Birdeye vs Nearby Now (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Birdeye and Nearby Now share a 2.0 GPA, neither has a free plan and their prices can't be set side by side, so the choice depends on whether you care more about value for money and features, where Birdeye grades higher, or the free plan, where Nearby Now does.
Checked Oct 18, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 18, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Birdeye
Review management and AI agents for multi-location local businesses
Paid
Nearby Now
Job check-ins and review requests that build local rankings
Free trial · from $155/mo
Which one is for you
Pick Birdeye if
- Fits if you run a franchise or a brand with dozens of locations
- Works for dental, healthcare, car and home service businesses that want reviews and listings on one contract
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to see a price before talking to sales, as none is published
- Not for you if you run a single shop and want to try it free first, as there's no free plan or trial
- Not for you if you sell online and need reviews of each product on your store
- Watch out: pricing is set by the products deployed at each location, under one contract, rather than by seats
- Tight if you want a quick start, as there's a sales quote and a lot of platform to set up across locations
Pick Nearby Now if
- Fits if you run a plumbing, HVAC or roofing firm serving many towns
- Works for field teams that want reviews and job photos captured on site
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you're a small firm, as it starts at $155 a month and the pages don't say if that's per location
- Watch out: GeoGrids, keyword rank tracking and AI visibility tracking are add-ons
- Tight if you're on SEO Pro, as video check-ins, AI, Spot-On routing, Zapier and Mailchimp need Master at $239
- Watch out: the Premium API is $99 a month and dispatch integrations $100 to $125 a month
- Skip it if you're outside the US, Canada, UK and Australia, where full support doesn't reach
How we grade them
| 2.0GPABirdeyeFair | 2.0GPANearby NowFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CNo price is published: the pricing page asks for your number of locations and contact details before you get a quote, and Birdeye prices by the products deployed at each location, not by seats. With nothing to compare, it sits at C, the grade for no stated price. | DSEO Pro is $155 a month, month-to-month, in this category's dearest tenth ($99 and up), and the pages don't say whether that's per location. AI and Zapier need Master at $239, and GeoGrids, the $99 API and $100 to $125 dispatch links are add-ons. |
| Free plan and trial | FNo free plan and no trial on record. You ask for a quote and sign a contract, so there's no way to look around for free first. | CNo free plan, but a 14-day trial with full product access and no setup fee. The pages read don't mention a card. |
| Features | BIt covers the whole job: AI review requests on the channel most likely to get a reply, AI replies within industry rules, every site's reviews in one inbox with a score per location, competitor benchmarks, and positive reviews turned into branded posts. | CJob check-ins with photos and location schema, review requests by text, email, QR code or call, city pages, call tracking and lead texting. The gaps are in the listing: grid and keyword rank tracking and AI visibility tracking are add-ons. |
| Ease of use | C4.32 from 508 App Store ratings, which is middling. There's a lot of platform to set up across locations, and you start with a sales quote rather than a sign-up. | CNo rating on record. Field staff use the phone app on every job, and the check-ins and city pages have to be built into your own website. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Salesforce, HubSpot, ServiceTitan, Housecall Pro, Jobber, QuickBooks Online, Square and Dentrix. No desktop app is listed, which keeps it off an A. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with no desktop app. It connects to ServiceTitan, FieldEdge, Jobber, Housecall Pro, Google Business Profile, Facebook, Zapier and Mailchimp, with an API as an add-on. |
| Best for | reviews for brands with many locations | job check-ins and reviews for trades |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Birdeye and Nearby Now. How we grade
Where they differ
- Birdeye also covers AI agents, surveys, reports and chatbots.
- Nearby Now also covers business texting, rank tracking and call tracking.
In commonWebiOSAndroidReview collection
At a glance
| Birdeye | Nearby Now | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | Not published | $155 per month, month-to-month |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 14-day free trial with full product access, no contract or setup fee |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Birdeye Inc | Nearby Now, LLC |
| Price read from | Not confirmed | nearbynow.co |
| Checked | Oct 18, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Birdeye
- No prices are published: the pricing page asks for the number of locations and contact details before giving a quote.
- Birdeye says it prices by the products deployed at each location under one contract, not by seats.
- It is aimed at multi-location businesses; the pricing form starts at 1 to 3 locations and runs past 1,000.
Nearby Now
- There is no free plan, only the 14-day trial; plans are month-to-month with no setup fee and unlimited users.
- GeoGrids, keyword rank tracking and AI visibility tracking are add-ons; the Premium API is $99 a month and dispatch-software integrations $100 to $125 a month.
- Video check-ins, Nearby Now AI, Spot-On routing, Zapier and Mailchimp need SEO Master at $239 a month.
- Full product support covers the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.
Key features
Birdeye
- Review requests at the right moment
- An AI agent asks each customer for a review on the channel most likely to get a reply and prompts for detail in the review.
- AI review replies
- Writes responses in the brand's voice within industry rules, and either posts them on its own or holds them for approval.
- All review sites in one place
- Gathers ratings and reviews from every site for every location into one inbox, with a reputation score per location over time.
- Reviews turned into posts
- Picks strong reviews and designs branded graphics to post on social media and the business's website, by location.
- Competitor benchmarks
- Compares each location's ratings and visibility against named competitors, location by location.
- Wider platform
- The same contract can add listings, social posting, a chatbot, surveys, ticketing, appointments and reminders by voice, email and text.
Nearby Now
- Job check-ins
- A technician taps in on arrival to capture a photo, a short description and a GPS pin; each check-in carries location schema so it reads as local content.
- Review requests and routing
- Ask for reviews by text, email, QR code or voice call with automatic reminders; Spot-On on SEO Master sends reviewers to the nearest Google Business Profile.
- City pages
- Unlimited pages for each city and neighborhood served, hosted on the business's own domain and filled with its real reviews and job media.
- GeoGrids and rank tracking
- Grid-based Google Maps rank tracking across the whole service area and keyword rank tracking, both sold as add-ons.
- Call tracking and LeadSMS
- Dedicated phone numbers by source show which channel made the phone ring, and a website widget lets visitors start a text conversation with the team.
- Nearby Now AI
- On SEO Master, it rewrites short tech notes into fuller check-ins, tags photos, blurs faces and plates, scores review sentiment and drafts replies.
Plans
Birdeye
Pricing could not be confirmed. See birdeye.com.
Nearby Now
Self-serve SEO Pro$155
per month, month-to-month; per-location basis not stated
Unlimited check-ins with photos and geo-schema, SMS and email review requests, 27+ review sites, unlimited city pages, call tracking and unlimited users.
Self-serve SEO Master$239
per month, month-to-month; per-location basis not stated
Adds video check-ins, audio reviews, custom SMS numbers, Spot-On routing to the nearest Google profile, Nearby Now AI, Zapier and Mailchimp.
Agency-supportedCustom
SEO Pro or Master delivered by a partner agency that handles setup, website integration and training, at a rate the agency sets.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Birdeye or Nearby Now?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Birdeye has no price we could confirm, and Nearby Now starts at $155 per month, month-to-month.
Which has a free plan, Birdeye or Nearby Now?
As of Oct 23, 2026, neither Birdeye nor Nearby Now has a free plan. Nearby Now has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.