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Shopping for car insurance can be a tedious process when it requires getting quotes from multiple insurance company websites. But you can make the process easier by using an insurance comparison website.
These sites allow you to compare personalized car insurance quotes from multiple insurance companies so you can get the same amount of information in a fraction of the time. When you use one of these sites, you can enter just a few pieces of information about yourself and your driving history and get quotes from many of the industry’s top insurers. The quotes you’ll receive are personalized to your unique situation rather than just averages.
That said, not all insurance-comparison sites are created equally, and it’s important to choose those that offer legitimate quotes. We’ll cover which comparison sites are the best and what you should look for when comparing quotes in the sections below.
Key Takeaways:
- Compare.com and Insurify top our list as the best and most trustworthy car insurance comparison sites.
- Lead-generation sites don’t typically provide personalized quotes — they can also be spammy and may sell your data to third parties.
- Maximize your comparison site experience and savings by entering accurate information, reading the fine print, and being open to buying a policy with a smaller insurance company.
Why You Should Use a Comparison Site
The two key benefits of using a car insurance comparison site are that you’ll save time and save money.
First, these sites streamline the process of shopping for car insurance. Rather than having to visit multiple insurance company websites for quotes, you can get them all in one place quickly. Additionally, because you can see quotes from some of the top insurers all at once, you’re able to easily see which company is the most affordable.
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Types of Insurance Comparison Sites
While most comparison sites serve the same basic functions, they aren’t all created equally. Insurance comparison sites differ in several ways, including the number of insurers they work with and whether they show real quotes or just ads.
Sites that let you compare real quotes
The best insurance comparison sites have direct partnerships with many insurance companies. These sites can show you real quotes based on the information you provide. After seeing your quotes, you can usually sign up for a policy directly from the comparison site, or you’ll be redirected to sign up on the insurer’s website.
Even among these sites, there is still some difference in quality. For example, one comparison site might show quotes from a dozen insurers, while another might show you quotes from just a few.
Finally, these sites will differ based on the number of ads they show you and whether completing the quote form results in you getting spam emails, phone calls, and texts later on.
Lead-generation sites that show only ads
There’s a whole different category of car insurance comparison sites that are actually lead-generation sites. These sites don’t show real-time quotes like the sites we discussed above. Instead, they show ads and often sell the data you provide during the quote process. As a result, you can end up getting spam emails, phone calls, and text messages. You might even have to enter your information multiple times just to eventually see a quote.
Yes, these sites will sometimes show prices. However, they aren’t personalized quotes and aren’t likely to be accurate for your unique situation. Some popular lead-gen sites include EverQuote, QuoteWizard, and Otto. Popular personal finance websites like NerdWallet and ValuePenguin also offer lead-generation tools for customers to get auto insurance quotes.
Which Car Insurance Comparison Site Is Best?
At this point, you’re probably wondering which comparison site is the best option for getting and comparing quotes.
The table below shows how the most well-known insurance-comparison sites match up in terms of online reviews and the number of real-time quotes they provide.
| Comparison Site | Rank | Average Customer Rating* | Real-Time Quotes** | Spam Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Compare.com | #1 | 4.23/5 | 5 | None |
| Insurify | #2 | 4.43/5 | 4 | None |
| Jerry | #3 | 2.90/5 | 3 | Low |
| The Zebra | #4 | 4.23/5 | 3 | None |
| Gabi | #5 | 1.00/5 | 1 | Low |
| QuoteWizard | #6 | 3.85/5 | 0 | High |
| EverQuote | #7 | 2.60/5 | 0 | High |
| *Customer review average takes into account each site’s average rating from review platforms like Shopper Approved, Trustpilot, and Clearsurance.
**We generated all quotes using the profile of a 34-year-old woman who lives in San Jose, CA, drives a 2018 Honda CR-V, and has had a speeding ticket in the past three years. |
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1. Compare.com
Compare.com is an insurance comparison site that specializes in auto insurance. It was founded in 2013 by Andrew Rose with the goal of bringing insurance comparison to the United States (it’s been the most popular way to shop for insurance in Europe for years).
The company believes shopping for car insurance should be quick, easy, and informative. Since it was founded, the company has delivered more than 51 million quotes and helped more than 7 million customers sign up for insurance.
Compare.com is a user-friendly site that has real-time integrations with more than 75 top insurers, making it the most comprehensive comparison site in the business. It provides more accurate quotes than any other comparison site.
Better yet, Compare.com isn’t a lead-generation site, so you don’t have to worry about seeing only ads or being spammed with emails, phone calls, and text messages after getting a quote.
How Compare.com works
Compare.com allows you to get real-time quotes from a variety of insurance companies by completing a short form. Here’s how to get started:
- Enter your ZIP code.
- Share information about your vehicle, where you live, your driving record, your past insurance, and more.
- Opt in to receive emailed copies of your quotes, as well as occasional emails and text messages with updates (this step isn’t required).
- Land on a result page that shows real-time, accurate quotes from top insurance companies.
- Adjust the quotes you see by choosing from four coverage options: minimum coverage, basic coverage, plus coverage, or premium coverage.
- Once you select a quote, you can purchase and manage the policy through the insurer’s website.
Find the Best Quotes with Compare.com
Real-time quotes received: 5
We completed the quote process on Compare.com using the sample profile of a 30-year-old single female driver. Overall, the process was quick and straightforward — answering all the preliminary questions took five minutes or less.
Once we got to the results page, our driver was presented with eight insurers on the results page, all of which showed a real quote showing the monthly premium and what you must pay if you buy the policy that day. You can click “View deal” to complete the purchase on the insurer’s website for any of the listed options.
At the top of the results page, Compare.com gives you coverage level options to choose from: minimum, basic, plus, and premium. If you click on each option, the quotes provided by each insurer change based on the level chosen.
2. Insurify
Insurify was founded in 2013 by Snejina Zacharia and Tod Kiryazov. Zacharia was in an accident that spiked her insurance premiums, inspiring her to start Insurify after realizing how frustrating the insurance shopping process could be.
Like Compare.com, Insurify is an insurance comparison website that provides real-time quotes. It primarily provides auto and home insurance quotes, and while it also offers life insurance, those quotes are served through a third party.
After a decade in business, Insurify advertises more than 70 partner insurers. It has also provided more than 70 million quotes to help drivers purchase more than $200 billion worth of insurance policies, according to its website.
How Insurify works
Getting quotes from Insurify is easy. Here’s how it works:
- Enter your ZIP code.
- Answer questions about your vehicle, yourself, your current insurance policy, your driving history, and more.
- See your real-time, accurate insurance quotes from a variety of top insurance companies.
- Adjust the quotes you see by choosing between different levels of liability protection.
- Once you select a quote, you may either be redirected to the insurer’s website or instructed to get on the phone with an agent to complete your policy.
Real-time quotes received: 4
Insurify pros and cons
Pros:
- Partners with many top insurers
- Offers home insurance in addition to auto
- Has an easy-to-use mobile app
Cons:
- Quotes not as accurate as Compare.com
- Results include ads
- Must provide an email address and phone number to see quotes
3. Jerry
Jerry was founded in 2017 with the mission of redefining and improving how people manage owning a car. Jerry is unique among the companies on our list because it doesn’t just help you shop for car insurance. Instead, it helps you manage all areas of car ownership with features such as:
- Insurance comparison
- Auto refinancing
- Repair estimates
- Shop locator
- Driving safety features
Jerry partners with more than 50 insurers to help you find the best car insurance rate. Like the previous two companies on this list, it also provides real-time quotes. The company has generated more than 175 million quotes and has helped more than 3 million people save $40 million, according to Jerry’s website.
How Jerry works
Shopping for car insurance with Jerry requires just a few simple steps.
- Provide your phone number.
- Share information about your vehicle, yourself, your driving history, discounts that may apply to you, and more.
- You’ll see your lowest quote but will be prompted to download the Jerry app to see the rest of your quotes.
- Once you choose a policy, you’ll have to provide a bit more information to get your final quote, which can take up to 10 minutes.
Here’s where Jerry differs from other insurance comparison sites. It will automatically shop for quotes every six months. You can also set up alerts to be reminded to shop around when your credit score goes up, when Jerry offers a new insurance company, when your current insurer lowers its rates, and more.
Real-time quotes received: 3
Jerry pros and cons
Pros:
- Automatically shops for lower rates every six months
- Offers other services to car owners, including refinancing and repair estimates
- Ability to set up alerts to shop for new coverage
Cons:
- Must provide a phone number and get a verification code to see quotes
- App required to see quotes
- Requires additional information to get accurate quotes
4. The Zebra
The Zebra is an insurance comparison site that works to provide quotes for auto, home, renters, life, pet, motorcycle, commercial, small business, and RV insurance. It partners with more than 100 insurance companies and advertises real-time personalized quotes within five minutes.
The Zebra was founded in 2012 with a mission to simplify the insurance shopping experience, empowering consumers to compare rates more regularly. The company has produced nearly 19 million quotes since 2012, according to its website.
How The Zebra works
Shopping for an insurance policy on The Zebra takes just a few minutes. Here’s how to get started:
- Enter your ZIP code.
- Answer questions about yourself, your vehicle, your driving history, your current insurance coverage, and more.
- Select your coverage package between minimum, better, and best.
- Within just a couple of minutes, you’ll see any quotes that are available.
Real-time quotes received: 3
The Zebra pros and cons
Pros:
- More than 100 partner insurance companies
- Quotes for a wide variety of insurance types
- Ability to speak to a licensed agent on the phone
Cons:
- May only return a few (if any) quotes
- Must go back through the application to change coverage limits
- May need to complete the quote on the insurer’s website
5. Gabi
Gabi Personal Insurance Agency is an online insurance comparison site that offers quotes for auto, home, renters, umbrella, and landlord insurance. The company was founded in 2016 to help people shop for insurance. However, the company was acquired by Experian in 2021.
Gabi hasn’t been in business as long as many of its competitors, nor does it have as many partners — it only works with 40 insurance companies. But it still manages to save its customers an average of $961 per year by providing real-time quotes, according to its website.
How Gabi works
Getting car insurance quotes with Gabi takes just a few minutes. Here’s how to get started:
- Provide information about your vehicle, yourself, discounts you may qualify for, your driving history, your current insurance policy, and more.
- Decide whether to see quotes for only auto insurance or auto bundled with home insurance.
- Land on a page where Gabi shows you real-time quotes.
- Once you’ve chosen a quote, you’ll provide a few additional pieces of information before getting your final quote.
- If you’re okay with the quote, you’ll have the opportunity to sign up on the insurer’s website.
Real-time quotes received: 1
Gabi pros and cons
Pros:
- Get quotes for a variety of types of insurance
- Uses your current policy to get a quote for the same coverage
- Advertises average savings of $961 per year
Cons:
- Must provide an email address and phone number to get quotes
- Only returns a few quotes
- Quote price is often different from the final price
6. QuoteWizard
QuoteWizard is an insurance comparison website that has been in business for more than 15 years, making it the oldest site on our list. While it was initially created as an independent company, QuoteWizard is now owned by LendingTree.
QuoteWizard allows you to gather information for auto, home, renters, health, and life insurance. However, it doesn’t actually provide real-time quotes. Instead, it’s a lead-generation website that will provide your information to insurance companies.
How QuoteWizard works
Like the other websites on our list, QuoteWizard has a relatively simple process for completing the online form to get your quotes:
- Enter your ZIP code.
- Provide information about your vehicle, your insurance history, yourself, your driving history, and more.
- Provide your contact information.
- You’ll see a page with all of your results. Unfortunately, none of the results will show real quotes — just ads for companies that have bid for your potential business.
- If you choose to follow up on any of the offerings, you’ll be redirected to the insurer’s website. Sometimes, these results will include other comparison websites, which means you’ll likely need to enter your information all over again.
Real-time quotes received: 0
QuoteWizard pros and cons
Pros:
- Offers one of the quickest online forms
- Ability to get a quote over the phone
- Shares reviews about top car insurance companies
Cons:
- Only shows ads
- Email address and phone number required to get results
- Likely to result in unsolicited communications from insurance companies
7. EverQuote
EverQuote is one of the oldest insurance comparison sites on our list. It was founded in 2010 with the mission to help people protect their most important assets and to make shopping for insurance easier and more affordable.
The company works with more than 160 top insurance companies and 7,000 agents around the country. EverQuote claims to save customers an average of $536 per year on their coverage, for a total estimated savings to date of $2 billion, according to its website.
EverQuote is unique in that its focus isn’t just on providing you with real-time quotes and helping you sign up for a policy. Instead, EverQuote aims to connect you with local agents, meaning you could be contacted with quotes and policy information later on.
Many times, this means you’re shown ads rather than real quotes. Because of this, EverQuote is a lead-generation site, rather than a true insurance-comparison tool.
How EverQuote works
The process of getting quotes from EverQuote is similar to all the other sites we’ve discussed, but with some slight differences:
- Enter your ZIP code.
- Answer questions about your vehicle, your current insurance coverage, your driving habits, yourself, your driving history, and more.
- Choose whether you want to receive quotes via email or from licensed agents (this is optional and in addition to your online quotes).
- You’ll arrive at a page where you’ll see ads disguised as “quotes.” No prices will be shown.
- If you opted to receive quotes via email or from agents, you may get more quotes at a later time.
Real-time quotes received: 0
EverQuote pros and cons
Pros:
- Doesn’t require you to share contact information
- Partners with more than 160 companies and 7,000 local agents
- Offers multiple types of insurance
Cons:
- May not return any quotes
- Advertised savings are lower than other companies
- May be required to connect with an agent to get a quote or sign up for a policy
Our Top 5 Tips for Using Comparison Sites to Save Money
Insurance comparison sites can be an excellent way to save money on insurance if you use them correctly. Here are some additional tips to help you make the most of these sites.
1. Be honest when entering your information
The quotes you receive can only be as accurate as the information you provide. While it may be tempting to disregard past driving violations, your credit score, or other factors you think may raise your rates, doing so will only make your quotes less accurate. Insurance companies run your information through a universal insurance database before you purchase a policy, so they’ll find out about a previous claim or a bad credit score eventually.
2. Don’t rush through the quote process
Take your time when completing the online quote form. The more thoughtful you are and the more time you take to read each question carefully and answer completely, the more accurate your quotes will be.
3. Read the fine print
It’s important to understand what you’re getting yourself into when you use an insurance comparison website. Read the fine print about the accuracy of the quotes, how the site makes money, whether your information will be sold to third parties, and more. That way, you’ll ensure you end up with accurate quotes and aren’t bombarded by phone calls, emails, and text messages from third parties.
4. Be wary of sites that offer quotes with no personal information
If a comparison site provides quotes without you having to enter personal information, it’s likely not a reliable one. Insurance quotes are entirely based on your unique situation, so a quote that doesn’t take that information into account won’t be accurate.
5. Don’t be afraid to go with a lesser-known insurance company
You may feel inclined to sign up with a major insurance company simply because of the name recognition. However, you may find that a smaller or lesser-known insurer offers a better rate, better coverage options, or something else you need. And if you’re unsure about a company or haven’t heard of them before, don’t be afraid to read reviews.
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Insurance Comparison Sites FAQ
Are you shopping for a new insurance policy? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions about using insurance comparison websites.
Which is the best website for insurance comparison?
Our research found that Compare.com, Insurify, and Jerry are the three best car insurance comparison sites in 2024. Compare.com tops our list because it leads all sites in the number of real-time quotes and also boasts great customer reviews.
Which insurance comparison sites have no spam?
Compare.com, Insurify, and The Zebra each advertise a no-spam policy. Jerry’s website states that customer data will remain secure and that it won’t sell your sensitive information to third parties.
What’s the best app to compare car insurance?
Most of the companies we’ve discussed are websites rather than apps. However, both Insurify and Jerry have apps you can use to shop for insurance. Insurify’s app is an optional alternative to its website, while Jerry requires that you download the app as a part of the insurance shopping process.
How many car insurance quotes should you get?
You should get car insurance quotes from at least three insurance companies to get the best rate. Insurance companies look at different rating factors to determine rates, which means they can vary dramatically by insurer.
Data Methodology:
Data scientists at Compare.com analyzed more than 50 million real-time auto insurance quotes from more than 75 partner insurers in order to compile the rates and statistics seen in this article. Compare.com’s auto insurance data includes coverage analysis and details on drivers’ vehicles, driving records, insurance histories, and demographic information.
All the rates listed in this article have been collected from a combination of real Compare.com quotes and external insurance rate data gathered in collaboration with Quadrant Information Services. Compare.com uses these observations to provide readers with insights into how auto insurance companies determine their premiums.
Sources:
- Coverager, “Experian acquires Gabi for $320 million,” accessed May 16, 2024.
- Insurance Business, “Insurify completes Compare.com acquisition,” accessed May 16, 2024.
About Compare.com
Compare.com’s #1 goal is to save you money. We publish resources that are based on hard-hitting data and years of industry experience to help you make more informed decisions with your wallet.
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