Trustpilot vs Google reviews: what each is for (2026)

Trustpilot vs Google reviews at a glance

Sources: Google: tips to get more reviews, Google: prohibited content, Google: review availability, Google: Business Profile eligibility, Trustpilot UK plans, Trustpilot US plans, Trustpilot terms and Trustpilot guidelines for businesses. All checked 24 October 2026.

What Google reviews are, and who can get them

Google reviews belong to a Business Profile on Google. Google's eligibility page says: "If your business either has a physical location that customers can visit, or travels to customers where they are, you can create a Business Profile on Google." It also says a virtual office, a rented mailing address you do not operate from, "isn't eligible for a Business Profile" (Google).

To leave a review, "Customers must be signed into a Google Account", and they "can set one up with a non-Gmail email address." To ask for reviews, Google says "you can ask customers to visit a Google link or scan a QR code". Google adds that "Before you can reply to reviews, you must verify your business" (Google). Reviews "are available only in certain countries or regions and for certain business categories" (Google).

The pages we read do not state a fee for any of this.

What Trustpilot is

Trustpilot is a review site where a business holds a public profile. Its free plan is, in Trustpilot's words, "completely free", with "no credit card required", and includes 50 automated review invitations a month (Trustpilot UK). Reviewers do not need an invitation: its guidelines say "Reviewers don't need to be invited to leave a review" (Trustpilot guidelines).

The paid plans add more invitations. On the UK page, Starter is "from £119 per month, per domain, billed annually" with 100 invitations a month, and Plus is "from £289 per month, per domain, billed upfront annually" with 300. On the US page, Starter is from $99, Plus from $319 and Premium from $799, each billed annually. "All contracts are a 12-month commitment", and "Each domain priced separately" (Trustpilot US). Its terms say subscriptions renew automatically, and that you need to give notice "at least 30 days before the end of your current subscription period" to stop renewal (Trustpilot terms). Our Trustpilot pricing page has the full detail.

Which one affects how you show up in Google

Your Google reviews appear with your Business Profile on Google; that is what they are for. Beyond that, Google runs two programmes that use reviews to show star ratings in shopping and ads, and each has its own rules.

Store ratings describe the shopping experience with your business. Google says "A merchant generally needs to collect at least 100 eligible, unique reviews to enable Google to calculate a reliable store rating", that ratings are "calculated separately for each country", and that "A rating of 3.5 or above is required to display a store rating on ads." Reviews can come from "Google Customer Reviews: A free program that collects post-fulfillment reviews on behalf of merchants, managed in Google Merchant Center", or from "supported review partners" (Google). Google's badge page adds that "In most cases, you must have at least 150 reviews during the past year for your store rating to appear on your Google Customer Reviews badge" (Google). The store ratings page gives two different look-back windows in different sections, so read it yourself rather than relying on one number.

Product ratings cover the products you sell. Google says "You must have a minimum of 50 reviews across all of your products", and that "If you work with a supported reviews aggregator, you can have them submit your product reviews to Google for you" (Google).

None of the Trustpilot or Google pages we read says whether a Trustpilot profile affects your Google ranking. Google decides what it shows, and no review provider can promise star ratings.

Cost and effort

Google: the pages we read state no fee. The effort is in asking: sharing your link or QR code, and, for an online shop, setting up Google Customer Reviews in Merchant Center if you want store ratings.

Trustpilot: the free plan covers 50 automated invitations a month. Past that, you are looking at an annual, per-domain paid plan. The effort is similar: you send invitations through Trustpilot's supported methods, which its guidelines require ("Businesses must only use Trustpilot's supported invitation methods to request reviews").

Trust and fake-review rules

We have no independent survey that tells us whether shoppers trust one more than the other, so we will not claim one. What you can compare is the rules each publishes, and they are close.

Both prohibit rewards for reviews. Google says "Offering incentives, like free or discounted goods or services, in exchange for customers to post reviews, change reviews, or remove negative reviews is considered fake & misleading content and is strictly prohibited" (Google). Trustpilot lists, as something businesses must not do, "Offer incentives in connection with writing or editing reviews", and says "invitations must be fair, neutral, and unbiased, with no incentives offered" (Trustpilot).

Both prohibit asking only happy customers. Google does not allow merchants to "Discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers" (Google). Trustpilot lists, as something not to do, "inviting only those people who you know have had a positive experience".

Google also prohibits "Content that is based on a conflict of interest", which can include current or former employment, and says merchants should not pressure customers to review on the premises or ask for specific content (Google).

When to focus on Google, on Trustpilot, or on both

Start with Google if customers visit you or you travel to them. Your Business Profile is where people searching for you on Google will see reviews, and the pages we read state no fee.

Look at Trustpilot if you want a review profile on a dedicated review site, and its free plan (50 invitations a month) or its annual, per-domain paid plans fit how you work.

Use both when they serve different customers. A shop with a showroom and an online store, for example, might collect Business Profile reviews from visitors and run a separate review platform for online orders. None of the pages we read says you must choose one.

For an online-only shop that cannot get a Business Profile, Google Customer Reviews in Merchant Center is Google's own route to store ratings. Our guide to Google seller ratings covers the review thresholds and how to set it up.

Where GoldStarred fits

GoldStarred is a review platform, the same kind of service as Trustpilot, and it works alongside your Google Business Profile: your Google reviews help people find you on Google, and GoldStarred shows your reviews on your own website.

You get a public profile with a badge for your site, honest labels on every review, and a page Google can list once you have 3 published reviews, free, with no contract. The Free plan includes 75 review invites a month and an unlimited review link and QR code. Growth, at $17 a month (before VAT or sales tax), adds reviews for up to 25 products, apps or courses, each with its own widget and the Google markup that makes those pages eligible for star ratings. You paste one snippet, and each product is added the first time its widget loads on your verified site. Pro, at $37 a month, adds unlimited products and invites and up to 5 websites. Every plan is monthly, with no annual contract and no per-domain fee, and replying, flagging, moderation and ranking work the same on every plan.

We make GoldStarred, so weigh this section with that in mind. For a side-by-side with Trustpilot, see GoldStarred vs Trustpilot, and for the wider field, Trustpilot alternatives.