The best tools to get more Google reviews are free to start. Reach by Locus gives you a review link, a QR code that works on your phone and ready WhatsApp messages, with no signup. Google adds its own link and QR. Pay for GatherUp, NiceJob or BrightLocal only when you want requests sent to a customer list.
This page is about asking for new reviews: the tool, the channel and the timing. To handle the reviews you already have, read best review management software for small business.
Which tools get you reviews without paying?
Free tools cover most owner-run shops, salons and clinics. Reach by Locus is first because its tools fill the gaps in Google's own link and QR code.
- Reach by Locus free tools. The review link generator builds your link and shares it to WhatsApp. The QR standee generator makes a print-ready counter sign from your phone. The WhatsApp message templates give you wording to edit and send. The review calculator shows how many 5-star reviews lift your average. None of them needs a signup.
- Google's own link and QR code. Open Business Profile, go to Read reviews, then Get more reviews (Google's help page). Google shows the QR code only in a computer browser, so you can't get it from the phone app.
- Localo's review poster generator. It is free and listed on its pricing page.
None of these sends the message for you. You show the QR code or press send on WhatsApp, and that is the point: a message from you, to a customer who just visited, is the request most likely to be read.
Should you ask by QR code, WhatsApp, text or email?
Match the channel to where the customer is when you ask. Most shops end up using two.
| Channel | Works best for | What you need | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| QR code at the counter | Works best forWalk-in customers: salons, cafes, clinic reception | What you needA printed standee | Watch out forOnly works while the customer is still there, so say one sentence about it at payment |
| WhatsApp message | Works best forAppointments, deliveries and customers who already chat with you | What you needThe customer's number and your review link | Watch out forMessage only people who booked or wrote to you, one at a time, from your business number |
| Text message | Works best forCustomers who don't use WhatsApp; what paid tools send | What you needA customer list, and a paid tool to automate it | Watch out forA text from a sender the customer doesn't know is often filtered and never read |
| Works best forOnline orders and invoices | What you needThe customer's email address | Watch out forSlowest to be read. Put the link in the receipt you already send | |
| Asking in person | Works best forEvery customer | What you needNothing | Watch out forAsk everyone, and offer nothing in return |
In India and much of Southeast Asia, WhatsApp is where customers already talk to businesses. It is usually the first channel to add after the QR code. If customers already message you there, add WhatsApp to your Google Business Profile as well.
When is the best moment to ask?
Ask when the customer has just seen the result: after the haircut, the meal, the check-up or the delivery arriving. A request that turns up days later competes with everything else on their phone.
- Walk-ins: ask at payment and point to the QR code.
- Appointments: send the WhatsApp message the same evening.
- Deliveries: send it the day after the order arrives.
- Customers who raised a problem: fix it first, then ask them like everyone else.
Spread the asks over the week instead of sending a hundred on one day. A steady few new reviews a month reads like an active business to the next customer who scrolls your profile.
What does Google allow when you ask?
Google lists incentives as fake engagement: "Offering incentives, like free or discounted goods or services, in exchange for reviews" (Google's help page). That rules out a discount for a review, a free dessert for a review and a lucky draw for reviewers.
One piece of advice that isn't a quoted Google rule: ask every customer, not only the ones who looked happy. If you only ask happy customers, your reviews don't reflect your real service. Asking everyone also gives you honest feedback you can act on.
When is a paid tool worth it?
Paid tools earn their price once you have a customer list and enough visits to send requests after each one. They send the request by text or email for you. Prices were checked 8 Oct 2026 and are in US dollars.
| Tool | Price, checked 8 Oct 2026 | How it asks | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reach by Locus | Price, checked 8 Oct 2026Free tools, no signup. Reach plans start free | How it asksYou send the WhatsApp message or show the QR code. No automated text or email | Best forOwner-run shops and clinics that ask in person and on WhatsApp |
| GatherUp | Price, checked 8 Oct 2026$99/month for 1 location | How it asks300 text messages and 3,000 emails per location per month | Best forBusinesses that send many requests and want set monthly limits |
| NiceJob | Price, checked 8 Oct 2026Starter $75/month | How it asksText and email requests, plus a staff leaderboard | Best forTeams where staff ask for reviews and you want to see who gets the most |
| BrightLocal | Price, checked 8 Oct 2026Grow $65/month for 1 location, billed monthly | How it asksEmail, text and in-store campaigns | Best forOwners who also want other local SEO tools in the same account |
| Podium | Price, checked 8 Oct 2026Price on request | How it asksRequests by text message | Best forBusinesses that already talk to customers by text |
| Birdeye | Price, checked 8 Oct 2026Price on request | How it asksSee the vendor | Best forLarger businesses happy to go through a sales call |
Podium and Birdeye don't publish prices, so you have to ask for a quote. The three tools with public prices each cost more per month than many small shops spend on all their other software. Check that you will send enough requests to cover the cost.
What does a two-channel setup look like?
Sunrise Dental: a counter QR code plus a WhatsApp message
Sunrise Dental has two chairs and sees about 25 patients a day. The receptionist keeps a QR standee at the payment desk and says one line while the patient pays: "If today went well, a Google review helps other families find us."
Patients who booked by WhatsApp also get a message that evening with the review link. Both tools are free. The only cost is printing the standee.
Hi Meera, thank you for coming to Sunrise Dental today. If Dr. Mehta's visit went well, a short Google review helps other families find us: [review link]. It takes a minute. Sunrise Dental
Change the names and paste in your own link. The WhatsApp templates have more versions to choose from.
Questions owners ask
- Is it allowed to give a discount for a Google review?
- No. Google prohibits incentives. A discount, free item or gift in exchange for a review counts as fake engagement under Google's rules.
- Can I make a review QR code on my phone?
- Google only shows its QR code in a computer browser. The free Reach QR code generator works on a phone.
- Should I buy reviews?
- No. Bought reviews are fake engagement. Google can remove them and restrict your profile.
- Does the review link change?
- No. It stays tied to your profile. If you get a new profile, make a new link and replace the old one on your QR code and messages.
- Does Reach by Locus send review requests for me?
- No. Reach gives you the link, the QR code and the message, and you send them. It does not send text or email campaigns. What it does automate is the reply: once a review arrives, it drafts two answers in your voice.
Related guides
Make your link and QR code in a minute, then answer what comes in
The free review link generator makes your link and QR code without a signup, and you can share the link straight to WhatsApp. That covers the asking.
Replying is the job that repeats. Reach puts all your Google reviews in one list and writes two draft replies for each, in your own voice and in the language and script of the review. You edit a draft and press Post. A set of drafts costs 2 credits, so the Free plan's 50 credits a month cover 25 sets. The guide on replying to Google reviews covers what to say.