Bright Start 529 review

Bright Start 529 offers the largest home-state tax break among the plans here: an Illinois individual filer can deduct up to $10,000 a year, and married couples filing jointly up to $20,000, across its combined Illinois 529 contributions. Its homepage shows it as a Gold Medalist in Morningstar's 2025 review of 529 plans. On cost, the plan cites ISS Market Intelligence for a 0.24% average across all portfolios, against 0.49% for all 529 plans, while its fee table shows aggressive enrollment year portfolios at 0.09% all in, with a 0.06% plan manager fee and no Treasurer administrative fee. The menu covers enrollment year, static allocation and individual portfolios. For Illinois families the deduction outweighs the small cost gap with cheaper plans. For everyone else, the 0.24% average sits above MESP's 0.09% and Invest529's index portfolios, and Illinois's deduction recapture on non-qualified withdrawals only matters to Illinois filers.

Who it is for

Illinois taxpayers who want a big deduction

Price

Average annual asset-based fees of 0.24%; aggressive enrollment portfolios at 0.09%.

Bright Start Direct-Sold College Savings Program average annual asset-based fees are 0.24% for all portfolios compared to 0.49% for all 529 plans.
Quoted from the vendor pricing page on November 14, 2026.

Key features

• Illinois deduction of up to $10,000 per tax year, or $20,000 for joint filers
• Average annual asset-based fees of 0.24% for all portfolios, against 0.49% for all 529 plans (ISS Market Intelligence, Q4 2025)
• Aggressive enrollment portfolios at 0.09% total annual asset-based fees
• Enrollment Year, Static Allocation and Individual Portfolios
• Shown as a Gold Medalist in Morningstar's 2025 529 ratings on its site

Strengths and weaknesses

• Strength: Largest state deduction in this list for joint filers at $20,000
• Strength: No Treasurer administrative fee on the enrollment portfolios shown
• Strength: Morningstar Gold rating cited on the plan's homepage
• Weakness: The 0.24% average is higher than MESP, Invest529 and ScholarShare
• Weakness: Deduction recapture applies to non-qualified withdrawals in Illinois
• Weakness: Its tax edge only applies to Illinois taxpayers

Key facts

• State deduction: Up to $10,000, or $20,000 joint (IL taxpayers)
• Average asset-based fee: 0.24%
• Aggressive enrollment portfolios: 0.09%
• Morningstar: Gold Medalist (2025)

Where it ranks

Bright Start 529 is No. 8 in our Best 529 Plans verdict.