Geico vs. State Farm: Which Is Better for Car Insurance?
State Farm has cheaper rates than Geico for most drivers and mostly better ratings. Geico is often better for military members and federal employees.
Geico vs. State Farm car insurance: Pros and cons
Geico
Pros
- Cheaper than State Farm for drivers with bad credit
- Discounts for military, federal employees and other groups
- Better NAIC complaint rating than State Farm
- A++ rating from A.M. Best
Cons
- More expensive than State Farm for most drivers
- Slightly worse J.D. Power overall satisfaction scores than State Farm
- Does not offer its own home or renters insurance
State Farm
Pros
- Cheaper than Geico for most drivers
- Better overall satisfaction scores than Geico
- Offers its own home and renters policies for bundling
- A++ rating from A.M. Best
Cons
- Does not offer military discounts
- Accident forgiveness not available
- Slightly more customer complaints than Geico
- Expensive for drivers with bad credit
Which is better: Geico or State Farm?
State Farm is a better car insurance company than Geico for most people. Between these two companies, State Farm usually has the cheapest car insurance rates, though Geico offers more discounts. But they’re pretty similar when it comes to coverage options and customer ratings.
Cost
Most drivers get cheaper car insurance from State Farm than from Geico. State Farm has cheaper rates for drivers with clean records — whether they want liability-only
Discounts
Although both Geico and State Farm offer many car insurance discounts, Geico has quite a few more than State Farm. This means you could end up saving more money with Geico if you qualify for several of its discounts. Also, Geico has discounts for members of the military, federal employees, and people who belong to certain associations or organizations, while State Farm does not.
Coverages
In terms of car insurance coverage options, both Geico and State Farm are pretty basic. You can get a good, standard policy from either company, but you won’t be able to customize it very much. That said, you can pay extra for accident forgiveness
Ratings
Both Geico and State Farm have happy customers, based on the good ratings they get from organizations like J.D. Power and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC). State Farm scores a bit higher than Geico with J.D. Power, while the opposite is true with NAIC. LendingTree also gives a slight edge to State Farm.
Geico LendingTree score:
- Cost: 3
- Customer service: 4
- Coverage: 3
- Discounts: 5
- Financial strength: 5
- Usability: 5
State Farm LendingTree score:
- Cost: 5
- Customer service: 4
- Coverage: 4
- Discounts: 4
- Financial strength: 5
- Usability: 5
Is State Farm cheaper than Geico?
State Farm has cheaper auto insurance rates than Geico for good drivers, those with a prior incident and teens, on average. Geico is cheaper for drivers with bad credit.
Cheapest liability and full coverage car insurance: State Farm
State Farm is usually cheaper than Geico for both liability-only and full coverage car insurance.
State Farm charges $56 a month for liability car insurance, on average. This is 14% less than Geico’s average rate of $65 a month.
For full coverage insurance, State Farm’s average rate is $144 a month. This is 17% less than Geico’s rate of $173 a month.
State Farm vs. Geico: Liability and full coverage car insurance
| Company | Liability-only monthly rate | Full coverage monthly rate |
|---|---|---|
| State Farm | $56 | $144 |
| Geico | $65 | $173 |
| U.S. average | $68 | $177 |
Cheapest insurance quotes for a bad driving record: State Farm
State Farm also offers cheaper car insurance quotes than Geico to drivers with a ticket, accident or DUI.
State Farm charges drivers with a speeding ticket an average rate of $156 a month for full coverage. This is 33% less than Geico’s rate of $233 a month.
For drivers with an at-fault accident on their record, State Farm’s average rate is $163 a month. Geico charges these drivers $296 a month.
And at $343 a month, State Farm’s DUI car insurance rate is 15% cheaper than Geico’s rate of $404 a month.
State Farm vs. Geico: Car insurance with tickets, accidents or DUIs
| Company | Ticket monthly rate | Accident monthly rate | DUI monthly rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| State Farm | $156 | $163 | $343 |
| Geico | $233 | $296 | $404 |
| U.S. average | $219 | $263 | $329 |
Cheapest car insurance for drivers with bad credit: Geico
Geico typically has cheaper car insurance than State Farm for drivers with bad credit.
Geico’s rates for drivers with bad credit average $282 a month for full coverage. This is less than half of State Farm’s rate of $593 a month for bad credit car insurance.
State Farm vs. Geico: Car insurance with bad credit
| Company | Bad credit monthly rate |
|---|---|
| Geico | $282 |
| State Farm | $593 |
| U.S. average | $345 |
Cheapest auto insurance quotes for teens: State Farm
State Farm has cheaper auto insurance than Geico for teen drivers. For example, State Farm charges the average 18-year-old $168 a month for liability insurance. This is 7% less than Geico’s rate of $181 a month.
For full coverage, Geico’s average rate for 18-year-olds is 11% higher than State Farm’s.
State Farm vs. Geico: Teen car insurance
| Company | Liability-only monthly rate | Full coverage monthly rate |
|---|---|---|
| State Farm | $168 | $396 |
| Geico | $181 | $444 |
| U.S. average | $208 | $497 |
A great way to get the cheapest teen car insurance possible is to look for discounts. You can get the three most common teen car insurance discounts from both Geico and State Farm:
Good student: This discount is for students with good grades. Geico’s good student discount is for up to 15% off of certain coverages. With State Farm, you could save up to 25%.
Student away at school: If your child moves away for college and doesn’t take a vehicle with them, you may be able to get this discount.
Driver’s education or training: To get this discount, a young driver needs to complete an approved driver education or training course.
Many companies offer these discounts to more than just teens. State Farm’s driver training discount is for any driver under the age of 21, for example, while its other two discounts are for drivers up to 25 years of age.
Geico vs. State Farm: Ratings and reviews
State Farm has better car insurance satisfaction ratings than Geico from J.D. Power.
State Farm beats the industry averages for overall customer satisfaction
Geico has a slightly better customer complaint rating than State Farm from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC).
State Farm vs. Geico: Customer ratings
| Rating | Geico | State Farm | Industry average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall satisfaction
Source: J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Auto Insurance Study. Higher is better.
| 645 | 650 | 640 |
| Claims satisfaction
Source: J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Auto Claims Satisfaction Study. Higher is better.
| 697 | 716 | 700 |
| Complaint rating
Source: 2024 NAIC complaint index. Average is 1.0. Lower is better.
| 0.75 | 0.84 | 1.0 |
The NAIC rates companies based on confirmed customer complaints, which are complaints that lead to a finding of company fault. Both Geico and State Farm have fewer confirmed complaints than average for their size.
Geico vs. State Farm: Best car insurance coverages
Geico and State Farm both offer all the usual car insurance coverages, with only a few extras. The typical coverages both companies offer include:
-
Liability
Liability insurance covers injuries and property damage you cause to others. It’s required by law in almost every state.
-
Collision
Collision covers damage to your car from a collision with another vehicle or object.
-
Comprehensive
Comprehensive covers your car for theft and damage from non-collision causes, like fire, flood and vandalism.
-
Uninsured motorist
Covers you and your passengers for injuries caused by a driver with no insurance or not enough insurance.
-
Medical payments
Covers injuries to you and your passengers, no matter who caused the accident.
-
Personal injury protection (PIP)
PIP covers injuries to you and your passengers, whether you or another driver causes the accident. It also covers lost wages and certain other expenses.
Both Geico and State Farm also offer rental reimbursement and emergency road service coverage. Rental reimbursement coverage helps pay your rental car costs while your vehicle is being repaired. Emergency road service coverage kicks in if you need a tow or roadside repair, like fixing a flat tire.
Geico’s other extras include:
- Claim forgiveness, which protects you from a rate increase after your first accident.
- Mechanical breakdown insurance, which is similar to an extended warranty. It covers breakdowns of your car’s mechanical and electrical systems for up to seven years.
State Farm’s other extras include:
- Rideshare insurance for those who use a personal vehicle to drive for rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft.
- Travel expense coverage, which kicks in if your vehicle is damaged by a covered loss more than 50 miles from home.
Unlike many of their competitors, neither Geico nor State Farm offers gap insurance.
Car insurance coverage options
| Coverage | Geico | State Farm |
|---|---|---|
| Accident or claim forgiveness | ||
| Emergency road service | ||
| Gap insurance | ||
| Mechanical breakdown insurance | ||
| Rental reimbursement | ||
| Rideshare insurance | ||
| Travel expense coverage |
Geico vs. State Farm: Best discounts
Along with the most common car insurance discounts, Geico and State Farm each offer unique ways to save.
Bundling
Most companies offer a generous discount for bundling your car insurance with a renters or home insurance policy.
State Farm’s bundling discounts extend to each policy. Geico only gives bundlers a discount on car insurance. It offers homeowners and renters policies from other companies.
Safe driving
You can get a big discount if you sign up for Geico’s DriveEasy or State Farm’s Drive Safe & Save programs. Both use a smartphone app to monitor your driving. Driving safely also gets you future discounts when you renew.
With Geico’s program, your rates may go up if the app detects unsafe driving. State Farm’s program won’t increase your rates.
Defensive driver
Both companies offer a discount to mature drivers who attend an approved defensive driving class.
Military and government employees
Geico offers discounts to active and retired members of the military, as well as guardsmen and reservists.
Geico also offers discounts to federal employees. If you belong to an organization or association in Geico’s affiliate program, you’ll get a discount, too.
State Farm does not offer these types of discounts.
Frequently asked questions
Geico offers homeowners insurance from several national and regional companies. These include AIG, The Hartford, Lemonade, Liberty Mutual, Narragansett Bay and Travelers.
No. State Farm does not offer accident forgiveness.
Geico offers accident forgiveness for free after you meet certain driving milestones. You can also add it to your policy before then for a small fee.
State Farm is generally good at paying car insurance claims. Its auto claims satisfaction rating from J.D. Power is well above the industry average. Its complaint rating from the NAIC is also better than average.
Geico began in 1936 as the Government Employees Insurance Company. It initially catered to federal employees and military officers and still offers discounts to these groups.
How we obtained car insurance rates
LendingTree uses insurance rate data from Quadrant Information Services using publicly sourced insurance company filings. Rates are based on an analysis of hundreds of thousands of car insurance quotes for a typical driver. Prices are shown for comparative purposes only. Your own rates may be different.
Driver profile</h3>Unless noted otherwise, quotes are for a full-coverage policy for a 30-year-old man with good credit and a clean driving record who drives a 2018 Honda CR-V EX.
Coverage limits
Minimum-liability policies provide liability coverage with the state’s required minimum limits.
Full-coverage policies include collision, comprehensive and liability coverage:
- Bodily injury liability: $50,000 per person, $100,000 per accident
- Property damage liability: $50,000
- Uninsured / underinsured motorist bodily injury: $50,000 per person and $100,000 per accident
- Uninsured / underinsured motorist property damage: $10,000 ($150 deductible)
- Collision: $500 deductible
- Comprehensive: $500 deductible
How we evaluated car insurance companies
Our team of insurance experts rated insurance companies based on several categories. These categories include average rates, discounts, coverage options, third-party customer service ratings and app/website experience. We weighted these categories based on what customers value in an insurance company.
For third-party customer service ratings, we included Complaint Index scores from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and financial strength ratings from A.M. Best. NAIC Complaint Index scores are used to determine how satisfied customers are with their claims, while financial strength ratings from A.M. Best reflect the ability to pay out claims.