COBRA Administration
Best COBRA Administration for Small Business
Small employers may fall under federal COBRA or under a state continuation (mini-COBRA) law, and the deadlines usually land on an owner or office manager rather than an HR team. An administrator that takes a departure report in minutes and handles both federal and state rules removes most of the risk.
- products that fit
- 7
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Top 5 by LeadChange Scoreof 7 that fit · 2 not scored yet · scored for small business (reweighted)
COBRAGuard9.6 out of 10, High confidence
BPAS6.8 out of 10, High confidence
HealthEquity5.4 out of 10, High confidence
Rippling5.0 out of 10, Medium confidence
CobraHelp4.7 out of 10, High confidence
PaycomNot scored yet
WEXNot scored yet
See the full rankingHighMedium confidence
COBRA administration for small business, ranked
Ranked by LeadChange Score from verified facts; products with too few verified facts are not scored yet and come last. Prices are list prices as published by each vendor.
Filter by verified facts
COBRAGuard
COBRAGuard publishes its COBRA prices: COBRATrak Plus at $0.85 per COBRA-eligible employee a month with a $29.95 minimum, or Premium at $1.50 with a $39.95 minimum and no per-letter fees. It mails notices within three days with proof of mailing and remits premiums twice a month.
- Pricing model
- Per employee2
BPAS
BPAS runs federal COBRA end to end for employers of every size, from qualifying event requests to carrier notices, with a dedicated plan consultant and a participant mobile app. It is a subsidiary of Community Financial System (NYSE: CBU) and sets up a plan in 3 to 4 weeks.
- Pricing model
- Quote only3
HealthEquity
HealthEquity is a NASDAQ-listed benefits administrator, founded in 2002, whose COBRA service covers notice fulfillment and return mail, premium billing, eligibility and termination processing and real-time case management, with a full audit trail.
Rippling
Primarily HRIS software; COBRA administration module is secondary
Rippling suits companies that want HR, payroll, IT and finance on one employee database and are ready to buy each product separately. Payroll for small businesses starts at $8 per user per month plus a $40 base fee.
CobraHelp
CobraHelp is a Denver COBRA specialist administering COBRA since 1986 that handles federal COBRA and state continuation for small businesses through multi-state corporations, with dedicated account managers and an Employee Navigator integration.
- Pricing model
- Quote only8
Show all 7 products
- PaycomNot scored yet (12 of 21 facts verified)Paycom plans and prices
- WEXNot scored yet (9 of 21 facts verified)WEX pricing
LeadChange Score: editorial assessment based on public information.
What matters for small business
Federal and state continuation coverage
State mini-COBRA laws can apply where federal COBRA does not, with notice and election rules of their own. Confirm the administrator handles state continuation in the states where your plans are written.
Low-effort event reporting
Owners need a simple way to report a termination or a cut in hours the day it happens, from a web form or a payroll connection, so the notice deadlines start on time.
Predictable fees
With few events a year, minimum monthly fees and per-notice charges matter more than headline per-participant rates. Ask for the whole fee schedule in writing before you sign.
Participant support
Former employees call with questions about elections, payments and coverage dates. Check who answers them, through which channels and during which hours.
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Find your fit
By industry
More on COBRA administration
- All COBRA administration services, ranked
The full ranking, top picks and how to choose.
- COBRA Administration comparison table
Every product side by side: score, price and verified features.
- COBRA Administration pricing guide
Published list prices, cost by headcount and fees to ask about.
- COBRA administration for enterprises
The ranking reweighted for enterprises.
- COBRA administration for mid-sized companies
The ranking reweighted for mid-sized companies.
- COBRA administration for healthcare
The ranking reweighted for healthcare.
- COBRA administration for manufacturing
The ranking reweighted for manufacturing.
Frequently asked questions
Do small businesses need a COBRA administrator?
Not always. Federal COBRA generally applies to employers with at least 20 employees on more than half of their typical business days in the previous year, and many states have mini-COBRA laws for smaller employers' plans. A small business with few departures can handle notices itself or through its carrier; an administrator helps when nobody owns the deadlines or the state rules.
Can a small business administer COBRA itself?
Yes. The Department of Labor says employers may act as their own plan administrator, although many hire third-party benefit administrators. Doing it in-house means mailing the general notice to new plan members, sending election notices on time after each departure and tracking every premium payment and grace period, so it suits an owner with very few departures and a calendar for each deadline.
Does a state mini-COBRA law cover my small business?
It can. Mini-COBRA laws apply to group health plans of employers too small for federal COBRA, and the Department of Labor notes that many states have one. Coverage periods, notices and who sends them differ by state and by whether the plan is insured, so ask your carrier which law applies and whether your COBRA administrator handles that state.
Which COBRA administrators for small business offer a free trial?
COBRAGuard and Rippling list a free trial, according to their vendors: 2 of the 7 products for small business.
Which COBRA administrators for small business have a mobile app?
BPAS, HealthEquity, Paycom, and Rippling confirm a mobile app; 3 of the 7 products for small business do not document one.
Which COBRA administrators for small business support single sign-on?
Paycom and Rippling document single sign-on; 5 of the 7 products for small business do not.
How we research
This ranking of COBRA administration for small business reweights the LeadChange Score: capability coverage 25%, pricing transparency & value 30%, integrations & API 10%, security & compliance 10%, fit & support 15%, and data confidence 10%. Only products with a verified fact showing they serve this segment are listed.
How this page was made
What it is built from
17 verified facts, each checked against the vendor's own pages or another primary source, most recently on Oct 24, 2026.
Method
Scored and compared with the LeadChange methodology, version 1.3. Read the methodology
Independent review
Not reviewed yet by our independent reviewer. How we review
Hands-on testing
We have not tested these products hands-on: this page uses public information only.
Who made it
The LeadChange Research Team, following a written research process. No named expert has reviewed this page. About us
Independence and errors
Who pays us never changes a score or a rank. If something here is wrong, tell us and we correct it publicly. Request a correction
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Sources
The 8 pages this page's facts come from, with the day we last checked each one. The numbers beside the figures above link here.
Quotes from the sources
- COBRAGuard cobraguard.net/pricing/dlpdf.php?Lives=0&Term=2“Base Charge Per COBRA Eligible Employee $1.50 $0.85”
- COBRAGuard cobraguard.net/pricing“Base Charge Per COBRA Eligible Employee $1.50 $0.85”
- BPAS bpas.com/employee-benefits/cobra“Simplify compliance and protect your business today by contacting at”
- HealthEquity healthequity.com/cobra“Schedule a demo”
- HealthEquity healthequity.com/security“Service Organization Controls (Soc2) (Type II) Trust Services Principles”
- Rippling rippling.com/pricing“While most Rippling products are billed on a simple per-employee, per-month basis, some may be charged at (or include) a monthly basis fee.”
- Rippling rippling.com/trust/security“Rippling's SOC 2 Type 2 report covers the trust services categories of Security, Confidentiality, and Availability, and is audited annually.”
- CobraHelp mycobrahelp.com/about“We tailor our COBRA administration services to fit your needs, ensuring you only pay for what you need.”