Starfish Reviews alternatives: 7 picks I’d actually use

Starfish Reviews has been around a while. It builds funnels that send your customers off to leave reviews on Google, Facebook, or Yelp, with the option to catch unhappy ones in a private form first.

Plenty of small businesses still use it, and it does what it says. But people leave it for real reasons.

The plugin hasn’t kept pace with newer review tools, the gating workflow Starfish made its name on now sits in a grey area with Google’s review policy, and a lot of users just want something simpler that asks every customer and gets out of the way.

So I tested 7 WordPress plugins that do the job differently, ranked by how well they replace Starfish for most sites.

Starfish Reviews alternatives compared

Quick side-by-side before the detail.

Here they are in detail, ranked.

The 7 best Starfish Reviews alternatives

1. WiserReview

WiserReview is the closest direct swap for what Starfish does. After a sale or service, it sends a request by email, SMS, WhatsApp, or QR code.

The customer leaves a review on your site, photo or video included, and it shows up with the schema Google needs for star ratings.

If you want Google reviews specifically, it can point happy customers to your Google profile too, no funnel filtering, just a straight ask.

Strengths:

• Automated review requests by email, SMS, WhatsApp, and QR
• Photo and video reviews on every plan, free included
• Star ratings sync to Google for rich snippets
• AI moderation, spam filtering, and reply drafts
• 18+ display widgets: walls, carousels, sliders, popups
• Works on WooCommerce, BigCommerce, Wix, and Squarespace

Watch out for:

• Free plan caps at 100 review requests a month
• Runs as a hosted service with a WordPress integration, not a fully native plugin

Best for: any business that wants more reviews automatically, without the funnel routing.

Pricing: free for 100 review requests a month, then $9/mo flat or $6.75/mo annual.

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Get more reviews on autopilot

WiserReview asks every customer for a review by email, SMS, WhatsApp, and QR, then syncs ratings to Google as star ratings. Photo and video included. Free to start.

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2. Customer Reviews for WooCommerce (CusRev)

If your site runs on WooCommerce, CusRev is the cheapest fix.

It builds on WooCommerce’s native review system instead of running parallel to it, so reviews land where WordPress already understands them.

Strengths:

• Automated review-request emails on the free plan
• Photo reviews and verified-buyer badges at no cost
• Q&A section alongside reviews
• Builds on native WooCommerce reviews, not a parallel system
• Custom email timing and follow-up reminders

Watch out for:

• WooCommerce-only, no help on a blog or service site
• Free-plan branding is heavy until you upgrade
• Display options feel dated next to newer plugins

Best for: WooCommerce stores that want compliant automation cheap.

Pricing: free plan, Pro from $49.99/year.

3. Strong Testimonials

Strong Testimonials is one of the most popular testimonial plugins on WordPress.org, and it’s still actively maintained.

You build a front-end form, collect submissions, then show them in sliders, grids, lists, or masonry layouts. Schema is built in, so star ratings can show in search results.

Strengths:

• Front-end testimonial submission form with custom fields
• Slider, grid, list, and masonry display layouts
• Schema markup for rich snippets in search
• Drag-and-drop reorder, categories, and filters
• Pro adds imports from Google My Business, Facebook, and Yelp

Watch out for:

• Built around testimonials, not Google review generation
• Pro features sold as separate add-ons, not one bundle
• Default styling needs CSS tweaks to look polished

Best for: service businesses, coaches, and consultants who lead with testimonials.

Pricing: free, with Pro extensions available.

4. Site Reviews

Site Reviews is the simplest free way to collect on-site reviews on any WordPress site, not just stores.

Visitors leave reviews through a drag-and-drop form you control, you moderate and pin what shows, and schema fires automatically so star ratings can appear in search even without Google reviews.

Strengths:

• Drag-and-drop review form builder
• Works on any WordPress site, not just WooCommerce
• Pin, filter, and moderate reviews from the admin
• Schema fires automatically for star ratings in search
• Active development with no upsell pressure

Watch out for:

• No automated outreach, customers have to come back on their own
• Photos require a paid add-on, not core
• No multi-platform import for Google, Yelp, or Facebook reviews

Best for: businesses that want to build proof on their own pages, for free.

Pricing: free, with paid add-ons.

5. ReviewX

ReviewX goes deeper than most plugins for WooCommerce stores.

Customers can attach photos and videos, and rate a product on several criteria at once: quality, value, and shipping, each with its own score.

For product sites where the breakdown matters more than a flat star, it’s worth a serious look.

Strengths:

• Photo and video reviews on every plan
• Multi-criteria ratings with separate scores per attribute
• List, grid, and masonry display layouts
• One-click migration from other review plugins
• Built specifically for WooCommerce

Watch out for:

• Multi-criteria feature can clash with some themes
• Support takes a while to respond
• Less stable than the older review plugins, test on staging first

Best for: WooCommerce product sites that want detailed, photo-rich reviews.

Pricing: free plan, Pro from $49.99/year.

Want more reviews without managing a funnel?

WiserReview asks every customer automatically by email, SMS, WhatsApp, and QR, then syncs ratings to Google. Free plan covers 100 a month.

Start Free →

6. WP Business Reviews

WP Business Reviews handles the display side, pulling reviews from third-party platforms into a single feed on your WordPress site.

Strengths:

• Pulls reviews from Google, Yelp, Facebook, and Zomato
• Mix platforms into one feed or show them separately
• Three display themes: light, dark, transparent
• Sort, filter, tag, and highlight your best reviews
• Auto-refresh of new reviews from connected accounts

Watch out for:

• Paid plugin only, no free tier
• Setting to hide low-star reviews exists, use sparingly
• Doesn’t collect new reviews, display only

Best for: local businesses with strong reviews on multiple platforms.

Pricing: paid plugin, from around $99/year for a single site (30-day money-back guarantee).

7. Smash Balloon Reviews Feed

Smash Balloon Reviews Feed takes a different angle than everything else on this list. It doesn’t try to collect reviews or replace your funnel.

It pulls reviews you already have from Google, Yelp, Trustpilot, Facebook, and TripAdvisor onto your WordPress pages, refreshes them daily, and gets out of the way.

Strengths:

• Imports reviews from Google, Yelp, Trustpilot, Facebook, and TripAdvisor
• Daily auto-refresh of new reviews
• Pre-built feed layouts with no code needed
• Shortcode and widget placement anywhere on the site
• Free version available for quick testing

Watch out for:

• Display only, no collection or asking side
• The free version is limited in customization
• Best paired with a collection tool, not used alone

Best for: local businesses sitting on strong third-party reviews and not enough of them showing on their own site.

Pricing: limited free version, Pro around $49/year.

How to switch from Starfish Reviews

Switching isn’t hard, but the order matters if you want to keep your existing reviews intact and your Google listing safe.

1. Pick your path first: If you want more Google reviews, pick a generation tool that asks every customer (WiserReview or CusRev). If you want to keep what you’ve already got and stop pushing to Google, pick a collection or display tool (Strong Testimonials, Site Reviews, ReviewX, WP Business Reviews, or Smash Balloon).
2. Export your Starfish data: The premium version supports CSV export of collected feedback. Pull your reviews and ratings out before you deactivate anything.
3. Turn off the funnel routing if you keep Starfish running: If you’re running both side by side during the switch, disable the setting that routes unhappy customers to private feedback. Cleaner for the test and safer with Google’s review policy.
4. Set up the new tool and run them side by side for a week: Watch the new flow, confirm reviews appear, and make sure the schema is firing cleanly. Run Google’s Rich Results Test on a key page to confirm.
5. Deactivate Starfish: Once the new system is working, remove the plugin and clean up any orphaned funnel pages or shortcodes.

So which one should you pick?

It comes down to what you actually need. Generate more reviews, collect them on your own site, or display the ones you already have somewhere else.

For generation, WiserReview at $9/mo is the cleanest swap and does what Starfish did without the funnel risk. On WooCommerce, CusRev’s free plan covers automated emails without paying anything.

For collection on your own site, Strong Testimonials is the testimonial pick, Site Reviews is the free general option, and ReviewX is the WooCommerce option when photos and detailed scoring matter.

For display, WP Business Reviews and Smash Balloon both pull external reviews onto your pages. WP Business Reviews has more polish and curation options, Smash Balloon is faster and lighter.

Whichever you pick, the move usually pays off in a week. The newer tools are simpler, the asks are easier to manage, and you stop second-guessing the funnel.

Ready for a simpler way to ask for reviews?

WiserReview asks every customer for a review by email, SMS, WhatsApp, and QR. Star ratings sync to Google. Free to start.

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