Callmart vs MediaAlpha

What is the difference between Callmart and MediaAlpha?

MediaAlpha is an insurance customer acquisition exchange whose core clients are carriers, and its agent program sells data leads; Callmart is a marketplace that sells inbound phone calls to agents. MediaAlpha for Agents offers auto, home and life leads in all 50 states, either shared with no more than four buyers or marked exclusive. You win leads through a right-price bidding model or browse and buy them at a fixed price, from a prepaid balance that starts with a $250 minimum deposit. Callmart sells calls that consumers start, not lead records, and its public retail list covers Final Expense digital, Final Expense TV (CTV), Final Expense live transfers and Medicare Advantage. Callmart prices are fixed for each connected-time buffer, and a call is billed once, after it ends, only if it reached that buffer. The products barely overlap: MediaAlpha fits P&C and life lead buyers, and Callmart fits Final Expense and Medicare phone sales.

Both run on prepaid balances with no minimum spend and no minimum term. The practical choice is between bidding on a lead you then have to call, and paying a listed price for a caller who is already on the line.

How do Callmart and MediaAlpha compare side by side?

How does MediaAlpha price leads for agents?

MediaAlpha does not publish lead prices. Agents either use what it calls a right-price bidding model, in which you set an automatic lead delivery price based on your expected return and a daily lead cap, or browse available leads and buy them at a fixed price. Either way, MediaAlpha does not post lead prices on a public list.

• Minimum deposit: $250. You cannot bid or buy without enough funds in the account, and an auto-refill feature can top the balance up.
• There is no minimum spend and no minimum contract term. Accounts can be paused at any time, and available funds are refunded if you cancel, excluding matching or referral bonuses.
• Filters cover geography and more than 15 consumer types across auto, home and life, plus your own schedule and daily lead caps.
• Returns requested within 72 hours of delivery are approved instantly; requests are accepted for up to 7 days, for up to 20% of the leads you receive each month.
• It takes part in certain carrier subsidy programs and offers credit for each referred agent who deposits and starts buying.

MediaAlpha also says it cannot guarantee a certain number of leads per day, so plan staffing around the volume you actually see. The same holds on Callmart, which does not guarantee call volume: delivery depends on eligible supply and your own settings.

How does Callmart price calls?

Callmart publishes one retail price for each campaign and buffer, and that price is what you see in your workspace and confirm before a campaign goes live. Connected time starts when your destination answers. A call that is never answered, or that ends before your buffer, is not billed, and the shortest buffer is 10 seconds.

Agencies and bulk buyers can apply for lower wholesale rates, quoted per account. Approved wholesale accounts can also have Callmart ask their own system before each call, sending the caller's number and state, and receive only the calls their system accepts. The ping post guide explains how that model works. First deposits earn call credit: $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.

Is bidding or a fixed price better for your budget?

Bidding rewards buyers who watch their numbers closely. You can push bids up on the consumer types that close for you and pull back on the ones that do not, but your cost per lead moves with your bids, so it needs regular review.

A fixed price is easier to plan around. On Callmart you know the price of each buffer before you switch a campaign on, and if a campaign's price changes, it pauses until you confirm the new one. Lower rates for bulk buyers are quoted per account after a wholesale application.

Whichever model you pick, judge it by cost per sale, not cost per lead or per call. A cheap lead that rarely closes can cost more per policy than a pricier call that closes more often. The cost per acquisition calculator does the arithmetic.

What are the strengths and tradeoffs of each?

MediaAlpha

Callmart

Who should choose MediaAlpha?

Choose MediaAlpha if you write auto, home or life and like controlling cost through bids and consumer-type filters. It suits captive agents in particular, since no lead goes to two agents of the same captive carrier, and agents who want a $250 starting deposit with returns approved instantly inside 72 hours. If you already run a lead management system such as AgencyZoom or Ricochet360, its posting options fit that workflow.

Who should choose Callmart?

Choose Callmart if you sell Final Expense or Medicare Advantage over the phone and want a listed price per call. It works for a single agent with a headset and for agencies that share one wallet across a team with owner, manager, agent, finance and reporting roles. Calls arrive only from the states you select, during the campaign hours you set. See Final Expense calls and Medicare Advantage calls for what each campaign covers.

How do you decide between them?

1. 01Name your lineAuto, home or life leads point to MediaAlpha. Final Expense or Medicare Advantage calls point to Callmart.
2. 02Pick a pricing styleDecide whether you would rather bid for leads or pay a listed price for each billable call.
3. 03Size your first depositMediaAlpha needs at least $250. Callmart has no minimum spend; check the first deposit bonus on the pricing page before you fund.
4. 04Compare the credit rulesNote MediaAlpha's 72 hour and 7 day return windows next to Callmart's buffer and call dispute process.
5. 05Track cost per saleGive each source the same test budget and compare policies written, not leads or calls bought.

Common questions