Planlined
Benefit analysis software, formerly BART. Parses whatever the carrier sent into one comparison, models contributions and scenarios, and exports the proposal book and employee guide.
For: brokers and agency teams who receive quotes as PDFs and spreadsheets and build the proposal themselves.
Zywave CPQ
Zywave's quoting and proposal tool for employee benefits, built on a rates database of 100,000+ plans from 1,000+ carriers, exporting proposals to PowerPoint or Excel and generating enrollment booklets.
For: brokerages already in the Zywave ecosystem, or feeding sold plans into Employee Navigator, which relies on Zywave CPQ for quoting.
Side by side
Capabilities, one row each.
- Parses carrier PDFs and spreadsheetsPlanlinedYesQuotes, SBCs, rate sheets, invoices.Zywave CPQNot documentedPlans come from the rates database rather than uploaded documents.
- Live carrier rate feedPlanlinedNoWorks from the quotes you already have.Zywave CPQYes100,000+ plans, 1,000+ carriers, all 50 states.
- Side-by-side comparisonPlanlinedYesZywave CPQYes
- Proposal exportPlanlinedYesBranded PDF and presentation mode.Zywave CPQYesPowerPoint or dynamic Excel.
- Employee enrollment guidePlanlinedYesZywave CPQYesEnrollment booklets.
- Contribution and what-if modelingPlanlinedYes5+ structures, scenario manager.Zywave CPQNot documented
- Invoice reconciliationPlanlinedYesZywave CPQNot documentedBrokerageBuilder does commission reconciliation, a different task.
- Benefits administration / enrollmentPlanlinedNoZywave CPQNoHands off to Employee Navigator.
- Self-serve signup with a free startPlanlinedYesFirst proposal free.Zywave CPQNo
- PricingPlanlinedFirst proposal free, no card. Professional $75/month, or $62/month billed annually. Enterprise custom.Zywave CPQNot published. Quote-based; typically bundled with other Zywave products.
"Not documented" means the vendor's public pages do not describe the capability. It may exist; ask them before deciding.
Choose Zywave CPQ when
- Your quoting starts from a rates database rather than from carrier-issued quotes, and you want plans for all 50 states in one place.
- You already run BrokerageBuilder or Employee Navigator and want sold plans to flow downstream automatically.
- PowerPoint is your agency's delivery format and you want it generated directly.
Choose Planlined when
- Your quotes arrive as carrier PDFs and spreadsheets, and you want them parsed rather than re-keyed or re-quoted.
- You need contribution modeling, what-if scenarios and invoice reconciliation, none of which Zywave documents for CPQ.
- You want public pricing and a free first proposal instead of a bundled contract.
Weighing more than these two? Read our roundup of Zywave CPQ alternatives for brokers, which lines up five tools that do this job.
Frequently asked
Questions about switching.
- Is Planlined a Zywave CPQ alternative?
- For building comparisons and proposals, yes. The approaches differ: Zywave CPQ quotes from its own rates database; Planlined parses the documents carriers actually sent. If your workflow is "the carrier emailed me a PDF", Planlined matches it directly.
- Does Zywave CPQ parse PDFs?
- Zywave's public product page does not describe document parsing. Its plans and rates come from the Zywave database. Planlined is built around parsing carrier documents.
- Can Planlined replace BrokerageBuilder or Broker Briefcase?
- No. BrokerageBuilder is an agency management system and Broker Briefcase is a content library. Planlined covers the comparison, modeling and proposal step, and can sit alongside either.
Sources · reviewed September 3, 2026