Best 529 Plans of 2026
Explore this year’s best 529 plans and find the best option to save for your child or grandchild’s college education.
College costs add up quickly. For the 2025-2026 academic year, average published tuition and fees are $11,950 for in-state students at public four-year colleges, $31,880 for out-of-state students, and $45,000 for private nonprofits. Adding room, board, and supplies pushes those totals even higher.
The best 529 plans for 2026 are excellent tools for saving for college and make smart additions to your estate and retirement planning strategy, too.
If you're looking for ways to save for your child or grandchild’s future college expenses, you might have considered opening one of these tax-advantaged plans.
From just $107.88 $24.99 for Kiplinger Personal Finance
Become a smarter, better informed investor. Subscribe from just $107.88 $24.99, plus get up to 4 Special Issues
Sign up for Kiplinger’s Free Newsletters
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice on investing, taxes, retirement, personal finance and more - straight to your e-mail.
Profit and prosper with the best of expert advice - straight to your e-mail.
Tax-free uses for 529 funds have expanded in recent years to include other educational costs, such as tuition for kindergarten through 12th grade and apprenticeship programs. The One Big Beautiful Bill, signed into law July 4, 2025, has further extended the ways you can use 529 money, including a wider range of postsecondary educational programs.
How do you choose the right one?
The best 529 plans allow you, the contributor, to prepay a beneficiary's qualified higher education expenses at an eligible educational institution or to contribute to an account for paying those expenses. 529 plans are gaining traction as a premier education savings tool because, despite being funded with after-tax dollars, all investment growth is tax-free.
However, 529 plans can vary. To select the best one, you’ll need to choose which type of plan makes sense for you by comparing tax breaks, benefits for state residents, fees, contribution options, withdrawal restrictions, and investment options.
Choosing the right plan takes research, but it’s worth it. An easy place to start is by checking out these top-ranked 529 plans.
Best direct-sold 529 plans
Direct-sold 529 plans are issued directly from a state financial institution. If you choose one of these plans, you’ll be responsible for managing your own investments within the plan’s online account portal. For this reason, these plans are often cheaper than investor-sold plans.
In its most recent November 2025 report, Morningstar awarded its highest Gold Medalist Rating to the top direct-sold 529 plans, citing their low costs, strong investment options and exceptional stewardship for 2026.
- Utah's my529: Known for low fees, customizable options and strong oversight.
- Alaska's T. Rowe Price 529 Plan: Formerly known as the T. Rowe Price College Savings Plan, this plan features actively managed portfolios from T. Rowe Price with strong long-term performance potential.
- Illinois' Bright Start Direct-Sold College Savings Plan: Offers cost-effective index options, a diverse fund lineup, and high-quality management.
- Massachusetts' U.Fund College Investing Plan: Managed by Fidelity, with very low-cost index funds and solid age-based options.
- Pennsylvania's PA 529 Investment Plan: Vanguard-managed with ultra-low fees and excellent passive investment choices.
Other strong contenders include New York’s Direct Plan and Nevada’s Vanguard 529.
Best adviser-sold 529 plans
Adviser-sold 529 plans are available through an investment firm. These accounts typically charge a higher fee, but financial advisers manage the plan’s investments for you. Some savers feel these accounts are worth the extra cost because of the access to professional investment advice, actively managed investments and flexible portfolios.
According to Morningstar's latest 529 ratings, released in November 2025, no adviser-sold plans earned the top Gold Medalist Rating. (All five Gold-rated plans are direct-sold due to their exceptionally low costs, strong oversight and investment quality).
Even so, several adviser-sold plans received the next-best Silver rating, making them strong options for those working with a financial adviser.
Top Silver-rated advisor-sold plans highlighted in Morningstar's report include:
- Ohio's BlackRock CollegeAdvantage 529 Plan: Features a solid lineup with BlackRock funds, good risk management and competitive fees.
- CollegeAmerica (adviser-sold plan): Managed by Capital Group American Funds, with strong long-term potential. It's the largest 529 plan overall.
Other notable adviser-sold plans may also earn Silver or Bronze ratings, such as Illinois' Bright Directions program, which was recently upgraded and is quite popular for its low fees.
Check out the full Morningstar 529 ratings report for detailed comparisons. One note: These ratings are updated annually in the fall, so the November 2025 report is the most current.
529 prepaid tuition plans
Another college savings option worth considering is a 529 prepaid tuition plan. This type of plan lets savers prepay tuition at today’s tuition rates at eligible public and private colleges or universities. According to FINRA, "Most states guarantee that the funds you put into a prepaid plan will keep pace with tuition."
Unlike 529 plans, prepaid tuition plans only cover tuition expenses. On the other hand, 529 plans cover other qualified expenses, such as room and board, books and supplies. You can fund these accounts with one lump sum or through installment payments. Often, these plans must be used within 10 years, or the interest on initial contributions could be lost.
As of early 2026, there are 18 state-sponsored 529 prepaid tuition plans. However, many are closed to new enrollments due to ongoing funding challenges.
Only seven state plans are currently open to new applicants, and all require state residency to participate. However, a few sources occasionally include Mississippi’s MPACT or Virginia’s Tuition Track Portfolio, bringing the open count to eight on some lists.
Additionally, there is one national institution-sponsored prepaid plan, called the Private College 529 Plan. It has no residency requirement and is focused on participating private colleges.
The seven state plans currently open to new applicants include:
- Florida: Stanley G. Tate Florida Prepaid College Plan. Popular, state-guaranteed and flexible for in-state and out-of-state use.
- Massachusetts: U.Plan Prepaid Tuition Program. Covers a percentage of tuition and fees at participating MA schools.
- Michigan: Michigan Education Trust (MET). Contract-based, covers tuition and fees at Michigan public institutions.
- Nevada: Nevada Prepaid Tuition Program. Locks in rates for credit hours earned and usable in-state or out-of-state.
- Pennsylvania: PA 529 Guaranteed Savings Plan. Credit-based, guaranteed growth tied to the increases in tuition.
- Texas. Texas Tuition Promise Fund. Covers tuition and fees at Texas public colleges, with limited enrollment windows.
- Washington. Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET). Unit-based and state-guaranteed. Recently reopened with favorable pricing.
529 plans can be part of your estate planning
Investing in a 529 plan is a great way for parents or grandparents (via the grandparent loophole) to pass down wealth to the next generation. By helping college students graduate with lower or no student debt, you'll give your kids a leg up when it comes to starting their careers.
For students interested in lower-income careers such as social work or teaching, graduating debt-free might mean the difference between pursuing their dream career or slogging through a high-paying job they dislike to pay off debt.
Another benefit of a 529 college savings plan is its potential to jump-start your child's or grandchild's retirement savings. Thanks to provisions in the SECURE 2.0 Act, families can now roll over funds tax-free and penalty-free into a Roth IRA owned by the plan's beneficiary.
Subject to a $35,000 lifetime limit per beneficiary, 529-to-Roth rollovers come with strict rules: the account must be at least 15 years old (excluding contributions and earnings from the last five years), and the beneficiary must have matching earned income for the year. Annual transfers are capped at the Roth IRA contribution limit ($7,500 in 2026 for those under 50) minus any other IRA contributions.
Ultimately, this flexibility reduces the risk of overfunding a 529 plan and allows families to repurpose unused college funds for tax-free retirement growth.
What's not to like about this versatile savings tool? Just note that the annual contribution limits apply to the beneficiary rather than the parents. Also, check your local policies before moving forward, as not all states have adopted the federal government's expanded rules for 529s.
Be sure to read: How This 529 'Superfund' Strategy Can Transform Your Estate Plan
Related Content
- Three Key Ways You Can Help a Child or Grandchild Pay for College
- Using a 529 Plan? Here’s What to Keep in Mind
- Three Reasons You Need to Use a 529 Plan (and Two Reasons You Don't)
