Lively
Smarter HSAs and a full suite of AI employee benefits for companies, brokers and individuals
By Lively, Inc. · 4.5/5 Value-Position score (estimate)
Positioning guardrails
Best for
- US employers (roughly 20–2,000 employees) that want fee-free HSA administration plus FSA, HRA, LSA, COBRA and Direct Bill on one platform
- Benefits brokers and consultants managing multiple employer groups who need automated file syncs and plain-language reporting
- HR teams that want AI-assisted support, automated claims adjudication and a smart debit card to cut manual benefits work
- Individuals and families who want a free, insured, interest-bearing HSA with optional investing
Ideal size: 20–2,000 employees people · Growing US employer with a dedicated HR or benefits lead
Not for
- Employers outside the US or those needing multinational benefits administration
- Companies looking for a full HCM or payroll suite rather than benefits account administration
- Organizations requiring documented self-hosted deployment or deep custom ERP integration
- Buyers who need written commitments on model providers or AI training-data use before purchase
Value metrics scorecard
Time-to-Value
About 2–4 weeks for employer setup
~30 days to first production value
Total Cost of Ownership
$2,400/yr
Starts at $0 · $0.00 per employee per month for employers, subject to a $200 monthly minimum; HSAs free for individuals and families; optional investment fees apply
Implementation Friction
2/5
Engineering + admin effort required
Value-Position score
out of 5 · model estimate
Full cost breakdown
Mandatory implementation fee
None
Seat tiers
No published seat minimums; $200 per month employer minimum
Add-on costs
- Schwab Health Savings Brokerage Account: $24 annual access fee, or no access fee with a $3,000 minimum cash balance
- HSA Guided Portfolio (Devenir): 0.50% annual management fee on invested assets
Company & support
Who is behind Lively, and how your team gets help once it is live.
Company
- Founded
- Not recorded
- Headquarters
- Not recorded
How you get support
- PhonePlan not stated
- EmailPlan not stated
- Live chatPlan not stated
- Support portal / ticketsNot listed
- Community forumNot listed
- Help centre / docsAll plans
- Dedicated account managerNot listed
- In person / on-siteNot listed
- Hours
- Business hours
- Response time
- 90% of calls and chats answered in under 60 seconds; emails in under two hours
Lively says 95% of issues are resolved on first contact and that human support is generally available during business hours, with AI handling first-line inquiries and escalating on request. Individuals on the free HSA plan are also directed to the Help Center.
“Not listed” means the vendor’s public pages don’t mention that channel, not that it is unavailable. Ask about it during evaluation.
Market position
Where Lively sits against its closest alternatives. Pick any two of cost, speed, friction and buyer score, and up to 9 companies to compare.
Quadrant view
Typical annual cost × Time-to-value
The lines cross at the median of the solutions shown, so about half sit on each side of each line.
Companies on the chart 6 / 10
- Lively
- Sesame HR
- Pabbly Connect
- Pulumi
- BambooHR
- ElectroNeek
Add or change companies
Up to 10 companies including Lively. Listed closest first.
Stack fit signal
Compatibility with standard B2B ecosystems.
No supported MCP path today, so it cannot be driven from an AI client.
AI & MCP readiness
What Lively ships in AI, and what it asks of your ecosystem.
AI features shipped
Vendor pages describe AI-powered support across chat, secure messaging and phone voice assistants; AI-assisted claims adjudication that flags claims for manual review; and AI that can update account information or initiate transactions when instructed. Human escalation is offered when AI cannot resolve an inquiry.
Your data & models
- Trains on your data
- Not recorded — ask the vendor
- Runs on
- Not recorded
- AI pricing
- Not recorded
In your ecosystem
- AI connection
- Not supported
- Model key
- Not recorded
- AI usage audit
- Not recorded
Compliance attestations
* IAPP AIGP certifies individuals, not products. It means named staff hold the credential — not that the platform does.
Bottom line
Lively is a US benefits-administration provider centred on Health Savings Accounts, plus employer FSA, HRA, LSA, Medical Travel, COBRA and Direct Bill accounts run on its Lively Axis platform. Individuals get a free, insured, interest-bearing HSA; employers pay $0 PEPM with a $200 monthly minimum, plus optional investment fees. AI-assisted support, automated claims adjudication and a smart debit card sit alongside human service, with 98% employer retention reported.
Frequently asked questions
What does Lively cost for employers and for individuals?
Lively prices employer HSA administration at $0.00 per employee per month, subject to a $200 monthly minimum (about $2,400 per year). HSAs are free for individuals and families, with no monthly maintenance, account-opening, closing, transfer, debit-card or point-of-sale fees. Optional investing costs extra: the Schwab Health Savings Brokerage Account carries a $24 annual access fee unless you keep at least $3,000 in cash, and the HSA Guided Portfolio carries a 0.50% annual management fee on invested assets. Preferred pricing is available by request.
Which benefits accounts can Lively administer?
Lively supports Health Savings Accounts for individuals and employer groups, plus employer-sponsored Flexible Spending Accounts, Health Reimbursement Arrangements, Lifestyle Spending Accounts, Medical Travel Accounts, and COBRA and Direct Bill administration. These run on Lively Axis, which the vendor describes as unifying benefits administration, healthcare spending and investing in one platform, with automated file syncs and plain-language reporting.
How does Lively use AI, and can we still reach a human?
Lively's privacy policy states that AI and automated systems power support chat, secure messaging and phone voice assistants, analyse account activity, and assist with automated claims adjudication, flagging claims it cannot approve for manual review. AI may also take actions such as updating account information or initiating transactions when instructed. The policy says that if AI cannot resolve an inquiry, or on request, the conversation routes to a human, and that human support is generally available during business hours. The sources do not state whether customer data is used to train models.
What support is available and how responsive is it?
Lively says 90% of calls and chats are answered in under 60 seconds and emails in under two hours, with 95% of issues resolved on first contact. Support channels include phone, chat and email, plus a self-serve Help Center, with escalation from the AI support layer to human staff on request. Human support is generally available during business hours.