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Grades.com vs BrightLocal

BrightLocal sells local SEO software: rank tracking, citations, Google Business Profile tools and an AI visibility tracker, with reviews in its Reputation Manager on the Grow plan.¹⁴ Grades.com brings your reviews from 54 sites into one inbox, drafts every reply in your voice, gives you a public grade and checks what ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude say about you.

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Facts about BrightLocal come from its own website, read on October 30, 2026. Each one links to its source below.

The short version

Pick BrightLocal if

local SEO is the main job, with rank tracking, citations and Google Business Profile tools first and reviews as one part, and you want an AI visibility score for ChatGPT and Google’s AI.

Where BrightLocal goes further

Local rank tracking with a geo-grid map and citation monitoring¹
A Local AI Visibility Tracker with a 0 to 100 score by AI platform and the sources AI cites for your category³
Google Business Profile audits, scheduled posts and business-detail sync¹
An API suite and an MCP server for ChatGPT, Claude and Mistral¹²⁶

Pick Grades.com if

reviews are the job: reviews from 54 sites in one inbox, replies drafted in your voice on every plan, what four AI assistants say about you, and a public grade with awards and badges.

What Grades.com does not do

No texting inbox, web chat, phones, missed-call text-back or payments
No listings management or customer surveys
Review request campaigns are on Premium only

Feature by feature

Grades.com’s side is the product today. BrightLocal’s side is what its own pages say, with a source for each fact.

Feature	Grades.com	BrightLocal
Published prices	YesYes. Starter $29 a month per location, Pro $149 and Premium $399 a month per business.	YesFor one location: Track $31, Manage $40, Grow $49 a month on annual billing ($41, $54, $65 billed monthly). Review features start on Grow. Price rises with locations.¹
Billing and contract	YesMonthly, no contract. Yearly billing is optional and gives two months free.	Monthly or annual billing; cancel any time. Its Terms say a subscription renews monthly and charges already paid are not refunded on early cancellation.¹⁵
Free trial	Yes14 days of Pro, no card needed.	Yes14 days of full access, no credit card.¹
Review sites monitored	Yes54 sites. Google on Starter, all 54 on Pro and Premium.	Its Reputation Manager page says it tracks “mentions across 80+ sites.” Replies post to Google and Facebook.⁴
AI reply drafts	YesEvery plan. 10 a month on Starter, up to 50 per location on Pro. Unlimited AI drafts on Premium.	Yes“AI assistance to craft thoughtful and timely replies” (Grow plan).⁴¹
Replies posted for you	PartlyPremium, where a site allows it. Hard reviews wait for you.	Not foundNot stated on the pages we read.
Review generation	PartlyA review page and QR code that show every site, on every plan. Email campaigns on Premium (text messages coming soon).	YesReview requests by email, SMS and QR codes, with drip campaigns (Grow plan).¹⁴
What AI assistants say about you	YesChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude. Monthly on Starter, weekly on Pro, daily with alerts on Premium.	YesLocal AI Visibility Tracker: ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews, up to 20 prompts per location. In Track and above.³¹
Competitor tracking	PartlyCompetitor Map on Premium. Who AI names next to you, ranked.	YesLocal rankings for up to four competitors (Track), and AI visibility compared with local competitors.¹³
Public grade, awards and badges	YesA Grades.com Score from A+ to F on reviews.grades.com, seasonal awards and badges for your website.	PartlyA review widget to publish reviews on your website. No public score or badges found.¹⁴
API and MCP server	YesREST API and MCP server on every plan.	PartlyREST APIs, sold with custom pricing. An MCP server for ChatGPT, Claude and Mistral: read-only at launch, with actions announced for later; needs the Grow plan and BrightLocal Labs access.¹²⁶
Texting, web chat, phones or payments	NoNot offered.	Not foundNot found on the pages we read. SMS is used for review requests.
Listings management	NoNot offered.	YesBusiness details kept in sync across key sites (Manage), plus a pay-as-you-go Citation Builder.¹
Customer surveys	NoNot offered.	Not foundNot found on the pages we read.

Not found means the BrightLocal pages we read on October 30, 2026 did not describe it. It may still be offered: ask BrightLocal. Numbers point to the sources at the end of this page.

Pricing side by side

Prices as each company publishes them, on October 30, 2026.

Grades.com

Starter$29 a month per location
Pro$149 a month, first location included
Premium$399 a month, first location included

Pro and Premium add a charge per extra location, lower from location 21 and 101. Monthly with no contract, or yearly with two months free. 14-day free trial of Pro, no card needed.

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BrightLocal

For one location the pricing page lists Track at $31, Manage at $40 and Grow at $49 a month on annual billing, or $41, $54 and $65 a month billed monthly. Price rises with the number of locations, and over 100 locations is on request.¹

Review monitoring, requests and widgets are in Grow. The page offers a free trial of 14 days with no card, upgrades, downgrades and switches between monthly and annual at any time, and says there are no refunds for the remaining time when you downgrade.¹

The Terms and Conditions say a subscription “shall automatically renew on the same date of each month” and that charges already paid are not refunded for early cancellation.⁵

AI answers

What AI says about you

More customers ask an AI assistant before they choose a business. Grades.com asks too, on every plan.

ChatGPT
Perplexity
Gemini
Claude

Whether each one mentions you, and in what tone
The ratings it quotes, checked against your real ones
The review sites its answers lean on
Monthly on Starter, weekly on Pro, daily with alerts on Premium

More about AI Reputation →

BrightLocal

BrightLocal’s Local AI Visibility Tracker covers ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews, with up to 20 prompts per location. Its page lists more platforms as planned.³

Frequently asked questions

Is Grades.com an alternative to BrightLocal?

For reviews, yes: reviews from 54 sites in one inbox, reply drafts in your voice, a public grade and what four AI assistants say about you. Grades.com does not do rank tracking, citations or Google Business Profile tools, so if you need local SEO tools, BrightLocal covers more.

How much does BrightLocal cost?

For one location BrightLocal lists Track at $31, Manage at $40 and Grow at $49 a month on annual billing, or $41, $54 and $65 a month billed monthly; review features start on Grow (read on October 30, 2026). Grades.com costs $29 a month per location on Starter, $149 a month on Pro and $399 a month on Premium.

Does BrightLocal have an MCP server?

Yes. BrightLocal’s January 15, 2026 announcement describes an MCP server that connects to ChatGPT, Claude and Mistral, read-only at launch with actions announced for later, and it needs the Grow plan and BrightLocal Labs access (read on October 30, 2026). Grades.com has a REST API and an MCP server on every plan.

Where do the facts about BrightLocal come from?

From BrightLocal’s own website, read on October 30, 2026. Each fact links to its page in the sources below. Products and prices change, so check those pages before you decide.

What does Grades.com not do?

Grades.com does not offer a texting inbox, web chat, phones, missed-call text-back, payments, listings management or customer surveys.

Sources

BrightLocal pricing www.brightlocal.com/pricing, read October 30, 2026
BrightLocal MCP server announcement (January 15, 2026) www.brightlocal.com/?p=132321, read October 30, 2026
BrightLocal Local AI Visibility www.brightlocal.com/local-seo-tools/local-ai-visibility, read October 30, 2026
BrightLocal Reputation Manager www.brightlocal.com/reputation-manager, read October 30, 2026
BrightLocal terms and conditions www.brightlocal.com/terms-and-conditions, read October 30, 2026
BrightLocal API solutions www.brightlocal.com/platform/api-solutions, read October 30, 2026

Grades.com facts come from our pricing page and the product as of October 30, 2026. BrightLocal is a trademark of its owner. Grades.com is not affiliated with BrightLocal. Compare Grades.com with other review tools.

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