Trustpilot vs Gradefy: Honest Feature & Pricing Comparison (2026)
Trustpilot is the biggest name in online reviews, but it is not the only — or necessarily the best — option. This article compares Trustpilot and Gradefy across features, pricing, ease of use, and SEO capabilities to help you decide which platform fits your business.
Quick Comparison
| Feature | Trustpilot | Gradefy | |---------|-----------|---------| | Starting price | $259/mo (Standard) | €79/mo (annual) | | Review collection | Email invitations | Email, QR, widgets, links | | Review widgets | 2 types (TrustBox) | 6 widget types | | JSON-LD schema | Automatic | Automatic | | Custom branding | Limited | Full customization | | Moderation | Manual + rules | AI-powered + manual | | Analytics | Basic (Standard), Advanced (Plus) | Included on all plans | | Embed widgets | Limited (TrustBox) | 6 types, any website | | Data ownership | Trustpilot owns the data | You own the data | | Free trial | No | Yes, 14 days |
Pricing Comparison
Trustpilot Pricing (2026)
Gradefy Pricing
The price difference is significant: Trustpilot's cheapest paid plan ($259/mo) costs nearly 3x more than Gradefy One.
Review Collection
Trustpilot collects reviews primarily through email invitations. Customers can also find your Trustpilot profile organically and leave reviews there. However, you cannot collect reviews through your own website — Trustpilot reviews live on Trustpilot's domain.
Gradefy collects first-party reviews that live on your website. You can collect through email campaigns, QR codes, direct links, and embedded forms. The reviews are yours — you own the data and can display them however you want.
Why This Matters
With Trustpilot, if you stop paying, you lose access to review invitations and widgets — but the reviews stay on Trustpilot (which you don't control). With Gradefy, you own your review data and can export it anytime.
Widgets
Trustpilot TrustBox widgets are functional but limited in customization. You can choose from a set of predefined layouts, but deep branding changes require their higher-tier plans.
Gradefy widgets offer 6 types (carousel, grid, badge, floating, wall, inline) with full CSS customization, brand color matching, and responsive design. All widgets are under 15kb for minimal performance impact.
SEO Capabilities
Both platforms generate JSON-LD structured data for rich snippets. However:
- Trustpilot reviews live on trustpilot.com — the SEO benefit goes to Trustpilot's domain, not yours
- Gradefy reviews live on your domain — the content, structured data, and SEO value belong to you
For businesses focused on their own site's search rankings, first-party reviews (Gradefy's approach) provide significantly more SEO value.
When to Choose Trustpilot
- You want the Trustpilot brand recognition and trust seal
- Your industry expects Trustpilot ratings specifically (e.g., insurance, financial services in Europe)
- You need a large public review marketplace
- Budget is not a primary concern
When to Choose Gradefy
- You want to own your review data
- You need affordable pricing with a generous trial
- SEO on your own domain is a priority
- You want more widget variety and customization
- You are a small-to-medium business watching costs
The Bottom Line
Trustpilot is a well-established platform with strong brand recognition, but its pricing puts it out of reach for many businesses, and its third-party model means the SEO value goes to Trustpilot, not you.
Gradefy offers a more affordable, first-party approach where you own your data, get better SEO value on your own domain, and pay significantly less — with a 14-day free trial and 30-day money-back guarantee.
Start your free trial and see the difference first-party review management makes.
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