For one or two locations, choose by the jobs you need help with: editing the profile, answering reviews, posting, tracking rank, or syncing other directories. Price per location runs from free (Google's own dashboard, Reach Free) to $65/month (BrightLocal Grow, one location, monthly). Birdeye quotes by sales call.
All prices below were checked on 8 Oct 2026 on each vendor's own pricing page. Use them to compare the tools against each other, and check the vendor's page before you buy because prices change.
What should Google Business Profile software actually do for a small business?
Google's own dashboard, on business.google.com or directly in Search, already lets you edit your profile, reply to reviews and publish posts for free. Software is worth paying for only when it saves you a chore you repeat every week or across several locations.
Judge each tool on these points:
- It edits every profile field and tells you when Google rejects or changes an edit.
- It helps you reply to Google reviews.
- It schedules posts.
- It tracks where you rank on the map.
- It syncs your listing to other directories.
- It has a fair price per location for 1 to 5 locations.
- It handles reviews written in languages other than English.
How do the tools compare?
| Tool | Starting price (checked 8 Oct 2026) | What it manages | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | Starting price (checked 8 Oct 2026)Free | What it managesEdit the profile, reply to reviews, publish posts | Best forOne location and an owner with time |
| Reach by Locus | Starting price (checked 8 Oct 2026)Free for 1 location; Starter $10/month (2 locations); Business $20/month (5 locations) | What it managesProfile editor with Google rule checks, AI review drafts in your voice, posts, weekly 3x3 map scans, ChatGPT or Claude connection | Best forOwner-run businesses with 1 to 5 locations and non-English reviews |
| BrightLocal | Starting price (checked 8 Oct 2026)Track $41/month, Manage $54/month, Grow $65/month for 1 location (monthly); annual $31, $40 or $49 a month | What it managesTrack: rank tracking, Local Search Grid, citation monitoring, GBP audit. Manage adds listing sync and GBP Post Scheduler. Grow adds review monitoring and responses across platforms, plus review requests by email, text and in-store | Best forBusinesses that need directory sync, and agencies |
| Semrush Local | Starting price (checked 8 Oct 2026)Base $30/month per location, Pro $60/month per location (billed annually) | What it managesBase: GBP management with an AI agent, AI post writing and publishing, Map Rank Tracker with 375 credits. Pro adds listing management, review management with AI replies, and 1,225 Map Rank Tracker credits | Best forTeams that already use Semrush, or need listings plus reviews |
| Localo | Starting price (checked 8 Oct 2026)Single Business $39/month billed annually ($49 list), plus tax, 1 profile; Pro $149/month billed annually for 2 to 120 profiles | What it managesAuto-generated posts, position map rank tracking, reviews in one place with reply templates, QR review poster | Best forSingle profiles that want automatic posts; agencies on Pro |
| Birdeye | Starting price (checked 8 Oct 2026)No public price; the pricing form asks for your number of locations | What it managesReviews, listings, social | Best forMulti-location brands that want one contract |
BrightLocal offers a 14-day trial with no card. Semrush Local offers a 7-day trial. Localo offers a 14-day trial and has no free plan.
Which one should a single-location owner pick?
Start from the job, not the brand:
- If you only need to edit the profile and reply to reviews, use Google's free dashboard or Reach Free.
- If many reviews arrive in Hindi, Tamil or another Indian language, Reach drafts replies in the language and script of each review.
- If your business is listed on other directories and the details drift, BrightLocal Manage or Semrush Local Pro keep listings in sync on the sites each one supports.
- An agency with 20 or more clients will find BrightLocal or Localo Pro priced for that volume.
- An enterprise brand that wants one contract for reviews, listings and social should ask Birdeye for a quote.
Where is Reach weaker?
Reach is the newest tool on this list. It also skips several jobs the others do:
- It does not sync your listing to other directories (citations). BrightLocal Manage and Semrush Local Pro do.
- It handles Google reviews only. It does not monitor other review sites.
- It does not send review requests by text or email. BrightLocal Grow does.
- Rank tracking is a weekly 3x3 map scan only. It has no daily scans and no larger grids.
- It handles a maximum of 5 locations per account.
- It has no white-label agency reports.
If any of these is a must-have for you, pick one of the other tools.
What does a year cost for one location?
These figures are for a single dental clinic with one location, on annual billing where the vendor offers it. Prices were checked 8 Oct 2026.
| Tool and plan | Cost for one year |
|---|---|
| Google Business Profile | $0 |
| Reach Free | $0 |
| Reach Starter | $60/year |
| BrightLocal Track | $369/year |
| BrightLocal Manage | $485/year |
| BrightLocal Grow | $584/year |
| Semrush Local Base | $360/year ($30 x 12) |
| Semrush Local Pro | $720/year |
| Localo Single Business | $468/year ($39 x 12, plus tax) |
| Birdeye | By quote |
Worked example: one dental clinic in Pune
Sunrise Dental Care
Sunrise Dental Care has one location in Pune and 140 Google reviews. About half the reviews are in Hindi or Marathi. The owner replies to reviews on Sundays.
The clinic needs three things:
- Replies in the reviewer's own language.
- Correct hours during festivals.
- Its Maps rank for "dentist near me" around the clinic.
It does not need directory sync. It has one address, and that address rarely changes.
Reach Free covers this. The Free plan's 50 AI credits give 25 reply drafts a month, and it includes 2 tracked searches. If the owner wants 20 tracked searches and scheduled posts, Starter costs $10/month.
The answer changes if the clinic opens a second branch and wants its listings synced across directories. Then BrightLocal Manage ($54/month per location, monthly) is the stronger tool.
Questions owners ask
- Is Google Business Profile management free?
- Yes. Google's own tools for editing, replying and posting are free. Paid software charges for the time it saves you.
- Do any tools improve my ranking directly?
- No. Google states that "There's no way to request or pay for a better local ranking on Google." (Google Business Profile Help) Software can help you keep the profile complete and active. It cannot buy you a position.
- Do I need listing sync?
- You need it only if your name, address or phone number appear wrong on other directories. You can check this for free with the location consistency checker before you pay for sync.
- Can software auto-reply to reviews?
- Some tools offer AI replies. Reach drafts two replies and the owner edits and posts one. Nothing posts automatically.
- Which tool suits an agency?
- BrightLocal and Localo Pro are priced for many locations. Localo Pro covers 2 to 120 profiles for $149/month billed annually.
Related guides and tools
Manage the profile, reviews and rank from one place
The weekly review round is the chore Reach takes over. Every Google review sits in one list that you can filter to unanswered. For each review, Reach drafts two replies that match your recent replies in length, warmth and sign-off, in the language and script the reviewer used. You edit a draft and press Post. A set of drafts costs 2 credits, so the Free plan's 50 credits cover 25 a month.
Profile edits for name, hours, special hours, services and photos all happen on one page. Reach checks Google's rules before anything is saved. When Google suggests a change to your profile, Reach shows it next to your own value so you can accept or reject it. Each tracked search gets a weekly 3x3 map scan, and you can export the results as a PDF on every plan. Reach does not sync other directories or track reviews outside Google.