"Which review site should we actually be on?" is a question we get asked a lot — usually because a competitor's site is showing off Trustpilot stars, a sales rep from Feefo has just been on the phone, or someone's spent an evening Googling "best review platform for small business" and come away more confused than when they started.
The short answer
For almost every UK small business, the answer is Google first, then at most one more platform that actually fits your sector — not all of them, and not whichever one has the pushiest sales team.
The stakes are real and getting bigger, not smaller. BrightLocal's 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey (a US consumer panel, though the direction of travel matches what we see in UK search behaviour) found that 97% of consumers read reviews before choosing a local business, and the average person now checks around six different review sources before deciding. That's exactly why "just pick one platform" is bad advice — and why trying to be brilliant on all of them at once is worse.
Whatever you pick, don't spread across five platforms at once. Two, properly maintained and actively responded to, will always beat five that are half-abandoned.
The stakes are real and getting bigger, not smaller. BrightLocal's 2026 Local Consumer Review Survey (a US consumer panel, though the direction of travel matches what we see in UK search behaviour) found that 97% of consumers read reviews before choosing a local business, and the average person now checks around six different review sources before deciding. That's exactly why "just pick one platform" is bad advice — and why trying to be brilliant on all of them at once is worse.
- Every business, no exceptions: claim and build up your Google Business Profile reviews first. It's free, it powers the Google Maps 3-pack, and it's the first thing almost everyone checks.
- Local shop, tradesperson, or service business: add Facebook Recommendations (free) and, if it fits your trade, one sector directory — Checkatrade or TrustATrader for trades, TripAdvisor for hospitality.
- Selling online: add Reviews.io or Yotpo alongside Google. Both feed into Google Seller Ratings and product star ratings in Shopping ads — Facebook and Checkatrade don't.
- Established brand wanting a recognisable, independent trust badge for a national or online audience: Trustpilot or Feefo earn their cost — but only once you already have a steady flow of genuine reviews coming in elsewhere. Starting from zero on a paid platform is expensive and slow.
Whatever you pick, don't spread across five platforms at once. Two, properly maintained and actively responded to, will always beat five that are half-abandoned.
Google Business Profile — start here, no exceptions
Your Google Business Profile (GBP) is free, and it's the one review source that actually moves your position in Google Maps and the local "3-pack" above the normal search results. The star rating shown next to your business in Maps and search comes directly from GBP — not Trustpilot, not your website, GBP.
It's an open platform: anyone with a Google account who's interacted with your business can leave a review, and Google will only remove one if it breaks their policies — not simply because you disagree with it. Review count and rating are among the strongest local ranking factors after proximity and category relevance, which is exactly why a business with 40+ solid reviews consistently outranks a near-identical competitor with five.
It's also increasingly what AI tools lean on. The same BrightLocal survey found the share of consumers using AI tools like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews to research local businesses jumped sharply over the past year, and those tools draw heavily on Google Business Profile data specifically. We've covered that shift separately in how AI search and Google AI Overviews are changing SEO in 2026 — the short version is that GBP is becoming more important, not less.
We've written full guides on setting this up properly and growing it — see Google Business Profile SEO in 2026 and how to rank higher on Google Maps in 2026.
Verdict: not optional. Every business, regardless of sector or size, should have this fully set up before considering anything else on this page.
It's an open platform: anyone with a Google account who's interacted with your business can leave a review, and Google will only remove one if it breaks their policies — not simply because you disagree with it. Review count and rating are among the strongest local ranking factors after proximity and category relevance, which is exactly why a business with 40+ solid reviews consistently outranks a near-identical competitor with five.
It's also increasingly what AI tools lean on. The same BrightLocal survey found the share of consumers using AI tools like ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews to research local businesses jumped sharply over the past year, and those tools draw heavily on Google Business Profile data specifically. We've covered that shift separately in how AI search and Google AI Overviews are changing SEO in 2026 — the short version is that GBP is becoming more important, not less.
We've written full guides on setting this up properly and growing it — see Google Business Profile SEO in 2026 and how to rank higher on Google Maps in 2026.
Verdict: not optional. Every business, regardless of sector or size, should have this fully set up before considering anything else on this page.
Facebook Recommendations
Facebook reviews are still around in 2026, though the platform moved away from star ratings back in 2018 in favour of a simple "recommend / don't recommend" system. The overall rating shown on your Page blends old star history with current recommendations. It's free, open to anyone, and still one of the largest pools of reviews online — genuinely useful if a good chunk of your customers are already on Facebook, which is true for a lot of local shops, trades, and hospitality businesses. If you're weighing up how far a Facebook presence takes you on its own, we've answered that in do I need a website if I have a Facebook page?
Two honest caveats: you can't remove an individual recommendation just because you don't like it (same rule as Google), and some businesses reported Facebook suspending or glitching their page recommendations earlier in 2026 with little explanation given. It's a solid free add-on, not a platform to build your whole reputation strategy around.
Verdict: worth switching on and keeping active alongside Google — but a supporting platform, not your main one.
Two honest caveats: you can't remove an individual recommendation just because you don't like it (same rule as Google), and some businesses reported Facebook suspending or glitching their page recommendations earlier in 2026 with little explanation given. It's a solid free add-on, not a platform to build your whole reputation strategy around.
Verdict: worth switching on and keeping active alongside Google — but a supporting platform, not your main one.
Trustpilot
Trustpilot is an open platform — anyone with a genuine experience of your business can leave a review — and it's genuinely huge, hosting several hundred million reviews across well over a million business profiles. There's a real free tier: you can claim your profile, reply to reviews, and display a basic TrustScore badge at no cost. What the free plan won't let you do is actively invite customers to leave reviews, which is the bit that actually builds volume quickly.
Paid plans unlock invitations, custom branding, and analytics. Pricing has shifted around through 2026 and varies by source and business size — expect entry-level paid plans to run into the low-to-mid hundreds of pounds a month, on an annual contract that auto-renews. Several independent reviews of Trustpilot flag renewal price increases as a common frustration, so read the contract terms before signing, and get a current quote directly rather than relying on any figure printed here.
Verdict: a genuinely strong, globally recognised trust signal — best suited to businesses selling nationally or online who can justify the annual cost, less essential for a single-location local business already doing well on Google.
Paid plans unlock invitations, custom branding, and analytics. Pricing has shifted around through 2026 and varies by source and business size — expect entry-level paid plans to run into the low-to-mid hundreds of pounds a month, on an annual contract that auto-renews. Several independent reviews of Trustpilot flag renewal price increases as a common frustration, so read the contract terms before signing, and get a current quote directly rather than relying on any figure printed here.
Verdict: a genuinely strong, globally recognised trust signal — best suited to businesses selling nationally or online who can justify the annual cost, less essential for a single-location local business already doing well on Google.
Feefo
Feefo takes a different approach to Trustpilot: it's a closed platform, meaning only customers your business has actually invited can leave a review. Founded in the UK in 2010 and now used by thousands of brands, its main selling point is that every review is tied to a verified transaction, which some businesses find reassuring for cutting down on fake or drive-by reviews.
There's no free tier and no free trial — entry plans start at roughly £149 a month, with extras like WhatsApp review collection or advanced sentiment analysis costing more on top. It also integrates with Google Seller Ratings, so reviews collected here can still show up as stars on your Google Ads.
Verdict: solid if closed, verified-only reviews genuinely matter to your business and the budget is there — but it's a meaningful ongoing cost, and most small local businesses will get more from putting that budget into Google review generation instead.
There's no free tier and no free trial — entry plans start at roughly £149 a month, with extras like WhatsApp review collection or advanced sentiment analysis costing more on top. It also integrates with Google Seller Ratings, so reviews collected here can still show up as stars on your Google Ads.
Verdict: solid if closed, verified-only reviews genuinely matter to your business and the budget is there — but it's a meaningful ongoing cost, and most small local businesses will get more from putting that budget into Google review generation instead.
Reviews.io
Reviews.io is a UK-headquartered platform (with offices in the US, Australia, and Germany too) that sits in a useful middle ground between Google/Facebook and the likes of Trustpilot and Feefo. There's a usable free tier, a paid Essentials plan from around $29 a month, and — unlike Trustpilot and Feefo — everything runs month-to-month with no annual lock-in. It's also an approved Google review partner, so reviews collected here can feed into Google Seller Ratings and product star ratings.
Verdict: probably the best-value dedicated review platform for a small UK business that's outgrown Google and Facebook alone but doesn't want (or can't yet justify) an annual Trustpilot or Feefo contract.
Verdict: probably the best-value dedicated review platform for a small UK business that's outgrown Google and Facebook alone but doesn't want (or can't yet justify) an annual Trustpilot or Feefo contract.
Yotpo — and who it's actually for now
Yotpo has changed a lot since most "which review site" guides were last written. It used to bundle reviews with email and SMS marketing; that side of the business was shut down at the end of 2025, and Yotpo is now a focused reviews-and-loyalty platform built tightly around Shopify e-commerce. Pricing starts at roughly $79 a month for reviews alone and climbs quickly with order volume — realistically, it only makes sense once you're doing consistent monthly order volume, not for a brand-new shop. If you're still deciding whether to sell online at all, start with do you need an e-commerce website?
Verdict: skip it unless you're running an established Shopify store with real order volume. For most local and service businesses, it's the wrong tool entirely.
Verdict: skip it unless you're running an established Shopify store with real order volume. For most local and service businesses, it's the wrong tool entirely.
Yelp — and why it barely matters in the UK
Yelp remains a big deal in the United States — tens of millions of monthly users and real purchase intent behind those visits. In the UK, it's historically never taken off in the same way; brand awareness and active usage among UK consumers have consistently lagged a long way behind Google, Facebook, and Trustpilot.
Verdict: claim your free listing so nobody else controls it, but don't spend time or money chasing Yelp reviews for a UK-only business. If you serve American visitors or tourists specifically, it's worth more attention.
Verdict: claim your free listing so nobody else controls it, but don't spend time or money chasing Yelp reviews for a UK-only business. If you serve American visitors or tourists specifically, it's worth more attention.
Sector-specific: TripAdvisor and the trade directories
Two categories worth a special mention, because they matter enormously if you're in the right sector and not at all if you're not.
TripAdvisor is close to essential if you're in hospitality, tourism, or visitor attractions — hotels, restaurants, days out. A basic listing is free; the paid "Business Advantage" subscription adds extra visibility and starts from roughly $99 a year upwards. Outside this sector, skip it entirely — it won't move the needle.
Trade directories are the category most generic "which review site" guides skip completely, which is a shame, because for plumbers, electricians, builders, and similar trades, they're often more relevant day-to-day than Trustpilot will ever be:
One honest caveat applies to all of them: you're renting a review profile and your customer relationships on someone else's platform. The moment you stop paying, your leads and reviews there disappear. They work best paired with your own Google Business Profile and website — the directory brings work in today, while your own site and Google reviews build a pipeline that's still yours next year. Our local SEO guide for tradespeople covers how the two fit together.
Verdict: pick one, maybe two, that fit your trade and budget, and treat them as a lead-generation top-up — not your entire marketing plan.
TripAdvisor is close to essential if you're in hospitality, tourism, or visitor attractions — hotels, restaurants, days out. A basic listing is free; the paid "Business Advantage" subscription adds extra visibility and starts from roughly $99 a year upwards. Outside this sector, skip it entirely — it won't move the needle.
Trade directories are the category most generic "which review site" guides skip completely, which is a shame, because for plumbers, electricians, builders, and similar trades, they're often more relevant day-to-day than Trustpilot will ever be:
- Checkatrade — the best-known name, backed by heavy TV advertising and thorough vetting (background checks, insurance, verification). Free listing tier available; paid tiers run roughly £30–£59+ a month, usually on a 12-month contract.
- TrustATrader — subscription-based (roughly £20–£55 a month, rolling contract), and caps how many trades it lists per category and postcode, so there's less competition per lead.
- MyBuilder and Rated People — pay-per-lead rather than a monthly subscription (roughly £2–£20 a lead), useful for topping up work without a big ongoing commitment.
- Bark — credit-based per lead (roughly £5–£40), though leads are typically shared with several other trades at once.
One honest caveat applies to all of them: you're renting a review profile and your customer relationships on someone else's platform. The moment you stop paying, your leads and reviews there disappear. They work best paired with your own Google Business Profile and website — the directory brings work in today, while your own site and Google reviews build a pipeline that's still yours next year. Our local SEO guide for tradespeople covers how the two fit together.
Verdict: pick one, maybe two, that fit your trade and budget, and treat them as a lead-generation top-up — not your entire marketing plan.
Side-by-side comparison
| Platform | Best for | Open or closed | Typical cost | Contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | Every business | Open | Free | None |
| Facebook Recommendations | Locally / socially active audiences | Open | Free | None |
| Trustpilot | National or online brands | Open | Free tier; paid from low-£100s/mo | Annual |
| Feefo | Verified-only reviews, bigger budget | Closed | From ~£149/mo | Annual |
| Reviews.io | E-commerce & SMEs wanting flexibility | Open (verified) | Free tier; paid from ~$29/mo | Monthly |
| Yotpo | Established Shopify stores | Closed (verified buyers) | From ~$79/mo | Monthly |
| Yelp | US-facing or tourist-heavy businesses | Open | Free | None |
| TripAdvisor | Hospitality & tourism | Open | Free tier; paid from ~$99/yr | Annual |
| Checkatrade / TrustATrader | UK trades | Membership | £20–£59+/mo | 12-mo or rolling |
| MyBuilder / Rated People / Bark | UK trades, occasional work | Pay-per-lead | £2–£40/lead | None |
Prices move often — treat this as a starting point for budgeting, not a quote, and check each provider's current pricing before committing to anything. If you're planning spend across the board, our guide to setting a small business marketing budget puts these costs in context.
What most guides miss: reviews and your actual Google ranking
This is the part almost every "which review site" article skips, and it causes genuine confusion: two completely different things get lumped together as "getting stars in Google."
The first is your Google Business Profile star rating — the one shown in Maps, the local pack, and next to your business name in regular search. That comes directly from GBP data and nowhere else.
The second is the little gold-star rich snippet some search results display underneath a title and link. Here's the part that trips businesses up: you cannot get that rich snippet for your own business by adding review schema markup to your own website. Since 2019, Google has explicitly excluded "self-serving" reviews — a business marking up reviews about itself, on its own site — from earning star rich snippets. If a developer has added this kind of markup expecting stars to appear, it won't work as intended, and pushing it too hard can trigger a manual action that strips rich snippets across the whole site.
Third-party platforms — Trustpilot, Feefo, Reviews.io — can legitimately show stars in search, because they're independent of you. The same logic applies to Google Seller Ratings (renamed from "Seller Ratings" to "Store Ratings" in 2023, though most people still use the old name): the stars that appear under Google Ads and Shopping listings are pulled from Google's own free Customer Reviews programme or from a shortlist of approved third-party partners — Trustpilot, Feefo, and Reviews.io among them.
None of this affects your Maps ranking, though. What actually moves your position in the local pack is your Google Business Profile itself — proximity, category relevance, and "prominence," which includes your GBP review count and rating directly. For the full list of ranking factors, see how to rank higher on Google Maps in 2026, and for a plain-English rundown of what schema markup is actually worth setting up, see schema markup for local businesses, explained in plain English. (Source: Google's official documentation on review snippet structured data.)
The first is your Google Business Profile star rating — the one shown in Maps, the local pack, and next to your business name in regular search. That comes directly from GBP data and nowhere else.
The second is the little gold-star rich snippet some search results display underneath a title and link. Here's the part that trips businesses up: you cannot get that rich snippet for your own business by adding review schema markup to your own website. Since 2019, Google has explicitly excluded "self-serving" reviews — a business marking up reviews about itself, on its own site — from earning star rich snippets. If a developer has added this kind of markup expecting stars to appear, it won't work as intended, and pushing it too hard can trigger a manual action that strips rich snippets across the whole site.
Third-party platforms — Trustpilot, Feefo, Reviews.io — can legitimately show stars in search, because they're independent of you. The same logic applies to Google Seller Ratings (renamed from "Seller Ratings" to "Store Ratings" in 2023, though most people still use the old name): the stars that appear under Google Ads and Shopping listings are pulled from Google's own free Customer Reviews programme or from a shortlist of approved third-party partners — Trustpilot, Feefo, and Reviews.io among them.
None of this affects your Maps ranking, though. What actually moves your position in the local pack is your Google Business Profile itself — proximity, category relevance, and "prominence," which includes your GBP review count and rating directly. For the full list of ranking factors, see how to rank higher on Google Maps in 2026, and for a plain-English rundown of what schema markup is actually worth setting up, see schema markup for local businesses, explained in plain English. (Source: Google's official documentation on review snippet structured data.)
Getting more reviews — and handling the bad ones
Briefly, because we've covered both of these properly elsewhere:
For the exact scripts, timing, and tools we use with clients, see how to get more Google reviews (without buying them). For word-for-word approaches to replying to a one-star review without sounding defensive, see how to respond to Google reviews.
- Ask every happy customer at the point the job or sale finishes — not weeks later, when the moment's passed.
- Send a direct link. Don't make someone search for you.
- Never buy reviews, hide negative ones, tie an incentive to a positive rating specifically, or write your own. This has been illegal in the UK since April 2025 under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, and the CMA can fine a business directly — up to 10% of global turnover or £300,000, whichever is higher.
- Reply to every review, good and bad, ideally within a few days.
For the exact scripts, timing, and tools we use with clients, see how to get more Google reviews (without buying them). For word-for-word approaches to replying to a one-star review without sounding defensive, see how to respond to Google reviews.
FAQ
Do I have to pay to collect reviews?
No. Google Business Profile and Facebook Recommendations are both completely free and, for most small businesses, do the heavy lifting. Paid platforms add polish and a recognisable badge — they're not a requirement.
Can I get a bad review removed?
Only if it breaks the platform's guidelines — fake, abusive, unrelated to a genuine transaction, or posted by a competitor. Disliking the content isn't grounds for removal on any major platform.
Is it OK to offer a discount for a review?
It depends on how it's done. Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, incentivising reviews isn't automatically banned — but concealing that a review was incentivised is, and so is tying the incentive to a positive rating specifically, hiding negative reviews, or presenting a misleading star rating. The CMA can fine businesses directly for this, so "everyone gets a discount code, disclosed, regardless of what they say" is the only safe version.
Which review platform actually affects my Google ranking?
Only your Google Business Profile reviews directly influence your position in Google Maps and the local pack. Reviews on other platforms build trust and can appear as stars elsewhere in search or ads, but they don't move your Maps ranking.
Do I need to be on more than one platform?
Most small businesses do fine with Google plus one platform that actually fits their sector. Spreading across five platforms usually means five half-maintained profiles, which looks worse than one or two done properly.
How many reviews do I actually need before it makes a difference?
There's no hard number, but the jump from 5 reviews to 50 matters far more than the jump from 50 to 500. Most people want to see at least a handful of recent, detailed reviews before they'll trust a rating at all — so consistency over time beats a one-off push.
Key takeaways
- Google Business Profile is the one platform every business needs — it's free, and the only one that directly affects your Maps ranking.
- Add one sector-appropriate platform on top: Facebook for most local businesses, a trade directory for tradespeople, TripAdvisor for hospitality, Reviews.io or Yotpo for e-commerce.
- Trustpilot and Feefo earn their cost for national or online brands wanting a recognised badge — not usually the first move for a small local business.
- You cannot get Google star rich snippets for your own business by marking up your own site — that only works for genuine third-party review platforms.
- Incentivising reviews without disclosing it, or only for positive ratings, has been illegal in the UK since April 2025 — not just against platform rules.
- Two well-maintained review profiles beat five neglected ones, every time.
Every managed website plan we build includes Google Business Profile setup and optimisation, the right schema markup, and ongoing local SEO — so you're not stitching together five different logins and guessing which one actually matters. Have a look at our local SEO service, or if you're a tradesperson, our website service built specifically for tradesmen.
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Part of our local seo & google maps guides.
Written by Adam, A9 Web Design
Adam builds hand-coded websites for small businesses across Cambridgeshire and looks after their hosting, SEO and advertising day to day. Everything here comes from work on real client sites — no theory, no filler.