Comparison · Zywave AI

Prospekteer vs Zywave,
honestly.

Same category — agentic AI prospecting for commercial insurance. Different buyer, different price, different onboarding motion. Here’s which one fits an independent agency of 1–10 producers.

Zywave just shipped agentic AI prospecting at enterprise pricing — confirming the category. We’re building the same category for the 30,000+ independent commercial agencies that Zywave isn’t structured to serve profitably. They charge $25K–$40K+ per year on multi-year contracts. We charge $828–$2,400 per year, month-to-month. Their AE doesn’t take a meeting with a 2-producer shop in Ohio. We are the only product they can buy on a Tuesday and use on a Wednesday.

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The architectural difference

Zywave AI is a platform expansion. Prospekteer is a standalone product.

Zywave AI is not a standalone product you can buy. It is an AI layer that activates on top of Zywave’s existing platform — specifically, on top of (1) miEdge buying-intent signals (a separate Zywave product) and (2) customer data already living in Zywave’s AMS or CRM. To buy Zywave AI, you must already be a Zywave platform customer paying $25K–$40K+ per year on a multi-year contract. There is no “$X/month Zywave AI” SKU.

Prospekteer is a standalone product. Sign up with an email, pay $0–$199/mo, no AMS dependency, no platform commitment, no existing data required. The four agents Zywave is rolling out in Q1 2026 — prospect identification, lead sourcing, research/enrichment, outreach — all four already work in Prospekteer today, against public data, with no platform underneath.

That’s not a pricing difference. It’s a different category of product. Zywave AI is making an existing Zywave platform more valuable to existing Zywave customers. Prospekteer is for the 30,000+ independent commercial agencies that are not Zywave customers and don’t want to become one.

Honest framing

Zywave is the right answer — for someone else.

Zywave is the deepest commercial insurance data platform on the market. They claim 4M+ commercial records, 1M+ loss policies, and 30+ years of rating intelligence built into the workflow. If you run a regional brokerage with a procurement team, an AMS contract with Zywave already, and a sales-development org, Zywave AI sits naturally on top of what you already pay them.

Prospekteer is built for the agency Zywave can’t profitably serve. Independent commercial agencies of 1–10 producers. The kind of shop where the owner is also a producer, the AMS is HawkSoft or AgencyZoom or a spreadsheet, and the answer to “can we add another $25K/yr software contract” is “not a chance.” Zywave’s AE genuinely does not take that meeting. We exist for that meeting.

The honest comparison below is built on the dimensions that actually matter when an independent agency is choosing between “sign up for Prospekteer tonight” and “schedule a 45-minute Zywave discovery call.”

Head to head

What you actually get for the money.

Apples-to-apples comparison on the dimensions that matter to an independent commercial agency. Zywave numbers come from public sales materials, customer reports, and reviews — Zywave does not publish pricing.

Dimension
Prospekteer
Zywave
Built for
Independent commercial agencies (1–10 producers)
Mid-market and enterprise brokerages
Platform dependency
None. Standalone product. No AMS or CRM required
Requires existing Zywave platform contract + miEdge subscription + customer data already in Zywave AMS/CRM
Pricing model
Public, monthly, no contract — $9.99 / $29.99 / $69.99 / mo
Quote-only, multi-year (often 4-year) contracts
Typical small-agency cost
$828/yr (Pro) — full intelligence layer for one producer
~$25,000/yr — Brokerage Builder + HRConnection + Briefcase bundle
Pricing transparency
Public on the website. Founder Rate Guarantee — your tier price locked for 5 years
Opaque. Customer reviews flag 30–45% surprise renewal increases and 90-day notice traps
Onboarding
2-minute self-serve signup. Prospects on screen in 5 minutes
Sales call → discovery → contract → procurement → weeks-long onboarding
Free tier
10 lifetime prospects, full enrichment, no credit card
None
Producer-level call prep
Call-ready underwriting dossier per prospect — gaps named, signals scored, opener written
Brokerage-level “agentic AI runs the workflow” pitch — not producer-call-prep specific
Vertical specialization
Vertical modes — Trucking live, Mining + Hospitality + Contractors next, monthly cadence
Horizontal across all commercial classes; not vertical-mode-specific
Loss-data depth
Public risk signals — NOAA, FEMA, FMCSA, OSHA, MSHA, EPA, Census
Industry-leading — 1M+ historical loss policies behind risk scoring
Rating intelligence
Out of scope — we surface prospects and prep calls; we don’t rate
30+ years of carrier/line/state rating expertise built in
AMS integration
CSV import for EZLynx, AgencyZoom, Applied Epic, HawkSoft
AMS-native — Zywave owns the management system layer for their customers
Where each tool wins

Pick the tool whose buyer matches yours.

ZYWAVE WINS WHEN
You’re a mid-market or enterprise brokerage with the budget and team for it.
  • You already pay Zywave for AMS, HR, or Brokerage Builder
  • Loss-data depth and rating intelligence are central to how you work
  • You have a procurement process that can absorb a multi-year SaaS contract
  • You have 10+ producers and a dedicated sales-development function
PROSPEKTEER WINS WHEN
You’re an independent agency that needs to start prospecting tonight.
  • You’re a 1–10 producer shop on a producer’s budget
  • You want to sign up tonight and call prospects tomorrow morning
  • You want a call-ready dossier per prospect, not a brokerage-level pitch
  • You’ve been burned by opaque pricing and surprise renewal increases
What Zywave does better

We’re honest about it.

Loss-data depth. Zywave has 1M+ historical loss policies underpinning their risk scoring. That is a real, unreplicable advantage in any context where actual claim outcomes matter more than public risk signals. We score against NOAA, FEMA, FMCSA, OSHA, MSHA, EPA, and Census — comprehensive across public sources but not loss-history-driven. If your underwriting is loss-data-led, Zywave is the right tool.

Rating intelligence built into the workflow. 30+ years of carrier, line, and state expertise sitting under their AI. We don’t compete here — we surface prospects and prep calls, we don’t rate. For brokerages where the rating layer is a daily input to producer workflow, Zywave is structurally ahead.

AMS-native integration. Zywave owns the agency management system layer for their customers, so the prospecting integrates seamlessly into the rest of the agency’s operations. We are CSV import — fine for a 1–10 producer shop, less ideal for a brokerage running a single enterprise software stack end to end.

Brand recognition. Every commercial insurance professional in the US knows the Zywave name. We’re starting from zero. If you need to defend the choice in a board meeting, Zywave is the safer line item.

Frequently asked

Six questions agents ask first.

Q01
How much does Zywave cost compared to Prospekteer?
Zywave does not publish pricing — every deal is quote-only with a sales call. From customer reports, single Zywave modules start around $495–$1,000/yr, mid-tier bundles for a small agency commonly run $25,000/yr, and a full broker briefcase reaches $40,000+/yr. Most contracts are multi-year (4-year terms appear repeatedly in reviews). Prospekteer is publicly priced from $9.99/mo Solo, $29.99/mo Starter, $69.99/mo Pro, with a free tier and no contract. For a typical 2–5 producer agency, Prospekteer is roughly 10–30× cheaper than Zywave for the prospecting layer.
Q02
Can I buy Zywave AI standalone, without the rest of the Zywave platform?
No. Zywave AI is not a standalone product. It is an AI layer that activates on top of Zywave's existing platform data — specifically miEdge buying-intent signals (a separate Zywave product) and customer data already living in Zywave's AMS or CRM. To buy Zywave AI you must already be a Zywave platform customer, typically paying $25K–$40K+ per year on a multi-year contract. There is no $X/month Zywave AI SKU. Prospekteer is the opposite — a standalone product with no platform dependency. Sign up with an email, no AMS required, no existing customer data required, $9.99–$69.99/mo public pricing.
Q03
Why does Zywave require a sales call instead of self-serve signup?
Their cost structure depends on enterprise sales — multi-year contracts, opaque pricing, large module bundles. Self-serve signup at $69/mo cannot fund an enterprise sales motion. Prospekteer is built the opposite way: public pricing, two-minute signup, prospects on screen in five minutes, no contract. We can offer that because we do not carry the enterprise GTM cost.
Q04
Where does Zywave actually beat Prospekteer?
Three places, honestly. (1) Loss-data depth — Zywave has 1M+ historical loss policies behind their risk scoring; we score against public risk signals (NOAA, FEMA, FMCSA, OSHA, MSHA, EPA, Census). (2) Rating intelligence — they have 30+ years of carrier/line/state rating expertise built in; we do not compete on rating. (3) AMS-native integration — they own the agency management system layer for their customers; we are CSV import for EZLynx, AgencyZoom, Applied Epic, and HawkSoft. If those three things are central to how your shop runs, Zywave is the right answer.
Q05
Where does Prospekteer beat Zywave?
Pricing accessibility, onboarding speed, transparency, producer-workflow specificity, and vertical depth. Pro at $69/mo is roughly 1/30th of what a small agency pays Zywave. You sign up self-serve in two minutes; their onboarding runs weeks of contract review. Our pricing is on the public site; theirs requires a quote. Our output is a call-ready underwriting dossier per prospect (Trucking Mode is the live template, with Mining and Hospitality next); their pitch is brokerage-level "agentic AI runs the workflow." And we ship new vertical modes monthly — a cadence enterprise software cannot match.
Q06
I have heard horror stories about Zywave renewal increases. Is Prospekteer different?
Yes, structurally. We publish a Founder Rate Guarantee: every customer who signs up in 2026 has their tier price locked for five full years, in writing. We do not do automatic renewal increases. We do not require advance cancellation notice. The reviews flagging 30–45% surprise Zywave renewals and 90-day notice traps are exactly the dynamic we built our terms to be the opposite of.
Continue exploring

The rest of the prospecting platform.

FEATURE
Coverage Gap Detector
Names the most likely missing or under-written coverage in every AI cold opener.
FEATURE
Renewal Radar
Surfaces hot prospects in their switch window, before the renewal is decided.
FEATURE
Territory Heat Map
Plots prospect density and signal concentration by zip; Plan My Route ships the day.
FEATURE
Mobile Field Mode
Drive Mode reads briefs aloud. Voice notes capture outcomes hands-free.
FEATURE
Vertical Intel
Vertical-specific signals and gaps for trucking, long-term care, and mining.
FEATURE
For Independent Agents
Why Prospekteer is built exclusively for the independent commercial agency.
FEATURE
Cold Opener Library
50 AI-generated cold openers across 8 industries — patterns, not scripts.
FEATURE
Trucking Insurance Prospecting
Vertical depth for owner-operator through fleet — Motor Truck Cargo, On-Hook, Reefer Breakdown.
FEATURE
Long-Term Care Insurance Prospecting
Vertical depth for skilled nursing through specialty hospitals — Cyber, S&M, EPLI, Excess Pro Liab.
FEATURE
Mining Insurance Prospecting
Vertical depth for aggregate through underground — Pollution Legal Liability, Inland Marine, Excess WC.
FEATURE
Coverage Glossary
40 commercial coverages defined the way agents use them — Garage Keepers, MTC, Cyber, PLL, more.
FEATURE
Switch from Zywave
A clean exit playbook for independent agencies leaving Zywave: public pricing, no contracts, Founder Rate Guarantee.
FEATURE
Prospekteer vs ZoomInfo
Honest comparison: ZoomInfo for enterprise B2B breadth, Prospekteer for insurance-specific depth.
FEATURE
Prospekteer vs AgencyZoom
Prospecting platform vs CRM. Why most independent agencies run both, not one instead of the other.
FEATURE
Prospekteer vs Apollo.io
Generalist B2B sales platform vs commercial-insurance specialist. Honest about what each does best.
FEATURE
Prospekteer vs LeadGenius
Software platform vs human-curated research engagement. Two different approaches to lead sourcing.
FEATURE
Prospekteer with your AMS
Compatible with EZLynx, Applied Epic, HawkSoft, Vertafore, NowCerts, AgencyZoom. Feeds your existing system.
FEATURE
Commercial Insurance Prospecting by State
State-specific landing pages for the top 10 US commercial markets — Texas, California, Florida, and more.

Skip the discovery call.

10 prospects, full enrichment, no credit card. Sign up tonight, call them tomorrow morning. The fastest way to know whether Prospekteer fits your agency is to use it.

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