Costs and pricing
Part of Review software billing: four models and what each meters
Review software billing: four models and what each meters
Review software billing for UK shops: four models and what each meters, a modelled 600-order cost with VAT, plus hidden costs and renewal terms.
What to take away
- UK review platforms and review software mostly charge a monthly or annual subscription, and the price moves with order volume or review invitations sent, not with your team size.
- Trustpilot runs a free profile alongside paid tiers, while Bazaarvoice and similar enterprise vendors quote on request, so small shops rarely see a public price.
- Annual billing usually beats paying monthly, but only commit for 12 months once you have measured how many reviews you actually collect.
- Integration, moderation and staff time can cost as much as the licence itself, so price those before you sign.
- Most UK software quotes exclude VAT, which adds 20% for shops that cannot reclaim it.
Why review platform quotes vary so much
Vendors count different things. One meters the review invitations you send. Another meters the orders imported from your shop. A third charges per storefront or per market. Until you know which metric triggers an upgrade, comparing two quotes tells you very little.
Enterprise vendors such as Bazaarvoice sell to brands with large catalogues and retailer syndication needs, and they price through a sales call rather than a checkout page. Bazaarvoice pricing for a small UK business is seldom published at all, which makes like-for-like comparison hard.
Trustpilot pricing in the UK starts from a free business profile, with paid plans above it. For a small shop the real question is whether a paid platform earns its place, and our comparison of Trustpilot versus Google reviews sets out when it does.
The four pricing models you will be quoted
Customer review software pricing in the UK takes one of four shapes, and few vendors publish the numbers.
Four review software pricing models
Free tier plus paid upgrade
- Cost tracks
- Premium widgets and invitations
- Typical term
- Monthly, cancel any time
- Suits
- Under 100 orders a month
Volume subscription
- Cost tracks
- Invitations or orders imported
- Typical term
- Annual invoice, 12 months
- Suits
- 100 to 1,000 orders a month
Per-location licence
- Cost tracks
- Each storefront or market
- Typical term
- 12 to 24 months
- Suits
- Multi-site retail groups
Enterprise quote
- Cost tracks
- Integration and syndication
- Typical term
- 12 to 36 months
- Suits
- Large catalogue brands
The four pricing models
What the cost tracks
- Free tier plus paid upgrade
- Premium widgets, analytics and extra invitations
- Volume subscription
- Invitations sent or orders imported
- Per-location licence
- Each storefront, brand or market
- Enterprise quote
- Integration, syndication and support levels
Typical term
- Free tier plus paid upgrade
- Monthly, cancel any time
- Volume subscription
- Annual invoice, 12-month term
- Per-location licence
- 12 to 24 months
- Enterprise quote
- 12 to 36 months
Suits
- Free tier plus paid upgrade
- Shops under about 100 orders a month
- Volume subscription
- Shops at 100 to 1,000 orders a month
- Per-location licence
- Multi-site retail groups
- Enterprise quote
- Brands with large catalogues
Of the two vendors named in this guide, Trustpilot fits the first shape, with a free business profile and paid plans above it, and Bazaarvoice fits the last, pricing through a sales call rather than a checkout page. Before you compare any other vendor's quote, ask which of these four metrics triggers its next tier.
A modelled review software cost example for a UK shop
Review platform cost in the UK depends on volume, so treat the following as a model rather than a quotation. It assumes 600 orders a month, and you should replace each figure with the one on your own quote.
Modelled annual cost at 600 orders
- 7,200review invitations a year
- £948licence before VAT
- £189.60VAT at 20%
- £1,387.60first year with onboarding
A worked example
- 600 orders a month means 7,200 review invitations over a year.
- A mid-tier volume plan at a modelled £79 a month comes to £948 a year before VAT.
- VAT at 20% adds £189.60, taking the year to £1,137.60.
- A one-off onboarding fee of £250 pushes the first year to £1,387.60.
- An assumed 5% renewal uplift adds about £47 in year two before VAT.
Hidden costs beyond the licence
The subscription rarely covers everything. Data migration, custom email templates, agency setup and extra language versions are common add-ons. Ask for a written list of what sits outside the plan.
Staff time is the cost buyers forget. Someone has to approve reviews, reply to complaints and chase photos. A couple of hours a week adds up faster than most mid-tier subscriptions.
Holding reviews also means holding personal data. Reviewer names, email addresses and photographs are personal data under UK GDPR, so you need a lawful basis and a retention period. The ICO publishes guidance on both.
When you shortlist vendors, compare what each charges for support and export rights, not just the headline figure. Our round-up of the best review software for small UK shops covers those contract terms.
Renewing and negotiating
Review platform costs in the UK cluster around a few levers, so most negotiation comes down to term length and volume. Discounts are easier to win at renewal than at sign-up, and vendors will often trade a lower rate for a longer commitment or an upfront annual payment.
Renewal negotiation checklist
- Ask for discounts at renewal, not sign-up
- Trade a lower rate for a longer term
- Offer upfront annual payment
- Check the annual uplift clause
- Note inflation-linked rises compound
- Keep review data for CAP claims
Watch the uplift clause. Many contracts allow an annual increase linked to inflation, and that compounds across a multi-year term.
If you quote star ratings in paid advertising, the CAP code applies to those claims, so keep the underlying review data to hand.
Common questions
Do I need to pay for review software at all?
No. A shop with a handful of orders a month can collect reviews by email and display them on product pages itself. Paid tools earn their keep when collection and moderation start eating staff time.
Are quoted prices inclusive of VAT?
Almost never. Most UK software quotes exclude VAT, so add 20% unless you can reclaim it. Check whether the figure is monthly or annual before comparing quotes.
How long should I commit for?
Start on monthly terms where the vendor allows it. A 12-month term is reasonable once you know your invitation volume, because it usually lowers the effective monthly cost.
Can I move platforms later?
Usually, but check who owns the review content and whether exports include the review text and images. Export rights matter more than headline price when you compare contracts.
