SHORTCUTS

529 Plan Details:

Enter your state:

World's Simplest College Calculator:

How old is your child?

Find a 529 Pro:

Enter your zip code:

Enroll In a 529 Plan:

View a list of participating plans

View our latest poll:

How concerned are you that saving for college will impact your child's future financial aid eligibility? (2008-04-11)

OPTIONS

529 PLANS

529 Fee Study

Our 2008 Fee Study compares the lowest and highest 10-year expense totals for all direct-sold 529 savings plans.

Please click here for a further explanation of this fee study.

Savingforcollege.com's 529 Fee Study - as of March 24, 2008

10-Year Costs on $10,000 Investment View report sorted by highest cost or state
Direct-sold 529 Plan Name Lowest cost options 2nd lowest options 2nd highest options Highest cost options Annual account fee Comments
Louisiana† START** 0 19 145 320 $0 Louisiana residency required. Option 2 is a no-cost fixed income fund managed by the State Treasurer.
Utah† UESP 0 358 468 479 $0 Fee waived for Utah residents. Option 1 is no-cost Public Treasurer's Investment Fund.
Oregon† OCSP* 273 285 965 989 $0 Fee waived for Oregon residents.
Ohio† CollegeAdvantage 293 406 978 1096 $0 Ohio residency required for Putnam direct-sold options.
Ohio† CollegeAdvantage 293 406 468 505 $0 Nonresidents may not use Putnam direct-sold options.
Kansas Learning Quest 318 356 1231 1288 $0  
Illinois Bright Start 359 371 771 796 $10/$0 Fee on Vanguard options only.
North Carolina National CSP 377 435 1395 1507 $0  
Virginia VEST 396 421 681 718 $0 Does not include one-time $25 application fee.
Alaska UA CSP 418 1088 1393 1439 $25/$0 Fee waivable under certain conditions. No fee on ACT option.
South Carolina† Future Scholar 431 518 714 726 $0 South Carolina residency required for direct-sold plan.
Oregon OCSP 469 481 965 989 $20/$0 Fee for nonresidents - Vanguard options only.
Rhode Island† CollegeBoundfund 493 847 1455 1824 $0 Rhode Island residency required for direct-sold plan.
West Virginia† SMART529 Direct 493 871 1178 1259 $0 West Virginia residency required for direct-sold plan.
Utah UESP 523 555 664 675 Up to $20 Fee for nonresidents is $4 per $1,000.
South Dakota† CollegeAccess 529 531 581 819 1077 $0 South Dakota residency required for direct-sold plan.
Michigan MESP 554 554 554 554 $0  
Wisconsin† EdVest 555 577 1453 1491 $0 Fee waived for Wisconsin residents.
Maine† NextGen 556 924 1198 1215 $0 Fee waived for Maine residents.
Arizona Fidelity ACSP 628 898 1322 1328 $0  
California ScholarShare CSP 628 898 1322 1328 $0  
Delaware DCIP 628 898 1322 1328 $0  
Massachusetts U.Fund 628 898 1315 1328 $0  
Nevada Vanguard 529 628 689 859 871 $0 Does not include the $20 annual fee for balances under $3,000.
New Hampshire UNIQUE 628 898 1315 1328 $0  
Georgia Path2College 629 715 885 945 $0  
Iowa CSI 653 653 653 653 $0  
Texas College Savings Plan 673 796 953 965 $0  
New York's 529 College Savings Direct 701 701 701 701 $0  
Arkansas iShares 529 742 804 990 14711 $10 Fee waivable with $20,000 balance.
Wisconsin EdVest 749 771 1638 1676 $20 Fee for nonresidents.
Alabama† Higher Education 529 750 798 1646 1757 $0 Alabama residency required for direct-sold plan.
Missouri MOST 774 810 1669 1802 $0  
District of Columbia† DC 529 778 1033 2309 2362 $15 District of Columbia residency required for direct-sold plan.
Maine NextGen 800 1166 1438 1455 $25 Fee for nonresidents, waivable under certain conditions.
West Virginia† SMART529 Select* 809 870 1059 1082 $0 Fee waived for West Virginia residents.
Connecticut CHET 812 812 812 812 $0  
Minnesota MCSP 812 812 812 812 $0  
New Mexico The Education Plan's CSP 857 1025 1179 1215 $0 Does not include the $20 annual fee on NM nonresidents with balances under $10,000.
Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan 871 871 871 930 $0  
Colorado† Direct Portfolio 930 930 930 930 $0 Fee waived for Colorado and Wyoming residents.
Idaho IDEAL 930 930 930 930 $0 Fee waived for Idaho residents.
Florida FCIP 955 955 955 955 $0 Does not include one-time $50 application fee.
Nevada USAA 960 1080 1199 1316 $15 Does not include the $15 annual fee for balances under $5,000.
Kansas Schwab 529 963 1162 1514 1592 $0  
Tennessee BEST 969 N/A N/A 969 $0  
Vermont VHEIP 969 N/A N/A 969 $0  
Oklahoma College Savings Plan 981 1029 1206 1217 $0  
Kentucky KESP 993 993 993 993 $0  
Nevada Upromise College Fund 1004 1004 1004 1004 $20  
Nebraska NCSP 1025 1037 2104 2183 $20  
Arkansas† GIFT 1049 1049 1049 1049 $0 Fee waived for Arkansas residents.
New Jersey† NJBEST 1049 1201 1409 1477 $0 New Jersey residency required for direct-sold plan.
North Dakota† College SAVE 1049 1049 1049 1049 $0 Fee waived for North Dakota residents.
West Virginia SMART529 Select 1052 1112 1300 1323 $25 Fee for nonresidents, waivable under certain conditions.
Mississippi MACS 1066 1090 1152 1311 $0  
Alaska T. Rowe Price CSP 1088 1147 1393 1439 $25 Fee waivable under certain conditions.
Maryland CIP 1088 1206 1369 1427 $25 Fee waivable under certain conditions.
Colorado Direct Portfolio 1122 1122 1122 1122 $20 Fee for nonresidents.
Idaho IDEAL 1122 1122 1122 1122 $20 Fee for nonresidents.
Hawaii HCSP 1123 1123 1123 1123 $20  
Indiana† CollegeChoice* 1225 1283 1375 1420 $10/$0 Indiana residency required for direct-sold plan.
Arkansas GIFT 1240 1240 1240 1240 $20 Fee for nonresidents.
North Dakota College SAVE 1240 1240 1240 1240 $20 Fee for nonresidents.
Nebraska TD Ameritrade 529 1328 1340 2381 2457 $20  
Montana† Pacific Life Funds 529 2475 2517 2615 2616 $0 Montana residency required for direct-sold plan.

† Applicable only to state residents.
* Amounts do not appear in official program description and are estimated by Savingforcollege.com.
** Costs for highest-cost option are extrapolated by Savingforcollege.com.