For agents, the closest MediaAlpha alternative is PX, another exchange whose PX Local product sells self-serve auto leads. EverQuote and insuranceQuotes add calls to leads. Soleo and Marketcall sell pay-per-call inbound calls. You can also run Google search ads yourself, and Final Expense or Medicare agents can buy inbound calls on Callmart.
What are the alternatives to MediaAlpha for agents?
MediaAlpha is best known as an insurance customer-acquisition exchange for carriers and comparison sites, but it also runs a self-serve program for agents. On that program you fund a $250 minimum deposit by card, then bid on auto, home and life leads with its right-price model or browse and buy them at a fixed price, with shared leads going to no more than four buyers unless a lead is identified as exclusive. Alternatives make sense when you want something that program does not sell. PX is the nearest structural match: an exchange with a self-serve agent product for auto leads. EverQuote and insuranceQuotes sell leads plus calls or transfers. Soleo and Marketcall are pay-per-call networks where you set or negotiate a price per qualified call. Running Google search ads with call assets is the do-it-yourself route. Callmart suits Final Expense and Medicare Advantage agents who want inbound calls at published retail prices.
Why do agents look for MediaAlpha alternatives?
The reasons come from the limits MediaAlpha states on its own agent page, not from how well the exchange runs.
- Leads only. The agent program lists auto, home and life leads, with no calls or transfers.
- Three lines. Health, Medicare and Final Expense agents need another source.
- Price is set inside the platform, by your bid or a fixed browse price; no per-lead price is posted publicly.
- No set daily volume. It does not promise a number of leads per day, and returns above 20% of monthly leads are at its discretion.
- Higher minimums are possible for future programs, according to its FAQ.
Its strengths are worth keeping in view: a low published entry point, returns approved instantly when requested within 72 hours, filters by consumer type (premium, preferred, standard and non-standard), and a rule that no lead goes to more than one agent tied to the same captive carrier. Behind the agent program sits a large exchange: MediaAlpha reports more than $2 billion in 2025 platform spend and says it works with 16 of the top 20 US auto carriers.
How do MediaAlpha alternatives compare?
| Option | Model | What you get | Lines | Entry terms published | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PX | Exchange plus self-serve PX Local | Real-time leads; inbound calls and clicks on the marketplace | Auto live on PX Local; others listed as coming | $500 minimum balance on PX Local; $0 setup fee | Auto agents who want a self-serve exchange account |
| EverQuote | Prepaid lead and call marketplace | Shared and exclusive leads, inbound calls, warm transfers | Auto, home; life in its pricing FAQ | No minimum period or spend; recharges at $25 or $100 | P&C agents who want calls added to leads |
| insuranceQuotes (AWL) | Lead, call and click platform with second-price bidding | Shared leads, live call transfers, clicks | Six lines, including Medicare and small business | $50 starting credit level | Agents who like bidding but need more lines |
| Soleo | Pay-per-call network | Exclusive inbound calls you bid on | P&C, life and Final Expense, Medicare | No rate card or minimum spend published | P&C agencies that want calls, not leads |
| Marketcall | Pay-per-call affiliate network | Qualified calls plus CPL and CPA leads | Health, Medicare, auto, life, Final Expense | Price per call set with a personal manager | Agencies and call centers that want a managed network |
| Google Ads call assets | Do it yourself | Calls from your own search ads | Your choice, within Google's ad policies | Call clicks cost the same as headline clicks | Agents ready to build and run their own campaigns |
| Callmart | Inbound call marketplace with posted prices | Calls that consumers start | Final Expense, Medicare Advantage | Retail from $25 per call; no minimum spend | Final Expense and Medicare phone sellers |
What does each MediaAlpha alternative offer?
PX and PX Local
PX describes itself as a customer-acquisition marketplace where buyers manage leads and calls from more than 600 vetted sources, with real-time leads, inbound calls and click campaigns as its three channels. Like MediaAlpha, it offers bidding tools and pricing recommendations, and it runs deduplication and third-party verification before leads reach your CRM. Its agent product, PX Local, sells auto leads on a daily budget and states a $25 average lead price; the cost ranges on its insurance page are a general market guide, not its own rates.
- Each PX Local lead shows its source, consent timestamp, an independent Jornaya record and its price before you buy.
- One-click returns with credit applied immediately.
- PX Local's $500 minimum balance is twice MediaAlpha's $250 deposit.
- Only auto is live on PX Local; life, health and home are listed as coming.
EverQuote
EverQuote Pro gives auto and home agents what MediaAlpha's agent program does not: consumer-initiated inbound calls and warm transfers alongside shared and exclusive data leads, all from one prepaid account. It filters by risk profile, ZIP code, time of day and day of week, caps daily leads, and lets you bid up attributes such as high-intent shoppers, small business owners and driver age through Enhanced Targeting.
- Calls and transfers next to leads, with a 120 second no-cost reject window on warm transfers.
- No minimum period or spend, and a 30 day return window.
- Prices are not published, and activation runs through a sales representative.
- Returns are capped at 20% of monthly leads, the same cap MediaAlpha uses.
insuranceQuotes (AWL)
insuranceQuotes, part of AWL, suits agents who like bidding but want more lines and a call product. Its Max Bid is a second-price feature: you pay just enough to top the next buyer's price. It sells leads, live call transfers and clicks across auto, home, health, Medicare, life and small business, with daily and weekly limits and call schedules by time of day.
- Credit billing from a $50 starting level, or prepay with a recharge amount you choose.
- Live calls billed only on actual consumer contacts.
- Leads average three to four buyers each, and its FAQ says it has dropped ZIP code exclusivity.
- Filters are an added charge, and the optional monthly Service Plan carries a fee it does not publish.
Soleo
Soleo moves you from bidding on leads to bidding on calls. You set a bid for a call that lasts your chosen duration; a call becomes qualified once it meets that duration, and Soleo says 90 to 120 seconds is a typical duration bid. Calls route only during the hours you set, can be paced per day, and can be narrowed by ZIP code, homeownership and whether the caller already has insurance.
- Exclusive calls, never resold to multiple buyers.
- Its CallThread platform includes call recording, transcription and bid strength guidance.
- Unanswered routed calls are still charged.
- No published rate card or minimum spend.
Marketcall
Marketcall is a pay-per-call affiliate network with an advertiser side for buyers. It lists health, Medicare, auto, life and Final Expense among its insurance subcategories and sells qualified calls plus CPL and CPA leads. A Marketcall specialist recommends a price per call based on your vertical, coverage, call hours and traffic sources. You can change it, though Marketcall notes that pricing below its recommendation does not secure volume. Its own alternatives page lists other networks.
- You are not charged for calls that miss your criteria, and every call is recorded for review.
- Disputed calls can be appealed, with an independent quality control specialist making the final decision.
- No insurance prices, minimum call durations or delivery method published on its advertiser pages.
- Payments run through a personal manager by wire, ACH, card or PayPal, with a commission fee it says is usually around 3%.
Google Ads call assets (do it yourself)
If you would rather own the traffic, you can run Google search ads with call assets, which add a phone number or call button to your ads. Google is retiring standalone call ads: its help center says the options to create new call-only ads were removed in February 2026, and existing ones stop receiving impressions in February 2027, replaced by responsive search ads with call assets. A click on the call button costs the same as a headline click, and call reporting can count calls as conversions on the Search Network.
- You control keywords, budget and schedule, and call assets can run only on days and hours you choose.
- No vendor sits between you and the caller.
- You pay per click, not per qualified call, so short or off-target calls still cost you.
- You build, manage and tune every campaign yourself. The buying calls vs running your own ads guide weighs that work.
Callmart
Callmart replaces bidding with a posted retail price. For each campaign you choose which connected-time buffers to buy, confirm the price before the campaign goes live, and pay from a prepaid wallet only for calls that reach that buffer. It covers Final Expense (digital, TV and live transfer campaigns) and Medicare Advantage, lines MediaAlpha's agent program does not list. The Callmart vs MediaAlpha page compares them side by side.
- Published retail prices, such as $55 for a 90 second Medicare Advantage call or $50 for a 60 second Final Expense digital call as of November 2, 2026; bulk buyers can request lower wholesale rates.
- A first deposit bonus of $50 on a first deposit of $250, $150 on a first deposit of $500, $300 on a first deposit of $1,000, paid as call credit with no cash value.
- Calls are not exclusive, and Callmart does not promise call volume.
- Its public price list covers Final Expense and Medicare Advantage only, so it does not replace auto or home leads.
Who should stay with MediaAlpha, and who should choose an alternative?
Stay with MediaAlpha if you sell auto, home or life, you want leads rather than calls, and you like setting your own bid or picking leads at a fixed price. Its $250 starting deposit, consumer-type filters and instant returns within 72 hours make it an easy account to test and keep, and it states no minimum spend or contract term.
- Choose PX if you want a second exchange with a self-serve auto lead product.
- Choose EverQuote or insuranceQuotes if you want calls or transfers in the same account as your leads.
- Choose Soleo or Marketcall if you would rather pay per qualified call than per lead.
- Choose Google Ads call assets if you have the time and skill to run your own campaigns.
- Choose Callmart if your book is Final Expense or Medicare Advantage and you want inbound calls at a posted retail price. The best pay per call companies guide lists more call sources.
How should you choose a MediaAlpha alternative?
- Write down what MediaAlpha does not give you today: calls, other lines, or a price you can see before you bid.
- Pick the pricing model you want: a bid per lead, a bid per call, a fixed per-call price, or pay per click. The pay per call vs pay per lead comparison explains the tradeoffs.
- Check what counts as billable. For calls, ask for the qualifying duration; for Callmart, read how call buffers work.
- Compare entry terms: MediaAlpha's $250 deposit, PX Local's $500 minimum balance, insuranceQuotes' $50 credit level, or Callmart's prepaid wallet with no minimum spend.
- Test one alternative with a small budget, track cost per policy with the cost per acquisition calculator, then move more spend only if it wins.
Common questions
01What does MediaAlpha do?
MediaAlpha runs an insurance customer-acquisition exchange that connects advertisers such as carriers and comparison sites with publishers, and reports more than $2 billion in 2025 platform spend. It also runs a self-serve program where agents bid on or buy auto, home and life leads from a $250 deposit.
02Does MediaAlpha sell calls to agents?
Not through its agent program. Its agent page lists auto, home and life leads, shared unless identified as exclusive and bought at your own price or a fixed one, with no calls or transfers. Agents who want calls can look at EverQuote, insuranceQuotes, Soleo or Marketcall, or at Callmart for Final Expense and Medicare Advantage.
03What is MediaAlpha's minimum deposit?
$250, paid by credit card, according to its agent FAQ. It says there is no minimum spend and no minimum contract term, that you can pause or reactivate any time, and that remaining funds are refunded on cancellation, excluding matching or referral bonuses. It also notes higher minimums are possible for future programs.
04Is a pay-per-call network a good MediaAlpha alternative?
It is if you want live conversations instead of records. Soleo and Marketcall bill per qualified call, and Callmart bills per call that reaches your chosen buffer. The tradeoff is staffing: a call needs someone ready to answer, while a lead can wait in your CRM until an agent is free.