Introduction
I have a confession to make. I own Shopper Approved.
I’m telling you that up front because I firmly believe that the only way to earn people’s trust is to be honest, transparent, and objective; and that is exactly what I intend to do here—even if we end up not being the best option for your business.
The reason that my team and I have created this official comparison guide is because there’s so much information online these days that it’s hard to know what’s real, current, and objective.
And so we set out to create the most comprehensive, updated comparison chart ever made between Shopper Approved and Yotpo, where we list the good, the bad, and the ugly from both companies equally.
We also bring in independent 3rd-party documentation from sites like G2, Capterra, the BBB, and Trustpilot (yes, they are a competitor; read our comparison to Trustpilot here) to give you the most comprehensive view possible.
Finally, we provide you with a direct link to both companies, so that you can reach out to both Shopper Approved and Yotpo to get answers to any questions that you may have after reading.
Best of luck in your search!
Scott Brandley
Founder and CEO
Shopper Approved
Quick Highlights
To get started, here are some interesting details about Yotpo and Shopper Approved:
- Shopper Approved and Yotpo are both online review platforms, which means that they provide rating and review services for ecommerce websites that sell products and services on the internet.
- Both companies started around the same time. Shopper Approved was founded in 2010 in Utah, USA; and Yotpo was founded in 2011 in Tel Aviv, Israel.
- Shopper Approved and Yotpo are both verified review platforms, which means that they actively solicit reviews from actual paying customers after they buy. Alternatively, most review platforms are open review platforms, which means that anyone can leave a review. Open review platforms often generate unverified reviews that tend to be negatively skewed, making them less trustworthy.
- Yotpo and Shopper Approved are both Google Seller Ratings and Google Product Review partners, which means they have direct review feeds into Google for both types of reviews. Many review platforms only have one or neither of these very important partnerships, which are necessary if you want to display your star ratings in Google Shopping, Google Ads, or Google Product Listing Ads.
- While both companies offer similar core services, Shopper Approved’s main strengths lie in its search engine syndication and visibility for both reviews and Q&A, whereas Yotpo’s main strength lies in its social media tools.
Comparing Shopper Approved and Yotpo
This comparison chart was last updated in May 2023, using the most up-to-date information available at the time. Below each item is a short description to give you an idea of why that item is important to either Yotpo, Shopper Approved, or both companies.
3rd Party Ratings |
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Google Rating (out of 5) Google ratings are provided by users of Google's services, primarily through Google Maps and Google Search. |
5.0 51 reviews |
3.7 19 reviews |
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G2 Rating (out of 5) G2 is the industry-leading, independent 3rd-party rating company for software products like Shopper Approved and Yotpo. |
4.8 143 reviews |
4.3 214 reviews |
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Capterra Rating (out of 5) Capterra is an independent 3rd-party rating company for software products like Shopper Approved and Yotpo. |
4.9 116 reviews |
4.6 331 reviews |
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BBB Rating (Letter Score and Rating out of 5) The BBB, or Better Business Bureau, is the oldest independent 3rd-party rating company in the US. |
A+ 4.9 |
F 1.0 |
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Trustpilot Rating (out of 5) Trustpilot is an independent 3rd-party open review platform and a direct competitor to Yotpo and Shopper Approved. |
4.6 423 reviews |
1.6 32 |
Google Partnerships |
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Google Seller Ratings Partner Google Seller Rating Partners have a special partnership with Google that allows them to display their client’s company reviews directly in Google Ads and Google Shopping. |
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Google Product Reviews Partner Google Product Review Partners have a special partnership with Google that allows them to display their client’s product reviews in Google Product Listing Ads, Google Shopping, and Google organic search results. |
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Available Solutions |
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Seller Ratings Seller ratings (also known as merchant reviews or company reviews) are collected and then strategically displayed in various locations online. Only Google Seller Rating Partners can display seller ratings in Google. |
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Product Reviews Product reviews are collected and strategically displayed in various locations online. Google Product Review Partners have direct feeds into Google. |
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Video Reviews Video reviews are collected after a purchase. If the client is happy with the video review they can approve it and add it to their website. |
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Product Images Customers are invited to take photos of their purchases and add them to their review. |
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Reputation Management (Review Destinations) Review destinations is a tool that allows you to send a portion of your customers to various open review platforms to leave a review after they buy. |
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FOMO (Social Evidence) FOMO (or "fear of missing out") is a software tool that shows site visitors what other customers purchased recently. FOMO can also show quantity in stock or item availability. |
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(via app Integrations) |
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Website Security Website security is one of the most trusted forms of social proof, and adding security seals to your website is proven to increase sales. |
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Q&A Q&A (also known as FAQ) is a tool that can be added to a client’s product pages to answer questions that customers have before making a purchase. |
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Q&A for Advanced SEO This refers to special SEO techniques that, when utilized, help Q&A to be more prominently displayed in Google organic search results and featured snippets. |
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Q&A Crawls the Web Q&A crawls the web looking for and suggesting additional questions and answers from Amazon and Google. |
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Content Widgets and Trust Seals Strategically display attractive review widgets and seals on your website to build customer trust and credibility. |
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SMS (Text Messaging) Using SMS as a way to collect reviews can be very beneficial, thanks to high SMS open rates. |
(via app Integrations) |
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Loyalty Programs Adding a loyalty program to your business can increase repeat sales. Many companies provide loyalty points in exchange for reviews. |
(via app Integrations) |
(add-on |
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Review Management and Moderation This allows you to manage and moderate your reviews in your control panel with a few clicks. |
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Search-Optimized 3rd-Party Reviews Page A review page displays your ratings and reviews on the review platform’s actual website, which makes reviews seem more trustworthy. It also helps reviews rank well in search, which can increase traffic to your website. |
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Analytics This refers to the amount of data that each company analyzes and reports on in their control panel. |
Standard |
Advanced |
Syndication Partners |
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Walmart.com Syndication Send your product reviews directly to products that you sell on Walmart.com. You can even create a free Walmart merchant account. |
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Bazaarvoice Syndication If you sell products in certain large brick & mortar locations, you can send reviews to those online locations which will show up on products that you sell there. |
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YouTube Syndication Automatically send videos you approve to your YouTube channel to display in both YouTube and Google search results. |
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Facebook Syndication Send your reviews to Facebook to show up in your company’s Facebook feed and/or create a tab in Facebook with all of your reviews. |
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Instagram Syndication Send your reviews to Instagram to show up in your company’s Instagram feed. |
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Twitter Syndication Send your reviews to Twitter to show up on your company’s Twitter feed. |
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Additional Information |
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Verified or Open Review Collection Verified review platforms collect solicited reviews from their client’s customers after they buy; whereas, open review platforms passively collect reviews from anyone who wants to leave a review. |
Verified Reviews |
Verified Reviews |
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Review Volume Shopper Approved uses a two-step process instead of the traditional one-step process, which provides the opportunity for more customers to leave reviews. |
***** |
*** |
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US-Based Support Yotpo’s support team is located in both the US and Israel. Shopper Approved's support team is US-based. |
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Depends |
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Setup Assistance and Ongoing Support The difference here is due to Yotpo not offering phone support. |
***** |
*** |
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Privately Owned or Investor Funded Shopper Approved is one of the only privately owned, independent review platforms online. Yotpo is investor funded. |
Privately Owned |
Investor Funded |
Pricing |
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Unlimited Reviews Review platforms typically offer an unlimited review pricing model based on a fixed price, or a limited review model based on pricing tiers that increase over time. |
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Limited Free Version Yotpo offers a free, limited version of their basic services without Google syndication. |
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Free Trial Shopper Approved offers a free 45-day trial of their Seller Ratings service with Google syndication. |
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Pricing The main difference in pricing is due to the way Yotpo charges for additional services and their low review limits that can quickly increase the price (cost per review). |
$$$ |
$$$$ |
Comparing Yotpo to Shopper Approved on G2
According to G2, Shopper Approved is currently rated 4.8 stars with 143 reviews. By contrast, Yotpo is rated 4.3 stars with 214 reviews. Each product's score is calculated with real-time data from verified user reviews.
On G2, both Yotpo and Shopper Approved are compared side-by-side and scored on 36 different criteria—with 28 areas where Shopper Approved is ranked higher and 8 where Yotpo is ranked higher.
According to G2…
“When assessing the two solutions, reviewers found Shopper Approved easier to use, set up, and administer. Reviewers also preferred doing business with Shopper Approved overall.
- Reviewers felt that Shopper Approved meets the needs of their business better than Yotpo.
- When comparing the quality of ongoing product support, reviewers felt that Shopper Approved is the preferred option.
- For feature updates and roadmaps, our reviewers preferred the direction of Shopper Approved over Yotpo.”
You can read the real-time comparison of Yotpo and Shopper Approved on G2 here.
Summary of Yotpo vs. Shopper Approved
Yotpo's Strengths
Yotpo is a great tool for collecting and displaying reviews on social media. Yotpo also makes it easy to integrate reviews into other 3rd-party apps. Yotpo prides itself on being an ecommerce marketing platform with advanced analytics.
In addition to reviews, they own SMS marketing and loyalty software companies that can be added on to their review solution. They also offer a free, feature-limited plan.
Yotpo's Weaknesses
While Yotpo is a Google syndication partner, they are missing some critical SEO features, including a dedicated page that displays their clients' reviews in organic search results. Their tiered plans have low review limits that, when combined with their SMS and loyalty add-on solutions can quickly increase the overall price. And, because Yotpo focuses on social media results, their search engine tools tend to be more basic. Yotpo also does not offer phone support, so plan accordingly.
Shopper Approved's Strengths
Shopper Approved is best known for our traffic and conversion strategies and ability to collect up to 10x more reviews and display them in more strategic locations online. Our unlimited review model also ensures that your price doesn’t change.
In addition, our Review Destinations tool allows companies to effectively manage your online reputation by sending a percentage of customers to various open review platforms to leave reviews after they buy. We also offer the best Q&A tool in the industry.
We offer US-based phone support, and a 45-day free trial for Seller Ratings.
Shopper Approved's Weaknesses
While Shopper Approved is great at improving both traffic and conversions, we do lack advanced analytics. In addition, we don’t offer as many 3rd-party app integrations as Yotpo. Finally, because Shopper Approved focuses on search engine results, our social media tools tend to be more basic.
Final Thoughts on Shopper Approved and Yotpo
When it comes down to choosing between Yotpo or Shopper Approved, it really comes down to where your customers are and who you want to target. If your business is focused on social media, and targeting clients on Facebook and Instagram is your top priority, then Yotpo is the best option.
However, if your business is focused on Google search and you want more online visibility and more powerful reputation management tools for your brand, then Shopper Approved is the best choice.
Contact Information
To visit Yotpo, go to https://www.yotpo.com
To visit Shopper Approved, go to https://www.shopperapproved.com
Other Comparisons and Further Reading:
Trustpilot vs. Shopper Approved
Reviews.io vs. Shopper Approved
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