birdeye vs gatherup
Birdeye vs GatherUp — features, pricing, and which to choose for your SEO workflow in 2026.
Quick Verdict
Both Birdeye and GatherUp target businesses struggling with online reputation management, but they take different approaches to the problem. Birdeye positions itself as an AI-powered enterprise solution with broader customer experience tools, while GatherUp focuses specifically on review generation and management with a more streamlined approach.
The core difference lies in scope and complexity. Birdeye offers a comprehensive customer experience platform that happens to include review management, while GatherUp is purpose-built for review collection and local SEO optimization. This fundamental distinction affects everything from pricing to feature depth.
Feature Comparison
Birdeye's AI-powered platform includes automated review monitoring across 150+ sites, sentiment analysis, competitive benchmarking, and integrated customer messaging tools. Their system automatically responds to reviews using AI, manages multiple business locations from a single dashboard, and includes social media monitoring. The platform also offers webchat, surveys, and customer ticketing beyond basic review management. GatherUp focuses exclusively on review generation through automated email and SMS campaigns, review filtering to direct happy customers to public sites and unhappy ones to private feedback, and local SEO optimization tools. Their strength is in the review collection process itself — they offer advanced campaign customization, follow-up sequences, and integration with major review platforms like Google, Facebook, and industry-specific sites. Both platforms handle multi-location businesses, but Birdeye's enterprise features like white-label options and advanced reporting make it better suited for agencies and large franchises. GatherUp's interface is cleaner and more focused, making it easier for small business owners to set up and manage campaigns without extensive training.
Pricing Comparison
Both tools use custom pricing models, but their typical costs differ significantly. Birdeye's enterprise focus means higher price points — most businesses pay $300-800+ monthly depending on locations and features. Their pricing scales with the number of locations and includes the full customer experience suite whether you need it or not. GatherUp typically costs $100-400 monthly for most small to mid-sized businesses, with pricing based on review volume and locations managed. Since they focus solely on review management, you're not paying for features you won't use. However, both require annual contracts and don't offer transparent pricing on their websites.
Best For
Birdeye works best for larger businesses, franchises, or agencies managing multiple client accounts who need comprehensive customer experience tools beyond just reviews. If you want AI-powered responses, detailed analytics, competitive intelligence, and integrated customer communication tools, Birdeye's broader platform justifies the higher cost. GatherUp is better for small to medium businesses that want a focused, effective review management system without the complexity. If your primary goal is collecting more positive reviews and improving local SEO rankings through a straightforward process, GatherUp's specialized approach delivers better value.
The Verdict
Choose GatherUp unless you specifically need Birdeye's enterprise features. GatherUp's focus on review generation makes it more effective at the core task most businesses actually need — getting more positive reviews online. Their lower price point and simpler interface mean faster ROI and less training time. Birdeye only makes sense if you're managing 20+ locations or need the additional customer experience features beyond review management.