15 Best Online Reputation Management (ORM) Tools In 2024
A bad review can cost a small shop real customers. A single angry post can travel far before the owner even sees it. That is why more businesses now use online reputation management tools. These are programs that show what people say about your brand, and help you reply on time.
This guide lists 15 well-known tools, and explains what each one does in plain words. It also explains how to choose one, and what you can do for free. The tools here were checked against their own websites. I have left out prices on purpose, because plans change often and many vendors quote a custom price.
Table of Contents
What Is Online Reputation Management?
Online reputation management, or ORM, means watching and shaping how a brand looks on the internet. It has three parts.
- Listening. Finding mentions of your name in news, blogs, forums and social posts.
- Reviews. Collecting, tracking and answering ratings on sites like Google and Trustpilot.
- Reporting. Showing whether opinion is moving up or down over time.
One term you will see often is sentiment analysis. It simply means the software guesses if a comment sounds positive, negative or neutral. It is a helpful shortcut, though it can misread jokes or local slang.
How to Choose a Tool
Do not start with the biggest name. Start with your own need. Ask yourself these questions.
- Do I need to track news and social posts, or mostly customer reviews?
- Do I have one location or many?
- Who will use the tool every day, and how technical are they?
- Do I need alerts on my phone or in Slack?
- Can I test it for free before I pay?
Most tools fall into two groups. Some are listening tools, which watch the wider web. Others are review tools, which manage star ratings and replies. A few try to do both.
Social Listening and Media Monitoring Tools
These tools scan social media, news sites, blogs and forums for your brand name.
1. Brand24
Brand24 tracks mentions of a brand, a rival or a topic across social platforms, news, blogs, forums, podcasts and video. It offers sentiment analysis, an influencer score for authors, alerts by email, Slack or Microsoft Teams, and a “storm alert” when mentions suddenly spike. It can also report on what AI chatbots say about a brand.
2. Mention
Mention monitors the web and social media, with alerts and auto-updating dashboards. Its site lists brand management, crisis management and competitor tracking as common uses. Its makers say it also has tools to schedule and publish social posts. The company is now part of Agorapulse.
3. Meltwater
Meltwater is aimed at PR and communications teams. It brings together news, social media and AI-related signals in one platform, with alerts and reports for leaders. It suits larger teams that need media coverage tracked in many languages.
4. Talkwalker (now Lumen by Talkwalker)
Talkwalker has been renamed Lumen by Talkwalker. It does social listening, media monitoring and benchmarking against rivals. The company says the data and reports stay the same. Its site also says it is being brought closer to Hootsuite. It looks aimed at brands with dedicated analysts.
5. Brandwatch
Brandwatch sells consumer intelligence, social media management and influencer tools. It says it monitors threats across more than 100 million sources. It is built for large companies that want deep research on public opinion.
6. Hootsuite
Hootsuite offers a reputation management product with real-time alerts, sentiment tracking, review management and crisis detection. It also has a shared social inbox, so a team can answer messages from one place.
7. Sprout Social
Sprout Social combines social media management with review management. It connects to Google Business Profile, Yelp, Tripadvisor, Facebook, app stores, Trustpilot and Glassdoor. You see reviews in one stream and can reply from the same screen.
Review Management Tools
These tools focus on ratings and customer feedback. They are useful for shops, clinics, hotels and restaurants.
8. Birdeye
Birdeye is built for brands with many locations. It brings reviews, listings and customer messages into one view. Its site now stresses AI features for marketing and customer service.
9. Podium
Podium is aimed at local businesses. Its current pitch is an “AI employee” that replies to leads and books appointments. Check what a plan includes before you buy, since the product focus has changed over time.
10. ReviewTrackers
ReviewTrackers is sold as reputation management software. It collects reviews, sends alerts, handles listing details and lets you show reviews on your own site. It also helps teams route complaints to the right person.
11. Yext Reviews
Yext Reviews lets a business monitor and answer feedback from over 80 third-party sites and its own website. It can send review requests by email, text or QR code. It works with Yext’s listings product, and pricing is quoted per case.
12. Reputation.com
Reputation.com is an enterprise platform. It joins reviews, surveys, listings and social signals for brands with many outlets, such as car dealers, clinics and restaurant chains. It suits companies that want every branch to follow one process.
13. BrightLocal
BrightLocal is a local SEO platform. It tracks search rankings, manages listings and monitors reviews. It shows how your business appears to nearby customers in local search. Its site lists plans openly, so a small business can check them directly.
14. Trustpilot Business
Trustpilot is a public review site. Businesses claim a profile to collect and answer reviews. Its business page says it detected and removed 7.8 million fake reviews in 2025. It also offers QR codes to gather reviews from offline sales.
A Free Starting Point
15. Google Alerts
Google Alerts is free. You type a topic, such as your company name, and Google emails you when new results appear. You can set how often it emails, which languages and regions to include, and how many results to show.
It is basic. It does not do sentiment analysis, and it does not cover reviews the way paid tools do. Still, it is a smart first step for a small brand, a freelancer or a new startup.
Quick Comparison
| Tool | Best for | Main strength |
|---|---|---|
| Brand24 | Small and mid-size teams | Mention tracking and alerts |
| Mention | Marketers and agencies | Web monitoring and reports |
| Meltwater | PR teams | Media intelligence |
| Lumen by Talkwalker | Large brands | Social listening and benchmarking |
| Brandwatch | Large companies | Consumer research |
| Hootsuite | Social teams | Alerts plus social inbox |
| Sprout Social | Social teams | Reviews and social in one place |
| Birdeye | Multi-location brands | Reviews and listings |
| Podium | Local businesses | Customer messaging |
| ReviewTrackers | Review-heavy businesses | Review collection and alerts |
| Yext Reviews | Brands with many listings | Review requests and replies |
| Reputation.com | Enterprises | Reviews, surveys and listings |
| BrightLocal | Local SEO | Rankings, listings and reviews |
| Trustpilot Business | Online sellers | Public reviews |
| Google Alerts | Everyone | Free basic alerts |
How to Reply to Reviews
A tool only helps if you use it well. A few habits make replies work.
- Reply fast. A quick answer shows other readers that you care.
- Stay calm. Do not argue in public, even if the review is unfair.
- Say sorry when you are wrong. Then say what you will fix.
- Move private details offline. Give a phone number or email for the rest.
- Thank happy customers. Short thanks are enough.
- Never write fake reviews. Sites like Trustpilot work to remove them, and buyers spot them too.
The same care applies to your content. If you plan a bigger digital push, read our guide to finding the perfect SEO agency for your company. Our notes on AI tools for social media content may help too, and so may smart ways to use social media for business ideas. If you are thinking of working in this field, see the digital marketing career scope in India.
Mistakes to Avoid
- Buying a big enterprise tool when a free alert would do.
- Ignoring good reviews and only reacting to bad ones.
- Trusting sentiment scores blindly. Read a sample of real comments.
- Forgetting to update your business details on Google and other sites.
- Using a tool but leaving nobody in charge of it.
FAQs About Online Reputation Management Tools
What are online reputation management tools?
They are programs that track what people say about a brand online. Some also manage reviews, send alerts and build reports.
Is there a free ORM tool?
Yes. Google Alerts is free and sends emails on new mentions. It is basic, but useful for a first check.
Which tool is best for a small business?
It depends on your need. A shop that lives on Google reviews may prefer a review tool. A brand that gets many social mentions may prefer a listening tool.
Can these tools remove bad reviews?
No. They help you find and answer reviews. Review sites decide what to remove, and usually only for rule breaks such as fake or abusive posts.
How much do ORM tools cost?
Prices vary a lot, and many vendors quote a custom price. Check each vendor’s site for current plans.
Final Thoughts
Good reputation work is mostly about listening and replying. Pick one tool that fits your size and budget, and give one person the job of using it. Start with a free alert if you are unsure. Features and names change fast in this field, so check the vendor’s site for the latest details before you buy.