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Alani Asis is a personal finance and insurance writer who’s worked with Compare.com since 2023. She’s also landed bylines with leading publications and brands like Insider, Fortune, LendingTree, and more.
Alani aims to make personal finance approachable through fun, relatable, and digestible content.
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Nick Versaw leads Compare.com's editorial department, where he and his team specialize in crafting helpful, easy-to-understand content about car insurance and other related topics. With nearly a decade of experience writing and editing insurance and personal finance articles, his work has helped readers discover substantial savings on necessary expenses, including insurance, transportation, health care, and more. As an award-winning writer, Nick has seen his work published in countless renowned publications, such as the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and U.S. News & World Report. He graduated with Latin honors from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he earned his Bachelor's Degree in Digital Journalism.
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At Compare.com, it’s our mission to give you the tools to find the best (and most affordable) insurance for your unique needs and budget. We strive to provide information that’s helpful, clear, and unbiased, and we believe that comparing insurance companies should never put you at risk of spam. Our editorial team — which is made up of experienced writers, editors, insurance agents, and data analysts — has spent thousands of hours researching and creating the coverage overviews, side-by-side comparisons, and detailed reviews you see across our site.
While we make money through partnerships with some of the brands we discuss in our articles, our editorial team operates 100% independently, and these partners never influence or affect the topics, reviews, ratings, or recommendations we provide. We never guarantee favorable reviews or mentions in exchange for compensation from any brands or partners, and we uphold strict editorial standards to ensure our content is always independent, truthful, and unbiased.
The Zebra is an online insurance-comparison platform that allows users to find the best rates by comparing real-time quotes from various insurance companies. It offers the opportunity to compare policies across several insurance products such as home, pet, and car insurance.
But you might be wondering if The Zebra lives up to its claims of saving users money on their monthly insurance bills. We’ll cover everything you need to know about The Zebra — including how it works, what its customers have to say, and how it stacks up to other online comparison platforms — in the sections below.
The Zebra partners with more than 100 established insurance companies to provide consumers with real-time quotes.
The Zebra offers quotes for auto, home, renters, pet, life insurance policies, and more.
Customers have generally favorable things to say about their experience with The Zebra, but reviews can be mixed.
Co-founders Adam Lyons and Joshua Dziabiak launched The Zebra in 2012, attracting funding from notable investors like Mark Cuban, Simon Nixon, and Mike Maples Jr. in the following years. Since its advent, the Austin-headquartered company has generated nearly 19 million quotes, according to its website.
The Zebra offers real-time, side-by-side quote comparisons to help you find the best deal for the coverages you need. The online platform also provides educational resources and tools to help you better understand the insurance industry.
To obtain an auto insurance quote from The Zebra, visit its homepage and select “car.” You’ll then fill out a short questionnaire that asks for basic info about you, your vehicle, driving activity, incident history, and current auto policy. This includes personal contact info, including your ZIP code, address, phone number, and email.
After completing the questionnaire, you’ll select your preferred coverage levels from several packages, as shown below.
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Once you’ve chosen an insurance package, The Zebra will match you with car insurance companies and show prices for each one. However, depending on where you live and the coverage level you select, The Zebra may be unable to gather auto insurance quotes for you.
For example, we requested for a quote for a 30-year-old woman living in Los Angeles, California. The persona we used drove a 2017 Toyota RAV4 and had one at-fault accident in the past three years.
Unfortunately, we weren’t shown a single real-time quote. Instead, we saw just one result: an offer to complete our quote with Jerry, another comparison site, and a direct competitor of The Zebra.
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Another profile we used — a 30-year-old male residing in Broomfield, Colorado, driving a 2017 Nissan Sentra — generated four real-time quotes for a policy with the minimum coverage. Your success using The Zebra will largely come down to your unique insurance profile.
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Because of this, The Zebra may only provide quotes for a few companies — some of which you can purchase directly from The Zebra. Other times, you may be forced to provide additional information to the insurance company you choose. In that case, once you click “instant quote,” The Zebra will redirect you to the insurer’s website, where you’ll have to complete another application to obtain an actual auto insurance quote.
If you need help purchasing a policy or have any outstanding questions, The Zebra offers live support from licensed insurance agents to help guide you through the process.
Overall, The Zebra has mostly positive reviews on Trustpilot, the Better Business Bureau (BBB), Shopper Approved, and Clearsurance. Users of The Zebra report excellent customer service from its representatives, but the site still has its fair share of negative reviews.
The Zebra’s shortcomings include the inability to purchase a policy directly from the site, concerns about personal information sharing, and inaccurate car insurance rates.
Several reviews — like the one below — complain about having to enter their information multiple times just to get a quote. Some even claim The Zebra sells their information to third parties.
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Others complain about inaccurate pricing. The review below shows a user who was originally offered a low quote, only to find out the final rate was more than they expected.
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On a positive note, many reviewers across multiple platforms rave about The Zebra’s outstanding customer service. The review below talks about how quickly they got insurance for two cars at super low rates.
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The customer below needed to add their teenager to their auto insurance policy but had no luck with their current insurer — despite being a customer for over a decade. They called The Zebra, and not only did their agent find a cheaper rate, but they also gave them valuable insight, which further solidified their choice.
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So, individual reviews aside, how does The Zebra fare across major review platforms like Trustpilot, BBB, and more? Let’s take a look.
Review Platform | Rating |
|---|---|
| Trustpilot | 3.8 out of 5 |
| BBB | 4.36 out of 5 |
| Shopper Approved | 4.8 out of 5 |
| Clearsurance | 3.9 out of 5 |
Compare.com is another online insurance marketplace that generates real-time quotes. While The Zebra helps you find the lowest quotes for various insurance products, Compare.com’s bread and butter is car insurance. The site has over 75 insurance companies in its network to help you find the best policy for your specific needs.
Here’s how The Zebra and Compare.com stack up.
Feature | The Zebra | Compare.com |
|---|---|---|
| Shopper Approved ratings | 4.8 out of 5 | 4.8 out of 5 |
| Clearsurance ratings | 3.9 out of 5 | 4 out of 5 |
| Trustpilot ratings | 3.8 out of 5 | 2.5 out of 5 |
| BBB rating | A- | A+ |
| Number of real-time quotes* | 0 | 8 |
*The number of real-time quotes generated is for a 30-year-old female living in Austin, Texas, driving a 2018 Toyota RAV4, with an at-fault accident in the last three years. The number of quotes you receive from each platform may vary based on your driver profile.
Through its partnership with Insure.com, NerdWallet matches you with insurance companies based on your answers to its auto insurance survey. However, it doesn’t provide rates (just ads), so you must visit the insurer’s website for a car insurance policy quote.
NerdWallet is known for offering various financial tools and resources across different personal finance sectors, such as credit cards, loans, and banking. On the other hand, The Zebra specializes in quote comparisons for insurance products.
The table below shows how The Zebra and NerdWallet compare in terms of online reviews and the number of real-time quotes they return.
Feature | The Zebra | Nerdwallet |
|---|---|---|
| Shopper Approved ratings | 4.8 out of 5 | Not rated |
| Clearsurance ratings | 3.9 out of 5 | Not rated |
| Trustpilot ratings | 3.8 out of 5 | 3.0 out of 5 |
| BBB rating | A- | A+ |
| Number of real-time quotes* | 0 | 0 |
*The number of real-time quotes generated is for a 30-year-old female living in Austin, Texas, driving a 2018 Toyota RAV4, with an at-fault accident in the last three years. The number of quotes you receive from each platform may vary based on your driver profile.
Policygenius and The Zebra work similarly, offering real-time quotes across several insurance products so users can get the best rate on their policy. Policygenius and The Zebra also provide comprehensive guides, product reviews, and live support.
However, Policygenius only offers auto insurance quotes if you plan to bundle your home and car insurance policy. On the other hand, The Zebra offers real-time rates, even if you’re exclusively purchasing auto insurance coverage.
The table below shows how The Zebra and Policygenius compare in terms of online reviews and the number of real-time quotes they return.
Feature | The Zebra | Policygenius |
|---|---|---|
| Shopper Approved ratings | 4.8 out of 5 | Not rated |
| Clearsurance ratings | 3.9 out of 5 | Not rated |
| Trustpilot ratings | 3.8 out of 5 | 4.7 out of 5 |
| BBB rating | A- | A- |
| Number of real-time quotes* | 0 | 0 |
*The number of real-time quotes generated is for a 30-year-old female living in Austin, Texas, driving a 2018 Toyota RAV4, with an at-fault accident in the last three years. The number of quotes you receive from each platform may vary based on your driver profile.
The Zebra doesn’t engage in spam calls or messaging, according to its website. And you can easily opt out of text and email marketing if you previously provided your information.
The Zebra also states it doesn’t sell your data to third-party businesses (though some customer reviews seem to think otherwise).
Here are answers to some of The Zebra’s most commonly asked questions on the web.
The Zebra provides a simple user experience. Its questionnaires are relatively short, it may allow you to purchase policies directly on its site, and it offers customer support from licensed insurance agents if you have any questions.
No. The Zebra doesn’t pull your credit score to generate your quote, according to its website. It solely uses the information you provide via questionnaire (though it does ask for your credit score).
Yes. The Zebra is a legitimate site. The online platform has a solid reputation across multiple rating platforms and has received accreditation from the BBB. The Zebra also claims to take extensive measures to protect your privacy.
No. The Zebra is free to use, and you’ll only have to pay when you buy a policy. The Zebra makes money through commissions from its affiliates when you purchase coverage through the site.
Sources:
PR Newswire, “The Zebra Raises $17M Series A to Simplify Car Insurance Shopping.” Accessed August 4, 2023.
Trustpilot, “The Zebra,” November 28, 2023.
Better Business Bureau, “TheZebra,” Accessed November 28, 2023.
ShopperApproved, “thezebra.com Reviews.” Accessed November 28, 2023.
Clearsurance, “The Zebra.” Accessed ANovember 28, 2023.
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Alani Asis is a personal finance and insurance writer who’s worked with Compare.com since 2023. She’s also landed bylines with leading publications and brands like Insider, Fortune, LendingTree, and more.
Alani aims to make personal finance approachable through fun, relatable, and digestible content.
Nick Versaw leads Compare.com's editorial department, where he and his team specialize in crafting helpful, easy-to-understand content about car insurance and other related topics. With nearly a decade of experience writing and editing insurance and personal finance articles, his work has helped readers discover substantial savings on necessary expenses, including insurance, transportation, health care, and more. As an award-winning writer, Nick has seen his work published in countless renowned publications, such as the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and U.S. News & World Report. He graduated with Latin honors from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he earned his Bachelor's Degree in Digital Journalism.
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