You have 60 Google reviews and the shop down the road has 400. You know most of your customers like you. They just never write it down.
So you search for review software. Then you see prices that start at hundreds of dollars a month, and a "talk to sales" button.
This post compares the free route and six paid tools. We make one of them, KANJIN. We follow two rules. Every price and fact about another company has a link and the month we checked it. And for every tool, including ours, we say where another tool is better.
All competitor facts below were checked in October 2026.
What a review request tool does
A review request tool sends your customer a message after a visit. The message has a link to your Google listing. The customer taps it and writes a review.
That is all it does. The tool cannot write the review for them. It cannot make them say yes. It only makes asking cheap and regular.
Google has rules for this, and they matter more than any feature. In its contributor policy, Google bars offering payment, discounts or free goods for a review. It also bars asking only for positive reviews. We read that page in October 2026.
Here is the short version:
- Ask everyone. Do not pick only the customers who seem happy.
- Offer nothing. No discount, no free coffee, no entry in a draw.
- Do not send unhappy customers somewhere else first. That is called review gating.
None of the pricing pages we read state a rating filter. That is silence, not proof that no tool offers one. Check how any tool handles this before you pay.
The free way first: a Google link and a QR card
You do not need software to ask for reviews. You need your Google review link and a piece of paper.
- Search for your business on Google while signed in to your Business Profile.
- Press "Ask for reviews" and copy the short link.
- Put that link into a QR code. The free Google Review QR Code Maker makes a printable counter card from it, with no sign-up.
- Print the card. Put it by the register, on each table, and on the receipt.
- Say it out loud when someone says thanks: "If you liked it, a review helps us a lot. The card is by the door."
This costs the price of paper. For many shops it is enough. A shop with a steady line of customers can get a few reviews a week from a good card and a friendly sentence.
The limit is that it only works on people who see the card and remember to scan it. Most customers walk out and forget. That gap is why paid tools exist.
Before you pick any tool, work out how many reviews you actually need. The free Google Review Calculator tells you how many five-star reviews lift your rating to a target. The post How Many Google Reviews Do You Need to Raise Your Rating shows six worked examples. Some owners find the number is small enough that the card alone will do.
Comparison table
Prices are in US dollars, as listed on the date checked. "Reported" means the vendor hides the price and a third party gave it.
| Tool | Entry price | Text or email | Free trial | Contract | Source (checked Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Google link and QR card | Free | Neither. Customers scan | Not needed | None | Google policy |
| HiFiveStar | Free plan; $28 a month Core | Email on all plans. Text from $85 a month | 14 days, no card | "No contracts" | Pricing |
| WiserReview | $81 a year; $19 and $31 a month plans | Email, SMS, WhatsApp, QR | 7 days | Monthly or yearly | Pricing |
| NiceJob | $75 a month | Text and email | 14 days | "No contracts" | Pricing |
| Grade.us | $99 a month, 1 location | Email; text on higher plans | 14 days, no card | Monthly or yearly | Plans |
| Birdeye | Hidden. Reported $299 a month per location | Text and email | Sources disagree | Reported 12 months | Pricing, report |
| Podium | Hidden. Reported about $399 a month | Text, plus an inbox | Not shown | Not shown | Pricing, report |
| KANJIN (ours) | Free: 20 requests a month. Paid: $39 a month | Email only | 30 days on the paid plan | None | KANJIN pricing |
Tool by tool
HiFiveStar
HiFiveStar has a free plan called Forever Free. It sends review requests by email but not by text. The $28 Core plan also has no text. Texting starts at the $85 plan. It offers a 14-day trial with every feature except texting, and it states "No contracts, no setup fees". We read its pricing page in October 2026.
Where it is better: it has a free plan, with no time limit. If you want to try emailed requests before you pay, start there. The pricing page does not say anything about rating filters.
WiserReview
WiserReview lists $81 a year, or $19 and $31 a month for higher plans. Every plan lists email, SMS, WhatsApp and QR. The trial is 7 days. The price depends on monthly orders. See its pricing page, read in October 2026.
Where it is better: the lowest sticker price here, and it reaches customers on WhatsApp. If your customers live on WhatsApp, that matters. The catch is the order-based pricing: check how it counts a cafe or a salon before you sign up.
NiceJob
NiceJob charges $75 a month for Starter and $125 for Pro. Starter includes text and email requests. The trial is 14 days and the page says "No contracts". Pro adds repeat and referral campaigns. Source: NiceJob pricing, October 2026.
Where it is better: it sends by text, and it adds referral and repeat-customer campaigns, and review widgets for your website. KANJIN has none of those. If you want one tool for reviews and referrals, this is a fair pick.
Grade.us
Grade.us lists $99 a month for one location. Multi Location is $60 per location for 2 to 10 locations. Its trial is 14 days with no card. Text needs a higher plan. Source: Grade.us plans, October 2026. Older listings on Capterra show a lower price. Trust the vendor page.
Where it is better: it prices by location, so the cost per shop falls when you run two to ten. A single cafe gets no gain from that, and at $99 it costs more than most tools here.
Birdeye
Birdeye hides its price. Its pricing page asks for a phone number, and we could not load the page ourselves. A third-party site reports $299, $349 and $449 a month per location on a 12-month contract. That is a report, not Birdeye's own word. The free-trial facts disagree between sources. See Birdeye and the report, October 2026.
Where it is better: it puts listings, messaging, social and reviews in one place for businesses with many sites. If you run ten shops, that is the point of it. If you run one, it is likely more than you need.
Podium
Podium also hides its price. Its page says to talk to its sales team. A third-party site reports about $399 a month for its Core plan. Podium sells texting, a web chat and a text inbox with reviews, payments and an AI assistant. On its blog, Podium says it has been at the forefront against review gating. Sources read October 2026.
Where it is better: if your customers already text you to book or ask questions, a shared text inbox is useful, and reviews come along with it. It also states its stand against gating in public.
KANJIN (ours)
You should know we make this tool. We are the least neutral voice in this post, so read this section last.
KANJIN's free plan includes 20 Google review requests a month. The paid plan has no monthly cap. It asks a customer once after a visit, then waits at least a year before asking again. The request goes by email, one hour after the stamp by default. The owner can change the delay. It goes only to customers who left an email and agreed to hear from you. We send no offers or codes, and the screen refuses wording that carries one.
KANJIN counts link clicks. It cannot see whether a customer then wrote a review or how many stars they gave, so we do not show that.
Where it is better: the free plan sends 20 requests a month with no card, and nothing is asked twice within a year. HiFiveStar also has a free plan, so you can try two free routes.
Where it is weaker, plainly:
- Email only. No text messages. If your customers rarely read email, texts get more replies, and NiceJob, HiFiveStar and Podium send them.
- No trigger from your POS. The request goes to customers on your stamp card list. A sale on your POS does not send it.
- No shared inbox. There is no Podium-style inbox for customer chat.
- Customers must give an email first. A phone number alone gets a stamp and no request.
- Email works in eleven countries and regions: the US, Canada, the UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines.
How to choose
- You want to spend nothing: print the QR card and ask out loud. Add a free plan later if you want emails sent for you.
- Your customers text more than they email: pick a tool with text. HiFiveStar from $85 a month, NiceJob from $75 a month, or Podium if you also want the inbox.
- You need low cost and WhatsApp: look at WiserReview, and check how it prices a shop that is not an online store.
- You run many sites or manage clients: Birdeye or Grade.us.
- You collect emails at the counter already and want the ask sent for you: an email tool fits. KANJIN is one, and there are others.
- You are unsure: use the free trial of two tools for 14 days and count the link clicks.
Whatever you choose, keep Google's rules in front of you. Ask everyone. Offer nothing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest way to get more Google reviews?
A printed QR card with your Google review link, plus asking in person. It costs the price of paper. Software adds a reminder after the visit, which helps with customers who forget.
Is review gating against Google's rules?
Yes. Google's policy bars asking only for positive reviews. Gating means sending pleased customers to Google and unhappy ones to a private form. Ask everyone the same way.
Is SMS or email better for review requests?
It depends on your customers. Email works for customers who gave an address. Text works for customers who gave a phone number and rarely open email. Tools that send text cost more, as the table shows. If you do not know, ask ten regulars how they prefer to hear from you.
Can I offer a discount for a Google review?
No. Google bars payment, discounts and free goods in return for a review. A thank-you in person after the review is not a trade, but never promise it beforehand.
How many requests should I send?
Enough to reach your target rating. Use the Google Review Calculator to see how many five-star reviews you need, then divide by how many customers you ask each week.
Your next step
Make your free counter card today with the Google Review QR Code Maker. Then type your rating and review count into the Google Review Calculator to see how many reviews you need.
If you also collect emails with a stamp card, see the best free digital stamp card apps. The free KANJIN plan has no time limit and nothing is charged until you start the paid plan yourself. The paid plan is $39 a month, or $390 a year, per shop, and the first 30 days are free.