Lowest fee 529 plans of 2021

These plans have the lowest total expense ratio based upon a moderate-risk age-based portfolio for a newborn. Some states have different fees for residents vs. non-residents. Non-resident expense ratios are always used, so please check with your state plan to see if they offer a resident discount.

NOTE: In some cases, a single program manager runs plans in multiple states with the same investment options. In these cases, only one of their plans will be shown.

plan name

state

rating

Nebraska Education Savings Trust -- Direct College Savings Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

SMART529 WV Direct College Savings Plan*Open only to state residents

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Florida 529 Savings Plan*Open only to state residents

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Future Scholar 529 College Savings Plan (Direct-sold)*Open only to state residents

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Edvest

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

New York's 529 College Savings Program -- Direct Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

The Education Plan's College Savings Program

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Michigan Education Savings Program (MESP)

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

START Saving Program*Open only to state residents

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Path2College 529 Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

ScholarShare 529

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

my529

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

College Savings Iowa

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Bright Start Direct-Sold College Savings Program

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Invest529

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Ohio's 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

CollegeBound Saver (Direct-sold)

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

The Vanguard 529 College Savings Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

NextGen 529 -- Client Direct Series

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

MOST - Missouri's 529 Education Plan (Direct-sold)

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

CollegeAccess 529 (Direct-sold)*Open only to state residents

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

CollegeCounts 529 Fund

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

TNStars College Savings 529 Program

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Minnesota College Savings Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

DreamAhead College Investment Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

NJBEST 529 College Savings Plan*Open only to state residents

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Connecticut Higher Education Trust (CHET)

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Maryland 529 -- Maryland Senator Edward J. Kasemeyer College Investment Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Learning Quest 529 Education Savings Program (Direct-sold)

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

AZ529, Arizona’s Education Savings Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Schwab 529 College Savings Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

UNIQUE College Investing Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

U.Fund College Investing Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

DE529 Education Savings Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Bloomwell 529 Education Savings Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Oregon College Savings Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Alaska 529

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

NC 529 Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

CollegeChoice 529 Direct Savings Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Vermont Higher Education Investment Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Pennsylvania 529 Investment Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

SSGA Upromise 529 Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

DC College Savings Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

USAA 529 College Savings Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Oklahoma College Savings Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

GIFT College Investing Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Direct Portfolio College Savings Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

SMART529 Select

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

KY Saves 529

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

College SAVE (Direct)

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Texas College Savings Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Idaho College Savings Program (IDeal)

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Achieve Montana

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Mississippi Affordable College Savings (MACS) Program

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Hawaii's College Savings Program

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

CollegeChoice CD 529 Savings Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

AZ529, Arizona’s Education Savings Plan - Bank Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Smart Choice College Savings Plan

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

Stable Value Plus College Savings Program

(resident rating)

(non-resident rating)

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