What Is Trustpilot?
Founded in Denmark in 2007, Trustpilot is an independent third-party review platform that allows customers to share feedback regarding their purchase or service experiences with different businesses, helping build trust and credibility across different industries.
Being one of the top 10 review sites worldwide, Trustpilot currently has more than 714,000 companies listed. The site provides invaluable insight to customers and can heavily influence the customers’ purchase decisions. To the point that businesses can experience a significant shift in their brand authority, brand equity, brand trust, brand recognition, and revenue stream based on the reviews their customers leave on Trustpilot.
Emergence of platforms such as TrustPilot has necessitated that businesses plan strategies to maintain positive reviews and ratings. Many businesses also use platforms like TheSMMExpert to strengthen their overall review and reputation strategy.
What Is Google Business Profile?
Google Business Profile, previously known as Google My Business, is a free tool that allows you to create a listing for your business on Google, one of the most powerful search engines available.
Your Google Business Profile acts as an online storefront and open review platform where you can control how your crucial business information is presented to potential customers. From providing clear directions to your locations to sharing your business’s phone number to confirming your business hours to handling customer reviews, Google Business Profile makes it easier for customers to know about and potentially select your business.
Key Differences Between Trustpilot and Google Business Profile
| Feature | Trustpilot | Google Business Profile |
| Mainly used for | Social proof and business credibility | Visibility and ranking in local searches |
| Cost | Trustpilot free plan+Trustpilot paid plan($99/Month) | Free plan |
| Visibility | External platform | Google search |
| Control | Many features are based on the plan subscribed to. | Low |
| SEO impact | Indirect | Direct |
| Review environment | Verified | Unverified |
| Fraud detection services | Strong | Minimal |
| Supports Google Ads star ratings | Yes | Not directly |
| Automation features | Based on the paid plan | Requires third-party services |
| Consumer Trust | High trust factor | Moderate |
| Invite customers to leave reviews | Yes | No |
| Suitable for | E-commerce and Subscription businesses | Local businesses |
| Target audience | Customers who are comparing different businesses | Customers who are actively looking for new businesses |
Pros and Cons of Trustpilot
Pros
- Trustpilot for business provides strong credibility as it is an independent review site that takes verified reviews from customers, which businesses can use for their social proof strategy and increase their TrustScore.
- The huge collection of reviews on Trustpilot is one of the main factors that make it a review platform for conversions. The platform had an influx of 61 million reviews in 2024.
- While Trustpilot offers paid plans, it is a review platform for reputation-building, and businesses cannot pay to remove negative reviews. Verified negative reviews from customers have to go through the steps set up by Trustpilot in order to flag any review that might be fake.
- Alongside the automated review invitations from customers, TrustPilot also allows customers to voluntarily give reviews based on their experience with the business.
- TrustPliot has the same policy and guidelines for both free and paying customers, maintaining fairness.
- Basic review services for businesses, such as reading, responding to, and inviting reviews, are free for businesses on Trustpilot, allowing them to create the customer feedback loop.
- TrustPilot features an automated fraud detection system that checks all reviews before allowing them on the website.
Cons
- Despite its automated fake review detection system, Fake reviews still pose a major issue for businesses on TrustPilot, where the platform had to delete 7.8 million fake reviews in 2025.
- While TrustPilot’s policy is to maintain fairness for both the businesses and the customers, the platform still receives criticism for inadequate review verification, with it being fined $4.6 million in 2026 by the competition regulator of Italy.
- The advanced features of TrustPilot can only be accessed through paid plans, where a premium can cost $799 per month.
- While TrustPilot is one of the best platforms for organizations to display their credibility and customer experience through a review collection strategy, it is lacking in SEO and search rankings.
- The platform is more geared towards the needs of e-commerce businesses than those os local businesses.
Pros and Cons of Google Business Profile
Pros
- Businesses can easily create listings on Google and better present themselves to customers using Google Business Profile’s free tools, making it the best review platform for small businesses.
- Google Business Profiles are tuned for the best local SEO impact and organic search rankings.
- Businesses can directly control which information customers can see about them after searching online, such as their location, open hours, or other crucial details.
- A Google Business Profile (GBP) allows your business to interact with customer reviews and show appreciation for feedback, building trust and brand reputation.
- Google Business Profile allows businesses to post updates or share announcements regarding different events that directly appear to customers and help them to decide on the business.
Cons
- Virtual businesses that do not have a physical fixed or moving location are not eligible for a Google Business Profile.
- Google may automatically update or change key information about your profile based on different sources, such as user reports or other licensed content.
- Reviews on your Google Business Profile can only be removed based on whether it collides with Google policies.
- Reviews can often take days to appear on your profile, as Google analyzes them to ensure they are in line with Google’s policies.
- Local search rankings are outside the control of businesses and are mostly based on factors such as the relevance, location distance, and popularity of the business.
Which Platform Builds More Trust?
Both platforms help build trust, but Google Business Profile is often more influential for local businesses, while Trustpilot works well for broader brand credibility.
With a Google Business Profile, customers can directly see the rating and different reviews about your business right beside crucial information such as the location of your business and your contact number.
This makes customers much more likely to trust your business and make a purchasing decision. For customers who are searching for businesses online, local search ranking, good reviews, and ratings on your Google Business Profile can act as a call to action. According to studies, around 90% of local businesses are selected based on online searches.
On the other hand, Trustpilot is an independent platform where customers can publicly write reviews about businesses and see how businesses respond to those reviews. This allows customers to compare different businesses they are considering and evaluate the credibility of a business through its review velocity, review volume, review recency, and review quantity
before choosing it. One of the strongest factors of Trustpilot is the availability of millions of reviews, reaching approximately 361 million in December 2025. This makes businesses with positive reviews more credible and trustworthy to customers. Trustpilot is especially useful for major brands, e-commerce businesses, and Saas companies that may not have a physical storefront and need to build their reputation online.
Which One Is Better for SEO?
From an SEO perspective, out of the two platforms, Google Business Profile and Trustpilot, Google Business Profile is better than Trustpilot, considering local search discoverability.
According to Google, a Google Business Profile can improve the local ranking of a business when all the necessary information is provided accurately. Local ocal search algorithm work based on how relevant the business is to the customer’s search, its distance from the customer’s location, its prominence, as well as the number of reviews and the rating of the business.
Furthermore, businesses cannot pay Google to increase their ranking, review generation, or for review marketing. This makes Google Business Profiles more credible to customers.
On the other hand, TrustPilot is more suited towards trust building and social proofing for e-commerce, Saas businesses, and major brands.
While Google Business Profiles are better suited for SEO or local search visibility, TrustPilot profiles with a positive ranking provide more of a competitive advantage to businesses when customers actively verify the credibility of a brand or choose from multiple options they are considering. So, to stay competitive, many businesses also focus on ways to boost their online reputation with reviews across multiple platforms.
When Should You Use Both Platforms?
Your business should consider using both Google Business Profile and TrustPilot when it operates both locally and online, requiring the benefits of both platforms.
Businesses using this hybrid strategy use their Google Business Profile to rank high in local searches to attract customers to their physical locations, while also social proofing themselves and building trust with customers through their collection of reviews on Trustpilot. This strategy is especially well-suited for businesses with high competition industries or businesses that utilize an aggressive review strategy.
Which One Should You Choose?
There are multiple factors that your organization needs to consider while choosing the right platform for your business. The best platform depends on your business type, as local businesses benefit more from Google Business Profile, while global brands often gain more from Trustpilot. Cost is often a big factor for local businesses, which makes Google Business Profile a more suitable choice.
Furthermore, search rankings are the biggest traffic generator for such businesses, making a Google Business Profile the best platform of choice for you. But if you are operating a major brand or a business that has a substantial online presence, TrustPilot would be a better choice for your business, as your target customers would need a credible platform to verify your claims and judge your business from the perspective of existing customers before choosing your business.
FAQ
Q1: Is Trustpilot better than Google reviews?
It depends on your goals, as both platforms serve different purposes.
Q2: Does Google Business Profile affect SEO?
Yes, Google reviews directly impact local search rankings.
Q3: Can I use both Trustpilot and Google reviews?
Yes, using both platforms can strengthen overall credibility.
