Yelp vs. Google has been a topic of discussion among small business owners for more than a decade. While it was once a legitimate comparison, Google reviews are far more critical than Yelp reviews in 2025.
The numbers are indisputable: most consumers check Google reviews, while fewer than half check Yelp.
Key Takeaway
According to a 2025 BrightLocal survey, 83% of consumers check Google reviews, compared to just 44% who check Yelp reviews.
The Best Platform for Customer Reviews
Google is the best platform for customer reviews, as they contribute most to your online visibility.
Google dominates the U.S. search engine market share at 88%, meaning most of your future customers are active on the platform.
Your Google reviews are displayed to users every time they view your Google Business Profile (formerly Google My Business), which can appear in Map 3-Pack results, branded search results (via the knowledge graph), and Google Maps results.
The Multi-Platform Review Caveat
While Google reviews are more impactful than their Yelp counterparts, 74% of consumers still check two or more review platforms when researching a business.
Since Yelp garners the second-highest consumer use percentage among review platforms, many of your customers are likely checking both before deciding on whether to use your services.
Yelp Vs. Google: Lead Generation
A Google Business Profile listing is likely to appear when someone searches for a relevant term on Google.
Your Yelp profile may also appear, but it will likely be lower on the search engine results page.
In general, Google Business Profile will make you more visible to those using Google, which accounts for about 8.5 billion searches per day.
Compare that to the 178 million monthly users on Yelp, and you can already see a bit of a discrepancy.
Google Business Profile
One of the most fantastic things about Google Business Profile is that you can use your free listing to generate more leads for your business.
The platform allows you to write a bio and share critical information, such as the areas your business serves, the services you provide, and an overview of your business.
The more you fill out your profile, the more visible you will be to people in need of your services.
Yelp for Business
Yelp business listings are also free, but they are less likely to generate leads organically without paying for ads.
Yelp businesses can spend as little as $5 per day to appear in “sponsored” results for location-specific keywords.
This setup differs from Google Business Profile, which can appear on Map 3-Pack listings without payment.
Yelp Vs. Google: Mobile Experience
Both Google My Business and Yelp have mobile apps. Both are also helpful for business owners.
You can do anything on the desktop version, so it’s pretty convenient when you’re on the go.
You can reply to reviews on both mobile apps during downtime and even update your business’s information. However, inequality is more evident on the consumer side.
While 63% of Google’s organic search traffic comes from people using mobile devices, the Yelp mobile app is used much more frequently. The Yelp app has 37 million unique users every month.
However, Yelp’s mobile app is most closely associated with reading restaurant reviews.
While you can find pretty much everything on Yelp and even devoted tabs for home and auto services, you will see the first tab for restaurants.
Yelp Vs. Google: Requesting Reviews
Asking for reviews is very important for your business’s online reputation. Especially since 72% of consumers are more likely to leave a review if asked.
Google Business Profile has a distinct advantage because you can ask consumers for reviews directly. You can create a short link to your review page and send it to all your customers.
Yelp not only discourages you from requesting reviews directly from customers, but it may also violate their terms of service.
Google Business Profile Benefits
Google My Business is generally considered the best review platform for most businesses, especially contractors.
Because of its integration with the world’s leading search engine, Google reviews’ benefits are immense:
Local SEO
Google Business Profile is essential if you want your business to be more visible in relevant search results. Of course, Yelp listings will also appear on Google results, but not as prominently.
Google prioritizes its platform and will likely list a Google Business Profile listing higher than a Yelp listing.
Ease of Use
With Google, your customers won’t have to create a special account to leave a review. Instead, they only need a Gmail account, which most people have anyway.
Trust
It’s much harder to dispute a review on Google than it is on Yelp, so people tend to trust Google reviews more. Furthermore, Google reviews often appear at the top of search results, creating automatic trust.
Google Business Profile Drawbacks
Although Google offers numerous appealing benefits, it also has a few drawbacks.
While these should not discourage business owners from focusing on the platform, they should be monitored to avoid pitfalls.
Slow Posting
Google reviews take more time to post than Yelp reviews, which are nearly instant.
Disputes
As we mentioned in the pros, Google reviews are hard to dispute – a definite con if you have an inaccurate review on your hands.
Yelp Benefits
Yelp remains a proficient review platform for small businesses, even if it has lost some of its market share to Google and other platforms.
While Yelp’s domain authority allows it to appear high in search results for most queries, it’s still lower than Google Maps 3-Pack results.
Great for Restaurants
If you’re in the food business, you want to be listed on Yelp.
Disputes
Yelp makes it easier to dispute reviews and remove them if they are deemed biased or inaccurate.
Yelp Drawbacks
Yelp has faced its share of criticisms in recent years, particularly regarding its increasingly strict review filters.
Yelp’s reputation has suffered because of its seemingly arbitrary decisions to terminate business listings. Take a look at some of the common criticisms:
Autonomy
Yelp reviews are filtered, which means they can reject a review if they determine that it violates their terms of service.
Listing Termination
Yelp can terminate your listing at any time and has been known to wield its power liberally.
Yelp vs. Google: Final Call
Google reviews should be your primary focus if you’re a contractor or any non-restaurant business, as they help more with SEO and are beneficial to all companies, not just restaurants.
Ultimately, however, you should aim to collect reviews on both platforms and showcase them on your primary website.
The DataPins Local SEO plugin allows you to request reviews on Google and Yelp and display them directly on your website.
