G2 puts logic in place to ensure the reviews shown on product pages are the most helpful to buyers. When the page is sorted by default, the sort is calculated with a custom algorithm that includes the following data points.
The G2 Star Rating is calculated by aggregating reviewers' answers to our Likely to Recommend question (1–10 scale) and dividing the average in half.
You will see half stars because the visual is rounded up to the nearest half.
The top alternatives sorting algorithm is meant to surface the products most similar in functionality and which buyers can leverage for similar uses. Three sources of information are used to determine the sort, as listed below:
Note: The customer Satisfaction score is normalized for each Grid®, meaning the scores are relative.
Both the software vendor and the individual product are measured on various criteria. The criteria are listed below in order of importance. Product metrics receive greater weight than vendor metrics.
Each input is normalized by category and segment. This means that scores are relative to other products in the category/segment and may change from segment to segment. The scores are then scaled from 0–100.
For a category to be data ready for a Grid® Report, it requires:
| Criteria | Measured For | Metrics | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Product | Vendor | ||
| Number of Employees | X | X | Employee Count (based on social networks and public sources) |
| Reviews | X | Review Count (weighted by recency) | |
| Web Presence | X | X | |
| Social Presence | X | X | |
| Growth | X | X | Employee Growth, Web Presence Growth |
| Vendor Age | X | ||
| Employee Satisfaction and Engagement | X | ||
To keep G2's algorithms fresh and up to date, a decay is applied to reviews based on their last updated date. Reviews are worth less toward both the Satisfaction score and the Market Presence score as they age.
The exponential decay is compounded daily. The rate roughly equates to -3% per month or -30% per year.
Reviews also receive bonus weight based on the source and quality of the review. Bonus weights are internal to G2.
To be included in one of G2’s Software Sellers or Software Products “Best Of” lists, a software seller or software product must receive at least 50 approved and published reviews* during the evaluation period. For the “Best Of” lists, the evaluation period is January 1 to December 31 each year**, and scores reflect only data from reviews submitted during that time. The Market Presence score reflects the data that is as recent as the cut date.
Best Software Sellers Lists
Best Software Products Lists
Notes on the "Best Of" Scoring Methodologies:
Keep in mind that, for G2’s annual “Best Of” lists, the scores only reflect reviews submitted in the evaluation period. Other G2 reports might include more or less data which would potentially show different rankings for software sellers and software products.
Also, broadly-defined “Other” categories such as “Other Marketing Software” and “Other IT Security Software” were excluded to ensure we were evaluating products with relevant comparative scoring.
* Business partner reviews count toward the 50 reviews threshold needed to be eligible for G2’s “Best Of” lists, but they are not calculated as part of the rankings.
** The 2020 “Best Of” list evaluation period was extended and ran through March of 2020, instead of the usual end date of December 31, 2019.
*** Competitiveness, in this instance, is determined by how many products are competing in each category and how many reviews those products receive.
v2.0
Users who have a business relationship with a vendor, such as resellers, can often provide valuable insight and are not restricted from leaving reviews on G2. However, because of the potential bias of such relationships, business partner reviews do not count toward the Star Rating, G2 score, Satisfaction or Market Presence scores, Best Of Lists, or other G2 ranking algorithms. These are flagged with a "Business Partner" label on the review.
When viewing Grids® by segment size, the same Grid® scoring methodology applies. However, the review data used is only from reviewers who are employed by a company within a particular company segment. G2 uses the following definitions for company segments:
Segmented Market Presence scores measure both the scale of a product within a category as well as the degree to which the product focuses on a given segment.
G2 rates products and vendors based on reviews gathered from our user community, as well as data aggregated from online sources and social networks. We apply unique algorithms (v4.0) to this data to calculate the Satisfaction and Market Presence scores in real time.
When viewing categories by region or specific country, the same Satisfaction scoring methodology applies. However, the review data used is only from reviews sourced from a particular region or specific country. Review region is determined by where the reviewer was located when the review was written.
Regional Market Presence is designed to measure a product’s market share, vendor size, and web presence both within the region and globally. G2 uses a combination of over 15 metrics from G2’s reviews, publicly available information, and third-party sources to ensure the scoring is not only accurate but transparent, scalable, and dynamic.
G2 uses the following definitions for regions:
G2 rates products and vendors based on reviews gathered from our user community, as well as data aggregated from online sources and social networks. We apply a unique, patent-pending algorithm to this data to calculate the product's Usability score. The information shown reflects scores calculated using the G2 usability algorithm v1.0 BETA in real time.
The Usability score is affected by the following (in order of importance):
For a category to be data ready for a Usability Index Report, it requires:
G2 rates products and vendors based on reviews gathered from our user community, as well as data aggregated from online sources and social networks. We apply a unique, patent-pending algorithm to this data to calculate the product's Results score. The information shown reflects scores calculated using the G2 results algorithm v1.0 BETA in real time.
The Results score is affected by the following (in order of importance):
For a category to be data ready for a Results Index Report, it requires:
G2 rates products and vendors based on reviews gathered from our user community, as well as data aggregated from online sources and social networks. We apply a unique, patent-pending algorithm to this data to calculate the product's Implementation score. The information shown reflects scores calculated using the G2 implementation algorithm v1.0 BETA in real time.
The Implementation score is affected by the following (in order of importance):
For a category to be data ready for a Implementation Index Report, it requires:
G2 rates products and vendors based on reviews gathered from our user community, as well as data aggregated from online sources and social networks. We apply a unique, patent-pending algorithm to this data to calculate the product's Relationship score. The information shown reflects scores calculated using the G2 relationship algorithm v1.0 BETA in real time.
The Relationship score is affected by the following (in order of importance):
For a category to be data ready for a Relationship Index Report, it requires:
Momentum Methodology
Each variable is normalized by category and aggregated to create a Momentum score. The inputs impacting G2's Momentum score are as follows:
Satisfaction Methodology
The Satisfaction rating is affected by the following (in order of importance):
Product suites are groupings of individually-sold products from a single vendor that work together to solve a broader business problem.
Solutions covered by the product suite methodology are product suites or single products from one vendor that provide the functionality of a core set of categories, plus related additional categories. Solution categories are identified by a grouping of G2 software categories, as described below:
Inclusion & Eligibility
To be included in a Grid®, a solution must have 10 or more reviews across the defined core categories. An eligible solution’s positioning will be further influenced by additional categories where it has 10 or more reviews.
Satisfaction
The solution Satisfaction score is an aggregate of the offering’s category Satisfaction scores, with core categories receiving greater weight than additional categories. The factors used in the calculation of solution Satisfaction scores are the same as those in the G2 Satisfaction score.
Note: The satisfaction sub-scores are normalized for each Grid®, meaning the scores are relative. For core categories, the scores are normalized against only the solutions eligible for the Grid®. For additional categories, the scores are normalized against all products with 10 reviews in the category.
Market Presence
Market Presence is designed to measure a solution’s market share, vendor size, and influence in the solution category. Solution Market Presence is based on the same factors used to score Market Presence, aggregated across each product that makes up the solution and has 10 reviews in a solution category.
Updates to your product or company information displayed in published G2 reports must be submitted to our support team. Our team can make changes to the following in published reports:
The following metrics are used in our Market Presence scoring and cannot be updated in published reports or drafts:
All updates to metrics affecting our Market Presence and Momentum algorithms are updated on a monthly basis. Vendors are updated at the same time to ensure that they are being measured on an even playing field. We do these updates ahead of report releases, so it is possible for metrics like the Number of Employees, LinkedIn followers, Twitter followers, etc., to be a bit lower than what you might find at the source. If you have any questions, contact our support team.