in Arkansas. If you expect to keep needing care in both, that plan type is the reason this pairing is more workable than most.
Only one of the two can be your plan state. Marketplace eligibility runs on primary residence, so if you file from Alabama the Arkansas care is the out-of-network half, and the reverse if you file from Arkansas.
Picking between Alabama and Arkansas on the headline number is a mistake. Enter your ZIP and a licensed agent will show you what is actually filed for you.
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