Best HSA for Investing 2026: Fidelity vs Lively vs HealthEquity
Fidelity is the only HSA of the three with no fees, no minimum, and 0.00%-expense-ratio funds — while HealthEquity forces idle cash before you can invest a dollar.
Best health savings account (HSA) for Investing in 2026: Fidelity vs Lively vs HealthEquity (For Long-Term Investors)
If you treat your health savings account (HSA) as a stealth retirement fund instead of a glorified checking account, Fidelity wins — zero account fees, zero investment threshold, 0.00%-expense-ratio funds, and the highest cash rate of the three. Lively is the polished runner-up for self-directed investors, and HealthEquity makes sense mainly when your employer ties you to it. This guide is for the person who wants their HSA dollars in the market, not idling in cash.
This is informational, not financial advice.
Here's the framing that should change how you see this account. As of May 28, 2026, the S&P 500 is up about 10.3% year-to-date (YTD), per Yahoo Finance — though any single year's return will look different by the time you read this. The durable point isn't the number. It's that whatever the market does, an HSA lets those gains compound with zero tax. A $1,000 gain in a taxable brokerage account can owe capital-gains tax; inside an HSA, you keep every dollar. The provider you pick quietly decides how much of that growth survives fees.
Key Takeaways
- Best overall: Fidelity — the only provider that charges no fees beyond underlying fund costs and requires no minimum balance to invest, according to Morningstar's HSA Landscape report. - Best budget: Fidelity ZERO funds — a 0.00% expense ratio means literally nothing skims your returns. - Best for self-directed investors who want a clean app: Lively — free individual accounts plus a Charles Schwab brokerage window. - Avoid if you hate idle cash: HealthEquity — it's the only one of the three that forces a minimum cash balance before you can invest19% on all balances | 0.01%–0.525% annual percentage yield (APY) | Tiered, generally low |
| Cheapest investing option | ZERO index funds, 0.00% expense ratio | Schwab self-directed (fund expense ratios apply) | Fund expense ratio + 0.03% admin fee |
| Investment admin fee | $0 | $0 self-directed / 0.50% guided | 0.03%/yr, capped at $10/month |
| Managed portfolio | Fidelity Go: $0 under $25,000, then 0.35%/yr | Devenir Guided: 0.50%/yr | Bundled into admin fee |
| Standout feature | 0.00% funds + 2.19% cash | Polished app + Schwab access | Deep employer integration |
| Biggest drawback | Nothing material for investors | 0.50% guided fee; weak cash APY | Forced cash threshold |
Sources: fidelity.com, livelyme.com, healthequity.com.
Recommended reading: Fidelity Go
Recommended reading: Best For
For 2026, you can contribute up to $4,400 for self-only coverage and $8,750 for family coverage, plus a $1,000 catch-up if you're 55 or older, per IRS Revenue Procedure 2025-19. To qualify, you need a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) with a minimum deductible of $1,700 self-only or $3,400 family. No HDHP, no HSA — there's no workaround.
Best For Picks
Best overall: Fidelity. It earns Morningstar's highest marks for both spending and investment use and has consistently ranked at or near the top of the field, according to Morningstar's annual HSA Landscape report. The differentiator: zero fees outside fund costs, no investment threshold, and a 2.19% cash rate on idle balances (fidelity.com).
Best budget: Fidelity ZERO funds. Funds like FZROX and FNILX carry a 0.00% expense ratio with no minimums (fidelity.com). Most "low-cost" index funds charge 0.03%–0.04%. Zero is cheaper than cheap.
Best for self-directed investors who want a clean app: Lively. Individual accounts are free, and the Schwab Health Savings Brokerage Account (HSBA) opens up the full menu of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and stocks — free once you're investing above $3,000, or $24/year below that, with no minimum balance (livelyme.com).
Best for employer-tied accounts: HealthEquity. If your company already routes contributions here, the 0.03% admin fee capped at $10/month is reasonable. It earns "Above Average" or better from Morningstar across both spending and investing, per Morningstar's HSA Landscape report. Just mind the cash threshold.
Fidelity HSA
Fidelity is the rare account that doesn't nickel-and-dime you. According to its published pricing, there are no account fees, no minimums, and no custodial or investment fees (fidelity.com). Uninvested cash earns 2.19% across all balances as of May 2026 — the highest of the three (fidelity.com). Cash rates move, so check the current figure, but Fidelity has consistently paid more on idle cash than the others. Want hands-off? Fidelity Go manages your HSA free under $25,000, then 0.35% annually above that.
Pros:
- 0.00%-expense-ratio ZERO index funds, no minimums
- $0 account, investment, and custodial fees
- 2.19% on idle cash — actual yield, not a rounding error
- Invest from your first dollar; no threshold
Cons:
- The web interface feels dated next to fintech rivals
- So many fund choices it can overwhelm a first-timer
Who should skip it: Almost no long-term investor should. The only reason to look elsewhere is if your employer won't route contributions to Fidelity (you can still transfer — more on that below).
Lively HSA
Lively is the design-forward option. Individual accounts carry no monthly maintenance fee and no minimum balance (livelyme.com). The catch worth understanding: Lively doesn't custody investments itself. It partners with Charles Schwab for self-directed brokerage and Devenir for a guided portfolio. Self-directed access is free once you're investing above $3,000, or $24/year below that, with no minimum balance.
Pros:
- Clean, modern app experience
- Full Schwab brokerage access (stocks, ETFs)
- No account fee for individuals
Cons:
- Devenir Guided Portfolio charges 0.50%/year — steep for what amounts to a basic allocation
- Cash APY tops out at just 0.525%, and only above $10,001 via HSA Boost (livelyme.com)
Who should skip it: Anyone who'd lean on the 0.50% guided portfolio. At that price, you're paying advisor-level fees for index-fund exposure you could buy yourself.
HealthEquity HSA
HealthEquity is the employer-plan workhorse. It earns strong Morningstar marks, but its investment fee is steeper than it first looks: roughly 0.03% per month — about 0.4% a year — capped at $10/month (healthequity.com). At small and mid-size balances that's real money next to Fidelity's $0; the cap only starts helping once you're well into five figures. (healthequity.com). The problem for aggressive investors is structural: it's the only one of the three that requires a minimum cash balance — $500 for self-enrollers, up to $2,500 on some employer plans — before you can invest a dollar. Worse, its "Cash Replenish" feature auto-sells investments if your balance dips $50 or more below that threshold.
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Pros:
- Low, capped admin fee (0.03%, max $10/month)
- Deep integration with employer benefits systems
- "Above Average" Morningstar rating on both spending and investing
Cons:
- Forced cash threshold creates a permanent drag
- Auto-selling on dips can trigger at inconvenient times
Who should skip it: DIY investors who want every dollar working. If you're not locked in by an employer, you can do better.
Pricing Breakdown
The headline fees look similar — all three offer $0 account fees. The real cost hides in two places: the cash you're forced to hold and the fee on invested dollars.
A 0.50% annual fee sounds trivial. But contribute the 2026 self-only max of $4,400 a year for 30 years at a 7% return, and the difference between 0.00% (Fidelity ZERO funds) and 0.50% (Lively's guided portfolio) is roughly $35,500 in lost growth — about $415,600 versus $380,000.
Now the cash drag. HealthEquity's $500–$2,500 forced minimum doesn't sound like much. But $1,000 parked in cash instead of invested for 30 years at 7% grows to about $7,600 — meaning the forced minimum quietly costs you roughly $6,600 in forgone gains. That's more than a full year of catch-up contributions, lost to a rule no listicle bothers to mention.
Nearly half — 49% — of the $174 billion in U.S. HSA assets across 41.7 million accounts is now invested rather than sitting in cash, per Devenir's 2025 year-end report. The era of the HSA-as-checking-account is ending.
How We Evaluated
We compared these three providers using the criteria that actually move dollars for a long-term investor, not app screenshots. Read our full methodology at /how-we-evaluate/. For this comparison specifically, we weighed total fees (account, investment, custodial), the expense ratio of the cheapest available fund, any required cash threshold, the interest rate on uninvested cash, and the breadth of the investment menu. All figures come from each provider's published pricing pages and Morningstar's 2025 HSA Landscape report — not hands-on account testing. Some links in this article are affiliate links; see the disclosure below.
Verdict
Winner: Fidelity. It's the cheapest, charges no threshold, pays the best cash rate, and offers the only true 0.00%-expense-ratio funds in the group. For someone planning to let the account compound for decades, those "boring" advantages add up to tens of thousands of dollars.
Runner-up: Lively. Choose it if you specifically want the polished app and Schwab's brokerage window — and if you stick to self-directed investing and skip the 0.50% guided portfolio. The one scenario where Lively wins outright: you value interface and Schwab access over Fidelity's slightly higher cash yield, and you'll never touch the managed option.
HealthEquity is fine when your employer hands it to you. If you're choosing freely, the forced cash threshold is reason enough to go elsewhere.
One more move that beats picking any provider: the save-receipts-now, reimburse-later strategy In 30 years it could grow to roughly $15,000 — and you can still reimburse yourself the original $2,000 tax-free, anytime, while the growth stays sheltered. The HSA is the only account in America with a triple tax advantage: deductible contributions, tax-free growth, and tax-free qualified withdrawals. After age 65, nonmedical withdrawals are even allowed penalty-free, taxed like a traditional individual retirement account (IRA).
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I transfer my employer HSA to Fidelity without paying tax?
Yes. A trustee-to-trustee transfer moves funds directly between custodians and isn't a taxable event or a withdrawal. You can do this while still contributing through your employer's plan — just request the transfer from Fidelity and they'll pull the balance.
Do I need a special health plan to open an HSA?
Yes. You must be enrolled in a qualifying high-deductible health plan (HDHP) — minimum 2026 deductible of $1,700 self-only or $3,400 family, per the IRS. HSAs aren't available with standard insurance, and SECURE 2.0 did not extend eligibility to Affordable Care Act marketplace plans.
Are HSA contributions tax-deductible in every state?
No. California and New Jersey don't recognize the federal HSA tax break, so contributions aren't deductible on state returns and investment earnings may be taxable at the state level. If you live in either state, factor that into your math.
How much of my HSA should I actually invest?
A common approach: keep one year of your deductible in cash for surprise bills, then invest the rest. With Fidelity's $0 threshold you can invest from dollar one; with HealthEquity you're forced to hold the minimum first. Subscribe to The Canopy Brief for weekly insights on building a richer life.
Sources
- IRS — 2026 HSA limits and HDHP rules (Revenue Procedure 2025-19): https://www.irs.gov/
- Fidelity HSA pricing and ZERO funds: https://www.fidelity.com/go/hsa/why-hsa
- Lively HSA pricing: https://livelyme.com/pricing
- HealthEquity investment fees and threshold: https://www.healthequity.com/hsa/investment
- Morningstar 2025 HSA Landscape report: https://www.morningstar.com/
- Devenir 2025 Year-End HSA Research Report: https://www.devenir.com/
- S&P 500 year-to-date performance: https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/%5EGSPC/
*This article contains affiliate links. If you purchase or sign up through these links, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. We only recommend products we've evaluated against our editorial standards.
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Sources
- FRED - 10-Year Treasury Yield
- FRED - 30-Year Fixed Mortgage Rate
- FRED - Federal Funds Effective Rate
- FRED - Consumer Price Index (CPI)
- FRED - Unemployment Rate
- Yahoo Finance - S&P 500
- Yahoo Finance - 10-Year Treasury Yield (Market)
- Yahoo Finance - CBOE Volatility Index (VIX)
- Yahoo Finance - US Dollar Index
- Yahoo Finance - Gold Price (per oz)
