BrightLocal vs Yelp for Business (2026): which should you pick?

Pick BrightLocal if

• Fits if your business is in the US, UK, Canada or Australia and you want rankings and listings in one account
• Works for agencies sending white-label local ranking reports for many client locations

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if your business is outside the US, UK, Canada and Australia, where only citation building works
• Tight if you're on Track, as listing sync starts at Manage ($40) and review replies at Grow ($49)
• Watch out: Citation Builder is paid per site, from $3.20 or $2 with bulk credits, on top of any plan
• Not for you if you want a free plan, since after the 14-day trial you can only look at old data
• Watch out: above 100 locations prices are on request, and a downgrade takes effect at once with no refund

Pick Yelp for Business if

• Fits if you run a restaurant or local service whose customers look you up on Yelp
• Works for owners who want to answer reviews and quote requests from their phone

Look elsewhere if

• Pricey if you want rivals' ads off your page, as that's in the $180-a-month Upgrade Package
• Watch out: a claimed page can show as unclaimed again after 90 days without a login
• Watch out: Yelp says its minimum ad budgets are subject to change
• Pricey if you run a restaurant, as Guest Manager is from $129 a month yearly and Host AI from $249
• Skip it if you need Google, Apple Maps or Bing listings too, as it manages the Yelp page only

BrightLocal

• The platform works in the USA, UK, Canada and Australia; citation building alone reaches more countries.
• Citation Builder is paid per site, from $3.20 or as low as $2 with bulk credits, on top of any plan.
• Prices rise with the number of locations, and above 100 locations they are on request.
• Downgrades take effect at once and the unused part of the old plan is not refunded.

Yelp for Business

• A claimed page can be shown as unclaimed again if the owner has not logged in to Yelp for Business for 90 days.
• Yelp says its minimum ad budgets are subject to change; self-serve ads have no term contract and can be cancelled at any time.
• Restaurant tools are sold separately: Yelp Guest Manager from $129 a month billed annually ($159 monthly) and the Yelp Host AI phone service from $249 a month.
• It manages the Yelp page only; listings on Google, Apple Maps and Bing are claimed separately.

BrightLocal

Local Rank Tracker and Local Search Grid

Track local rankings for up to 100 keywords and 4 competitors per location, and map Google local rankings on a geogrid.

Local AI Visibility Tracker

Checks whether ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews recommend a business, for up to 20 prompts per location, on every plan.

Citation Tracker and Citation Builder

Audit listing accuracy and find gaps, then pay per site to have listings built, including the Data Axle, Neustar Localeze and Foursquare aggregators.

Active Sync and Google posts

From Manage up, keeps business details synced and protected on key sites and schedules Google Business Profile posts across locations.

Reputation tools

Grow adds review monitoring with replies across several sites, review requests by email, SMS and in-store campaigns, and a review widget.

White-label reports, APIs and MCP

Reports and tools can carry your own branding, and the platform offers local SEO APIs and an MCP server for ChatGPT, Claude or Mistral.

Yelp for Business

Free business page

Claim an existing page or create one, then keep the phone number, address, website, hours and services current; most new pages are approved within 24 hours.

Reviews and messages

Reply to reviews in public and answer messages and requests for quotes, calls or consultations from people who found the page.

Page activity

Track page visits, leads and other customer activity from the web account or the Yelp for Business app on iOS and Android.

Yelp Ads

Pay for placement in Sponsored Results and on rival pages, choose whether the ad button calls, messages, opens the website or gives directions, and pause or cancel at any time.

Upgrade Package

Up to seven page features depending on eligibility, including badges, a logo, a chosen photo order, a call-to-action button and removal of competitor ads.

Multi-location pages

Each page can be claimed and managed on its own; businesses with 11 or more locations get custom solutions and a dedicated team for bulk updates.

BrightLocal

• Track$31

  per month for 1 location, billed annually ($41 billed monthly)

  Rank tracking for 100 keywords, a geogrid for 5 keywords, audits, citation tracking and AI visibility. $62 a month yearly for 6-10 locations.

• Manage$40

  per month for 1 location, billed annually ($54 billed monthly)

  Everything in Track plus AI Insights, Active Sync to keep listings synced and protected on key sites and a Google post scheduler.

• Grow$49

  per month for 1 location, billed annually ($65 billed monthly)

  Everything in Manage plus review monitoring and replies, review requests by email, SMS and in store, and a review widget.

• CustomCustom

  Price on request for more than 100 locations, or for high-volume accounts that need only one or two report types.

Yelp for Business

• Yelp Business Page$0

  20+ free features: business details, photos, replies to reviews and messages, quote and call requests, and page activity.

• Yelp Ads$150

  per month and up, as an ad budget

  Ads in Sponsored Results and on competitors' pages, targeted by location and keyword. The ads page puts the minimum at $5 a day on average.

• Upgrade Package$180

  per month

  Business Highlights, logo, photo slideshow, call-to-action button, posts, a portfolio where eligible, and no competitor ads on your page.

• Yelp Ads & Upgrade Package$270

  per month and up

  Both together, plus the option to show a Verified License on the page.

BrightLocal

• Annual discount

  Save 25% with annual billing

  BrightLocal's pricing page lists 25% off for annual billing: Track for one location is $369 a year ($31 a month) against $41 a month billed monthly.

Yelp for Business

No public discounts listed.