Is COBRA worth it after a layoff? - any advice?

The COBRA quote for my family is $700 a month and I do not know how to afford it. This is my first time dealing with any of this. I saw that marketplace plans might cost less. Is the decision time really that tight?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it last year, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.