The best Broadly alternative depends on how many locations you run and who answers your reviews. A single service business needs simple automated review requests. A marketing agency needs tools it can offer clients as its own service, and a multi-location brand needs reviews, listings and replies managed in one place.
Three kinds of business tend to look for a replacement here: a local service firm that wants more reviews without chasing customers, an agency running reviews for clients, and a brand with many branches trying to keep every location's reviews under control. Broadly pitches an AI workforce for service businesses, covering review management, lead capture and bookings. The eight tools below, in no particular order, focus more on the reviews side.
How requests go out and where new reviews land
The thing to test in any replacement is how review requests go out, and how new reviews are routed and answered. Everything else is extra.
Sending the ask
Find out what triggers a request. The best setups send it automatically when a job is marked complete or an invoice goes out, by text or email, while the customer still remembers you. Check whether the tool connects to the software you already use for jobs or bookings, or whether someone has to upload a list by hand each week.
Catching and answering reviews
When a review lands on Google or another site, who hears about it, and where do they reply from? A good tool pulls every new review into one feed, alerts the right person and lets them answer without logging into each site separately. For chains, check that each branch manager sees only their own location. Never offer customers anything in return for a review, and check each review site's rules, since many ban incentives and filtering out unhappy customers.
Eight review tools, A to Z
Listed alphabetically and in no particular order. Every line reflects the vendor's own description.
Birdeye
Best for: Multi-location brands wanting AI assistants that, per the vendor, help them show up in AI search, turn demand into customers and keep service consistent at every site.
Chatmeter
Best for: Brands wanting reputation management alongside wider brand intelligence; the vendor's homepage notes it has joined Alchemer.
GatherUp
Best for: Local businesses bringing reviews, listings and review protection together, with the vendor aiming to help them get found in AI and local search.
Grade.us
Best for: Marketing agencies that want automated review management they can customise and offer to clients as their own service, as the vendor puts it.
NiceJob
Best for: Small service businesses who'd like reviews to do their marketing for them, with AI built in and a free plan named on the vendor's site.
Reputation
Best for: Larger brands wanting reviews, listings and surveys turned into insight on one AI-led platform, with the vendor focused on visibility in AI answers.
ReviewTrackers
Best for: Brands wanting to monitor what customers say across review sites, with the vendor framing customer voice as central to success.
Trustmary
Best for: Businesses collecting and analysing feedback, then showing the best of it on their site as social proof, per the vendor.
Broadly alternatives in a table
| Tool | Main focus | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Birdeye | AI tools for multi-location brands | Chains with many branches |
| Chatmeter | Brand intelligence and reviews | Tracking reviews alongside wider customer sentiment |
| GatherUp | Reviews and listings | Local firms wanting reviews and listings together |
| Grade.us | White-label review management | Agencies offering reviews as a client service |
| NiceJob | Review marketing | Small service firms turning reviews into marketing |
| Reputation | Reviews, listings and surveys | Larger brands turning feedback into insight |
| ReviewTrackers | Online reputation management | Following the voice of the customer |
| Trustmary | Feedback and social proof | Turning happy customers into on-site proof |
Matching the tool to your set-up
One location, owner-run
Two tools are the nearest fit for a single service business such as a plumber, cleaner, dentist or salon. NiceJob leans into turning reviews into marketing, with a free plan named on its site, so you can try it before you commit. GatherUp pairs reviews with listings, so your name, hours and contact details stay consistent wherever people find you. For an owner-run firm, the test is simple: can you set it up in an afternoon and forget about it, with requests going out on their own after each job?
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Agencies
Grade.us is built for marketing agencies that run reviews for several clients and want to present the service under their own name. If that's you, check how client accounts are separated, how reports look with your branding and how quickly you can add a new client.
Chains and larger brands
Birdeye, Reputation, ReviewTrackers and Chatmeter speak to brands with many locations or a wider customer insight team. Expect more set-up, more reporting and more user roles, so each branch manager sees their own reviews while head office sees the whole picture. Trustmary sits slightly apart, putting more weight on collecting feedback and showing it on your own website as social proof.
Advice for small businesses switching review tools
Keep it simple. For most local firms the job is to ask every happy customer at the right moment and reply to every review, good or bad, within a day or two. Choose the tool that makes those two habits easiest for whoever answers the phone, not the one with the longest feature list.
Reply in a human voice, thank people by name and take complaints offline quickly. My guide on how to reply to Google reviews has examples, and my wider list of review management software covers more options.
What to sort out before you cancel
- Export your customer list and any review request history.
- Note which review sites and listings the old tool was connected to.
- Save any reply templates your team relies on.
- Remove old review widgets from your website so they don't break.
- Check that your new tool's requests are going out before the old one stops.
Do you make review management software? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.
Frequently asked questions
How do I get more Google reviews for a local business?
Ask every customer soon after the job, make the link one tap away and remind people once if they don't respond. Never offer anything in return for a review.
Should I reply to every review?
Yes, where you can. Replying to good reviews shows you're listening, and a calm, helpful reply to a bad one is often read by more people than the review itself.
Can review tools hide negative reviews?
They shouldn't. Filtering unhappy customers away from public review sites breaks many sites' rules. Use feedback to fix problems, and reply openly to criticism.
Do I need review software if I only have one location?
Not always. A simple routine of asking by text or email may be enough. Software helps when you're too busy to ask every customer by hand.
Can I show reviews on my own website?
Many tools include widgets that display reviews on your site. Check each review site's display rules and keep the widget up to date.
How long does it take to switch review tools?
Usually a few days: connect your review sites, set up request triggers and test them on a handful of real customers before the old tool stops.
