17 min read
Online review sites can have a major positive impact on your B2B tech business. These sites are fantastic resources for connecting with new customers and generating leads. And not only that—they help you better understand your customers, learn their needs and improve your product accordingly.
To help you take advantage of these review sites, we’ve compiled a list of the top 12 B2B tech review sites—in alphabetical order.
The review sites we'll discuss are:
- Capterra
- FinancesOnline
- G2
- Gartner Peer Insights
- GetApp
- GoodFirms
- HubSpot's App Marketplace
- HundredX
- PeerSpot
- Software Advice
- SoftwareReviews
- TrustRadius
1. Capterra
Capterra is one of three software review site brands under the umbrella of Gartner Digital Markets, which is a B2B tech review website hub owned by the parent company Gartner.
All listings on Capterra are instantly posted on the two other review sites that are part of Gartner Digital Markets, GetApp and Software Advice.
Capterra is easy-to-navigate and contains over 1.5 million validated reviews on the website, with thousands more added each month.
Founded: 1999
Notable about Capterra:
- Capterra imposes strict guidelines for reviewers. All reviews on Capterra are anonymous, but reviewers have to submit information on their identity for verification by Capterra. This way, Capterra avoids fake reviews and confirms that each review is unbiased and honest.
- More than five million buyers use Capterra each month to make up their mind regarding purchasing business software.
- The website offers more than 700 software categories to pick from.
- Capterra provides not only reviews but also insight into the company’s profile, its products and mission.
- Capterra lets users know about each business profile’s greatest and worst features by listing their benefits and drawbacks.
Ideal for: Small-business buyers looking for guidance in the jungle of B2B software.
How do they sort companies? Gartner Digital Market companies are sorted by default in Sponsored Vendors. Vendors bid for listing placement on Capterra category pages. The vendors that are not bidding come after the lowest bidder. After all sponsored vendors, non-bidding vendors are listed from most reviews to least reviews. The alternative ranking option is Highest Rated.
Review length: Reviews on review sites owned by Gartner are typically short-form.
Monetization method: Capterra is free to use for visitors. This is because sellers pay Capterra when they receive web traffic and sales opportunities, as shown on the Capterra website.
On a side note: all vendors, not only those who pay, are listed in Capterra directories so visitors can best inform themselves before making a purchase decision.
Automated review invitations? In order to incentivize users to post reviews, the free Reviews as a Service (RaaS) is a program that emails customers requesting software reviews and offers gift cards for reviewers.
About page: https://www.capterra.com/our-story/
Blog overview: https://blog.capterra.com/
FAQ page: https://www.capterra.com/faq
2. FinancesOnline
FinancesOnline is solely focused B2B Software reviews. Its product pages are highly ranked in Google, thus any vendor having a few favorable user reviews on FinancesOnline would help thrive its search presence.
Founded: 2014
Notable about FinancesOnline:
- LinkedIn is used to verify reviewers, ensuring that only real users share their experiences with the community.
- Thorough surveys are used to collect the reviews, which provides a genuinely in-depth look at each tool.
- FinancesOnline uses a customer satisfaction algorithm that determines a business's total score based on reviews, comments, and opinions expressed on different social media channels.
- They offer a Verified Quality Seal. Their team of experts assesses each product's quality and the provider's credibility based on several key factors. These factors include: quality of customer support, SmartScore, user satisfaction rating, and verified contact details of the provider. If it meets their quality requirements, you will receive the seal.
Ideal for: B2B Software vendors
How do they sort companies? Companies are sorted based on the price, user satisfaction (reported out of 100%), user reviews (reported on a scale out of five stars) and SmartScore which is a system that grades products based on several criteria, including functionality, collaboration features, customization and ease of use.
About page: https://financesonline.com/
Blog overview: https://reviews.financesonline.com/
FAQ page: https://reviews.financesonline.com/
3. G2 (formerly known as G2 Crowd)
G2 (formerly G2 Crowd) is a popular business software review site, we might even say it’s the most famous one on this list. It promotes itself as a platform that is impartial and neutral. Their mission is to make trust a central part of digital transformation.
Founded: 2012
Notable about G2:
- G2 offers filters that can sort top project management solutions based on the user’s needs.
- Website visitors can view whether the customer is a verified user and how active he is on the platform.
- G2 includes over 1200 software categories to pick from.
- Users can use the "video review" option to record themselves leaving a review.
Ideal for: Software businesses in any category.
How do they sort companies? G2 stands out from other review sites in that its default sort is by the “G2 score”.
The G2 score takes into account the review's date, the quantity of feedback it contains, whether the reviewer disclosed their identity and company, whether the reviewer is a current user of the product, and the community participation in the review.
Review length: G2 aims to achieve the ideal mix in a review's length, short enough to produce a large number of reviews and long enough to put forth more data than just a testimonial.
Monetization method: G2 makes money from its service by selling buyer intent data to listed vendors. Also, G2 offers a G2 content subscription, so that vendors can license their G2 reviews and reports to create powerful marketing that converts.
Automated review invitations? Review Campaigns can be managed by vendors to increasingly gather feedback from their customers, through sending emails to them and offering Gift Cards for reviewers.
About page: https://company.g2.com/about
Blog overview: https://learn.g2.com/
FAQ page: https://help.g2.com/hc/en-us
4. Gartner Peer Insights
Gartner Peer Insights (GPI) is an enterprise technology and vendor review site for IT solutions owned by the parent company “Gartner”. It differs from Gartner Digital Markets (Capterra, GetApp & Software Advice) in that it targets only buyers in the world’s largest companies.
Only vendors who are IT service providers with products targeting mid- to large-scale enterprise customers can list on GPI.
GPI features a thorough review and rating system, which enables users to evaluate and compare business management software options at every stage of the purchasing process.
Founded: 2015
Notable about Gartner Peer Insights:
- The site includes over 340 software categories, making the individual search very easy.
- GPI doesn't display the names of reviewers but uses their LinkedIn profiles and company domains to verify that they're indeed employees of the companies (that bought the product) they claim to work for.
- GPI has reviews that not only cover product features and capabilities, but users can leave comments about the overall buying experience, including a discussion of the purchase and support experience.
Ideal for: Software tools that target enterprise buyers.
How do they sort companies? Number of ratings. The alternative list option is by average rating.
Review length: Reviews on review sites owned by Gartner are typically short-form.
Monetization method: Summary-level access to GPI is free and available to the public. Reading the full detail of reviews is also free, but requires a login. It is monetized for vendors through review data and web visitors that the reviews attract.
Automated review invitations? Vendors can distribute incentives to reviewers directly through their Technology Provider Tools (TPT) portal. GPI offers different incentive options, such as gift cards.
About page: https://www.gartner.com/reviews-pages/technology-provider-info
Blog overview: https://www.gartner.com/reviews-pages/announcements
FAQ page: https://www.gartner.com/reviews/faq/technology-provider
5. GetApp
GetApp is also one of three software review site brands under the umbrella of Gartner Digital Markets, which is a B2B tech review website hub owned by the parent company Gartner.
All listings on GetApp are instantly posted on the two other review sites owned by Gartner, Capterra and Software Advice.
GetApp is distinguished from the other two in that it allows buyers to compare software side by side through free interactive tools and detailed product information. Users can use the site's extensive categories and subcategories to perform in-depth cross-comparisons of numerous products.
Founded: 2009
Notable about GetApp:
- Reviews and reviewers are all verified via LinkedIn accounts.
- The search on this site can be customized depending on the industry and business size.
- There are an extensive number of reviews for more than 5,000 apps. Users can search via a variety of categories to find the specialized business software they require.
- GetApp provides recommendations based on the visitor’s profile and previous interactions with the site.
Ideal for: B2B tech companies targeting tech-savvy buyers who want to compare key product features for small and medium enterprises.
How do they sort companies? Gartner Digital Market companies are sorted by default in Sponsored Vendors. Vendors bid for listing placement on the category pages. The vendors that are not bidding come after the lowest bidder. Furthermore, GetApp is characterized by a "most relevant" sort option that is customized based on the buyers’ previous site interactions.
Review length: Reviews on review sites owned by Gartner are typically short-form.
Monetization method: The costs are on the vendors rather than the site’s visitors, as vendors bid in an auction to rank higher on category pages and get more views.
Automated review invitations? In order to incentivize users to post reviews, the free Reviews as a Service (RaaS) is a program that emails customers requesting software reviews and offers gift cards for reviewers.
About page: https://www.getapp.com/about/
Blog overview: https://www.getapp.com/resources/
FAQ page: https://www.getapp.com/reviews_faq
6. GoodFirms
GoodFirms is a B2B research and review site for service companies and software products. It aims to connect service seekers with convenient software and service providers.
GoodFirms selects the top-performing companies and software solutions based on three main criteria: Quality, Reliability, and Ability. The companies are then ranked based on their cumulative research scores.
Founded: 2014
Notable about GoodFirms:
- The identification of reviewers is verified through their LinkedIn profiles.
- GoodFirms accepts video testimonials.
- Website visitors can compare the prices charged by several companies for the same products and services.
- A discussion platform can be opened on the website and multiple customers can join to discuss different products and services.
- A large number of unique case studies exist on the GoodFirms platform to describe new trends and technology emerging in the industries. GoodFirms undertakes in-depth research on various topics and has a catalog of research and surveys to help buyers make better business decisions.
Ideal for: B2B software vendors that would like to compete on price
How do they sort companies? Companies can be sorted by sponsored, most reviews and highest rated.
Review length: Reviews are not lengthy, mostly short sentences. It includes Pros and Cons and features used. A reviewer can include “switched from” and “also considered”.
Monetization method: The platform is free for visitors, and offers different sponsorship pricing opportunities for vendors.
About page: https://www.goodfirms.co/why-goodfirms
Blog overview: https://www.goodfirms.co/blog
FAQ page: https://www.goodfirms.co/faqs/
7. HubSpot's App Marketplace
HubSpot's App Marketplace is a space where businesses can browse through extensions, tools, and apps that connect to their HubSpot account. Vendors can list an app on HubSpot’s App Marketplace with a video and photos to showcase how their app works, plus a brief description of how their app can help users carry out their goals.
Founded: 2006 (Hubspot)
Notable about HubSpot's App Marketplace:
- The website is categorized according to the product the user wants to install. There are individual sections for Marketing, Sales, and Service tools, as well as other sections like finance, workflow integrations, popular apps, and more.
- Users have to answer questions about the products or services to bring more context into the review, so that website visitors can understand more why a certain customer rated a business or product the way they did.
- Reviews are posted with details concerning pricing info, notable features, and account requirements for downloading each tool.
Ideal for: If your B2B tech tool integrates with Hubspot
How do they sort companies? Companies are sorted on a five-star scale rate with questions answered by users.
Review length: The reviews are not lengthy, mostly short sentences.
Automated review invitations? Unknown
About page: https://www.hubspot.com/our-story
Blog overview: https://blog.hubspot.com/
FAQ page: https://developers.hubspot.com/docs/api/listing-your-app
8. HundredX
HundredX is both a review site and a customer service tool, by virtue of which businesses can register an account on the website and request feedback from their clients. According to their website, you can get consumer insights generated through ethically-sourced data. The reviews aren’t publicly available.
Founded: 2012
Notable about HundredX:
- HundredX encompasses profiles of a wide number of businesses related to various industries.
- It is possible for vendors to develop an automated system that generates surveys and collects consumer reviews, providing a continuous flow of feedback.
- HundredX dedicates significant attention to causes. HundredX allows not-for-profit organizations to raise funds by merely asking their supporters to post their feedback on popular products and services on the HundredX platform. HundredX pays the organization $2 per piece of feedback. This way, they aim to get “real” testimonials about different products and services, not just because a company requested them.
Ideal for: Vendors seeking private reviews of business leaders to enhance their products or services, without incurring the risk of having negative feedback on their products spread between business owners.
How do they sort companies? Reviews are private. This allows companies and vendors to consider the negative feedback and rectify its status before losing potential customers.
Monetization method: Companies and organizations subscribe to access the HundredX database for an annual fee.
Automated review invitations? HundredX offers incentives for users to post reviews, a strategy working well as most of the users participate in leaving reviews on a regular basis.
About page: https://hundredx.com/about
Blog overview: https://hundredx.com/hundredx-causes-blog
FAQ page: https://hundredx.com/hundredx-causes-faqs
9. PeerSpot (formerly IT Central Station)
PeerSpot is a community-focused review platform tailored for enterprise software buyers. It focuses mainly on cybersecurity, DevOps and IT software.
Founded: 2012
Notable about PeerSpot:
- Members can benefit from one another's expertise in enterprise software, as on members’ profiles, users can read their software reviews and see the software they use.
- Members can message each other easily within the app.
- The number of reviews is not disclosed on this site because founders value the quality of in-depth reviews rather than many thin reviews.
Ideal for: Vendors of products related to Cybersecurity, DevOps, and IT software targeting enterprise buyers.
How do they sort companies? Sorting companies is based on PeerSpot ratings, reviews, views and comparisons.
Review length: The average review is 620 words.
Monetization method: For the purpose of monetization, PeerSpot offers vendors solutions for two needs: demand generation and content creation. These solutions include buyer intent data, sponsored content options, such as review subscription services (for review generation) and sponsored comparisons.
Automated review invitations? PeerSpot provides a service to vendors in which they interview customers personally and then write up a review based on a transcript of the conversation. They take pride in that less than 10% of their reviews are collected in that manner.
About page: https://marketing.peerspot.com/about/
Blog overview: https://marketing.peerspot.com/blog/
FAQ page: https://www.peerspot.com/faq
10. Software Advice
Software Advice is the last one of three software review site brands under the umbrella of Gartner Digital Markets, which is a B2B tech review website hub owned by the parent company Gartner.
All listings on Software Advice are instantly posted on the two other review sites owned by Gartner.
Software Advice is more dedicated to busy buyers who do not have enough time for a self-guided experience. Actually, Software Advice allows buyers to talk to an expert for individualized and personalized support.
In contrast to other review sites, it offers free phone consultations with software consultants to assist purchasers and guide them.
Founded: 2005
Notable about Software Advice:
- Software Advice publishes reports to showcase the best software solutions across several categories.
- Software Advice will email you a list of personalized software suggestions within 15 minutes after talking with an advisor and sharing your goals, needs and budget.
Ideal for: Software purchasers of small- and medium-sized businesses that want someone to speed up the exploratory stage of the purchasing process by narrowing down the available software solutions in accordance with their requirements.
How do they sort companies? Gartner Digital Market companies are sorted by default into Sponsored Vendors (the highest bidder) followed by non-sponsored vendors (the number of reviews).
For Software Advice, there are three further listing options including the number of user reviews, average rating and alphabetically (A-Z).
Review length: Reviews on review sites owned by Gartner are typically short-form.
Monetization method: Software Advice offers a pay-per-click model by which vendors pay a fee for each click on their ads. And in some cases a pay-per-lead model by which vendors pay fees only when a qualified lead is successfully generated by a third party.
Automated review invitations? In order to incentivize users to post reviews, the free Reviews as a Service (RaaS) is a program that emails customers requesting software reviews and offers gift cards for reviewers.
About page: https://www.softwareadvice.com/about-us/
Blog overview: https://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/
FAQ page: https://www.softwareadvice.com/resources/reviews-faqs/
11. SoftwareReviews
SoftwareReviews is another B2B tech review site and was created at Info-Tech Research Group. They claim to provide the most accurate and detailed view of a complicated and ever-changing market.
Founded: 2015
Notable about SoftwareReviews:
- The reviews on SoftwareReviews are undoubtedly unbiased, as they are posted by IT specialists who regularly use the products and have experienced them in various phases including acquisition, implementation and maintenance.
- When writing a review, you are asked to choose whether to receive a gift card of an amount up to $10 if the review is deemed qualified up to the required standards or donate to charity.
Ideal for: Vendors targeting IT software buyers
Monetization method: SoftwareReviews offers a Rapid Application Selection Framework that is suited for small- to mid-tier enterprises to accelerate and improve their software selection process.
Automated review invitations? Unknown; content restricted to members.
About page: https://www.softwarereviews.com/about
Blog overview: N/A
FAQ page: N/A
12. TrustRadius
TrustRadius offers insightful reviews for software buyers. It markets itself as a provider of thorough and unbiased reviews that are not sponsored by any other parties. It puts each review through multi-step processes to ensure that only genuine product reviews are published.
Founded: 2012
Notable about TrustRadius:
- Nearly 80,000 unique software reviews exist on the site.
- Downloadable comparison guides for management software are available on the site.
- Read reviews for free when you sign in with LinkedIn.
- Reviews are anonymous, but reviewers are authenticated through LinkedIn.
Ideal for: Vendors targeting buyers at mid-sized and larger companies to provide them with in-depth content so that they can make confident decisions for important purchases.
Review length: More than 400 words per review.
Monetization method: TrustRadius monetizes its site through various options, such as intent data, which is an outcome of the review content vendors have and continue to generate on TrustRadius.
Automated review invitations? All vendors have access to a managed or do-it-yourself (DIY) review generation process through TrustRadius. They offer a free DIY review Growth Toolkit and a unique product landing page to encourage reviews.
About page: https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-us
Blog overview: https://www.trustradius.com/vendor-blog
FAQ page: https://www.trustradius.com/static/about-trustradius-reviews
