HSA Trackr
Quantitative scoring framework

How HSA Trackr Ranks HSA Providers

By Will MatherReviewed 7 min read

HSA providers are ranked by a weighted composite score across five criteria - account fees (30%), investment minimum (25%), investment menu and expense ratios (25%), transfer policy (10%), and user experience (10%). Each provider is scored 0-5 per criterion against the same rubric, the weighted sum becomes the composite, and the composite drives rank position on /best-hsa-providers. Re-verified quarterly from each provider's current published disclosure. Nothing on this page or on /best-hsa-providers changes based on affiliate status - the full ledger lives at /how-we-make-money.

The five criteria

Weights total 100%. Each provider is scored 0-5 per criterion, then the weighted sum decides rank position.

Account fees

30% weight

Monthly maintenance fees, outbound transfer fees, and account-closure costs. The single largest determinant of long-term outcome - a $3.95/mo fee compounds to roughly $5,000 in lost balance over 30 years at 7% returns before counting expense ratios.

Scoring rubric (0-5)

  • •5: $0/mo no minimums (Fidelity, Lively individual)
  • •4: Fee waived above a reasonable balance threshold (HSA Bank at $5k+)
  • •3: Modest fee under $3/mo with no waiver
  • •2: $3-$5/mo with high investment threshold
  • •1: Above $5/mo, multiple fee categories, hidden closure costs

Investment minimum

25% weight

The cash threshold before contributions can be moved into investments. A $1,000-$2,000 minimum leaves the first one to two years of contributions earning sweep-account interest rates while the market compounds - a real cost the marketing material rarely surfaces.

Scoring rubric (0-5)

  • •5: $0 minimum, invest from dollar one
  • •4: $1 minimum (effectively zero, just a system floor)
  • •3: $1,000 minimum
  • •2: $1,500-$2,000 minimum
  • •1: $2,500+ minimum or per-trade fees on top

Investment menu + expense ratios

25% weight

Breadth of available funds and the weighted-average expense ratio of the core menu. A full-brokerage menu gives access to total-market index funds at 0.00-0.10% ER. A bank-curated 25-fund menu can run 0.30-0.80% weighted ER, which compounds against you the same way fees do.

Scoring rubric (0-5)

  • •5: Full brokerage access (Fidelity, Schwab via Lively)
  • •4: Broad fund menu with ER under 0.15% weighted average
  • •3: Curated menu (20-40 funds) with ER 0.15-0.30%
  • •2: Limited menu with ER 0.30-0.50%
  • •1: Few funds or weighted ER above 0.50%

Transfer policy

10% weight

Whether outbound trustee-to-trustee transfers are free and whether incoming transfers are accepted. This is the lock-in lever - a provider that charges $25 to leave and refuses incoming transfers is structurally hostile to consolidation, which is one of the most useful long-term HSA-management moves.

Scoring rubric (0-5)

  • •5: Free outbound + free incoming, no paper-mail requirement
  • •4: Free outbound, modest paperwork
  • •3: $0-$25 outbound, electronic or paper
  • •2: $25+ outbound, paper-mail required
  • •1: Outbound transfer fee + restrictions

User experience

10% weight

Mobile app, web interface, receipt capture and reimbursement flow, debit card availability. UX is weighted lower than fees because a great app cannot compensate for a $3.95/mo fee - but bad UX can prevent you from ever actually using your HSA, which sinks the whole thesis.

Scoring rubric (0-5)

  • •5: Polished native app + clean web, receipt OCR, instant reimbursement
  • •4: Solid app, manual receipt upload, 1-3 day reimbursement
  • •3: Functional app, web-first flow, slower reimbursement
  • •2: Web-only or dated app, friction-heavy reimbursement
  • •1: Paper-form-driven, no app

What we do NOT consider

  • Whether the provider pays HSA Trackr a commission. See /how-we-make-money - Fidelity pays nothing and ranks #1.
  • Provider size or marketing spend. The largest US HSA by account count is HealthEquity (ranked 3rd here), not Fidelity.
  • Anecdotal reviews or testimonials. We do not collect or quote third-party reviews; we score against the criteria above.
  • Branding, design quality of the marketing site, or quality of the affiliate program. These are not the holder's experience.
  • Bundled services unrelated to the HSA core function (debit-card cashback, branded fitness perks, etc.).

Verification cadence

  • Quarterly full re-verification. Every March, June, September, and December, all six providers' fees, investment minimums, and core menu expense ratios are checked against the provider's current public disclosure.
  • Material change triggers same-week update. A reader-flagged fee change, a provider announcement, or a regulatory filing producing material change triggers an immediate re-score and same-week page update.
  • 48-hour error correction. Reader-flagged factual errors (an outdated fee, a wrong investment minimum) are verified and corrected within two business days. The Last Updated date on the affected page is reset on every correction.

Frequently asked

How often is the ranking updated?
Each provider's fees, investment minimums, and core fund expense ratios are re-verified quarterly against the provider's current published disclosure. Material changes (a fee added, a minimum raised) trigger an immediate review and a same-week update to the page. The Last Updated date at the top of /best-hsa-providers reflects the most recent verification.
Why is account fee weighted higher than UX?
A $3.95/mo fee compounded over 30 years at 7% returns is roughly $5,000 in lost balance - and that is before counting the drag from higher expense ratios that fee-heavy providers tend to bundle. UX matters, but it cannot recover a five-figure compounding gap. The weights reflect what actually moves the needle on a 20-year hold.
What if a provider scores well on every criterion but one?
Each criterion is weighted and summed. A single category fail does not torpedo a provider - HSA Bank, for example, scores 3 on the monthly fee criterion (the $2.50 fee under $5k balance) but 5 on investment menu (TD Ameritrade integration) and lands in the 'solid second tier' band overall. The weighted sum gives a defensible composite score that's stable across small disclosure changes.
Do you accept payment for higher placement?
No. The full affiliate ledger is at /how-we-make-money - only one of the six providers featured (Lively) pays HSA Trackr a commission, and Fidelity still ranks #1 because the math says so. If you find a placement that looks paid, email [email protected] and we'll publish the audit trail.
How do you score expense ratios when providers don't publish a weighted average?
We compute the weighted average ourselves by taking the menu's most-held funds (by AUM in the public 13F filings where available, by mass-market default funds otherwise) and averaging their expense ratios weighted by holdings. For full-brokerage providers (Fidelity, Lively via Schwab) we use the core total-market index funds most HSA holders default to. The methodology is the same across providers.

Best HSA Providers 2026

See the live ranking this methodology produces.

How we make money

Full affiliate ledger. Why ranking is independent of payment.