How Much Does a Life Insurance Cost?

A young family with a toddler sitting together on the front steps of their house, a dog visible through the door behind them.

Life insurance is priced mostly on two things: age and health. A healthy applicant in their 30s typically locks in a monthly rate that's a fraction of what someone buying the same coverage amount in their 50s or 60s would pay, and smokers commonly see premiums run two to three times higher than a non-smoker's for identical coverage. Since a premium is an ongoing monthly cost, this calculator weighs the amount you enter against your income and any existing debt to show how much room it would leave in your budget.

These key factors affect life insurance affordability

Term vs. whole life

The two policy types solve different problems. Term life insurance covers a set number of years, typically 10, 20, or 30, at a fixed premium, and costs far less per month than whole life insurance because it builds no cash value and simply ends if you outlive the term. Whole life lasts your entire life and accumulates cash value alongside the coverage, which is part of why it can cost several times more, sometimes an order of magnitude more, for the same death benefit.

Age, health, and coverage amount

Premiums climb with age and with health conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, or a smoking habit, and a fully underwritten policy usually requires a brief paramedical exam to confirm your health at the price you were quoted. A larger death benefit costs more per month than a smaller one on the same policy type, and while there's no single right number, some advisors point to a rough benchmark of ten times your annual income as a starting point before adjusting for debt, dependents, and existing savings.

Riders and add-ons

Riders let you customize a base policy without buying a separate one. A waiver of premium rider keeps your coverage active if you become disabled and can't pay, an accidental death rider adds an extra payout if death results from an accident, and a guaranteed insurability rider lets you buy more coverage later without a new medical exam. Each one adds to the monthly cost, so it's worth asking whether you'd actually use a rider's protection before adding it by default.

How to use your results

A term policy's typical premium against a whole life policy's higher one for the same coverage amount.
Factor in any riders you're considering on top of the base premium.
Include your existing debt for a realistic picture of what's actually left over.

Ways to make life insurance more affordable

Choose term life insurance instead of whole life if you mainly need coverage for a specific period, like until a mortgage is paid off.
Buy while you're younger and healthier, since premiums generally rise the longer you wait.
Shop quotes from multiple insurers, since premiums for similar coverage can vary meaningfully.
Reassess your coverage amount periodically rather than over-insuring for a need that may shrink over time.

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Peer comparison data

Bureau of Labor Statistics (median income by age), Experian (credit score by age)

Used by the “how you compare” figures in the sidebar, not by the costs on this page.

Every figure on this site, with its source and the date it was last verified