What is the best place to buy an annuity online?
It depends on what you are optimizing for. If you want to see rates across a wide field of carriers before you talk to anyone, look for an independent brokerage that discloses its panel and does not require a form fill just to see numbers. If you already know the exact product you want and would rather skip a conversation entirely, a carrier-direct site can issue a policy in minutes, though you are limited to that one insurer's lineup. If you are still learning, the large content hubs have deep libraries, just know that submitting their quote form can hand your phone number to several outside agents at once. Whichever route you take, the platform matters less than the carrier behind the contract and whether you see real terms before you sign.
Shopping for an annuity online generally means picking one of four different setups, and each one changes what you should expect from the experience. One kind of site holds contracts with a whole roster of insurers and shows you rates from that entire roster. Another sells you a single company's own product, with the insurer standing behind the sale itself. A third type teaches the subject in depth, then hands your phone number off to strangers once you submit a form. The fourth, run by a firm like Fidelity or Schwab, is an annuity desk parked inside a brokerage account you may already have.
None of the four setups is automatically the right one for you. It really comes down to whether you want to see a wide field of rates yourself, stick with one licensed producer for the whole process, skip the middleman entirely and deal only with an insurer, or just spend time learning before you commit to anything.
If you want to, here is where to start
| If you want to... | A good fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Apply by phone or mail instead of a website | A phone-first independent brokerage | Some of the longest-running brokerages still work primarily by phone and overnight paperwork rather than a self-service form. |
| Buy directly from the insurer, no broker involved | Gainbridge or Canvas Annuity | Nobody stands between you and the carrier, but you only see that one company's lineup. |
| Get a lifetime income quote specifically | A platform that specializes in income annuities | Income-only shops tend to pull quotes from a wide field of carriers built for that one product category. |
| Use a guided, calculator-driven walkthrough | A curated digital marketplace | A smaller, vetted carrier panel paired with clear scenario tools and a person to call if you get stuck. |
| Read broadly before deciding anything | A large annuity content hub, with a caveat | Deep glossaries and long guides, but filling out the quote form can trigger calls from several unrelated agents at once. |
| Meet with someone face to face | A local independent agent, or a branch of a large custodian | None of the fully online platforms do this well. |
Independent annuity brokerages
A broker of this kind carries appointments with a whole roster of insurance companies and can pull a rate from any of them through one site. Three platforms worth knowing fit this model: a curated digital marketplace built around a guided experience, a specialist focused only on income annuities, and a long-running broker that still leans on the phone.
The digital marketplace approach favors design: clean scenario tools, a smaller, vetted carrier list, and licensed reps you can call once you have a number in mind. The income specialist narrows its whole business to immediate and deferred income annuities, pulling quotes from well over a hundred carriers built for that single product. The phone-first broker has operated since 1999, offers fixed, multi-year guaranteed, fixed index and immediate annuities through dozens of companies, and still expects at least one phone call before an application moves.
Which one fits depends on the product you want. For guaranteed lifetime income specifically, an income specialist beats a general marketplace. For a guided digital walkthrough with a smaller, vetted panel, the curated marketplace wins. For buyers who would rather talk to a person and mail paperwork than click through a website, the phone-first broker is built for exactly that.
Carrier-direct annuity platforms
Carrier-direct means you are buying straight from the insurance company, with no broker standing between you and the contract. Two well-known digital insurers work this way.
One is a digital-first carrier that sells fixed and fixed index annuities issued by its own parent insurer, with no independent agent, no separate commission, and no rate comparison against other companies on the same page. The other issues its contracts through Puritan Life Insurance Company of America and works the same way: you deal with company employees rather than an outside producer, and the product menu is limited to what that one insurer offers.
The trade is speed for choice. Both let you complete a purchase online in a matter of minutes without a phone call, something none of the brokerages above can match. If that one carrier happens to be competitive for your term and state, this is a fast, clean way to buy. If it is not competitive, nothing on the page will tell you that, because there is nothing else on the page to compare it to.
When carrier-direct makes sense: you have already priced your options elsewhere, you have settled on a specific contract, and skipping a phone call entirely sounds appealing rather than stressful.
Lead-generation annuity websites
Two large sites dominate a lot of annuity search results, and both are owned by the same Orlando-based digital marketing company, a firm that builds content properties across legal, financial and medical topics.
Give them their due: between the two, you will find a bigger glossary, a longer shelf of guides, and better search rankings than almost any independent broker keeps up, this page included. The writing itself holds up fine. Their actual business, though, is pulling in searchers before they know what they want, not putting policies in force.
Where it gets complicated is the quote form. Neither of these companies sells or issues an annuity itself. Public review sites report that filling out a form there can set off a wave of calls from unrelated agents and call centers all at once, with plenty of reviewers complaining about being reached over and over by callers they never chose to talk to. The Better Business Bureau files one of the two under a sales lead generation category, and part of its pipeline flows through arrangements with outside insurance marketing firms.
None of that makes either site a bad place to read up on the topic. It just means that once you are ready to actually put money into a contract, going straight to a licensed insurance business that can carry the whole thing through tends to serve you better.
Custodian and brokerage annuity marketplaces
A fourth model is the annuity desk tucked inside a brokerage you may already use to invest. Fidelity and Charles Schwab both run one, and neither operates as a standalone online annuity shop the way the other platforms on this page do.
Fidelity places three product types, income, fixed and variable, but does it through a group of insurers it selects and manages itself instead of surveying the wider market. Getting a number usually starts with booking time with a representative rather than pulling a quote off a page.
Schwab offers variable, fixed deferred, indexed and income annuities, but the constraint that matters most sits right on its own annuity page: a $100,000 minimum applies across every contract Schwab offers. Carriers on the open market issue multi-year guaranteed contracts for a fraction of that, sometimes just a few thousand dollars, so that floor rules Schwab out for a large share of buyers before a single rate ever comes up.
When a custodian makes sense: your retirement money is already parked there, you are moving six figures or more, and having the policy sit right next to the rest of your account outweighs the effort of surveying every carrier on your own.
Seven online annuity platforms, one at a time
A MassMutual-owned digital marketplace
Best for: buyers who want a polished, calculator-driven experience with a smaller, vetted carrier panel and a real person as backup.
This is, hands down, one of the more polished annuity experiences you will find online. Plain-language scenarios walk you toward an estimated income figure before a human ever gets involved. MassMutual took an ownership stake in early 2021, and today roughly 30 insurers sit on its panel, spanning financial strength grades from B+ up through the top tier, A++, with representatives who hold FINRA registration handling anything that needs a phone call.
The trade-off: 30 carriers is a smaller field than a full-panel independent broker can show you. Buyers chasing the single widest rate comparison should know that ceiling exists before they start.
An income-only quoting specialist
Best for: retirees whose whole search is about locking in guaranteed income for life.
A licensed insurance agency dating back to 1999 runs this one, showing live income payout figures pulled from a field of more than 150 insurers. Its public track record is solid: customer review scores that sit near the very top of the scale, plus its own Better Business Bureau accreditation as an actual insurance agency, not just a publisher.
Its focus stays narrow on purpose, covering immediate and deferred income contracts and nothing else. Anyone hunting a multi-year guaranteed rate, a fixed index policy paired with a lifetime withdrawal rider, or a variable contract should keep looking elsewhere.
A veteran phone-and-mail broker
Best for: buyers who would rather work by phone and paper than fill out a website.
Started in 1999 out of Oregon, few independent annuity brokers online have been at it longer. Its lineup spans fixed, multi-year guaranteed, fixed index and immediate income contracts sourced from dozens of insurers, its full carrier roster is posted publicly, and its workflow still centers on a phone call, with paperwork you can either mail in or file electronically.
The interface feels dated compared to newer sites and not every number is posted where you can see it right away, but what you get in exchange is decades of hands-on annuity experience and a low-pressure path that never forces you to do everything through a screen.
A digital-first, single-carrier insurer
Best for: shoppers who would rather deal with an insurer directly than go through anyone in between.
This one is carrier-direct through and through, selling fixed and fixed index contracts written by its own parent insurer. There is no independent agent involved, no commission changing hands, and nothing built into the site that lets you weigh it against a competitor. When its numbers genuinely lead the pack for your state and term, buying here is quick and painless. When they do not, you simply will not find that out from this site alone; you would need to check somewhere else first.
A single-insurer online storefront
Best for: a simple, single-insurer purchase completed entirely online.
The underwriter standing behind every policy here is Puritan Life Insurance Company of America. As with the carrier described above, this runs as a carrier-direct experience: employees of the company handle your questions instead of an outside agent, the menu of products stops at what that one insurer offers, and there is nothing on the site built for comparing rates against anyone else.
The largest annuity content hub
Best for: educational research, not the actual purchase.
Of everything in this category, this content property is the largest, and it comes from the same Orlando marketing firm named earlier. The glossary, the calculators and the long-form guides are genuinely organized well, and its publishing entity has carried Better Business Bureau accreditation since 2019. What it does not do is act as a licensed agency handling the actual sale: send in that quote form and expect calls from a rotating cast of outside agents, a pattern that shows up again and again in public complaints about unwanted, repeated contact.
Read everything on the site with confidence. Just pause before typing your number into that quote box unless a busy week of unfamiliar callers sounds fine to you.
A comparison-focused education site
Best for: long-tail research and side-by-side platform reviews.
This one's specialty is picking apart other annuity platforms in long-form reviews, sharp critiques of the big lead-generation hubs included. It operates as a referral broker, sending prospects on to outside licensed agents rather than closing anything itself, which makes it a fine stop while you research but not the place to finish a purchase.
Where each type of platform has the edge
No single business model wins on everything, so it helps to know what each one is actually optimized for.
Content depth favors the lead-generation hubs. They have the marketing budgets to publish more glossary terms and longer guides than almost anyone else in the category. If your goal is to read broadly before deciding anything, start there and skip the quote form.
Polish favors the guided, curated marketplaces. A well-funded, design-led platform with a smaller carrier panel will usually feel easier to use than a bare-bones rate table, even if the rate table covers more companies.
Speed favors carrier-direct sites. Cut the licensed producer out of the process and a signed contract is minutes away, provided you already know that one carrier's numbers are worth having.
Breadth favors independent brokerages. A platform holding dozens of carrier appointments can show you a wider spread of rates than a single insurer or a 30-company curated panel ever will.
Whichever type you choose, a few questions apply everywhere: does your contact information stay with one licensed producer, or does it get sold into a call center network? Do you see the actual contract terms before you sign, or only a marketing summary? Is a carrier-issued illustration part of the process, or just a brochure? Those answers matter more than the platform's logo.
How this list was put together
This ranking reflects editorial judgment about the buying experience, not projected returns, live rates or any insurer's guarantees, which vary by state and by individual circumstances. Each platform was weighed on:
- Transparency of business model. Does the site plainly disclose what kind of company it is: an appointed broker, a single insurer selling its own paper, or a publisher built to gather leads?
- Access to carriers. For brokerages, how wide is the panel. For carrier-direct sites, how competitive and clear is the single offering.
- Rate visibility. Can a visitor see real numbers and use real tools before handing over contact information?
- User experience. How clear is the navigation, the mobile experience, and the path from learning to quoting to actually applying?
- Execution and control. Are inquiries handled in-house by licensed professionals, or farmed out to third parties, and does the buyer control the pace?
- Credibility signals. Time in business, named licensed leadership, and verifiable third-party reviews through sources like the Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot.
A note on independence
No platform mentioned here paid for inclusion or placement, and this page does not operate an annuity marketplace of its own to compare against the others. Where public information about a company was limited, that limitation is reflected in how much detail its section includes rather than filled in with a guess.
The right platform for you still comes down to your goals, your state, your age and how comfortable you are handling parts of this online versus over the phone. Use the goal-based table near the top as a starting filter, then read the individual write-ups that apply to you.
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
Can you buy an annuity entirely online, start to finish?
In part. A short list of carrier-direct insurers will let you select a contract, fund it and receive a policy number without ever picking up the phone. Everywhere else, a licensed producer still has to review your paperwork and file the application on your behalf, so budget for at least one conversation, by phone or video, before anything is put in force.
Should you worry about buying an annuity through a website?
Your money is not backed by a website. It is backed by the claims-paying ability of whichever insurance company issues the contract, which is why that company's rating matters more than the platform you used to find it. What a platform can affect is simpler: does your phone number stay with one licensed producer or get passed around a network of call centers, and can you actually read the contract before you sign anything. Make sure whoever is selling you the policy is a licensed insurance business, not a media company collecting a finder's fee.
Does Fidelity or Charles Schwab sell annuities?
Both do, through an annuity desk that sits next to their brokerage accounts, though neither one shops every carrier the way an independent broker will. Fidelity works from its own curated group of insurers rather than the open market. Schwab covers a broader mix of contract types, but sets a floor of $100,000 on any policy it will place, far higher than what many carriers accept when you go to them directly.
How is an annuity marketplace different from a lead-generation site?
A marketplace holds real appointments with insurance carriers and can actually put a policy in force. A lead-generation property is built for search traffic: it gathers your name and number through a quote form, then hands that off to a rotating list of outside agents and call centers. The simplest way to tell them apart is to ask who issues the policy, the site itself or someone it refers you to afterward.
Does going through a broker make an annuity cost more than buying direct?
No, not as a separate line item. An insurance company folds its distribution cost into the rate it publishes rather than billing you for it separately, so your full deposit still gets credited either way. That built in cost is exactly why the number worth comparing across carriers is the credited rate itself, not who happened to sell you the contract.
Written and reviewed by
James Forren Warren
Licensed Retirement Income Strategist · License #20551202
James Forren Warren is a licensed Retirement Income Strategist with Tax Free Wealth Plan. For the past five years he has helped individuals and families turn their savings into retirement income they can count on. He writes and reviews the annuity research on this site and keeps it plain: what a product does, what it costs you, and who it actually fits.
Sources
Educational only, not investment, tax or legal advice. Tax Free Wealth Plan LLC is a licensed insurance agency, not a registered investment adviser or broker-dealer. Annuities are not bank deposits, are not FDIC insured and are not guaranteed by any government agency. Guarantees are backed solely by the claims-paying ability of the issuing insurance company. Features, rates and availability vary by state and change over time; the contract and disclosure documents govern.