8 Best WordPress Review Plugins for Google, Yelp & More
Reviews are the most important social proof you have. But here's the problem: they're scattered everywhere. Google has 40 reviews. Yelp has 28. Facebook has 12. Trustpilot has 35. Your potential customers have to visit four different sites to see what people actually think of you.
Review plugins fix this by pulling reviews from everywhere and displaying them on your WordPress site. Better yet, some of them actively collect new reviews from customers via email, SMS, or WhatsApp ā so you don't have to beg for them manually.
Here are the 8 best WordPress review plugins, split between "display only" (pull reviews from Google/Yelp/Facebook) and "collection + display" (actively generate new reviews).
Two Types of Review Plugins (And Why It Matters)
Display-only plugins pull reviews from Google, Yelp, Facebook, and Trustpilot and show them on your WordPress site. They're passive ā they don't ask customers for new reviews. Best for: businesses that already have strong review counts (50+) on external platforms.
Collection + display plugins do both: they collect new reviews from customers via email/SMS/WhatsApp, AND display reviews from Google/Yelp/Facebook. Best for: businesses trying to grow their review count, e-commerce stores, restaurants, service businesses.
If you have 50+ reviews on Google already, a display-only plugin saves you money. If you're starting from zero, a collection plugin is worth the cost.
Display-Only Plugins (Best for Showing Off Existing Reviews)
1. Trustindex ā Most Installed, Most Flexible
Trustindex is the most-installed review plugin on WordPress.org (900,000+ active installs, 4.9/5 stars). It's simple: connect your Google Business Profile, Yelp, Facebook, or Trustpilot account, and it displays reviews in a rotating widget. The free version shows up to 10 reviews. Pro unlocks unlimited reviews, more layout options, and schema markup for rich snippets in Google.
What it does: Display Google, Yelp, Facebook, Trustpilot, and Amazon reviews, automatic updates when new reviews come in, multiple layout options (slider, grid, carousel), star rating filtering, schema markup for SEO, responsive design.
Pricing: Free version shows up to 10 reviews. Pro starts at $65/year and unlocks unlimited reviews and more layouts.
Pros: most installed means best documentation and community, simple setup (3 clicks), looks professional out of the box, good free tier for small businesses.
Cons: free tier limited to 10 reviews (not ideal if you have 50+), fewer customization options than competitors, doesn't actively collect new reviews.
Best for: Small businesses with 5-50 reviews wanting to display them, local services, restaurants.
2. Smash Balloon Reviews Feed Pro ā Best for Multi-Platform Aggregation
Smash Balloon (1.75M+ users across their plugin suite) also makes review plugins. Their Reviews Feed Pro pulls reviews from Google, Yelp, Trustpilot, TripAdvisor, Facebook, and WordPress.org into a single feed. It's like having a unified review dashboard on your website instead of sending visitors to seven different platforms.
What it does: Aggregate reviews from 6+ platforms, filter by platform or star rating, carousel and grid layouts, automated updates, schema markup, local image storage for faster loading, background caching.
Pricing: Free version available (limited). Pro/All Access ranges from $49ā299/year depending on how many platforms you need. Their All Access Bundle ($299/year intro) includes Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter feeds plus reviews.
Pros: integrates well with Smash Balloon's other feed plugins if you use them, solid reputation from Smash Balloon's ecosystem, good documentation, handles lots of reviews without slowing down.
Cons: can feel pricey if you only need reviews (other plugins do same thing cheaper), renewal pricing is higher than intro price, per-network pricing adds up if you need multiple platforms.
Best for: Multi-location businesses with reviews on Google, Yelp, Facebook, and TripAdvisor. Restaurants, real estate, service chains.
3. WP Business Reviews ā Best Simple Display
WP Business Reviews is straightforward and no-nonsense. Doesn't try to be fancy. Just pulls reviews from Google, Yelp, and Facebook and displays them cleanly. The free version is basic but functional. Pro at $49/year unlocks more filtering and layout options.
What it does: Pull reviews from Google, Yelp, Facebook, display in simple grid/list/slider layouts, star rating filtering, schema markup, customizable colors.
Pricing: Free version available. Pro $49/year.
Pros: genuinely simple (no learning curve), lightweight code (doesn't slow your site), free tier works for most small businesses, affordable Pro tier.
Cons: limited to 3 platforms (no Trustpilot or TripAdvisor), fewer layout options than Trustindex, smaller community means fewer tutorials.
Best for: Simple business maps needing just Google/Yelp/Facebook reviews displayed.
4. Tagembed ā Best Visual Editor
Tagembed's claim to fame: the drag-and-drop editor. Seriously impressive if you're not a designer. You move elements around, resize them, change colors, see a live preview ā all in the editor. No settings dialogs. No "I don't know what this does" confusion. The price is higher than competitors ($19/month vs. $39-65/year), but the UI is genuinely beautiful.
What it does: Aggregates reviews from Google, Facebook, Yelp, TripAdvisor, drag-and-drop customization, live preview, moderation panel (approve/hide reviews), responsive design.
Pricing: Free version available (basic). Pro starts at $19/month ($228/year). Expensive compared to annual plugins, but the editor experience is worth it if you care about aesthetics.
Pros: best visual customization experience, drag-and-drop is actually fun to use, live preview, moderation is easy.
Cons: monthly pricing ($19/mo = $228/year) is pricey versus $65/year Trustindex or $49/year WP Business Reviews, overkill if you don't care about visual customization.
Best for: Designers and businesses that want a beautiful review widget and don't mind paying for design time.
Collection + Display Plugins (Best for Growing Your Review Count)
5. WiserReview ā Best for Active Review Collection
WiserReview is different. It's not just a display plugin ā it actively asks customers for reviews after they buy, via email, SMS, or WhatsApp. You set it up once, and it automatically sends review requests to customers. The new reviews sync back to Google as star ratings (which helps with local SEO). Free to start, then $9/month if you want to keep it running.
What it does: Automatically email customers asking for reviews after purchase, accept reviews on your site, sync ratings to Google Business Profile, SMS and WhatsApp collection (requires SMS credits), display reviews on your site, full moderation dashboard.
Pricing: Free version available with caps. Pro starts at $9/month. Includes all features (no per-feature upsells). SMS costs extra (third-party provider pricing).
Pros: actually collects new reviews (not just displays existing ones), email automation means no manual asking, syncs to Google so new reviews show up in local search, flat pricing with no surprises, good documentation.
Cons: $9/month adds up ($108/year), SMS collection requires credits, requires WooCommerce integration for best results, smaller community than Trustindex.
Best for: E-commerce stores, restaurants, service businesses that want to actively grow their review count without manually asking customers.
6. Starfish Reviews ā Best for Smart Review Funnels
Starfish Reviews does something clever: it creates a "funnel" that filters customer sentiment before asking for public reviews. Happy customers get sent to leave a 5-star review on Google. Unhappy customers get a private feedback form instead of a public review. This avoids the awkward situation of asking everyone for a review and getting negative reviews in return.
What it does: Create review funnels that filter sentiment, route happy customers to Google/Yelp/Facebook/Trustpilot for reviews, collect negative feedback privately, display imported reviews on your site, integrate with MailChimp/MailPoet for follow-ups.
Pricing: Free version on WordPress.org. Pro plans start around $37ā47/month (contact sales). Higher price point than WiserReview, but the funnel logic is unique.
Pros: smart funnel prevents negative public reviews, actively generates reviews on external platforms (helps local SEO), good for businesses worried about bad reviews, integrates with email marketing platforms.
Cons: monthly pricing is higher than annual competitors, fewer customization options than display-only plugins, requires setting up funnels (more setup work).
Best for: Local service businesses, agencies, and e-commerce stores worried about getting negative reviews publicly displayed.
7. WP Social Ninja ā Best All-in-One (Reviews + Social + Chat)
WP Social Ninja is not just a review plugin ā it's also a social feed plugin and live chat widget combined into one. If you want reviews, Instagram feed, and WhatsApp chat all in one license, WP Social Ninja covers it for $44/year (promo pricing) or $89/year regular. It's a bundle play, not a specialist.
What it does: Display Google, Yelp, Facebook reviews, Instagram/Facebook/TikTok feeds, WhatsApp/Messenger/Telegram chat widgets, testimonial blocks, social proof notifications.
Pricing: Single site $44/year promo (regular $89/year). Agency tier $149/year for 25 sites. Includes all modules.
Pros: best value if you need reviews + social feeds + chat (replaces 3 plugins), reasonable pricing, good documentation, all features included on every tier (no feature-gating).
Cons: doesn't actively collect new reviews (display only), free tier is limited, each module is "good enough" not "best-in-class," doesn't have as many layout options as specialized review plugins.
Best for: Small businesses wanting to replace multiple tools with one license (reviews, social feed, chat widget).
8. WP Customer Reviews ā Best Free Option for Collection
WP Customer Reviews is completely free, open-source, and adds a review form to your site. You're not pulling from Google or Yelp ā you're collecting reviews directly on your WordPress site. It outputs proper schema markup so search engines can read them. Good if you want to own your reviews instead of relying on external platforms.
What it does: Review collection form on any page/post, rating stars, schema microformat output, moderation dashboard, responsive design.
Pricing: Completely free. No paid version or upsells.
Pros: completely free, open-source (community maintained), schema markup included, simple setup.
Cons: doesn't actively ask customers for reviews (passive collection), no email automation, no integration with Google/Yelp/Facebook, outdated interface, minimal customization.
Best for: Blogs, local services, or any site that wants to collect reviews directly without relying on Google/Yelp and doesn't have a budget.
Quick Comparison Table
| Plugin | Type | Pricing | Free Version | Platforms | Collects New Reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trustindex | Display | Free or $65/yr | ā 10 reviews | Google, Yelp, FB, Trustpilot, Amazon | ā No |
| Smash Balloon | Display | Free or $49ā299/yr | ā Limited | Google, Yelp, FB, Trustpilot, TA, WP.org | ā No |
| WP Business Reviews | Display | Free or $49/yr | ā Yes | Google, Yelp, Facebook | ā No |
| Tagembed | Display | Free or $19/mo | ā Basic | Google, FB, Yelp, TA | ā No |
| WiserReview | Collect + Display | Free or $9/mo | ā Yes | Google, own site | ā Yes (Email, SMS, WhatsApp) |
| Starfish Reviews | Collect + Display | Free or $37ā47/mo | ā Limited | Google, Yelp, FB, Trustpilot | ā Yes (Smart funnel) |
| WP Social Ninja | Display + Feeds + Chat | $44ā149/yr | ā Limited | Google, Yelp, Facebook | ā No |
| WP Customer Reviews | Collect | Free | ā Full | Own site only | ā Yes (Manual) |
How to Pick (Decision Tree)
If you have 50+ reviews on Google already: Trustindex free or WP Business Reviews free. Just display them, don't overthink.
If you have reviews scattered across Google, Yelp, Facebook, Trustpilot: Smash Balloon ($49+/year) or Tagembed if you want visual customization ($19/month).
If you want to actively collect new reviews from customers: WiserReview ($9/month for email/SMS collection) or Starfish Reviews ($37+/month for smart funnel).
If you want reviews + social feeds + chat in one plugin: WP Social Ninja ($44ā89/year).
If your budget is $0: WP Customer Reviews (free, collect reviews on your site) or Trustindex free (display 10 Google reviews).
FAQ
Do review plugins require a Google API key?
Most plugins do to pull from Google Business Profile. WiserReview and Starfish (collection tools) don't because they're creating new reviews, not pulling existing ones. Setup usually involves giving the plugin permission to read your Google Business Profile (no scary API stuff).
Will adding a review widget slow my site?
Slightly, because it's loading images and data from external services. Good plugins cache images locally and lazy-load so reviews don't block page rendering. Impact is usually 0.1ā0.3 seconds. Not significant.
Can I display reviews from only certain platforms?
Yes. Most plugins let you filter by platform, so you can show only Google and Yelp reviews if you want to hide lower review counts on Facebook.
What's the best plugin for WooCommerce stores?
WiserReview ($9/month) because it asks customers for reviews after purchase and syncs to Google. If budget is tight, WP Business Reviews free + WP Customer Reviews free (collect on-site reviews).
Can I own my reviews, or do I have to use Google/Yelp?
You can do both. Collect on your site with WP Customer Reviews (free) AND display Google/Yelp reviews with Trustindex or Smash Balloon. Giving you two sources of social proof.
The Real Talk
If you just need to display your existing Google reviews, use Trustindex free. Costs $0 and does the job. If you're trying to grow your review count and have a budget, WiserReview at $9/month is the cheapest solution that actually asks customers automatically. If you're on a tighter budget than that, WP Customer Reviews free + MailChimp free email (send manual review requests) gets you 80% there without spending money.
The difference between a good review plugin and a great one is usually "does it collect new reviews?" If you're actively collecting, WiserReview and Starfish win. If you're just showing off existing reviews, Trustindex is fine. Pick the one that solves your actual problem and move on.
