10 Best & Worst Sites to Compare Car Insurance (2024) (2024)

Comparing auto insurance quotes on a car insurance shopping site can help you find the coverage you need at an affordable price.

But not all comparison sites are equally trustworthy. Some collect your information to sell to insurance agencies and insurance companies and don’t show you any actual quotes.

The editors and data scientists at Insurify checked out 10 of the most well-known car insurance comparison sites. We’ve identified the best (and worst) experiences for comparing car insurance rates online. Here’s what we learned.

10 best insurance-comparison sites

With dozens of insurance-comparison sites available, picking the best shopping experience can be challenging. To help you choose, here’s a comprehensive list of car insurance comparison sites.

How auto insurance comparison sites work

Auto insurance comparison sites help you shop for car insurance and compare multiple quotes by sharing some basic information about yourself and your vehicle. These sites fall into two categories: quote-comparison sites and lead-generation sites. Both aim to connect insurance shoppers with quotes from car insurance companies. They differ in how they do this.

Many people still prefer to work with a local agent to buy a car insurance policy. But a growing number are embracing online shopping for car insurance.

Real-time quote-comparison sites

Quote-comparison sites partner with car insurance companies to provide real-time or estimated quotes.

Below, you can see the different steps involved in receiving online car insurance quotes from quote-comparison sites.

Lead-generation sites

Lead-generation sites collect your information and promise multiple quotes. But these sites typically sell user information to their advertising partners, like insurance companies, agencies, or even other lead-generation sites.

This means you won’t receive actual quotes from a lead-generation site. Instead, the site will display a list of insurance company logos. You’ll need to click on one or more logos and enter your information multiple times to request quotes.

You could end up getting a barrage of cold calls or emails from insurance call centers and agents.

Best and worst comparison sites ranked

1. Insurify

Our verdict: Insurify is the best website to compare car insurance

Insurify is a reputable virtual insurance agent that makes it easy to instantly compare car insurance rates from multiple companies. Insurify provides accurate, real-time quotes. Other comparison sites can provide accurate quotes too, but Insurify delivered the most while having the fewest ads. It gave us the option to complete our purchase online.

The process was fast and simple for our sample driver, with the easiest information prompts to follow of any website we tested.

About Insurify

Insurify is a virtual insurance agent licensed in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The company partners with many well-known insurance companies, including Liberty Mutual, Travelers, Allstate, and Progressive. The company has provided more than 90 million quotes. Users can save up to $852 on annual car insurance premiums when they compare rates through the website, Insurify says.

Users consistently give Insurify positive reviews for ease of use, customer service, and savings. Insurify partners with more than 100 auto insurance companies, including top-rated national, regional, and ultra-regional insurers, so the company can provide the most real-time quotes. Insurify offers auto, home, renters, life, and bundled insurance.

How Insurify works

Insurify prompts users to provide information like their age, gender, and ZIP code; car year, make and model; and their driving record. You also need to share your current insurance status and pick whether you want to buy liability-only or full-coverage (comprehensive and collision) insurance.

Once you’ve completed the process, Insurify shows you quotes from top insurance companies. The site even recommends which offer might be best for you.

The entire process can take five minutes or less, and Insurify charges no fees of any kind.

In most cases, users have the option to complete their purchase online or talk to an agent. Some users may have to speak with an agent to complete their policy purchase.

How Insurify performs

Insurify typically returns multiple quotes. Our sample driver’s information got nine offers, including six real-time quotes. It’s worth noting that in previous years’ testing, Insurify served even more quotes.

Clicking “View deal” showed us some high-level details of the policy, including coverages, limits, policy length, down payment, and payment schedule. We had the option to finalize our purchase online or by speaking with an agent on the phone.

Clicking “Get quote” took us to the insurer’s website to complete the quoting and purchase process. Insurify prefilled some of our test driver’s basic information on the insurer’s website.

2. Compare.com

Our verdict: Among the best

User reviews indicate Compare.com is an easy-to-use comparison website that provides real-time quotes from insurers. Compare showed us one instant quote, which is more than most of the other sites tested. In previous tests, Compare showed five quotes.

Compare ranks second for its ease of use, its strong customer data protections, and the ability to finalize a purchase online. Like Insurify and The Zebra, Compare.com is free to use and partners with top insurers.

About Compare

Compare only offers auto insurance, but users will generally see multiple offers at the end of Compare’s quoting process. Compare.com works with more than 75 top insurance companies, according to its website. It partners with major national insurers, including Liberty Mutual, USAA, and Travelers.

The site claims it saves its users $720 per year on average, and many of its reviews echo that assertion. Compare.com customers generally have positive things to say about their experiences.

How Compare.com works

Like Insurify, Compare.com makes money through commissions its insurance company partners pay when a user buys a policy through Compare.com. The site says it doesn’t sell user information.

To get a quote from Compare.com, you’ll first provide the standard personal, driving record, and vehicle information. Compare.com adds a few additional personal questions.

How Compare.com performs

Compare has refined its results page to be much more understandable. You can adjust coverage levels on the results page and see updated offers right away.

Compare only showed us one instant quote, but it was a competitive price. The other two offers were an insurance company and another comparison platform. In both cases, we needed to re-enter information we’d already provided to Compare.

Quotes show the monthly premium, the total cost over the life of the policy (usually six to 12 months), and how much is due when you buy the policy. If you choose one of the policies Compare.com shows you, the website will transfer your data to the insurance company’s website. You’ll complete your purchase there.

3. Policygenius

Our verdict: Some good changes

In past testing, Policygenius showed estimated quote numbers. This time, its results page didn’t show us any actual numbers but provided offers from seven insurers. Three offers showed actual, detailed quotes after a couple of clicks to the insurer’s website. It was faster and easier to use than other sites that referred us to other comparison sites or required us to re-enter information on an insurer’s site.

Policygenius has numerous positive online reviews from users, citing the site’s customer service.

About Policygenius

Policygenius offers quotes for auto, home, disability, renters, and other types of insurance. Policygenius allows you to compare policies and premiums from multiple companies.

The website claims to save shoppers an average of $435 per year on auto insurance from “dozens of the nation’s top auto insurance companies.”

How Policygenius works

Policygenius is an online insurance broker. It can help users find insurance companies to work with but can’t complete the policy sale — known as “binding” the policy. Like human insurance brokers, Policygenius receives a commission from an insurance company when you buy a policy.

Policygenius initiates the quoting process by asking for your ZIP code. It then requests information you would need to provide to any company, agent, or broker for a quote.

But Policygenius asks for your full name and other personal details much sooner in the quoting process than some other sites. The site states that it doesn’t sell your information to third parties. But it offers no assurance that you won’t receive phone calls or emails as a result of sharing your information.

How Policygenius performs

At the end of the quote process, Policygenius showed us seven offers instead of estimated quotes. Three of the offers allowed us to see actual quotes by clicking through to the insurer’s website. Clicking on other offers took us to insurer websites, some of which had prefilled the information we’d already shared with Policygenius.

Policygenius can’t help you complete a policy purchase, so the time lapse from comparing to buying a policy will largely be up to the insurance company. But the site has agents available to assist shoppers, and many online reviews praise their customer service.

4. The Zebra

Our verdict: Falls short

The Zebra is a free-to-use, reputable insurance-comparison site, but our most recent experience with it was unexpected. Previously, we received instant quotes from insurers. In this test, we received four offers instead of instant quotes — one for another comparison website.

The absence of real-time quotes, and some inconvenient information prompts, bumped The Zebra down on our list. Positive user reviews cite The Zebra agents’ professionalism and helpfulness. Negative reviews point to a lack of real-time quotes.

Like Insurify, The Zebra isn’t a lead-generation engine.

About The Zebra

The Zebra allows users to compare car insurance quotes from multiple companies for free. The site offers real-time quotes in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., by partnering with more than 30 top insurers. While The Zebra started out offering only car insurance, you can now use the site to compare home, renters, and condo insurance policies too.

Generally, The Zebra has more positive reviews than negative ones on sites like Trustpilot. But many negative reviews — especially recent ones — tend to follow common themes. Users dislike the need to go to a different website to finalize a purchase and report receiving annoying spam calls.

How The Zebra works

The Zebra quoting process begins with users entering their ZIP code. Then, the site prompts you to add your birthdate, insurance history, driving record, marital status, and other personal information. You’ll also need to provide your vehicle make and model and the type of coverage you want to buy.

The site gives you the option to create an account and save your information for easier access in the future.

According to The Zebra, the company has provided more than 18 million quotes and can help users “save hundreds every year.”

How The Zebra performs

The Zebra delivered just four offers but no instant quotes in our test. One offer was to another comparison website. Still, the auto insurance companies offered were reputable and well-known names.

After you choose a car insurance company, you must click through to the company website to finish your purchase. In some cases, The Zebra transfers the information you already provided to prefill some of the data that the company needs to finalize your quote and policy. But some users may have to re-enter information on the insurer’s website to get an actual quote.

5. Gabi

Our verdict: Unpredictable

Gabi has some positive reviews, but many users report unsatisfactory outcomes — even some who purchased a policy through Gabi.

Gabi doesn’t collect all the information needed to generate an accurate quote, so it’s difficult to know if you’ll receive quotes.

Gabi also shares your information with its parent company, Experian. In less than 20 minutes after using the site, we received two text messages — one from an agent with Gabi and one from an Experian agent.

About Gabi

Gabi is an online auto and home insurance broker in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Gabi also sells renters, condo, umbrella, and landlord insurance. The company works with more than 40 insurers, such as Travelers, Safeco, Clearcover, and Nationwide.

Gabi makes money through commissions from its partner companies when you buy a policy through its quote engine.

How Gabi works

Gabi requires users to verify their identity by providing a phone number before beginning the quote process. Gabi then sends a verification code to your phone. After you verify your identity, Gabi will request personal, vehicle, and policy limit information.

You can upload a PDF of your current car insurance policy’s declarations page, and Gabi uses the information on the page to match its quotes to your coverage needs.

But because Gabi is an online broker, it doesn’t offer any real-time quotes, and it can’t help you buy a policy online. Rather, Gabi uses the information you provide to vet insurers that might be willing to sell you a policy.

To get a quote and complete a purchase, you’ll have to connect with an agent by email or phone.

How Gabi performs

To get exactly the coverage you want, you may have to opt out of some additional coverages that Gabi adds by default. We had to reject uninsured/underinsured motorist coverage and towing.

Gabi returned just one quote for our sample driver. Although it was from a well-rated insurance company, the monthly price was more than double the highest quotes we found elsewhere. What’s more, the site immediately sent a text message to the cell phone number we provided.

Gabi’s users report various outcomes. For example, Gabi may show you only one quote or several quotes. Or the site may refer you to other quoting websites, such as Insurify, to get a quote.

If you do receive an actual quote, you may have to complete the quoting and purchasing process on the insurer’s website. And the quote you receive from Gabi may differ from the final quote the insurance company provides.

6. Trusted Choice

Our verdict: Agent shopping, not quote comparison

If you prefer to work with an insurance agent, Trusted Choice is a good option for finding one. The company has a network of more than 250,000 agents to choose from. You have to provide a phone number and email address.

You’ll have to wait for the agent you choose to get you quotes and bind the policy. And you’ll need to opt out of information sharing if you want to avoid possible spam emails or calls.

About Trusted Choice

Trusted Choice is a digital insurance marketing platform. It connects users with local, independent insurance agents. The site says it works with more than 250,000 independent insurance agents and 52 companies. Its partners sell car, home, life, business, and other types of insurance.

Trusted Choice says it’s connected more than 36 million shoppers with independent insurance agents.

How Trusted Choice works

Trusted Choice first asks what type of insurance you’re shopping for. Auto, home, renters, condo, umbrella, mobile home, RV/motor home, ATV, and more are available. You can select up to three types of coverage for quotes, and bundling policies may result in savings.

The site uses the information you provide to match you with an independent insurance agent in its network. You can choose up to three of the recommended agents, and they shop insurance policies for you.

After receiving quotes from the agents, you can review the quotes, then select the agent and policy you want.

How Trusted Choice performs

Trusted Choice is an agent-shopping platform and not a true quote-comparison site. The site’s number of partner agents and available insurers is impressive. But it won’t show you any real-time car insurance quotes. You’ll have to interact with one or more of the site’s recommended agents to get quotes.

And the site states it can share your information with its insurance marketing partners unless you specifically tell it not to.

7. Coverage.com

Our verdict: High risk of spam

Seeking a quote directly through Coverage.com was notably faster than going through its sister site, Bankrate. Going through Bankrate requires you to track down its insurance product, provide a ZIP code, and click through to Coverage.com where you’ll have to re-enter your ZIP and provide additional information.

Because it’s part of Red Ventures, Coverage.com may share your information with its sister websites — which could result in unwanted emails for financial products you weren’t shopping for.

About Coverage.com

It’s difficult to find much history about Coverage.com online. The site discloses on its “About” page that media giant Red Ventures owns it as well as Bankrate and other financial services websites.

Coverage.com is an online agency licensed to sell car insurance in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. The site says that it makes money through insurer commissions and advertising and that paid affiliations may affect the order in which Coverage.com displays products.

How Coverage.com works

Like other comparison sites, Coverage.com asks users to provide basic information needed to generate a quote, such as ZIP code, age, and gender. Coverage.com also asks for the user’s email address and automatically checks an acknowledgement box to receive marketing emails and offers — if you don’t want to receive them, you’ll have to uncheck the box.

The site may serve users with both offers and instant quotes. Offers that don’t show actual quotes may also have notations on how many more clicks you’ll have to go through to get a quote. These click estimates weren’t accurate for the offers we saw.

How Coverage.com performs

Coverage.com did a credible job of gathering our profile driver’s information and showing us a blend of offers and instant quotes. The quote prices were competitive when compared to estimates we received through competitor sites.

We also liked that throughout the quoting process, Coverage.com provides users with multiple opportunities to schedule a call back from a live agent. But you won’t be able to complete your purchase online through Coverage.com. And since a large media company with multiple financial brands owns Coverage.com, using the site could mean you get spam emails for financial products you’re not shopping for.

8. QuoteWizard

Our verdict: High risk of spam

As a lead-generation site, QuoteWizard sells users’ information to insurance agents. Multiple reviewers on the Better Business Bureau website report spam calls and emails after using QuoteWizard.

QuoteWizard showed us a lot of offers, but only two were from actual insurance companies. For those results, clicking through on “View My Rate” did show us actual quotes. But we’d rather have fewer, higher-quality results than multiple “quotes” from other comparison sites.

About QuoteWizard

A LendingTree company, QuoteWizard is a lead-generation site. It collects user information to match buyers to local agents. By filling out a single form, online shoppers can connect with agents who will help them obtain three to four quotes. Agents pay a fee to participate in the network and receive the leads that QuoteWizard generates.

QuoteWizard says it’s connected more than 50 million people to agents.

How QuoteWizard works

To request a quote, you provide standard information like your ZIP code; vehicle year, make, and model; name and phone number; and the address where you park the vehicle. After you complete the process, QuoteWizard will return just a few results.

Clicking on “View My Rate” takes you to the insurance company’s website, where you’ll have to provide more information to verify your identity before you can see the quote.

How QuoteWizard performs

QuoteWizard is a lead-generation service for insurance agents. It doesn’t show any real quotes at the end of its quote-requesting process. Instead, the site will direct you to insurance company sites. It may even point you to another comparison website.

Agents pay a fee to participate in QuoteWizard’s network. The site bases matches on filters and territories rather than an agent’s qualifications or quality.

9. ValuePenguin

Our verdict: High risk of spam

LendingTree owns both ValuePenguin and QuoteWizard. The quoting process and results were virtually the same, and it’s not clear why a user would choose one over the other.

ValuePenguin makes money, in part, by selling user information as leads to car insurance agents. Many online reviewers cite unwanted phone calls and no actual quotes. The site has a respectable library of educational articles, but the high risk of spam and lack of actual quotes may inspire you to comparison shop elsewhere.

About ValuePenguin

ValuePenguin is a lead-generation site that claims it saves users an average of $1,092 per year by comparing quotes. Visitors to the site have the option of starting the process online or getting a quote by phone from agents who are available 24/7.

ValuePenguin clearly states in its terms of use that users will receive phone calls or text messages “including for marketing purposes.”

How ValuePenguin works

LendingTree also owns QuoteWizard, which may explain why its quote process looks like ValuePenguin’s. But ValuePenguin offers users a faster start. You only have to enter your ZIP code, age, and whether you currently have insurance to start the process. The site then collects some of the standard information for a quote.

Like QuoteWizard, ValuePenguin may return multiple results, but few are likely to be from insurers. Results from our sample driver profile were mostly ads for other comparison sites. Clicking on insurance companies on the results page navigates you to the insurer’s website. There, you’ll need to enter more information to complete the process.

How ValuePenguin Performs

Searching on ValuePenguin won’t yield any real-time quotes. Instead, the site sends you to other websites to continue or complete the process. It may even recommend another lead-generation site. You may navigate through multiple sites — and enter your information many times — without actually getting a quote.

10. NerdWallet

Our verdict: High risk of spam

The NerdWallet quote process channels users to insurer websites to complete quoting rather than providing real-time quotes.

NerdWallet’s terms of service say using its platform means you authorize the site to share your information with third parties “at your sole risk.” Many Trustpilot and BBB reviewers report multiple unwanted phone calls after requesting insurance or loan quotes through NerdWallet.

In the days after using NerdWallet, the email address we provided received dozens of emails from the website and its partners.

About NerdWallet

NerdWallet started out in 2009 as a credit card comparison platform and source for personal finance information. It now offers insurance, banking, travel, small business, personal loans, mortgages, student loans, and investing products.It also has a robust library of educational articles, tools, and guides.

NerdWallet isn’t a digital insurance agent or broker. It uses your information to match you with its insurance partners. Those partners include one national insurance company and two marketing companies.

How NerdWallet works

You’ll have to track down NerdWallet’s insurance product if you want to get a quote. Unlike with other insurance-comparison sites, you can’t access NerdWallet’s quoting engine from the site’s home page. You’ll have to click multiple times to find a page that will let you start the quoting process.

NerdWallet’s car insurance quote process starts just like many others — with your ZIP code. As you add information like your vehicle’s make and model, your age, and your driving record, the site will show you preliminary matches.

Just before the end of the process, NerdWallet provides the opportunity to create an account. Opening an account allows you to take full advantage of the site’s many calculators, tools, and educational articles.

How NerdWallet performs

At the end of NerdWallet’s quote process, you won’t receive any real-time quotes.

The site showed just two options for our test driver: Experian and Root Insurance. Experian is a national credit bureau, not an insurance company.For both results, we had to click through to another website and either re-enter information or confirm information we’d already provided to NerdWallet.

Best apps to compare car insurance quotes

Many car insurance companies provide quotes for their own policies through their mobile apps. But you’ll find far fewer apps for comparing quotes among multiple insurers. In fact, Insurify found just four — one of which launched just a month ago and had only about 1,000 downloads.

Surprisingly, some of the best websites for comparing car insurance quotes don’t have mobile apps. We couldn’t find apps for The Zebra or Compare.com. Let’s take a look at three Insurify did find: Jerry, Insurify, and NerdWallet.

1. Jerry

While Jerry’s desktop comparison tool didn’t make Insurify’s list of best insurance-comparison sites, its app deserves a look. On Google Play, it has more than 1 million user downloads and a 4.1-star rating from 11,600 user reviews. It has a 4.6-star rating on the App Store.

Our verdict: Easy to use and helpful features

While the Jerry app may not show you many quotes from well-known companies, its quoting process is smooth and easy. The ability to store digital insurance cards in the app is a plus. As long as you have the Jerry app on your phone and your phone with you, you’ll always have proof of insurance.

How the Jerry app works

After downloading the Jerry app, you’ll find the sign-up process is relatively painless. You enter information about your car insurance and claims history, name, and other information. You’ll also need to provide a valid phone number so Jerry can send you a PIN to authorize and complete the sign-up process.

The app can analyze your existing policy and send you a text message if it finds a better, cheaper option. The app typically displays a few policy options and may include national companies, like GEICO and Progressive.

After you’ve bought a policy through Jerry, you’ll be able to store your digital insurance cards in the app.

2. Insurify

Insurify’s robust comparison app is available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. It has 3.8 stars and 41 ratings in the App Store and more than 50,000 downloads and 3.5 stars on Google Play. The app allows users to see custom, real-time quotes. It also contains advertising.

Our verdict: Good for shopping, but desktop version has better advice and insight

If you already know what types and levels of coverage you want, the Insurify app is a fast way to compare quotes and buy coverage with your smartphone. You’ll get multiple real-time quotes and can complete your purchase in the app.

But the app lacks educational content and only gives users two options: Get a quote or call an agent. But if you’re unsure how much car insurance you need, Insurify’s desktop experience provides calculators and educational articles.

How the Insurify app works

After downloading the app, you’ll complete a short form with basic information to generate a quote. The app provides a list of customized car insurance quotes from multiple insurance companies.

You can set your desired coverage limits to meet or exceed your state’s minimum insurance requirements. You can also compare available deals, and secure coverage, all within the app.

The Insurify app allows you to complete your shopping experience entirely within the app. Or you can get phone help from a licensed Insurify insurance agent.

3. NerdWallet

Available through Google Play and the Apple App Store, NerdWallet’s app allows you to create a new account or access your existing NerdWallet account. The app has more than 1 million downloads on Google Play, 29,500 reviews, and a 4.5-star user rating. It has a 4.8-star rating on the App Store.

Our verdict: Stick with the educational and financial tools

Just as with the desktop experience, shopping for car insurance on the NerdWallet mobile app won’t produce any real-time quotes, and it could leave you exposed to spam. But the app’s financial tools and educational content can be helpful for managing your money.

How the NerdWallet app works

After downloading the NerdWallet app, you’ll have the option to log into your existing account or create a new one. After you log in, the app gives you multiple options for linking your financial accounts to the app to manage them in one place.

The app also has a marketplace option, and that’s where you’ll find its insurance-shopping experience. But clicking on the car insurance tile launches NerdWallet’s mobile browsing page for car insurance comparison.

Why it’s more important than ever to compare car insurance quotes

If it seems like you’re paying more for car insurance now, you’re not imagining it. Full-coverage auto insurance rates rose 24% in 2023 and 15% during the first half of 2024, according to an Insurify report. And they’re likely to increase another 7% in 2024, Insurify’s data analysts predict.

Several factors related to inflation and climate change are driving the increase, including:

• Higher labor costs for repairs

• Increasing cost of auto body and mechanical parts

• Rising costs for new vehicles

• Surging insurer losses due to climate-driven natural disasters

Nearly 62% of Americans reported their car insurance rates increased in 2023, an Insurify poll revealed.

With car insurance rates unlikely to fall any time soon, comparing quotes from multiple insurers is more important than ever.

Here’s how average car insurance rates vary by state.

Whether you need full-coverage car insurance or liability-only coverage, comparison shopping is the best way to find an affordable policy. Here are some tips to help make online comparison shopping easier:

• Prepare. Gather the basic information you’ll need to get an auto insurance quote, including driver ’s license numbers for everyone who will be on the policy, vehicle identification numbers for every vehicle you want covered, and your previous policy coverage limits.

• Decide how much coverage you need. If you lease or finance your car, you’ll need to buy comprehensive and collision coverages. If you have an older, paid-off vehicle, you might choose liability-only coverage. But keep in mind insurance professionals recommend buying more than your state’s required minimum. Higher liability insurance limits provide more financial protection in case of an at-fault accident.

• Choose a reputable comparison platform. Look for options that provide real-time quotes and don’t sell your data. Avoid lead-generation sites that could result in spam calls, emails, or text messages.

• Explore discounts. Most insurers offer discounts for things like being a good driver, paying your premium in full, and vehicle safety features. Teen drivers may benefit from discounts for good grades. You may qualify for multiple money-saving discounts.

• Manage your payments. Most insurers require a down payment to initiate a car insurance policy. Prepare to make that payment, and either pay the balance in full if you can or set up a monthly or quarterly payment plan.

Car insurance comparison site FAQs