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On January 29, 2026, G2 acquired several of its competitors: Capterra, Software Advice, and GetApp. Described as the “Software Version of Yelp” company, G2.com is most known for having a massive database of reviews on tens of thousands of software products & tools which it has been accumulating since its founding in 2012.
Thus, the acquisition has led both software vendors and software buyers wondering if G2 has, in effect, now a monopoly on the software review ecosystem. For instance, Alina Stan reported that this acquisition could lead to G2 to have an unfair advantage on:
Although G2 is famously known for incentivizing customers to pay for software reviews, it begs an important question: can G2 be trusted to hold an immense amount of questionable influence on the software industry? For instance, if a software vendor doesn’t become a paying client of G2 and/or engage with them, will they be penalized even if they have a superior, more affordable product to offer consumers and businesses?
This core question is why our team put together this list of alternatives to G2 in order to inform the public with other options and channels, particularly after reading many negative reviews on G2:
The best practice is to “not put your eggs in one basket”, so this list should hopefully provide you with a comprehensive list of different products you can use to list, feature, and showcase your product if you are a software vendor; or discover, find, and get software products if you are an enterprise or software buyer.
Cubbie is increasingly becoming regarded as a leader in the software ecosystem as it promises a different take: no mass reviews and no pay-to-play for reviews. Instead, it offers a more curated & vetted approach to software that is established by real experts. This eliminates the problems with the software world being highly saturated and noisy, particularly with vibe-coded products popping up overnight. This thoughtful selection of SaaS products being showcased allows for larger enterprises to explore and find genuine products they can use for the long term.
As of February 2026, there are more than 200 software products listed on Cubbie.
Each profile includes an “Exclusive Deals” section, where software vendors can provide users specific discounts and perks. For buyers, creating an account is free. For software vendors looking to get listed, it operates through an invitation-only system.
Often overlooked in the software review conversation, Google Reviews is one of the most accessible and widely-used review systems in the world.
Any business with a Google Business Profile — including software companies — can accumulate reviews that appear directly in Google Search and Google Maps results.
This means prospective buyers may encounter reviews on a software company before ever landing on G2 or any other dedicated platform. Unlike G2, there is no pay-to-play model for vendors to influence their placement in Google's review ecosystem. While Google Reviews is more commonly associated with local businesses and consumer services, it is increasingly relevant for software companies, particularly those with a sales or support presence.
The reviews also feed directly into AI-generated summaries and search results, giving them outsized visibility compared to reviews siloed on a single platform.
Acquired by HG Insights in June 2025, TrustRadius is another popular alternative and competitor to G2. Although TrustRadius operates a platform similar to G2, it appears the majority of its results come from content pieces, including articles, which likely promote the softwares listed on the core platform.
Similar to Cubbie, TrustRadius seems to hint at G2’s “pay to play model”, by stating on its website: “Traditional review sites fail to meet the needs of today's vendors. Superficial reviews, pay-to-play pricing schemes and other issues make it hard to differentiate your solution and engage the right buyers at the right time.”
Interestingly enough, TrustRadius was also launched in the same year as G2: 2012 – a popular year for review sites! The company is estimated to have been acquired for $60 million.
Although TrustPilot is perhaps one of the largest general review companies of all time, alongside the Better Business Bureau, Yelp, and Google Reviews, it does provide a forum for users to directly and specifically comment & review on individual software companies.
For example, users can search the “Internet & Software Category” to essentially find reviews on many different SaaS companies that are frequently also listed on G2.
For instance, even G2 has a profile on TrustPilot which averages a 3.6 / 5 star rating, with a majority of reviewers complaining about not getting compensated for writing a review.
TrustPilot is among those that have been around the longest, with its founding year being 2007. TrustPilot has a valuation estimation of $850 million as of January 2026.
There is no better place to ask for reviews (often harsh ones) than Reddit, a highly-popular crowdsourced user forum that allows people across the globe to bond over common interests known as subreddits. There are subreddits dedicated for technology products, including:
If a prospective buyer is looking for a specific product or use case, it is common for questions to be proposed on Reddit to attract authentic reviews in real-time by fellow Redditors in a specific community. For instance, the subreddit that is used often might not be related at all to software, but in a subreddit like “Gaming” where a user might ask “What is the best CRM for those of us in the gaming development industry?”
However, particularly given its anonymous nature, Reddit is often used as a ploy by marketing agencies to secretly subvert “genuine” responses.
There are also companies that use Reddit to help promote their own product. G2, given the topic of this article, is known for doing this on their own subreddit (notice the username of the person posting is the same as one of the moderators, likely being done for SEO or GEO purposes).
Product Hunt is one of the most well-known platforms for discovering new software products, particularly among startups and early-stage companies. Rather than a traditional review model, it operates through a launch-based system where products are upvoted by the community on their launch day. This creates a different dynamic than G2 — visibility is driven by community enthusiasm rather than accumulated reviews or paid placements.
Product Hunt is especially useful for buyers looking to discover innovative or emerging tools that may not yet have a presence on larger review platforms. It was acquired by Lemon.io in late 2024.
SourceForge is one of the oldest software discovery platforms on the internet and has been around since 1999. However, it has evolved from an open-source repository into a broader software comparison and review platform.
Like G2, it features side-by-side comparisons, user reviews, and curated "best of" lists across hundreds of software categories. For buyers, it offers a no-frills, straightforward experience without aggressive gating or lead capture. According to traffic estimate, SourceForge has over 20 million users per month, making it a significant (but often overlooked) player in the software discovery space.
Similar to Reddit, LinkedIn has become an increasingly popular place for software discovery and recommendations — but with a professional, non-anonymous twist. Decision-makers across industries regularly post about tools they're using, ask their networks for recommendations, and share candid takes on products they've adopted or dropped. Because users post under their real names and professional titles, the recommendations tend to carry more weight and accountability than anonymous review platforms like Reddit or G2. LinkedIn is particularly useful for enterprise buyers who want to see what peers in their specific industry or role are actually using, rather than relying on reviews that may be incentivized or unverifiable.
Sometimes the most reliable alternative to any review platform is the oldest one: simply asking people you trust. Whether it's a colleague, a friend in the industry, or a connection from a past company, direct conversations about software tend to surface the most honest feedback.
This is particularly true for the things people won't write in a public review, like poor customer support, hidden fees, or clunky onboarding experiences. While it doesn't scale the way a platform does, word of mouth remains one of the most trusted forms of discovery, especially for high-stakes purchasing decisions where a wrong choice can be costly.
Genuine recommendation from someone with nothing to gain is our number one recommendation!
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