How to choose franchise reputation management software.
A buyer's guide for franchisors, franchisees and multi-unit restaurant groups setting 2027 budgets: who you are buying for, what to score, the questions to ask every vendor, and a source-linked comparison.
Written by Chase Kubala, multi-unit restaurant Operating Partner and founder of Replio.
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Published
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Vendor facts checked
Who are you buying franchise reputation software for?
Most bad purchases start here. "Franchise reputation management" covers two different buyers with two different jobs, and the vendors who serve one well often serve the other poorly.
| If you are | The job is | Weight these criteria most |
|---|---|---|
| A franchisor or brand team | Consistent listings, brand voice and system-wide reporting across hundreds of independently owned stores | Listings, roles by franchisee, brand reply controls, system reporting, surveys |
| A franchisee with several stores | Every review answered, and the same complaint stopped from coming back at the store that keeps getting it | Store-level ownership, follow-through, approval of replies, cost per location |
| An independent restaurant group | One view across your own locations without losing the store manager's view | Location roll-up, roles, delivery feedback, contract terms |
If the franchisor already pays for a brand-wide platform, a franchisee's question is different: what does that platform leave undone at my stores? Ask your franchise business consultant what the brand tool includes for your locations before you buy anything on top of it.
What should you score when comparing franchise review tools?
Score every vendor on the same seven criteria, one to five, weighted by the table above. Write the weights down before the first demo, or every polished demo will look like the right answer.
1. Feedback sources you actually get
List where your guests talk: Google, Yelp, delivery apps, surveys, social. Then ask each vendor which of those arrive automatically, which need an export you upload, and which are not supported. "We support 200 sites" matters less than the four sites your stores live on.
2. Reply workflow and approval
Who drafts a reply, who approves it, and whether anything can post without a person. For a franchise, also ask whether the brand can set reply rules that a franchisee cannot override, and whether sensitive reviews (illness, safety, refunds, a named employee) are held back for a person.
3. Roles and permissions by location
A shift leader at one store should see that store. An area leader should see their stores. The brand should see what its agreement allows. Ask for the role list in writing, not a slide.
4. Follow-through on repeat complaints
Replying is one task. Fixing the reason three guests wrote about cold fries this week is another. Ask whether a repeat complaint can become assigned work with one owner, a due time and a record of completion, and whether someone other than the person who did the work signs off.
5. Reporting at store and system level
Look for the same numbers at both levels: response rate, rating trend, complaint categories, open work. Ask how the tool reports when a store has too few reviews to say anything. A tool that always shows a confident trend line is guessing on small stores.
6. Data ownership and leaving
Your Google Business Profile should stay owned by the business, never by the vendor. Ask what you can export, in what format, and what happens to your data and your published replies if you cancel.
7. Real cost for 2027
Get the price per location, the contract length, the renewal terms, setup fees, and the cost of each add-on you would need. Compare the full cost over your contract, not the first month.
What questions should you ask a reputation management vendor?
Send the same list to every vendor before the demo and ask for written answers. Copy it into your request for proposal.
Sources and data
- Which review sites and delivery apps arrive automatically, and which need a file we upload?
- How quickly does a new Google review appear in your product? Show us, do not estimate.
- What can we export if we leave, and in what format?
- Who owns our Google Business Profile access, and how do we revoke yours?
Replies
- Can anything post without a person approving it? Who can turn that on?
- Which reviews are always held for a person?
- Can the brand set reply rules that a store cannot change?
- Do you ever ask guests for reviews in a way that filters out unhappy guests?
People and permissions
- List every role and what it can see and change.
- How does a new store manager get access, and how fast can we remove it when they leave?
- Can a franchisee see another franchisee's stores? Can the brand see ours?
Follow-through
- When the same complaint repeats at a store, what does your product do with it?
- Can we assign it to one named person with a due time?
- Who confirms the work was done, and can that be someone other than the person who did it?
- How do you show whether complaints dropped afterward, and what do you show when there is not enough data?
Contract and cost
- Price per location, contract length, renewal terms and notice period, in writing.
- Which features in today's demo are in the plan you are quoting?
- What does setup cost, and who does it?
- Can we pilot on two or three stores before signing for all of them?
How do franchise reputation tools compare?
This table lists only what each vendor publishes on its own site or help center, checked on Monday, October 26, 2026. "Not found" means we could not find it on the vendor's own pages that day, not that the feature does not exist. Ask the vendor. Replio is listed first as our pick; the rest are alphabetical.
| Tool | Public price | Franchise or multi-location page | Reply approval documented | Surveys | Location roles documented | Strongest for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Replio Our pick | $149 per location per month, billed monthly; self-serve up to 10 locations | Yes; Corporate HQ view for brand teams, covering franchisees who turn on sharing | Yes, required by default | No; review requests by QR code, email or a shareable link | Owner, leader, team member, plus corporate access | Franchise systems fixing repeat complaints store by store |
| Birdeye | No public price; contact sales | Yes | Yes, response approvals | Yes | Enterprise or location level | Franchise brands wanting one broad suite |
| Momos | No pricing page found | Not found | Suggested replies a person approves and sends | Yes, in the inbox | Yes, across locations | Restaurant groups wanting one inbox |
| Ovation | No public price; custom pricing | Not found | Not found | Yes, the core product | Role by role controls | Restaurants running guest surveys |
| Podium | Core $399/mo, Pro $599/mo, Signature custom; $5/mo texting fee per US location | Not found; Signature lists advanced multi-location management | No approval queue found; reply permission by role | Pro plan | Yes, by location | Local businesses wanting texting and payments |
| Reputation | $80, $115 or $150 per location per month; custom for 125+ locations | Not found | Yes, Submit for Approval | Yes | Yes, by role | Large brands with a dedicated team |
| SOCi | No public price; priced by location and by agent | Yes | Approval rules, on a marketing page | Yes | Not verified | Franchise marketing teams |
| Tattle | $125 to $65 per location per month by volume; tiers start at 5 units; review management is an add-on | No dedicated page; homepage mentions action plans per franchisee | Not found | Yes | Not verified | Restaurants measuring guest experience |
| Yext | No pricing page found | Not found | Yes, approval queue | Not verified | Yes, response and approver permissions | Brands managing listings at scale |
Prices are what each vendor's pricing page displayed in a browser on October 26, 2026, before taxes and before any quote. Only Replio's pricing page states the billing term. Yext completed its acquisition of Hearsay Systems on August 1, 2024 (Yext).
Why is Replio our pick for franchise systems?
Replio is operational intelligence for local businesses. It reads Google and Yelp reviews, plus DoorDash and Uber Eats feedback loaded from your reports, sorts each one into an operational category, and helps your team turn a repeat complaint into one action with one named owner. An owner or leader verifies the work, and Replio then compares later feedback in that category. Replies are drafted for a person to approve by default; only the owner can turn on automatic posting, and replies about safety, illness, refunds, legal issues or a named team member never post automatically.
Pricing you can budget
$149 per location per month, billed monthly, with no annual lock-in and no location minimum. Of the vendors here that publish a price, Replio is the only one whose pricing page states the billing term. Self-serve checkout covers up to 10 locations.
Follow-through, not just replies
A repeat complaint becomes one action with one named owner and a due time. The person who did the work cannot verify it; an owner or leader does. Then Replio compares the next reviews in that category.
Rex answers, on your terms
Rex drafts each reply from what the guest actually said. Approval is required by default. If the owner allows it, Rex answers reviews for the business automatically, and replies about safety, illness, refunds, legal issues or a named team member still never post automatically.
A view for the brand
Franchisors get Corporate HQ by invitation: brand-wide ratings, a location league table, a category heatmap and verified fixes. It covers every franchisee who turns on sharing in Settings, which is off by default, so each owner decides what the brand sees.
Google listing check
For stores connected to Google, Replio compares the hours, phone, website and address you submitted with what Google shows guests, and flags a mismatch so a wrong listing does not sit there for weeks.
Ask every guest
Get Reviews asks guests by QR code, email or a link you can text, and can ask automatically after visits your POS or loyalty system reports. The link goes straight to Google, Yelp, Facebook or TripAdvisor with no rating screen first, which keeps you inside Google's rules.
Built by someone who ran the stores
Replio was founded by a multi-unit Operating Partner with eleven years inside Chick-fil-A, and it is built around how a franchisee's stores actually run: the shift leader does the fix, the owner signs off, the next reviews decide. Chick-fil-A, Inc. is not affiliated with Replio and does not endorse it.
When another tool is the better fit
- You need guest surveys, listings published across many directories, reservation feeds, Facebook or TripAdvisor reviews read into the inbox, or single sign-on. Replio does not provide them today.
- You run more than 10 locations and want to buy without a conversation. Above 10 locations, talk with our team.
Replio can show whether complaints in a category declined after an action, with the sample size attached. It cannot prove the action caused the change, and it does not claim revenue or rating results. The full rules are on the methodology page.
What review rules should franchise review software follow?
Two sets of rules apply to every tool on this page, and a vendor that bends them puts your stores at risk, not itself.
- The FTC rule on consumer reviews. The Federal Trade Commission's Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (16 CFR Part 465) took effect October 21, 2024. It bans fake reviews, buying reviews of a particular sentiment, and review suppression: using unfounded legal threats, intimidation or false accusations to prevent or remove a negative review, or implying the reviews you show are all or most of what you received when some are being hidden.
- Google's review policy. Google's Maps contribution policy says businesses may not discourage or prohibit negative reviews, or selectively solicit positive reviews from customers. It also bars offering incentives for reviews.
In practice: ask every guest the same way, never only the happy ones, never pay or reward for a positive review, and never hide or pressure away a negative one. If a vendor's review request feature screens guests by satisfaction before sending them to Google, ask them to show you how it complies with both rules.
How should a franchise plan a 2027 software purchase?
A simple order of work for a purchase that starts in the first quarter of 2027:
- Now. Find the renewal date and notice period on any tool you already pay for. Many contracts renew automatically if you miss the notice window.
- Before the first demo. Decide who you are buying for, write the weights for the seven criteria, and list your real feedback sources by store.
- Shortlist two or three vendors. Send every one the same questions and ask for written answers and a written quote.
- Pilot on two or three stores for 30 days. Use your own reviews, not a demo account. Include your busiest store and one that struggles.
- Score the pilot, then sign. Count what changed at the store: replies approved, repeat complaints assigned, work verified. Ignore what looked good only in the demo.
Two free worksheets help with the pilot: the review benchmark compares recurring issues across your own locations, and the multi-location demo checklist covers the store-level workflow.
What are the limits of this guide?
- Replio wrote it and sells a product in it. Read our claims about Replio with that in mind, and check them against the product definition.
- Vendor facts come from public pages only. We did not sign up for, test, or get quotes from the other vendors, and their contracts may include features or prices their sites do not show.
- Everything was checked on one day, Monday, October 26, 2026. It describes what was published that day, not what will ship in 2027.
- "Not found" in the table means not found on public pages. It is not a claim that the feature is missing.
Spot something wrong or out of date? Tell us and we will correct it and update the checked date.
Sources
Vendor facts are linked in the comparison table. Rules and research cited on this page:
- Federal Trade Commission, Trade Regulation Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials, Federal Register, August 22, 2024
- 16 CFR Part 465, current text (eCFR)
- Google, Maps user contributed content policy, prohibited and restricted content
- Google Business Profile Help, Read and reply to reviews
- Google for Developers, Business Profile APIs prerequisites
- Michael Luca, Reviews, Reputation, and Revenue: The Case of Yelp.com, Harvard Business School Working Paper 12-016
One more finding worth knowing when you budget: Michael Luca's study of Seattle restaurants found a one-star increase in Yelp rating led to a 5 to 9 percent increase in revenue for independent restaurants, while ratings did not affect restaurants with a chain affiliation. It is one city and an older dataset, so treat it as context, not a forecast for your stores.
Whichever tool you pick, put a name next to every repeat complaint.
If Replio is on your shortlist, text Rex the name of one of your stores. He reads its public Google reviews and tells you what keeps coming up.
Text RexTexting Rex starts a conversation with Replio. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply HELP for help. Reply STOP to opt out. Terms · Privacy
Frequently asked questions
What is franchise reputation management software?
Software that collects guest reviews and feedback across a franchise's locations, helps each store reply, and reports results by store and across the system. Some tools add listings, surveys and messaging. Others, like Replio, focus on turning repeat complaints into owned work at each store.
What is the best franchise reputation management software for 2027?
Our pick is Replio, which publishes this guide: $149 per location per month billed monthly, replies a person approves or Rex answers if the owner allows it, repeat complaints turned into owned and verified actions at each store, and a Corporate HQ view for the brand covering franchisees who choose to share. If guest surveys or listings published across many directories are central to your plan, also look at Birdeye, SOCi, Reputation or Yext and compare them with the questions in this guide.
How much does franchise reputation management software cost?
Of the vendors checked on October 26, 2026, published prices were Reputation at $80, $115 or $150 per location per month, Tattle at $125 down to $65 per location per month by volume, Podium at $399 or $599 per month, and Replio at $149 per location per month billed monthly. Birdeye, SOCi and Ovation quote on request, and Yext and Momos had no pricing page. Ask every vendor for contract length, renewal terms and add-on costs in writing.
What questions should I ask a reputation management vendor?
Ask which sources arrive automatically, whether anything can post without a person approving it, which reviews are always held for a person, every role and what it can change, what happens to a repeat complaint, who confirms work was done, what you can export if you leave, and the price per location with contract and renewal terms in writing.
Can review software ask only happy customers for reviews?
No. Google's policy says businesses may not discourage negative reviews or selectively solicit positive ones, and the FTC rule on consumer reviews, in effect since October 21, 2024, bans fake reviews, buying reviews of a particular sentiment, and suppressing negative ones. Ask every guest the same way.
Is this guide independent?
No. Replio publishes it and sells one of the tools compared, which is why Replio is our pick and why the disclosure is at the top. Every competitor fact links to the vendor's own website or help center, checked October 26, 2026, so you can verify it yourself.