Financial Technology · Insurance Technology
EZLynx vs Vertafore PL Rating vs Applied Epic Quotes: 11 Best Comparative Rating Software 2026
This ranking covers multi-carrier quoting tools for independent agencies, personal and commercial lines, scored on what each vendor's own pages show.
The short answer
The best comparative rating software for most independent agencies is EZLynx Rating Engine, followed by Vertafore PL Rating and Applied Epic Quotes. Those three are personal lines raters. For commercial lines, CoverForce, Semsee and QuoteSweep publish prices on the pages we opened. Most other tools here show no price and sell by demo.
The ranking
| Rank | Provider | Best for | Price band | Score out of 9.4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EZLynx Rating EngineHome and auto at the widest carrier count | 8.2 | ||
| 2 | Vertafore PL RatingPersonal lines for Vertafore and 20+ other systems | 8.1 | ||
| 3 | Applied Epic QuotesPersonal lines inside Applied Epic | 7.6 | ||
| 4 | CoverForceCommercial quote and bind at $99 a month | 7.4 | ||
| 5 | TurboRaterPersonal lines with producer reports | 7.0 | ||
| 6 | Bold PenguinCommercial market access without appointments | 6.9 | ||
| 7 | SemseeFree plan and $50 per user for small commercial | 6.8 | ||
| 8 | Zywave Enterprise QuotingLarge panels across all lines | 6.8 | ||
| 9 | Vertafore Commercial SubmissionsCommercial quotes for AMS360 and Sagitta users | 6.5 | ||
| 10 | TarmikaSmall commercial single-entry quoting | 6.4 | ||
| 11 | QuoteSweepWildcardPortal quoting from $49 a month, in beta | Unrated by designSignal read |
The field at a glance
What you pay against what you get. Anything up and to the left is punching above its price.
The wildcard · #11
Unrated by designQuoteSweep
This is the only tool I found that prints a monthly price, a submission cap and a carrier cap for every plan, and it says plainly that its appetite list is not its quoting list.
The ten above are scored against the public rubric. The wildcard answers a different question, so it carries no score. It is selected by the wildcard signal model (wildcard-v2.0), read 2026-10-27.
- Under-the-radar coefficientstrong
- Quoting is in private beta with access granted agency by agency, so few agents will have used it.
- Price integrity under growthstrong
- Each tier prints its submission, carrier and seat limits, and Business lists $249 per month on annual billing, so the cost of growing is visible.
- Category fit anomalynotable
- It drives carrier web portals with AI agents instead of using carrier APIs, which is a different approach from every other tool here.
- Impact densitynotable
- The Solo plan costs $49 for 10 submissions a month, which is a low price per quote if the beta quotes work as described.
- Ceiling distancemixed
- The quoting network is 25 carriers and there is no agency management system link yet, so a growing agency may outrun it.
Right for
A small commercial agency that lives in carrier portals today and wants to test parallel quoting for $49 a month.
Wrong for
An agency that needs a rater inside Applied Epic or AMS360 with a proven carrier API list.
Every entry
EZLynx Rating Engine
Widest confirmed personal lines reach, with commercial on the side.
- Best for
- Home and auto at the widest carrier count
- $$
- Quote only. No price on the pages we opened; the site offers a free trial (length not stated) and a special pricing form.
- Company
- null · est. null
Over 330 carriers, prefill, proposals, free trial.
No price shown; commercial detail is thin.
- Home and auto quotes from one entry
- Text and website quoting
- Commercial submissions beside personal lines
Risk signals · none found›
No risk-signal search was run for this entry; none observed on the vendor pages read on 2026-10-27.
Vertafore PL Rating
Strong workflow and system links for personal lines.
- Best for
- Personal lines for Vertafore and 20+ other systems
- $$
- Quote only. No price or trial on the pages we opened; the page offers a demo and a phone number.
- Company
- null · est. null
Instant bind, prefill and 20+ system links.
Mixed carrier counts, no price or trial.
- Personal lines quoting inside a Vertafore system
- Binding from the rater
- Flood options beside homeowners quotes
Risk signals · none found›
No risk-signal search was run for this entry; none observed on the vendor pages read on 2026-10-27.
Applied Epic Quotes
Highest insurer count, built for Epic users.
- Best for
- Personal lines inside Applied Epic
- $$
- Quote only. No price or trial on the page we opened.
- Company
- null · est. null
525+ insurers, wide personal lines list.
Personal lines only, no price, tied to Epic.
- Personal lines quotes from inside Epic
- Umbrella, flood and renters quotes
- Agency-branded proposals
Risk signals · none found›
No risk-signal search was run for this entry; none observed on the vendor pages read on 2026-10-27.
CoverForce
Published price and quote limit for commercial.
- Best for
- Commercial quote and bind at $99 a month
- $$
- Independent Agency $99 per month after a 60-day introductory credit, 100 quote submissions a month, month to month; Startup and Enterprise are custom
- Company
- null · est. null
$99 a month, 100 quotes, no term.
Carrier counts differ; no AMS named.
Risk signals · none found›
No risk-signal search was run for this entry; none observed on the vendor pages read on 2026-10-27.
TurboRater
Solid personal lines rater, fewer carriers listed.
- Best for
- Personal lines with producer reports
- $$
- Quote only. No price or trial on the pages we opened; the pages offer a demo.
- Company
- null · est. null
Eligibility flags and producer reports.
No price, no systems named, unclear ownership.
Risk signals · none found›
No risk-signal search was run for this entry; none observed on the vendor pages read on 2026-10-27.
Bold Penguin
Wide commercial lines, price by sales call.
- Best for
- Commercial market access without appointments
- $$
- Quote only. The page describes three models: a percentage of direct written premium, a platform fee, or a mix of the two.
- Company
- null · est. null
No appointments or minimums required.
No price shown; setup takes 60 to 90 days.
Risk signals · none found›
No risk-signal search was run for this entry; none observed on the vendor pages read on 2026-10-27.
Semsee
Clear prices and a free plan, vague on reach.
- Best for
- Free plan and $50 per user for small commercial
- $
- Essential $0; Professional $50 per user per month; Enterprise contact sales
- Company
- null · est. null
Free tier, $50 per user paid tier.
No carrier count, no AMS links shown.
Risk signals · none found›
No risk-signal search was run for this entry; none observed on the vendor pages read on 2026-10-27.
Zywave Enterprise Quoting
Biggest panel claim, slowest rollout.
- Best for
- Large panels across all lines
- $$
- Quote only. No price or trial on the page we opened; the only call to action is a demo request.
- Company
- null · est. null
1,200+ carrier partnerships claimed.
6 to 9 month rollout; pages disagree.
Risk signals · none found›
No risk-signal search was run for this entry; none observed on the vendor pages read on 2026-10-27.
Vertafore Commercial Submissions
Good workflow, short carrier list, two systems.
- Best for
- Commercial quotes for AMS360 and Sagitta users
- $$
- Quote only. No price or trial on the page we opened; the page offers a demo and an info request.
- Company
- null · est. null
E&S quoting and instant bind.
Two systems only; lines listed two ways.
Risk signals · none found›
No risk-signal search was run for this entry; none observed on the vendor pages read on 2026-10-27.
Tarmika
Right lines, thin detail on the pages.
- Best for
- Small commercial single-entry quoting
- $$
- Quote only. No price on the pages we opened; the site points to contact sales and an ROI calculator.
- Company
- null · est. null
Six commercial lines, shorter question sets.
No carriers, systems or price named.
Risk signals · none found›
No risk-signal search was run for this entry; none observed on the vendor pages read on 2026-10-27.
QuoteSweepWildcard
Beta portal quoting with public prices.
- Best for
- Portal quoting from $49 a month, in beta
- $
- Solo $49, Pro $99, Business $299 per month; Enterprise custom; annual billing saves 17%; Free tier of 3 submissions on the home page
- Company
- null · est. null
Every plan limit is printed.
Private beta, 25 quoting carriers, no AMS link.
Risk signals · none found›
No risk-signal search was run for this entry; none observed on the vendor pages read on 2026-10-27.
Go deeper
Best pick for your situationmatched by problem
Best for Home and auto quotes from one entry
EZLynx Rating Engine (#1, 8.2/9.4). Widest confirmed personal lines reach, with commercial on the side. It also handles Text and website quoting, Commercial submissions beside personal lines.
Best for Personal lines quoting inside a Vertafore system
Vertafore PL Rating (#2, 8.1/9.4). Strong workflow and system links for personal lines. It also handles Binding from the rater, Flood options beside homeowners quotes.
Best for Personal lines quotes from inside Epic
Applied Epic Quotes (#3, 7.6/9.4). Highest insurer count, built for Epic users. It also handles Umbrella, flood and renters quotes, Agency-branded proposals.
Buyer's guide5 questions
What is comparative rating software?
Comparative rating software lets an agent type an applicant's details once and get quotes from several carriers. It saves the work of filling in the same form on each carrier's site. Most tools also prefill data, compare quotes side by side and produce a proposal. Some can bind the policy from inside the tool. Personal lines raters such as EZLynx, PL Rating, Epic Quotes and TurboRater describe home and auto quoting. Commercial tools such as Tarmika, Semsee, Bold Penguin and CoverForce describe lines like BOP, general liability and workers' comp.
How is a comparative rater different from an agency management system?
A management system holds your clients, policies, documents and commissions. A rater gets you the price. The two are often sold together. EZLynx sells its rater and management system on one platform, and Applied describes Epic Quotes inside Applied Epic. Others plug into a system you already have. Vertafore lists AMS360, Sagitta and QQCatalyst for PL Rating, and HawkSoft's rater page lists ten third-party raters it can send client data to. Check that your management system is on the list before you pay.
Why are personal and commercial raters different tools?
On the pages we opened, the two groups are described differently. Personal lines tools talk about real-time quotes for home and auto from hundreds of carriers. Commercial tools talk about submissions, appetite, class codes and ACORD forms. Semsee offers a NAICS tool and class code finder, Bold Penguin turns emailed submissions into structured data, and EZLynx checks carrier appetite with a NAICS lookup. If your book is mixed, ask each vendor how it handles the line you write most.
How should I read a carrier count?
Carefully. The counts on these pages are the vendors' own and they are not counted the same way. EZLynx says over 330, PL Rating says 300+ and also 320+ and Epic Quotes says more than 525 insurers. QuoteSweep's pricing page lists 15 carriers on Solo and 25 on Pro. CoverForce shows 20+ on one plan and 60+ on its home page. Ask for the list of carriers in your state and check that your top five are on it.
What does comparative rating software cost?
Most vendors here do not publish a price. EZLynx, PL Rating, Epic Quotes, TurboRater, Bold Penguin, Tarmika, Zywave and Commercial Submissions showed no dollar figure on the pages we opened. The ones that do are Semsee at $0 and $50 per user per month, CoverForce at $99 per month after a 60-day credit, and QuoteSweep at $49 to $299 per month. Bold Penguin describes a percentage of direct written premium, a platform fee or a mix.
How to choose
- 1First, decide which lines you quote most. A book that is mostly home and auto points to a personal lines rater. A book of restaurants, contractors and offices points to a commercial tool.
- 2Second, check the carrier list for your state. Ask each vendor for a written list and check that your five most-used carriers are on it, quoting live and not only linked.
- 3Third, check your management system. Vertafore lists AMS360, Sagitta and QQCatalyst, Applied describes Epic, and HawkSoft lists ten raters. Several commercial tools name no system on their pages.
- 4Fourth, ask for the price in writing, with the unit. Per user, per month, per submission, or a share of premium are all in use here.
- 5Finally, run ten real quotes from last month. Compare the time taken and the carriers that answered with what your team did by hand.
Frequently asked6 answers
Which comparative rater has the most carriers?
On the pages we opened, Zywave Enterprise Quoting claims 1,200+ carrier partnerships and Applied Epic Quotes says more than 525 insurers. EZLynx says over 330 and PL Rating 300+. These are vendor claims counted in different ways, and Zywave's is for a panel setup that takes 6 months or more.
Is there a free comparative rater?
Semsee lists an Essential plan at $0 with appetite checking, ACORD forms and submission to multiple carriers. QuoteSweep's home page lists a Free tier with 3 submissions in total, though its quoting is in private beta. EZLynx offers a free trial, and the length is not stated.
What is the difference between EZLynx and PL Rating?
Both describe personal lines raters with 300+ carriers. EZLynx runs on the same platform as its own management system and adds commercial submissions. PL Rating links to AMS360, Sagitta, QQCatalyst and over 20 other systems and lists instant bind in the rater. Neither page shows a price.
Can I bind a policy from the rater?
Some say so. PL Rating and Commercial Submissions list instant bind in the rater. CoverForce says quote and bind across 20+ carriers on your own appointments. Bold Penguin says you can quote and bind through North Peak Access, and Semsee lists bind in platform.
Do I need new carrier appointments?
It depends on the tool. Bold Penguin says no carrier appointment or production minimum is needed through its market access. CoverForce's Independent Agency plan is for quoting on your own appointments. Semsee's Essential plan lists access to Semsee appointed carriers, and Professional adds quoting on your direct appointed carriers.
How often is this list updated?
We re-score every 90 days, and the next review is 2027-01-25. Vendors change prices and carrier lists, so confirm every figure on the vendor's own page before you buy.
How this was scored
Every entry is scored on a 9.4-point scale across 6 weighted criteria, reviewed quarterly. Top 11 takes no payment from any provider on this list. Scores come from a public weighted rubric, and the methodology weights were locked before entry research began. Re-scored every 90 days.
- Every price and feature in this list comes from a vendor page opened on 2026-10-27. If a page returned an error, redirected, or showed no number, we say so and publish no price. We did not use review sites for facts.
- Several candidates could not be used. www.semsee.ai did not resolve, so we used semsee.com. The ACS rater site (acs-rater.com) did not resolve. The Evolution rater site (capitalsoftware.com) returned an expired certificate. Applied's rater brochure PDF could not be read, and three other Applied and Vertafore URLs returned HTTP 404. We did not rank those products.
- QuoteRUSH and Quomation (AgencyStream Quote) were opened but not ranked. The QuoteRUSH page named no owner, gave no usable carrier count and carried a note that its numbers were made up. The Quomation page gave no carrier count or price.
- Founding year, headquarters, headcount and funding were not read on the vendor pages, so those fields are left empty rather than filled in from memory.
- Carrier counts are the vendors' own and are not counted the same way. Several pages give more than one number for the same product, and we say so in the entry.
- Most vendors here publish no price. Entries without a price score lower on Pricing Transparency by design. That is a statement about the page, not the product. Semsee, CoverForce and QuoteSweep rank partly because their pages print numbers.
- Scores are an AI editorial judgement against the published rubric, using only the pages we read. Savings and speed claims, such as Zywave's 75% and Semsee's 48 minutes per client, are the vendors' own and were not tested. Scores are not a measure of customer satisfaction. No vendor has paid for placement.
Changelog1 edits
Initial publication. Methodology v1.0 weights Carrier Reach (25%), Lines Covered (20%), Quote-to-Bind Workflow (20%), Agency System Connections (15%), Pricing Transparency & TCO (10%), and Setup & Small Agency Fit (10%). The #11 wildcard is unrated and selected by the wildcard signal model (wildcard-v2.0). Every price and feature fact was taken from a vendor page opened on 2026-10-27; where a page could not be opened or showed no price, the entry says so.
The gripe box
The only review form on this page. We publish complaints, not compliments. Right of reply guaranteed.
[EZLynx vs Vertafore PL Rating vs Applied Epic Quotes: 11 Best Comparative Rating Software 2026](https://topelevens.com/comparative-rating-software). Top 11, AI-native independent ranking. Methodology public at https://topelevens.com/methodology.Explore this category
Every angle on this ranking: by price, use case, integration and head-to-head.
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More ways to rank these
Best for (26)
- Comparative raters
- Personal lines quoting
- Commercial lines quoting
- Small commercial
- Independent agencies
- Personal lines agency owner
- Mixed book agency
- Home and auto quotes from one entry
- Text and website quoting
- Commercial submissions beside personal lines
- Personal lines agency on ams360
- Agency principal
- Personal lines quoting inside a vertafore system
- Binding from the rater
- Flood options beside homeowners quotes
- Applied epic agency
- Personal lines producer
- Personal lines quotes from inside epic
- Umbrella flood and renters quotes
- Agency branded proposals
- Personal lines inside applied epic
- Personal lines with producer reports
- Large panels across all lines
- Small commercial singleentry quoting
- Portal quoting from 49 a month
- In beta
Works with (33)
- Ezlynx management system
- Hawksoft (listed on hawksoft's rater page)
- Lexisnexis
- Fenris
- Msb
- Google maps
- Ask kodiak naics appetite lookup
- Ams360
- Sagitta
- Qqcatalyst
- 20+ other management systems
- National flood services
- Selective flood
- Aon edge
- Corelogic prefill
- Incident prefill
- Applied epic
- Hawksoft (lists applied rater on its rater page)
- Carrier and mga apis (63 listed in the 2026 carrier api index)
- Personal lines quoting api
- Turborater for websites
- Api connections
- Embedded storefront
- Salesforce (testimonial)
- Mcp server
- Acord form upload and download
- Crm and agency management systems through api
- Ams360 (20r2 or later)
- Sagitta (21r2 or later)
- Ivans distribution platform
- Acord forms
- Carrier web portals (9 public, 16 authenticated)
- Acord import
Reviews
Alternatives
- Alternatives to EZLynx Rating Engine
- Alternatives to Vertafore PL Rating
- Alternatives to Applied Epic Quotes
- Alternatives to CoverForce
- Alternatives to TurboRater
- Alternatives to Bold Penguin
- Alternatives to Semsee
- Alternatives to Zywave Enterprise Quoting
- Alternatives to Vertafore Commercial Submissions
- Alternatives to Tarmika
- Alternatives to QuoteSweep
Red flags
Head-to-head (55)
- EZLynx Rating Engine vs Vertafore PL Rating
- EZLynx Rating Engine vs Applied Epic Quotes
- EZLynx Rating Engine vs CoverForce
- EZLynx Rating Engine vs TurboRater
- EZLynx Rating Engine vs Bold Penguin
- EZLynx Rating Engine vs Semsee
- EZLynx Rating Engine vs Zywave Enterprise Quoting
- EZLynx Rating Engine vs Vertafore Commercial Submissions
- EZLynx Rating Engine vs Tarmika
- EZLynx Rating Engine vs QuoteSweep
- Vertafore PL Rating vs Applied Epic Quotes
- Vertafore PL Rating vs CoverForce
- Vertafore PL Rating vs TurboRater
- Vertafore PL Rating vs Bold Penguin
- Vertafore PL Rating vs Semsee
- Vertafore PL Rating vs Zywave Enterprise Quoting
- Vertafore PL Rating vs Vertafore Commercial Submissions
- Vertafore PL Rating vs Tarmika
- Vertafore PL Rating vs QuoteSweep
- Applied Epic Quotes vs CoverForce
- Applied Epic Quotes vs TurboRater
- Applied Epic Quotes vs Bold Penguin
- Applied Epic Quotes vs Semsee
- Applied Epic Quotes vs Zywave Enterprise Quoting
- Applied Epic Quotes vs Vertafore Commercial Submissions
- Applied Epic Quotes vs Tarmika
- Applied Epic Quotes vs QuoteSweep
- CoverForce vs TurboRater
- CoverForce vs Bold Penguin
- CoverForce vs Semsee
- CoverForce vs Zywave Enterprise Quoting
- CoverForce vs Vertafore Commercial Submissions
- CoverForce vs Tarmika
- CoverForce vs QuoteSweep
- TurboRater vs Bold Penguin
- TurboRater vs Semsee
- TurboRater vs Zywave Enterprise Quoting
- TurboRater vs Vertafore Commercial Submissions
- TurboRater vs Tarmika
- TurboRater vs QuoteSweep
- Bold Penguin vs Semsee
- Bold Penguin vs Zywave Enterprise Quoting
- Bold Penguin vs Vertafore Commercial Submissions
- Bold Penguin vs Tarmika
- Bold Penguin vs QuoteSweep
- Semsee vs Zywave Enterprise Quoting
- Semsee vs Vertafore Commercial Submissions
- Semsee vs Tarmika
- Semsee vs QuoteSweep
- Zywave Enterprise Quoting vs Vertafore Commercial Submissions
- Zywave Enterprise Quoting vs Tarmika
- Zywave Enterprise Quoting vs QuoteSweep
- Vertafore Commercial Submissions vs Tarmika
- Vertafore Commercial Submissions vs QuoteSweep
- Tarmika vs QuoteSweep
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