Key takeaways
- Age is the single biggest factor. A $500,000 20-year term policy averages $38 a month for a 30-year-old man and $395 at 60.
- Tobacco roughly triples the price. The same 40-year-old man averages $59 a month as a non-smoker and $194 as a smoker.
- Bigger policies are better value per dollar. Doubling the death benefit does not double the premium.
- Women pay less than men at every age — ValuePenguin puts the gap at about 23%.
- Roughly 80% of Americans overestimate what life insurance costs, and under-31s overshoot by about six times (LIMRA, 2026).
See what you would actually pay
The tables on this page are market averages. Four short questions and a licensed agent will tell you what your own rate is.
Free, no obligation, and no payment or bank details at any point. Four questions, about two minutes.
Why the numbers on this page disagree with each other. Published life insurance averages differ by up to a factor of two, and the reason is methodology, not error. Forbes Advisor and NerdWallet average the three lowest quotes they can find — a best-case figure. MoneyGeek averages roughly 248,000 quotes across 20 insurers — a market-wide figure. For a 40-year-old man that is $32 a month against $59, and both are honest. We label each table with its source and its basis so you can see which question it answers. Nothing on this page is a quote.
Look up the published average for your profile
Not a quote — the average of the cheapest quotes a major publisher could find for that exact profile, on a 20-year level term policy. Use it to know whether a number an agent gives you is in the right range.
That is the market average. What you would pay depends on your health, build and state.
Get my own number →$500,000 — 20-year term
The most commonly quoted benchmark in the US market. Average monthly premium, non-smoker:
| Age | Female | Male |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | $29 | $36 |
| 25 | $30 | $37 |
| 30 | $31 | $38 |
| 35 | $37 | $47 |
| 40 | $47 | $59 |
| 45 | $69 | $90 |
| 50 | $102 | $137 |
| 55 | $168 | $231 |
| 60 | $286 | $395 |
| 65 | $415 | $591 |
Source: MoneyGeek, 20-Year Term Life Insurance Rates, published 28 August 2026 — an average of 248,399 quotes from 20 major insurers, non-smoker, average build and health. Source.
Ready to find out your own number?
Start with your ZIP code — agent availability and pricing vary by state.
Free, no obligation, and no payment or bank details at any point. Four questions, about two minutes.
A best-case view of the same policy, averaging only the cheapest quotes available:
| Age | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | $21 | $18 |
| 40 | $32 | $27 |
| 50 | $76 | $58 |
| 60 | $217 | $153 |
| 70 | $841 | $678 |
Source: Forbes Advisor, How Much Is Life Insurance?, last updated 22 June 2026 — an average of the three lowest quotes found online for non-smokers of average height and weight. Source.
Read those two tables together and you have the realistic range for a healthy 40-year-old man: somewhere between $32 and $59 a month, depending on how hard you shop and how well you underwrite. That spread — nearly double — is the entire commercial case for comparing carriers rather than buying the first policy offered.
A deeper look at the $500,000 policy specifically.
$250,000 — 20-year term
Average monthly premium, non-smoker, from three published sources:
| Age | Forbes M | Forbes F | Policygenius M | Policygenius F | ValuePenguin M | ValuePenguin F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | $14 | $12 | $18 | $15 | $21 | $18 |
| 40 | $20 | $17 | $25 | $22 | $30 | $25 |
| 50 | $42 | $33 | $57 | $44 | $67 | $52 |
| 60 | $118 | $82 | $149 | $108 | — | — |
| 70 | $492 | $417 | — | — | — | — |
Source: Forbes Advisor, How Much Is Life Insurance?, last updated 22 June 2026 — an average of the three lowest quotes found online for non-smokers of average height and weight. Source. Policygenius, Term Life Insurance Rates, last updated 1 October 2024 with carrier data as of 1 September 2024 — note this source is the oldest here. Source: ValuePenguin, Average Cost of Life Insurance, last updated 30 June 2026. Source.
This is the amount most people picture when they imagine a “normal” policy, and for a 30-year-old it costs less per month than a phone contract. It is also, for a family with a mortgage and young children, frequently not enough — see how much cover you actually need.
$1 million — 20-year term
| Age | Forbes M | Forbes F | Policygenius M | Policygenius F | ValuePenguin M | ValuePenguin F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | $35 | $28 | $49 | $37 | $58 | $49 |
| 40 | $55 | $45 | $75 | $61 | $93 | $76 |
| 50 | $141 | $105 | $188 | $139 | $226 | $173 |
| 60 | $420 | $292 | $500 | $355 | — | — |
| 70 | $1,616 | $1,256 | — | — | — | — |
Source: Forbes Advisor, How Much Is Life Insurance?, last updated 22 June 2026 — an average of the three lowest quotes found online for non-smokers of average height and weight. Source. Policygenius, Term Life Insurance Rates, 1 October 2024. Source: ValuePenguin, Average Cost of Life Insurance, last updated 30 June 2026. Source.
Compare the $250,000 and $1 million rows for a 40-year-old man in the Forbes column: $20 against $55. Four times the death benefit for under three times the premium. A meaningful slice of every policy’s cost is fixed administration, so cover gets cheaper per dollar as it gets larger. If your calculation lands near a round number, price the next tier up before deciding — it is usually less than people expect.
See what cover would cost you
Four short questions, about two minutes, and no payment details at any point. A licensed agent reviews what is available in your state and contacts you with real numbers.
Start my free quoteWhat smoking costs
Nothing else you control moves the price like this. The same policy, same person, non-smoker against smoker:
| Age | Smoker — men | Non-smoker — men | Smoker — women | Non-smoker — women |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 | $744 | $210 | $554 | $175 |
| 30 | $795 | $213 | $645 | $182 |
| 40 | $1,455 | $321 | $1,157 | $278 |
| 50 | $3,495 | $810 | $2,560 | $636 |
| 60 | $8,435 | $2,331 | $6,001 | $1,640 |
| 65+ | $13,160 | — | $9,809 | — |
Source: NerdWallet, Average Life Insurance Rates in 2026, updated 3 August 2026, rates valid as of 1 August 2026 — the average of the three lowest rates found per profile, via LifeStein. Published as annual premiums and shown here as published. Source. These are annual premiums for a $500,000 20-year term policy, exactly as published.
That is roughly a 3.7-times loading at 30 and 4.3 times at 50. A second source puts the market-wide differential at 218% (ValuePenguin, 30 June 2026), and a third records a 40-year-old man at $59 a month non-smoking against $194 smoking — 3.3 times (MoneyGeek, 28 August 2026).
The practical point: most carriers define a non-smoker as someone with no nicotine use in the last 12 months, some require 24 or 36. If you have recently stopped, the date you can truthfully answer “no” is worth knowing, because crossing it can cut your premium by two thirds. Nicotine pouches, vaping and cigars generally count — carriers differ, and the application asks about nicotine, not cigarettes.
Whole life and final expense
Permanent cover is priced on an entirely different basis, because it is certain to pay out. Average monthly premium for a small whole life policy, non-tobacco:
| Age | $10,000 F | $10,000 M | $25,000 F | $25,000 M |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | $33 | $43 | $76 | $103 |
| 65 | $41 | $54 | $97 | $130 |
| 70 | $53 | $70 | $127 | $169 |
| 75 | $71 | $97 | $172 | $238 |
| 80 | $98 | $135 | $241 | $332 |
Source: Choice Mutual, Cost Of Burial & Final Expense Insurance, updated 9 March 2026, from its own quote calculator, non-tobacco, valid as of 03/09/2026. Source.
Set that against term: a 60-year-old woman averages $286 a month for $500,000 of 20-year term, and $76 a month for $25,000 of whole life. Roughly twenty times the price per dollar of death benefit — which is what certainty costs. More on final expense.
What moves your own price
- Age — the premium roughly doubles every decade, and accelerates sharply after 50.
- Sex — women pay about 23% less on average (ValuePenguin, 30 June 2026).
- Tobacco and nicotine — three to four times the premium.
- Height and weight — each carrier has its own build chart, and they differ enough that the same person can be Preferred with one insurer and Standard with another.
- Health conditions — well-managed conditions frequently price better than applicants fear. See diabetes and life insurance.
- Family history — cardiac disease or cancer in a parent or sibling before 60.
- Driving record — a recent DUI moves you several rate classes.
- Occupation and hobbies — aviation, diving and climbing carry flat extras. See commercial drivers.
- Term length and face amount — longer terms cost more per year; larger policies cost less per dollar.
Find out what you would actually pay
The tables on this page are market averages. Your own number depends on your age, health and state — four short questions and a licensed agent will tell you.
Start my free quoteHow to pay less
Buy sooner. This is the only lever with a guaranteed return. Every year you wait is priced in permanently, and a 20-year policy bought at 40 is locked at 40-year-old rates until you are 60.
Stop using nicotine and wait out the window. Worth two thirds of the premium.
Shop more than one carrier. Build charts and condition guidelines differ enough that the same file can be Preferred at one insurer and rated at another. The Forbes-versus-MoneyGeek gap on this page is that difference, made visible.
Buy only the term you need. Paying for 30 years when the mortgage clears in 18 is money spent on cover you will not use.
Pay annually if you can. Most carriers add a modal charge for monthly instalments; annual payment typically costs a few per cent less over the year.
Take the exam if you are healthy. The best rate classes are largely reached through full underwriting. See no medical exam cover for when that logic reverses.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average cost of life insurance?
NerdWallet puts it at $26 a month for a 40-year-old buying a $500,000 20-year term policy (updated 3 August 2026, using the average of the three lowest rates). MoneyGeek’s market-wide average for the same policy is $47 for a woman and $59 for a man (28 August 2026). Both are correct; they measure different things.
Why do quotes differ so much between websites?
Because of what is being averaged. Sites that average the three cheapest quotes available publish lower figures than sites that average hundreds of thousands of quotes across the whole market. Neither is wrong. Check the methodology note under any table before comparing it to another.
Does my premium go up as I get older?
Not on a level term policy or a whole life policy — the premium is fixed in the contract for the whole term or for life. It rises every year on annual renewable term, which is a different product often quoted alongside level term because the first-year price looks better.
Is life insurance cheaper if I buy it online?
Sometimes, for a straightforward policy on a healthy applicant, because the distribution cost is lower. The saving disappears when anything is non-standard, because the carrier that will price your situation best is often not the one with the best direct-to-consumer funnel.
How much life insurance do I actually need?
The rough rule is ten to twelve times annual income. The careful method is DIME — debt, income replacement, mortgage, education — less existing savings and cover. Both worked through here.