Best Review Monitoring Tools (and why you need one)

What is review monitoring?

You can’t optimize what you can’t measure. And 97% of consumers look at reviews and ratings before making a purchase decision. So it’s probably a good idea for businesses to look at their reviews and ratings seriously.

Online Review monitoring is the process of automatically aggregating every customer review or testimonial about a company, and receiving notifications automatically rather than checking each platform manually.

Automated review monitoring ensures that every review you receive is seen by your team, and that no review goes to waste. Monitoring is the very first step to building review management processes.

For this post, we’ve selected the top 12 online review monitoring tools, each targeting a specific use-case or industry. But first, here are the criteria we looked at, and those we decided to ignore.

What to Look for in Review Monitoring Software

• Platforms supported: Fairly obvious, but if you’re gonna aggregate, might as well make sure you’re not leaving any blind spots.
• Integrations: There’s no point in monitoring for the sake of monitoring. Make sure you pick a tool that integrates with the communication and data analysis tools you use: Power BI, Tableau, Qlik, Slack, MS Teams, Zendesk, Intercom, you name it.
• Data available: The more information and context you get about each review, the more value you’ll get from your review monitoring. And the more accurate your replies.

What Not to Look for in Review Monitoring Software

• Replying to reviews from the software: When replying to reviews, it’s more important to have the full context and get the reply right than to save a couple of clicks. Replying quickly to each review is key, but that does not mean you shouldn’t spend time understanding what happened before replying. Templated replies with no context (or worse, automated replies) can be very detrimental to your brand, making it look like you don’t care about your customers.
• AI analysis/enrichment: Just read the reviews. You might feel like you get a lot of reviews, but for AI analysis to make sense, you need at least a few hundred thousand data points. AI is best used to group similar reviews automatically, show trends in your customers’ sentiment. We’ve excluded those who promise a done-for-you AI-powered analysis of something as specific, complex, and rich as customer feedback.

Reviewflowz is an easy-to-use online review monitoring tool with a pure monitoring plan, allowing you to set up review monitoring without breaking the bank with features you don’t need.

Unlike most review monitoring software, Reviewflowz supports major software review platforms like Capterra, G2, and marketplaces like WordPress, Hubspot, Shopify, Salesforce and many more, making it the app of choice for software companies.

If you’re looking to cull and monitor high-value reviews, this solution is the way to go.

Reviewflowz integrates with Slack, MS Teams, Zapier, and email – and offers webhooks, allowing you to send new reviews to just about any service.

If you’re in the e-commerce business though, reviewflowz does not support multi-product review monitoring, so it won’t be a good fit. If you’re hoping to track physical locations however, reviewflowz integrates with Google maps and can handle large scale online review monitoring on their high-volume plans.

They offer a 14-day free trial which allows you to track up to 10 listings and check out most of our features.

Lite plans start at just $10/month to track a single listing.

Premium plans, starting at $50 / month, come with reviewer details, frequent checks, daily or weekly reports, webhook, API and CSV exports, and multiple channels, allowing you to send new reviews or reports to different services. Premium subscriptions also come with an entire suite of testimonial management tools, including widgets to display your testimonials anywhere you like, and a testimonial collection engine.

If you’re interested in tracking more than 40 locations, you can reach out to the team directly over email on hello@reviewflowz.com to book a demo and discuss your requirements.

Birdeye is a leading review management platform for brick-and-mortar businesses. It handles listings, reviews, and ticketing.

Birdeye has many useful features, including competitor benchmarking and integrating Google’s private API. There’s even a survey tool that sends conversational text messages to collect customer feedback.

Birdeye offers competitor benchmarking, the list of niche competitors is not comprehensive. The software can also be difficult to navigate for new users.

Birdeye’s pricing is based on the number of physical locations you have, which can get pricey. For single-location businesses, the Standard plan starts at $299/month and only offers the platform’s basic features. The Professional plan is $399/month and adds on web chat capabilities.

Birdeye doesn’t offer a free trial.

Podium is the most popular solution available on the market, and for good reason.

It’s comprehensive enterprise software, providing tools like a great review generation engine and centralized customer communication. There are also other features like live chat, payment solutions, and text marketing.

There are a few drawbacks to this comprehensive option. Podium’s phone app leaves room for improvement and is often unreliable. It’s also hard to cancel your plan once you’ve signed up.

Podium’s Essentials plan ($289/month) includes instant review capture and payment processing. The Standard plan ($449/month) will get you unlimited contacts, integration capabilities, and automated review invitations. The Professional plan ($649/month) is for more mature businesses and gets you access to all of Podium’s features.

You can try any of the Podium plans with a 14-day free trial.

ReviewShake is a complete toolkit that agencies can use for their clients behind the scenes. They also offer solutions for enterprises and small businesses.

ReviewShake is a favorite because it offers unlimited reviews and profiles, giving greater flexibility. It also has a data aggregator feature that helps with fetching reviews and doing data analysis.

For enterprises and small businesses, ReviewShake has a valuable growth tool and end-to-end review monitoring solutions.

ReviewShake is lacking when it comes to landing page customization and deep analytics. The review widget is also very basic.

Choose your plan based on whether you’re a small business, agency, or enterprise. The paid plan for agencies starts at $199/month and gives you access to all review management tools, as well as profiles for 10 clients/25 locations and 30,000 emails/month.

AppFollow is a good tool for app developers looking to enhance app performance. It’s focused on apps and tracks App Store, Google Play Store, iTunes, and Amazon reviews.

Its app analytics features are solid and it supports all major integrations. AppFollow has the perk of also handling app search optimization and keyword research automation.

AppFollow boasts its analytics, but competitor analysis is limited and it doesn’t have active users and revenue data.

AppFollow offers a range of plan options, including a free plan with limited features. The Essential plan ($143/month) provides analytics and supplemental review management, while the Team plan ($634/month) includes review categorization and extended integrations with Slack, Telegram, and webhooks.

Appbot is an online review monitoring tool best suited for tracking and managing Amazon reviews. Like AppFollow, it’s focused on mobile apps and only tracks Amazon, App Store, Google Play Store.

It’s a comprehensive, easy-to-use software for product managers. Appbot integrates with Slack, Zendesk, and Zapier to make it easier for teams to monitor reviews.

There are a couple of drawbacks to keep in mind. Appbot’s AI-powered sentiment analysis tool is not very accurate. The UI isn’t the cleanest on the market, either.

Appbot is reasonably priced compared to competitors and there’s a plan for the needs of every user.

You can get all of Appbot’s key features with the Small ($39/month) or Medium ($79/month) plans. If you need in-software and integration reply capabilities, go Large ($149/month). Their top-tier Premium plan ($449/month) offers the full suite of tools.

EmbedSocial offers a lot of solutions in addition to review monitoring. Create user-generated content from your reviews with embedded social media streams, stories, attractive reviews, or photos automatically.

EmbedSocial has a library of great-looking templates that make the whole content generation process fast and easy. The widgets look clean and add social proof when added to your site.

Common critiques of EmbedReview are that the software is expensive, the main features are lacking, and customer support response time is slow.

All EmbedReviews plans provide Google and Facebook reviews, email reviews, and a dedicated account manager with a few added features the more you pay. If you want it all, the Bundle Plan ($64/month) will give you access to EmbedSocial’s Feed, Reviews, and Stories solutions.

For just EmbedReviews features, plans start at $29/month for PRO and go up to $49/month for PRO Plus and $99/month for Premium.

ReviewTrackers offers tools for reputation management, local SEO, local listing management, and more.

Its brand monitoring features and comprehensive guides make it a great option for brick-and-mortar franchises looking to improve customer acquisition and retention. ReviewTrackers also offers competitive market analysis.

The main drawbacks of ReviewTrackers are that the mobile app is lacking and slow, and you can’t reply to reviews instantly. These limitations can be frustrating if looking for a streamlined, efficient workflow.

ReviewTrackers offers plans based on how many business locations a company has, which makes sense considering the target audience is franchise businesses. The website isn’t forthcoming about plan prices, and you have to request a demo first.

ReviewBot is a small and niche solution in the review monitoring landscape, but it’s one of the most affordable options on the market. It covers app reviews, podcasts, and Yelp reviews, making it a great option for makers and indie hackers.

ReviewBot integrates with Microsoft Teams, Slack, and Zendesk. You can reply to reviews directly in the app store. It offers a great option of getting a weekly or monthly status report instead of individual notification to analyze trends over time.

ReviewBot is a basic tool that doesn’t offer as many features as competitors. Currently, there are no review widgets or quick reply features, but they are coming soon.

Two subscription levels are offered, and you can get started with a 14-day free trial. The Basic plan ($5/month) gives you tracking and a monthly report option, but you’ll only be able to track your app in a few countries and languages. The Pro plan ($10/month) adds on review translation, weekly reporting options, and tracking in all languages.

ReviewInc has many unique features that make it stand out from the competition. It’s great for white labeling, making it a standout for agencies.

You can collect customer reviews from QR codes or build a review microsite on your business website. There is also a contactless office check-in feature, which is not a feature commonly offered in this market.

ReviewInc has a steeper learning curve than other competitors and can confuse new users. It’s not the most reliable in terms of performance, and the initial setup is complicated and time-consuming.

ReviewInc doesn’t have plan prices listed on their website. Plan options include a basic monitoring plan, Pro, and Enterprise plans. Book a free demo and consultation if you’re interested in learning more.

Grade.us offers review management and review generation for small businesses and agencies. This software is an appealing option because it automates the reputation enhancement process and has white labeling for agencies.

Grade.us is a versatile solution and covers a wide range of industries like retail, automotive, legal, and healthcare. Its text analytics are unique and there are pages of resources and information about managing reviews on the blog.

Grade.us lacks rating aggregation, and the customer service response time needs improvement. All things considered, Grade.us is more expensive than competitors.

You can try out Grade.us for yourself with a 14-day free trial. Subscriptions start at $110/month for the Solo plan, $180/month for the Professional plan, and $400/month for the Agency plan. All plans include unlimited review sites and basic white label. More users are allowed as you move up in plan price.

AppReviewBot is a small and focused product whose function is solely getting notifications of reviews on Slack or Microsoft Teams.

This simple and easy-to-use tool gets reviews from all countries and automatically translates them. You can reply to reviews and track as many apps from the Google Play or iOS App Store as you need.

AppReviewBot is pretty straightforward and doesn’t have a suite of features like some other competitors. There are no email notifications and not many review platforms are supported.

AppReviewBot is one of the cheapest solutions on the market due to its simplicity. It’s overall a robust tool for the price. Track 1 app for $5.99/month, 2-3 apps for $11.99/month, and 4-10 apps for $19.99/month. The Enterprise Plan is available for $39.99/month and offers unlimited app tracking and optional invoicing.

3 Reasons Why Review Monitoring Software is Needed

#1 Saves Time

Going through and monitoring all review websites regularly is a huge time commitment. You don’t want to miss out on any reviews, and review monitoring software makes this process effortless.

You save yourself so much time and stress by automating the process of going through every website for reviews. Review monitoring software makes the process of collection, analysis, and customer interaction fast, easy, and streamlined.

#2 Celebrate Success

Whether your business is a small team or a larger enterprise, monitoring reviews and sharing knowledge across your team helps keep everyone motivated. It always feels good when your team members can see that the work they’re putting in is providing value to customers.

#3 Drive Customer Knowledge

Sharing customer insights with the whole team helps everyone understand what the customer is looking for. When all team members are aware of customer insights, it helps determine the future path of a product.

Sharing and growing institutional knowledge about what works and what doesn’t in a product will help your business grow successfully. Customer reviews identify what can be improved, what you should be doing more of, and what is already working for your target audience.