Need to get familiar with the employee benefits platform market?

Employee benefits are under strain. Employers pay more every year, some long-time administrators are struggling, and money is moving to new ways of offering health coverage.

We've found a lot of interesting signals. For example, in October 2025, KFF reported that employer family health coverage had reached almost $27,000 a year, up 6%. In March 2026, Alight, one of the largest US benefits administrators, got a warning from the NYSE after its shares traded below $1. And in September, Thatch raised $108M at a $1B valuation, with ADP Ventures and Paychex among its backers, to let employers give staff a monthly allowance for their own coverage. Employers want to control costs, and they're open to new models to do it.

In this section, we look at why employers are rethinking how they offer benefits, what's going wrong for some established administrators, and where newer platforms are getting in.

Most employees pick their benefits once a year, in a rush, and many don't understand what they chose until a bill arrives.

We compare six kinds of benefits platform companies, from enrollment software and spending account providers to care navigation and leave tools. Their buyers include small businesses, large employers, brokers and insurers. Then we rank what hurts most, like enrollment errors, benefits employees never use, data that breaks between systems, and leave rules that differ by state.

This shows which problems an employer or broker will pay to fix, and which ones they still put up with every open enrollment.

Monthly fees per employee, payments from insurers, interest on HSA balances, card fees on spending accounts and per-member navigation fees: benefits platforms make money in many ways.

We compare who pays and when. Many platforms charge the employer per employee each month, while others are paid partly by insurers that want their plans on the menu. HSA and spending account providers earn on the money employees leave in their accounts, so they do better when rates are high and balances grow. Navigation services may be paid on the savings they claim, which buyers often question. And open enrollment packs a year's worth of support work into a few weeks.

You'll see which models keep earning when employers cut costs, and which ones rely on insurer money or high interest rates.

Benefits platforms grow when employers need help getting more out of their benefits budget. We look at each force behind that, in turn.

Some are easy to see: health costs that keep rising, new US rules that let more people open an HSA, and more employers trying allowances instead of a single group plan. Others feed each other. When employees understand their benefits, they pick plans that fit and use more of what's offered. That gives employers proof the platform pays for itself. And once a platform runs enrollment, adding spending accounts, navigation or leave becomes an easier sale.

Before building or investing, you should know what makes an employer switch benefits platforms, and what makes employees actually use the benefits they chose.

Businessolver and bswift are names most benefits teams at large US employers know, but newer platforms are changing what a benefits system looks like.

Many interesting players stay in the background. Some only manage spending accounts for things like gyms, childcare or commuting. Others help employees compare plans before they enroll, handle leave claims across states, or move enrollment data between employers and insurers.

They're hard to spot because most sell through brokers, insurers or payroll providers, so employees see their employer's logo, not the vendor's. And many platforms bundle several products, which makes it hard to tell what each one does best.

Below, you'll find the market grids and ecosystem maps we've built to show who does what, from choosing a plan to paying a claim, and where new players are getting in.

HealthEquity, Forma, Nayya… a few benefits platforms have found steady demand, each with a different model.

HealthEquity is one of the largest HSA providers and earns on account fees and the money members keep in their accounts. Forma runs lifestyle spending accounts that let employers offer flexible perks. Nayya uses AI to help employees choose and use their benefits, and works with administration platforms like bswift. Each has real customers, but their models depend on different things, from interest rates to employer budgets for extra perks.

We'll look at how these companies chose who pays them, and what that teaches a startup that wants to become the place where employees manage their benefits.