Will the platform answer reviews for us?

All three draft responses now, and all three will publish them unattended if you let them. We would not. A response that names the wrong location, contradicts a policy or acknowledges a health claim is a brand problem, and the approval step is where it gets caught.

Can we start with a few locations?

Yes, and it is the right way to buy: per-location pricing means a pilot costs a pilot’s worth. Ask for the enterprise permission model to be enabled on the pilot so what you learn transfers.

Are you paid if I sign up?

Where we are enrolled in a vendor’s partner programme, yes, and the link says so beside the button. The scale rule above does not change with the commission.

Recommendation · Franchise and multi-location marketing leads

Which reputation-management platform should a multi-location brand use?

Under fifty locations, Podium or Birdeye: both request reviews by text, both aggregate Google and the vertical sites, and both give each location its own inbox under one brand view. Past fifty locations, or with a compliance team that must approve responses, Birdeye’s enterprise tier or Reputation — the permission model and the audit trail are what you are paying for.

None of the links below currently pays us. If that changes, the button will say so. The recommendation is the same either way.

What decides it

· Review requests sent by text from the location’s own number, at the moment of service
· Per-location inboxes under one brand-level view, with permissions that match your org chart
· An approval step before a response publishes — mandatory in regulated verticals
· Export or API access to the review stream, so the data is yours

The vendors, by scale

Podium

Best for: Two to fifty locations with a front desk at each

The strongest text-based review request in the category and a single inbox per location for reviews, messages and payments.

Cost: Per-location plans from a few hundred dollars a month (vendor list, 2026 — verify on the vendor site)

Start with PodiumNot a partner link — we are not paid for this one.

Birdeye

Best for: Ten to several hundred locations

Reviews, listings and social under one roof, a reseller tier for agencies, and an enterprise permission model.

Cost: Per-location plans from a few hundred dollars a month (vendor list, 2026 — verify on the vendor site)

Start with BirdeyeNot a partner link — we are not paid for this one.

Reputation

Best for: Enterprise brands with a compliance function

Approval workflows, audit trail and reporting built for a central team overseeing hundreds of locations.

Cost: Quoted; enterprise tier (vendor, 2026 — verify on the vendor site)

Start with ReputationNot a partner link — we are not paid for this one.

Read first

The pages that explain what the software has to plug into, and why the criteria above are the ones that matter.

Frequently asked

Will the platform answer reviews for us?: All three draft responses now, and all three will publish them unattended if you let them. We would not. A response that names the wrong location, contradicts a policy or acknowledges a health claim is a brand problem, and the approval step is where it gets caught.
Can we start with a few locations?: Yes, and it is the right way to buy: per-location pricing means a pilot costs a pilot’s worth. Ask for the enterprise permission model to be enabled on the pilot so what you learn transfers.
Are you paid if I sign up?: Where we are enrolled in a vendor’s partner programme, yes, and the link says so beside the button. The scale rule above does not change with the commission.

If the scale rule does not fit you

Three questions about your operation, answered in writing, and the pick above adjusted to it. No call unless you ask for one.

Ask which one fits