Most people assume buying an annuity is like buying a stock — pick the product, place the order, done. It isn't. The same contract can reach you through several different channels, and where you buy can change the price, the selection, and the quality of advice you get. So let's start with the short answer, then walk through each option honestly.
Where can you buy an annuity?
You can buy an annuity through an independent agent or advisor, a bank or brokerage, an insurance company directly, or an online marketplace — and because the *same* contract is often priced differently depending on who sells it, where you buy matters as much as what you buy.
That last part surprises people. An annuity is an insurance contract, and insurers set the core terms — the rate, the surrender schedule, the guarantees. But not every seller offers every carrier, and some channels carry products built specifically for them. Two shoppers with identical goals can end up with very different contracts simply because they walked into different doors.
The four places people buy annuities
Here's the honest version of each channel — what it does well, and where it falls short.
| Channel | Cost | Product selection | Advice quality | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent agent / advisor | Commission built into the contract (no separate fee) | Wide — many carriers | Varies; best ones show several options | Shoppers who want choice plus a person to compare for them |
| Bank or brokerage | Often higher; limited shelf | Narrow — a few partner carriers | Mixed; often product-pushed | People who want a familiar, walk-in experience |
| Insurance company direct | No middleman, but only that carrier's products | One carrier only | None — you're on your own | Confident DIY buyers who already know the exact product |
| Online marketplace / platform | Often low/no commission on flat-fee contracts | Curated; sometimes commission-free versions | Self-serve plus optional support | Comfortable-online shoppers who want to compare quickly |
A few notes on the table above. "Commission built into the contract" doesn't mean free — it means the cost is baked into the product's terms rather than billed to you as a separate line item. And "advice quality varies" is doing a lot of work: the channel matters less than the individual person and how they're paid.
Independent agents and advisors
This is how most fixed and indexed annuities get sold. An independent agent isn't tied to one insurer, so in theory they can shop dozens of carriers and bring you the most competitive rate or income for your situation. The good ones do exactly that — they show you several contracts side by side and explain the tradeoffs.
The catch is that "independent" doesn't guarantee objective. Some agents lean toward whichever product pays them best, and an annuity commission is paid by the insurer as a one-time amount of roughly 1% to 7% of your premium, depending on the product type. That's not deducted from your account, but it can shape which product gets recommended. The fix is simple: ask how they're paid and ask to see more than one option. If you want help vetting a person, how to find a good annuity advisor covers the green and red flags in detail.
Banks and brokerages
Plenty of people buy their first annuity from the bank where they already keep their savings. It feels safe and convenient. The downside is that banks and brokerages usually offer a short shelf — a handful of carriers they have agreements with — so you're choosing from a fraction of the market.
That limited selection is also why the same type of annuity can quietly cost more here, which we'll get to below. Bank reps are often compensated on what they sell, and the products on offer aren't always the most competitive ones available elsewhere. None of this makes a bank annuity automatically bad — it just means you should compare the bank's offer against the broader market before signing.
Buying directly from the insurance company
Some carriers will sell you a contract directly, with no agent in between. For a confident do-it-yourself buyer who already knows precisely which product they want, this can be clean and straightforward. There's no salesperson steering you.
But "direct" has two real limits. First, you only see that one company's products — there's no comparison shopping built in. Second, there's no one helping you sanity-check the decision, which matters more than people expect when the contract has a surrender schedule and riders you can't easily undo. Direct works best when you've already done the comparison work yourself.
Online marketplaces and platforms
A newer option: online platforms that let you compare quotes across carriers and, in some cases, buy commission-free or flat-fee versions of contracts. For shoppers comfortable researching online, these can be efficient and transparent — you see multiple carriers in one place, and the lower-cost contract structures can mean a better rate or higher income.
The tradeoff is that you're doing more of the work yourself, and the curation varies platform to platform. Some are genuinely neutral comparison tools; others are lead-generation funnels that hand you off to an agent anyway. As always, read what you're actually buying. Our annuity reviews and carrier rate tables exist so you can check any product or insurer against the wider market regardless of where the quote came from.
Why the same annuity can cost more at a bank
Here's the part worth understanding before you buy anywhere. With a fixed or income annuity, the insurer's payout is essentially the cost of the product — a lower rate or lower monthly income is the equivalent of a higher price. Because banks and some captive channels offer a narrow shelf, the specific contract they hand you may simply credit a lower rate than a competing carrier you'd find through an independent agent or an online marketplace.
It's not that banks tack on a visible markup. It's that limited selection plus product-pushed incentives can steer you into a contract that isn't the most competitive available. On a MYGA (a fixed-rate annuity), the difference between a top-of-market rate and a middling one can be half a percentage point or more — on a six-figure premium, held for years, that compounds into real money. Checking the live MYGA rate ranges by term before you commit is the easiest way to see whether an offer is actually competitive. Rates move constantly, so treat any quote as a snapshot, not a fixed truth.
Do you need an advisor to buy an annuity?
No — but it depends on the product. A simple MYGA, where the only real variables are the rate and the term, is something many people can buy direct or online without hand-holding. Comparing those is close to comparing CDs.
More complex products are a different story. Fixed indexed annuities with caps and spreads, or income annuities with lifetime-income riders, have moving parts that are genuinely hard to evaluate alone — the way income is actually calculated and how caps and spreads limit your crediting are exactly where DIY buyers get tripped up. For those, a competent advisor earns their keep by comparing contracts you'd struggle to line up yourself.
Who an advisor is *not* for: if you already know the precise product you want, you're comfortable reading a contract, and you've checked the rate against the market, paying for advice you don't need adds nothing. The point isn't "always use an advisor" or "never use one" — it's matching the help to the complexity.
How to compare before you buy
Wherever you end up buying, run the same checks first:
- Get more than one quote. A single quote tells you nothing about whether it's competitive. Compare at least two or three carriers for the same product type and term.
- Check the rate or income against the market. Use independent rate tables and product reviews rather than the seller's own marketing.
- Confirm the surrender schedule. Know exactly how long your money is locked and what it costs to get out early. Surrender charges are where rushed buyers get burned.
- Ask how the seller is paid. Commission, fee, or salary — there's no wrong answer, but you should know which one you're dealing with.
- Read what's guaranteed versus illustrated. Guaranteed numbers are promises; illustrated numbers are projections. Don't confuse the two.
If you want a fuller pre-purchase checklist, our questions to ask before buying an annuity walks through each one.
The bottom line
There's no single best place to buy an annuity — there's a best place *for you*, given how much help you want and how complex the product is. Independent agents bring selection, banks bring familiarity (and often a narrower, pricier shelf), buying direct suits confident DIY shoppers, and online marketplaces reward those happy to compare on their own. What stays constant across all four: get multiple quotes, check the terms against the broader market, and never let convenience talk you out of comparison shopping. The rates and figures here are early-2026 snapshots and will move, so verify any specific number before you act.