GatherUp alternative for Google review requests and replies
GatherUp is a review request and reputation tool priced per location. One location is $124 (verified 2026-10-25) a month billed monthly, or $99 (verified 2026-10-25) a month billed annually. OpenGMB is $10 a month per account, and posts and profile edits go through approval before they reach Google.
Last updated 2026-10-25
OpenGMB is our product, so read the GatherUp facts against their sources.
GatherUp is a trademark of its owner. OpenGMB is not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by it. Facts about other products come from their public pages on the dates shown and may have changed since. If something is wrong or out of date, email info@synectus.com and we will correct it.
What does GatherUp offer, and what does it cost?
GatherUp prices Reputation Management per location. One location is $124 (verified 2026-10-25) a month billed monthly, or $99 (verified 2026-10-25) a month billed annually. With 2 to 10 locations it is $75 (verified 2026-10-25) per location a month billed monthly ($60 (verified 2026-10-25) annually). The per-location price then falls by band: $56 (verified 2026-10-25) for 11 to 16 locations, $44 (verified 2026-10-25) for 17 to 25, $40 (verified 2026-10-25) for 26 to 40, $36 (verified 2026-10-25) for 41 to 100 and $31 (verified 2026-10-25) for 101 and up, all billed monthly. Trial: 14-day free trial, full access, no card (verified 2026-10-25).
Who is GatherUp for, and who is OpenGMB for?
GatherUp fits you if
- You send many review requests by email and text message. GatherUp includes up to 300 SMS and 3,000 email credits per location per month (verified 2026-10-25).
- You watch reviews on more than Google. GatherUp lists 100+ sites on the pricing page; the review-sources page says 60+ third-party review sites (verified 2026-10-25).
- You run an agency. GatherUp has a white-label agency plan: own brand and domain, one dashboard, unlimited clients, bulk controls, HIPAA-safe (verified 2026-10-25).
OpenGMB fits you if
- You run Google Business Profile reviews, posts and profile edits, and you want them to go through approval before they go live.
- You want one flat price per account, with no per-location band.
- You want to connect Claude or another MCP client to your profiles and let a person approve what reaches Google.
How do OpenGMB and GatherUp compare at a glance?
Facts checked 2026-10-25. Each figure below links to the page it came from.
| What you compare | GatherUp | OpenGMB |
|---|---|---|
| Price for one location | Local Businesses: $124 a month for 1 location billed monthly, or $99 a month billed annually. (verified 2026-10-25) | $10 a month per account. The $10 is usage credit for AI drafts and rank scans. |
| How price scales | Multiple Locations is priced per location in bands: 2-10 locations are $75 a month each billed monthly ($60 billed annually), falling to $31 ($25 annually) at 101+ locations. (verified 2026-10-25) | One price per account, however many locations you connect. Google calls are free, with a fair-use limit. |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, full access, no card. (verified 2026-10-25) | 14-day trial with $0.50 of credit, no card. After the trial the account is read-only until you subscribe. |
| Review monitoring | Review monitoring across 100+ sites (the review-sources page says 60+ third-party sites). (verified 2026-10-25) | Google reviews only, synced every 2 hours. |
| Review replies | AI-crafted replies and replying in the app. (verified 2026-10-25) | Drafts from you, from Claude over MCP or from built-in AI, with bulk drafting. Rules check each reply. A reply needs approval unless the owner turns on auto-approve for 4- or 5-star reviews. Auto-approve never covers 1 to 3 star replies. |
| Review requests | Feedback and review requests by email and SMS (up to 300 SMS and 3,000 email credits per location a month), QR codes and custom links. (verified 2026-10-25) | Email campaigns with an optional reminder 1 to 14 days later, links, QR codes and a website widget. No SMS. |
| Geo-grid rank tracking | Not publicly listed (checked 2026-10-25) | 3x3 to 13x13, radius 100 m to 50 km. Until DataForSEO is connected, heatmaps are labeled sample data. |
| Citations | Listings Management add-on ($40 per location a month): one update publishes to 150+ directories, with duplicate suppression. (verified 2026-10-25) | None. OpenGMB does not build or track citations. |
| Audit | Free Reputation Scorecard, Defense Scan and Listings Audit tools. No per-location Google profile health score is listed. (verified 2026-10-25) | 24 health checks per location, graded necessary, important or nice. |
| Scheduled posts | Google Posts for offers, events and news in the Listings Management add-on. Scheduling is not described on the pages read. (verified 2026-10-25) | Post calendar and scheduling. A post needs approval before it goes out. |
| API and MCP | API, Zapier and webhooks are listed in the core plans. The MCP server is announced but not available yet. (verified 2026-10-25) | Public MCP at https://opengmb.synectus.com/mcp, included on the $10 plan. A read only token cannot change anything. A read and write token acts with its owner's rights. |
| Approval workflow | Not publicly listed (checked 2026-10-25) | Approvals inbox, rules checked first, and an audit log of who approved. Posts and profile edits need approval. |
How much does GatherUp cost?
| Plan | What you get | Billed monthly | Billed annually |
|---|---|---|---|
| Local Businesses (Reputation Management) | 1 location, per month | $124 (verified 2026-10-25) | No yearly total listed |
| Multiple Locations (Reputation Management) | 2-10 locations, per location per month | $75 (verified 2026-10-25) | No yearly total listed |
| Multiple Locations (Reputation Management) | 11–16 locations, per location per month | $56 (verified 2026-10-25) | No yearly total listed |
| Multiple Locations (Reputation Management) | 17–25 locations, per location per month | $44 (verified 2026-10-25) | No yearly total listed |
| Multiple Locations (Reputation Management) | 26–40 locations, per location per month | $40 (verified 2026-10-25) | No yearly total listed |
| Multiple Locations (Reputation Management) | 41–100 locations, per location per month | $36 (verified 2026-10-25) | No yearly total listed |
| Multiple Locations (Reputation Management) | 101+ locations, per location per month | $31 (verified 2026-10-25) | No yearly total listed |
- Listings Management add-on: $40 per location per month (verified 2026-10-25). It is separate from the Reputation Management plan.
- Review Defense is sold separately. Review Defense Reveal: $45 per location per month, billed annually (verified 2026-10-25); Review Defense Illuminate: $125 per location per month, billed annually (verified 2026-10-25); Review Defense Integrity: $300 per location per month, billed annually (verified 2026-10-25). Review Defense needs an annual commitment (verified 2026-10-25).
- Annual billing: on an annual plan you can add locations but not remove them until the term ends (verified 2026-10-25). About 20% saved with annual billing (verified 2026-10-25).
- GatherUp's own pages give two counts for review sources. The pricing page says: 100+ sites (verified 2026-10-25). The review-sources page says: 60+ third-party review sites (verified 2026-10-25). Check the sites you need before you buy.
- Note: agency pricing is custom (verified 2026-10-25).
How much does OpenGMB cost, with two examples?
OpenGMB is $10 a month per account, and the $10 is usage credit. Google calls are free, with a fair-use limit. AI drafts and rank scans use the credit, both at our cost plus 28%. If the credit runs out, only AI drafts and rank scans pause. A typical reply draft is about $0.0004. That is an estimate, not a price: each draft is charged at its metered cost plus 28%. The usage numbers below are our own assumptions, not averages.
Owner, 1 location
A month with no AI drafts and no rank scans costs the flat $10. A typical month adds 30 AI drafts and 4 rank scans on a 5x5 grid. That uses about $0.09 of the $10, so the bill is $10.
GatherUp Reputation Management is $124 (verified 2026-10-25) a month for one location billed monthly, or $99 (verified 2026-10-25) a month billed annually, as of 2026-10-25.
Agency, 10 locations
A month with no AI drafts and no rank scans costs the flat $10. A typical month adds 150 AI drafts and 20 rank scans on a 7x7 grid. That uses about $0.81 of the $10, so the bill is $10.
Ten locations fall in the 2 to 10 band: $750 (verified 2026-10-25) a month billed monthly ($75 (verified 2026-10-25) each), or $600 (verified 2026-10-25) a month billed annually. Listings Management is extra.
Why do people look for a GatherUp alternative?
We only list reasons that GatherUp's own pages support.
- The price is per location. Ten locations at the 2 to 10 band come to $750 (verified 2026-10-25) a month billed monthly.
- Listings are an add-on, not part of the plan. Listings Management add-on: $40 per location per month (verified 2026-10-25).
- Annual terms are one-way: on an annual plan you can add locations but not remove them until the term ends (verified 2026-10-25).
- MCP status: not available: a GatherUp MCP server is announced as 'coming soon' (verified 2026-10-25).
What is different about OpenGMB?
Approval first
Posts and profile edits need approval, and so do replies unless the owner turns on auto-approve for 4- or 5-star reviews. Rules such as U7.url and PR.description-length check the text first, and the audit log records who approved.
MCP
Connect Claude or any MCP client to https://opengmb.synectus.com/mcp. It is included on the $10 plan. A read only token cannot change anything. A read and write token acts with its owner's rights inside OpenGMB, but a person approves anything that reaches Google, in the app.
One price per account
$10 a month, and the $10 is usage credit for AI drafts and rank scans, both at real cost plus 28%. Ten locations do not cost ten times as much. Google calls are free, with a fair-use limit.
Open-source core
Read the code of the community edition, or self-host it with one owner login and your own keys. The hosted plan adds teams, a client portal and billing. Licence: MIT. Repo: https://github.com/synectus/OpenGMB.
See how approvals work on the guardrails page or read about the Google Business Profile MCP.
How does GatherUp's MCP server compare with OpenGMB's?
GatherUp MCP
GatherUp's MCP status: not available: a GatherUp MCP server is announced as 'coming soon' (verified 2026-10-25). Separately, API, Zapier and webhooks are listed in the core plans (verified 2026-10-25).
OpenGMB MCP
Connect Claude or any MCP client to https://opengmb.synectus.com/mcp, with tools such as reviews_list_unreplied and reviewReplies_createDraft. It is included on the $10 plan. A read only token cannot change anything. A read and write token acts with its owner's rights inside OpenGMB, but a person approves anything that reaches Google, in the app.
Where is GatherUp stronger?
Honestly, in several places. If any of these matter to you, GatherUp is the better pick.
- Review requests at volume. GatherUp includes up to 300 SMS and 3,000 email credits per location per month (verified 2026-10-25). OpenGMB sends review requests by email and offers links, QR codes and a website widget, with no SMS.
- Reviews beyond Google. GatherUp lists 100+ sites on the pricing page; the review-sources page says 60+ third-party review sites (verified 2026-10-25). OpenGMB reads Google reviews only.
- Listings. GatherUp: one update publishes to 150+ directories (Listings Management) (verified 2026-10-25). OpenGMB builds no citations.
- Review authenticity. GatherUp sells Review Defense. Review Defense Reveal: $45 per location per month, billed annually (verified 2026-10-25). OpenGMB has no such product.
- Agencies. GatherUp has a white-label agency plan: own brand and domain, one dashboard, unlimited clients, bulk controls, HIPAA-safe (verified 2026-10-25).
Keep GatherUp if
Staying put is the right call in these cases.
- You send review requests by text message. GatherUp includes up to 300 SMS and 3,000 email credits per location per month (verified 2026-10-25), and OpenGMB has no SMS.
- Your reviews arrive on sites other than Google. GatherUp lists 100+ sites on the pricing page; the review-sources page says 60+ third-party review sites (verified 2026-10-25), and OpenGMB reads Google only.
- You want one tool to publish listing updates. GatherUp: one update publishes to 150+ directories (Listings Management) (verified 2026-10-25).
How do you switch from GatherUp to OpenGMB?
- List what you use in GatherUp. If it is SMS requests, non-Google reviews or listings, keep that part.
- Start with the $0.50 of free credit. No card needed.
- Connect Google with the official Business Profile API and import your locations. The 24 health checks run on each one.
- Connect Claude over MCP, or use the built-in AI drafts. Start the agent on a read only token and approve the first replies by hand.
- Check your GatherUp term before you cancel: on an annual plan you can add locations but not remove them until the term ends (verified 2026-10-25).
OpenGMB's core is open source (MIT). If the hosted version stopped being worth $10 a month, you could run the community edition yourself. See how the community edition works.
Questions about GatherUp alternatives
What is the best GatherUp alternative?
It depends on the job. If you need SMS review requests, reviews from many sites or listings, GatherUp is the stronger tool. If you manage Google Business Profile reviews, posts and profile edits and want approval before they go live, OpenGMB costs $10 a month per account.
How much does GatherUp cost?
One location is $124 (verified 2026-10-25) a month billed monthly, or $99 (verified 2026-10-25) billed annually. With 2 to 10 locations it is $75 (verified 2026-10-25) per location billed monthly. Listings Management is a separate add-on. As of 2026-10-25.
Is OpenGMB cheaper than GatherUp?
For one location, OpenGMB is $10 a month per account against GatherUp at $124 (verified 2026-10-25) billed monthly. The tools differ: GatherUp adds SMS review requests, reviews from many sites and listings. OpenGMB adds approvals and MCP on the $10 plan, and rank scans are paid from the $10 usage credit.
Does GatherUp have MCP?
Not yet. GatherUp's MCP status: not available: a GatherUp MCP server is announced as 'coming soon' (verified 2026-10-25). OpenGMB has a public MCP server at https://opengmb.synectus.com/mcp, included on the $10 plan.
Is there a free trial?
OpenGMB gives a 14-day trial with $0.50 of credit and no card. After it ends the account is read-only until you subscribe. GatherUp gives a 14-day free trial, full access, no card (verified 2026-10-25).
Can OpenGMB reply to reviews without my approval?
Only if you turn it on. Replies need approval by default. An optional rule auto-approves replies to 4- or 5-star reviews, and the owner has to turn it on. Auto-approve never covers replies to 1 to 3 star reviews.
Try it on one profile first.
$0.50 free credit, no card. Posts and profile edits go through approval before they go live.