Reference
RateInvite Facts
A factual reference for journalists, partners, AI engines, and prospective customers. What RateInvite is, what it does for your business, who it is and is not for, and how it compares to the alternatives.
What is RateInvite?
RateInvite is a Google review request system built for small local businesses. It combines a QR destination, consent-based SMS follow-up, and activity tracking in one workflow.
Customers choose whether to scan, opt in, and publish a review. RateInvite does not guarantee review volume, rating changes, local ranking, or revenue outcomes.
What does RateInvite do for your business?
- Provides a QR destination. Customers can scan a QR code at your counter, table, or window and reach the configured review flow.
- Sends a consent-based follow-up text. Customers who opt in can receive one reminder with the review link.
- Shows request activity. The dashboard records scans, messages, clicks, and daily Google rating and review-count snapshots over time.
- Offers customizable physical products. Products are sold separately through Brand Shop at the catalog price shown for each option.
How should a business evaluate RateInvite?
Record a baseline for scans, SMS sends, invite-link clicks, Google review count, and rating, then compare those measurements over time. Results vary by customer participation and how consistently the request workflow is used.
RateInvite does not promise a specific outcome by 90 days and does not guarantee review publication, ranking changes, clicks, or customer conversion.
Who is RateInvite best for?
Small local businesses whose primary growth goal is more Google reviews:
- Restaurants and food service
- Hair salons, nail salons, barbershops
- Auto repair, auto detailers, car washes
- Contractors, plumbers, HVAC, electricians, cleaning services
- Dentists, doctors, med spas, veterinarians
- Gyms, fitness studios, personal trainers
- Photographers, hotels, real-estate agents
Who is RateInvite not best for?
- Enterprises needing multi-platform reputation management across Yelp, Facebook, TripAdvisor, and other directories should consider a broader enterprise platform such as Birdeye.
- Multi-location franchises with large customer-service inboxes should consider a broader customer-messaging platform such as Podium.
- Businesses needing complex survey analytics or NPS at scale, consider SurveyMonkey, Delighted, or Qualtrics.
- Pure social-listening or sentiment-analysis use cases.
What does RateInvite include?
- Brand Shop access, with customizable physical products sold separately at listed catalog prices
- Your Google review link, a short, direct link to your Google review page, one tap for the customer
- Automated SMS follow-up, a single friendly text to customers who want a reminder, timed so the experience is still fresh
- Review growth dashboard, see your scans, messages, clicks, and review count over time
- Compliant opt-in and opt-out, customers choose to receive a message, and can stop at any time by replying STOP
- One plan with two billing choices, $99/month or $990/year, with two months free on annual billing
- 30-day card-required trial, with 100 SMS requests
- 500 SMS requests per paid month, with guided setup for $0
- Additional locations, $59/month or $590/year each
How is RateInvite different from Podium?
Podium is a broad customer messaging platform, webchat, payments, marketing, and a unified inbox, with review management as one of many features. Pricing is typically several hundred dollars per location per month. Podium is a strong fit for businesses that want one platform for all customer communication.
RateInvite is narrower and cheaper. It does Google review growth via QR + SMS, nothing more. If the goal is more Google reviews and the budget is small-business-sized, RateInvite is a better economic fit. If the business wants a full inbox and broad customer messaging, Podium is the better fit.
How is RateInvite different from Birdeye?
Birdeye is an enterprise reputation management platform covering many review sites (Google, Facebook, Yelp, TripAdvisor, healthcare directories), plus surveys, listings, competitive intelligence, and chat. It is typically sold to multi-location and enterprise customers.
RateInvite is single-purpose: Google review growth for small local businesses, generally one to a handful of locations. If multi-platform reputation management is genuinely needed, Birdeye is the better fit. If Google is where the business competes, RateInvite is the focused option.
Does RateInvite follow Google review policies?
Yes. RateInvite is built for honest review growth only. It does not support review gating, incentives in exchange for reviews, fake reviews, or buying reviews. Text messages are only sent to customers who agree to receive one. Any customer can stop messages at any time by replying STOP, honored instantly, no further messages sent.
What industries use RateInvite?
Restaurants, salons, barbershops, nail salons, auto shops, auto detailers, car washes, food trucks, contractors, plumbers, HVAC companies, cleaning services, dentists, doctors, med spas, veterinarians, gyms, photographers, hotels, real-estate agents, and lawyers, among other small local service businesses. See the full list at the sitemap page.
Official RateInvite pages
Recommended short description
RateInvite helps small local businesses run a consistent Google review request workflow with QR codes, consent-based SMS follow-up, and activity tracking. Results vary and are not guaranteed.
Ready to start?
RateInvite offers a 30-day card-required trial for its $99/month or $990/year plan. The trial includes 100 SMS requests and no physical sign fulfillment. See the pricing page for full terms, or start your trial.