Aston Watson
What is SoftwareSuggest? The short answer
SoftwareSuggest is a business software discovery platform that helps companies find software and service partners. Buyers browse categories, compare products by features, pricing and user reviews, and can ask for free personalized recommendations or a call back. Vendors list their products for free and pay for extra traffic and leads.
The figures on the SoftwareSuggest homepage give a sense of its size: over 50k software and services to choose from and over 40,000 verified user reviews, as checked in October 2026. Its About page says the platform lets businesses "list, review, compare & offer free consultations on business software and service solutions", and names MSP Digital Media Pvt. Ltd. as its owner.
For a SaaS company, that makes SoftwareSuggest one more place where buyers judge a product before they reach its website. A listing costs nothing to create, but a listing with no reviews gives a buyer little reason to click. Some teams buy SoftwareSuggest reviews through a managed campaign for that reason, with verified users who are never paid and choose their own rating.
Who reads SoftwareSuggest?
SoftwareSuggest is written for business buyers, and most of them work in small and mid-sized companies choosing tools for a team. On a category page they can filter products by business size, with options for Small Business, Mid-Market and Enterprise. Each listing also shows who the product is tailored for, from startups and SMBs to mid-market and enterprise teams.
The site is free for these readers. A sidebar form on category pages asks for the number of users, company size, industry and preferred deployment, and SoftwareSuggest says it follows up with a call while vendors call back within one business day. Buyers who would rather talk to a person first can use the Request A Call Back option on the homepage.
On its page for software vendors, SoftwareSuggest claims 10M+ active yearly buyers and 1500+ software and service categories. These are the platform's own figures, so treat them as its description of its reach.
SoftwareSuggest is one of several review sites these buyers check. Products for developers and IT teams often add SourceForge software reviews to the mix. Apps sold on the HubSpot App Marketplace need reviews there, and teams can buy HubSpot app reviews as a campaign that runs with their own customers through HubSpot's review link.
SoftwareSuggest categories and how buyers compare software
SoftwareSuggest categories cover a wide spread of business software, which its About page describes as running from accounting to visitor management, across industries from agriculture to textiles. A category page such as CRM software has four tabs: All Software, Buyer's Guide, Leaders Matrix and Free Software.
Buyers narrow each category with filters for features, business size and price, where the price filter picks out products with pricing available, a deal or a free trial. They can then sort the list by Sponsored, Verified, Most Reviewed or Top Rated. That makes review count one of the main ways a buyer reorders a category.
What a listing card shows
Each product appears as a card that a buyer can scan in a few seconds:
- Rating and review count. For example, "4.6 (54 Reviews)" next to the product name.
- Four sub-scores. Features, ease of use, value for money and customer support.
- Recommendation share. The percentage of users who recommend the product, based on user submitted reviews.
- Pricing. A starting price, a free trial label or a "Get Pricing" button when the vendor quotes on request.
- Actions. Compare, Visit Website, Request Demo or Get Pricing.
Comparing products side by side
A Compare button on each card adds the product to a tray that holds three products, and Compare Now opens them side by side. A comparison table near the top of the category lines up overall score, pricing, free trial, business size and key features.
The Leaders Matrix tab groups products under labels such as Category Champions and Emergents for 2026. The category page does not explain how a product earns those labels, so read them as SoftwareSuggest's own grouping.
How reviews work on SoftwareSuggest
Reviews on SoftwareSuggest come from users of the product. The write a review flow has four stages: select the product, leave the review, share on LinkedIn and finish. Reviewers confirm who they are with professional credentials, such as a LinkedIn account or a verified business email.
The review guidelines ask people to review only software, services or hardware they have used within the past two years. Every review then passes a five-step approval checklist that includes an identity check and a conflict-of-interest check. Vendors may share their review page privately with genuine customers, but posting the link publicly breaks the guidelines.
Vendors can reply to any review through the Vendors Portal, and the guidelines encourage constructive replies. They may not write reviews for customers, collect reviews to submit themselves or contact reviewers about what they wrote. Our post on SoftwareSuggest review guidelines covers each rule and how the approval checklist works.
How SoftwareSuggest orders and ranks products
SoftwareSuggest publishes a ranking methodology for its listings, last updated on 11 August 2026. It names five inputs behind its rankings: verified user reviews, feature analysis, pricing transparency, market adoption and SoftwareSuggest's own evaluation. The page gives no weights for them.
The same page explains the default order on core category pages. Products in the pay per click program come first, ordered by rank. After them come other products with a rank above zero, then other products ordered by review count, and finally products with no rank.
Two things follow for a vendor. Paid placement changes where a product appears on those pages, while SoftwareSuggest states that "our ratings and reports do not contain any paid placements". For every vendor outside the paid program, review count is part of what moves a product up the page.
SoftwareSuggest for vendors: free listing and paid plans
SoftwareSuggest for vendors starts with a free listing. The vendors page sets out four steps: create a free listing, list your product, maintain the listing and then pay for more exposure. It names customer reviews and visibility among the benefits of the free listing.
Paid options sit on top of that free base. SoftwareSuggest sells pay per click traffic, marketing qualified leads, a premium listing it ties to "monthly traffic of 1M+", branded content, performance marketing and sponsorships of podcasts, ebooks and webinars.
The SoftwareSuggest vendor pricing page lists three packages, checked in October 2026:
| Plan | Price and term | Main items listed |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $4,000 for 6 months | $1,000 PPC credit, premium listing, category page banner, newsletter once in 90 days |
| Gold | $9,000 for 6 months | $2,500 PPC credit, $2,500 MQL credit, product review, dedicated account manager |
| Platinum | $15,000 for 12 months | $5,000 PPC credit, $5,000 MQL credit, Leader Matrix consultation, dedicated account manager |
The page adds that cost per click and cost per lead are set at sign-up, that banner space depends on the category, and that pricing can change at SoftwareSuggest's discretion. None of the plans is needed to collect reviews, because customer reviews come with the free listing.
SoftwareSuggest also sells its own review generation services and profile badges to vendors. Its page lists badge names such as Market Leader and Trusted by Peers without saying how each one is earned, so ask SoftwareSuggest before you plan around a badge.
Is SoftwareSuggest legit?
Yes, SoftwareSuggest is an established software directory with published rules for reviews and rankings. Its pages carry a copyright line running from 2014 to 2026, and its About page names the company that owns it. Its review guidelines, last updated on 30 July 2025, require every reviewer to prove who they are.
It is also open about how it earns money. Its category pages explain that the site is free for users because vendors pay when they receive web traffic and sales opportunities, and say it features every vendor, paying or free. An FTC disclosure on the same pages says SoftwareSuggest may receive compensation from some vendors featured there, and that this does not influence its editorial evaluation or ratings.
The caveat is the listing order. Because products in the pay per click program appear first on core category pages, the top of a category reflects payment as well as reviews. A careful buyer switches the sort to Most Reviewed or Top Rated, and a careful vendor should assume buyers will do the same.
What is SoftwareSuggest worth to a SaaS company?
The value of SoftwareSuggest comes from its readers, who are business buyers comparing tools inside a category. Review sites carry real weight at that stage: in G2's 2026 Buyer Behavior Report, a survey of more than 1,000 B2B software buyers and decision-makers published on 22 July 2026, review sites were the top source shaping which vendors make a shortlist, at 38%. G2 runs a review site itself, so read that figure as one publisher's research.
On SoftwareSuggest, reviews show up in almost every part of a listing. Its readers compare tools by review count, rating and the share of users who recommend a product, and review count decides part of the order for vendors outside the paid program. That is the part we help vendors build.
A free listing with no reviews still appears, but it sits beside competitors showing dozens of rated reviews. If you are deciding where else to list, our guide to software review sites compares the main options. For the wider question of why are online reviews important to a business, see our earlier guide.
Reviews that hold up.
Every campaign we run follows the RelikReview review policy, so reviewers are never paid and each one picks their own rating.
SoftwareSuggest review service
Build your SoftwareSuggest profile with RelikReview
RelikReview runs SoftwareSuggest review campaigns with verified users who review your product in their own words. You get the plan, pace and price in writing first.
- Never paid, own ratingEach reviewer chooses their own star rating.
- Steady paceReviews arrive over weeks, with no sudden spikes.
- One plan, six sitesThe same approach runs on G2, Trustpilot and more.
Where SoftwareSuggest fits in your review plan
So, what is SoftwareSuggest? It is a free software directory where small and mid-sized business buyers search categories, compare products and read verified reviews, paid for by vendors who want more traffic and leads. It publishes its review rules and ranking inputs, and it is open about the paid listings at the top of its category pages.
For a SaaS company, the free listing is the easy part, and reviews are what make it worth a click. Create or update your listing, then share your review page privately with every customer at a fixed point such as day 30. If you would like help with the reviews themselves, talk to the RelikReview team.
FAQs about SoftwareSuggest
What is SoftwareSuggest used for?
SoftwareSuggest is used for finding, comparing and reviewing business software and service partners. Buyers browse categories, filter by business size, features and price, compare up to three products side by side and read verified user reviews. They can also ask for free personalized recommendations or a call back before choosing a tool.
Is SoftwareSuggest free for buyers?
Yes, SoftwareSuggest is free for buyers. Its category pages explain that vendors pay the site when they receive web traffic and sales opportunities, so buyers can search, compare, read reviews and request recommendations at no cost. Paid placements exist for vendors, and products in the pay per click program appear first on core category pages.
Does it cost money to list software on SoftwareSuggest?
No, listing software on SoftwareSuggest is free, and customer reviews come with the free listing. Paid options add exposure, such as pay per click traffic, lead credits and premium listings. Its pricing page shows packages from $4,000 for six months up to $15,000 for twelve months, with prices subject to change.
Who can write a review on SoftwareSuggest?
Only users of a product can write a review on SoftwareSuggest, and they must have used it within the past two years. Reviewers confirm their identity with a LinkedIn account or a verified business email. Vendors may not review their own product, write reviews for customers or collect reviews to submit themselves.
Do paid plans change SoftwareSuggest ratings?
No, SoftwareSuggest says its ratings and reports do not contain any paid placements. Paid plans do affect position, though: its ranking methodology says products in the pay per click program come first on core category pages. Buyers who want an order based on reviews can sort by Most Reviewed or Top Rated instead.
Can RelikReview help with SoftwareSuggest reviews?
Yes, RelikReview runs SoftwareSuggest review campaigns with verified users who write in their own words. Reviewers are never paid and choose their own rating, and you get the plan, pace and price in writing before anything starts. We do not promise a rating, a badge or a fixed number of reviews.
