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G2 Research Scoring Methodologies

G2 scores 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 algorithm (v3.0) to this data to calculate the customer Satisfaction and Market Presence scores in real time.

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Review Sorting Methodology

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.

  • Recency of the review
  • Amount of feedback provided in the review
  • Attribution (Did the reviewer keep their name and company public)
  • Whether the reviewer is a current user of the solution (Included a screen shot)
  • Community engagement with the review

G2 Star Rating Methodology

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.

Alternatives Sorting Methodology

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:

  • The breadth of overlap in categories as determined by G2 research analysts, as an indicator of similarity of function
  • The depth of category overlap based on the number of reviews attributed to each category, as an indicator of overlap of usage 
  • The number of product to product comparisons made by G2 users, as an indicator of overlap of interest from buyers

The Satisfaction rating is affected by the following:

  • Customer satisfaction with end user-focused product attributes based on user reviews
    • For services providers: Satisfaction with client-focused provider attributes based on client reviews
  • Popularity and statistical significance based on the number of reviews received by G2
  • Quality of reviews received (reviews that are more thoroughly completed will be weighted more heavily)
  • Age of reviews (more-recent reviews provide relevant and up-to-date information that is reflective of the current state of a product or services provider)
  • Customers' satisfaction with administration-specific product or provider attributes based on user reviews
  • Overall customer satisfaction and Net Promoter Score® (NPS) based on ratings by G2 users

Note: The customer Satisfaction score is normalized for each Grid®, meaning the scores are relative.

G2's Market Presence score is a combination of 15 metrics from G2's user reviews, publicly available information, and third-party sources.

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.

Grid® Report Inclusion Criteria

For a category to be data ready for a Grid® Report, it requires:

  • 6+ products with 10+ reviews in the category
  • 150+ reviews in the category overall
  • All key players in that category included

Market Presence Scoring Criteria

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  

Grid® Decay

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.

Grid Decay

Best Of/Top Products Scoring Methodology

General Criteria

A vendor must receive at least 100 reviews in aggregate during the evaluation period to be eligible for inclusion in G2’s Best Of lists. For Best Of 2021, the evaluation period is January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020, and scores reflect only data from reviews left during that time. Business partner reviews will count toward the 100 reviews, but will not be calculated into the final score. All scores reflect variations of our core G2 Score and a combination of our Satisfaction and Market Presence algorithms, with the following adjustments for each set of lists:

Top Product and Persona-Based Lists

  • Satisfaction and Market Presence scores are normalized within each category
  • In addition to scoring a product’s performance within its category, products are also scored based on the density of the category (as measured by the density or products and reviews with a category)
  • Persona-Based lists (e.g., Best Software for Sales) apply this methodology within a smaller subset of categories relevant to a particular persona
  • The Small-Business, Mid-Market, and Enterprise lists only consider reviews from these segments; these also factor in frequency that a category is reviewed by users within the segment

Highest Satisfaction List is based solely on G2’s Satisfaction algorithm (rather than G2 Score), normalized within categories and adjusted for category density

Fastest Growing Products List is based on G2's Momentum algorithm, normalized across categories

Top Vendors List

  • Satisfaction is an aggregate of vendor’s products with 5 or more reviews in 2019 and 10 or more reviews overall
  • Satisfaction scores are normalized by product and category and aggregated across each eligible product
  • Market Presence inputs are aggregated by vendor and then normalized across all eligible vendors

Business Partners

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.

Additional Report Scoring Methodologies

Segmented Grid® Scoring Methodology

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:

  • Small-Business review: A review from someone who works at a company with 50 or fewer employees
  • Mid-Market review: A review from someone who works at a company with 51–1,000 employees
  • Enterprise review: A review from someone who works at a company with 1,001+ employees

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.

Regional Scoring Methodology

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:

  • Asia Pacific
    A review sourced from someone based in one of these countries:

    Afghanistan; American Samoa; Australia; Azerbaijan; Bangladesh; Bhutan; British Indian Ocean Territory; Cambodia; China; Christmas Island; Cocos (Keeling) Islands; Cook Islands; Fiji; French Polynesia; Guam; Hong Kong; India; Indonesia; Japan; Kazakhstan; Kiribati; Kyrgyzstan; Laos; Macao; Malaysia; Maldives; Marshall Islands; Mauritania; Micronesia, Federated States of; Mongolia; Myanmar; Nauru; Nepal; New Caledonia; New Zealand; Niue; Norfolk Island; North Korea; Northern Mariana Islands; Pakistan; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Philippines; Pitcairn; Samoa; Singapore; Solomon Islands; South Korea; Sri Lanka; Taiwan, Province of China; Tajikistan; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Tokelau; Tonga; Turkmenistan; Tuvalu; United States Minor Outlying Islands; Uzbekistan; Vanuatu; Viet Nam; Wallis and Futuna

  • EMEA
    A review sourced from someone based in one of these countries:

    Albania; Algeria; Andorra; Angola; Armenia; Austria; Bahrain; Belarus; Belgium; Benin; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Botswana; Brunei Darussalam; Bulgaria; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Central African Republic; Chad; Comoros; Congo; Congo, the Democratic Republic of the; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Côte d'Ivoire; Denmark; Djibouti; Egypt; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Estonia; Ethiopia; Faroe Islands; Finland; France; Gabon; Gambia; Georgia; Germany; Ghana; Gibraltar; Greece; Greenland; Guernsey; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Hungary; Iceland; Iran; Iraq; Ireland; Isle of Man; Israel; Italy; Jersey; Jordan; Kenya; Kuwait; Latvia; Lebanon; Lesotho; Liberia; Libya; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macedonia; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Malta; Mauritius; Mayotte; Moldova; Monaco; Montenegro; Morocco; Mozambique; Namibia; Netherlands; Niger; Nigeria; Norway; Oman; Palestine; Poland; Portugal; Qatar; Romania; Russia; Rwanda; Réunion; Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; San Marino; Sao Tome and Principe; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Serbia; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Slovakia; Slovenia; Somalia; South Africa; South Sudan; Spain; Sudan; Svalbard and Jan Mayen; Swaziland; Sweden; Switzerland; Syria; Tanzania, United Republic of; Togo; Tunisia; Turkey; Uganda; Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; Western Sahara; Yemen; Zambia; Zimbabwe

  • Americas
    A review sourced from someone based in one of these countries:

    Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Argentina; Aruba; Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; Bermuda; Bolivia; Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba; Brazil; Canada; Cayman Islands; Chile; Colombia; Costa Rica; Cuba; Curaçao; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El Salvador; Falkland Islands (Malvinas); French Guiana; Grenada; Guadeloupe; Guatemala; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; Jamaica; Martinique; Mexico; Montserrat; Nicaragua; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; Puerto Rico; Saint Barthélemy; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Martin; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Sint Maarten; Suriname; Trinidad and Tobago; Turks and Caicos Islands; United States; Uruguay; Venezuela; Virgin Islands, British; Virgin Islands, U.S.

  • Europe
    A review sourced from someone based in one of these countries:

    Albania; Andorra; Austria; Belarus; Belgium; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Greenland; Hungary; Iceland; Ireland; Italy; Latvia; Liechtenstein; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Malta; Moldova; Monaco; Montenegro; Netherlands; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Russia; San Marino; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Ukraine; United Kingdom

  • Middle East
    A review sourced from someone based in one of these countries:

    Armenia; Azerbaijan; Bahrain; Egypt; Georgia; Iran; Iraq; Israel; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Kuwait; Lebanon; Oman; Palestine; Qatar; Saudi Arabia; Syria; Turkey; United Arab Emirates; Yemen

  • Asia
    A review sourced from someone based in one of these countries:

    Afghanistan; Bangladesh; Bhutan; British Indian Ocean Territory; Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; China; Christmas Island; Cocos (Keeling) Islands; Hong Kong; India; Indonesia; Japan; Kyrgyzstan; Laos; Macao; Malaysia; Maldives; Mongolia; Myanmar; Nepal; North Korea; Pakistan; Philippines; Singapore; South Korea; Sri Lanka; Taiwan, Province of China; Tajikistan; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Turkmenistan; Uzbekistan; Viet Nam

  • North America
    A review sourced from someone based in one of these countries:

    Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Aruba; Bahamas; Barbados; Bermuda; Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba; Canada; Cayman Islands; Curaçao; Dominica; Grenada; Jamaica; Montserrat; Saint Barthélemy; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Martin; Saint Pierre and Miquelon; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Sint Maarten; Trinidad and Tobago; Turks and Caicos Islands; United States; Virgin Islands, British; Virgin Islands, U.S.

  • Africa
    A review sourced from someone based in one of these countries:

    Algeria; Angola; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Central African Republic; Chad; Comoros; Congo; Congo, the Democratic Republic of the; Côte d'Ivoire; Djibouti; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Kenya; Lesotho; Liberia; Libya; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mauritius; Mayotte; Morocco; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Rwanda; Réunion; Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Sao Tome and Principe; Senegal; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Africa; South Sudan; Sudan; Swaziland; Tanzania, United Republic of; Togo; Tunisia; Uganda; Western Sahara; Zambia; Zimbabwe

  • Latin America
    A review sourced from someone based in one of these countries:

    Argentina; Belize; Bolivia; Brazil; Chile; Colombia; Costa Rica; Cuba; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El Salvador; Falkland Islands (Malvinas); French Guiana; Guadeloupe; Guatemala; Guyana; Haiti; Honduras; Martinique; Mexico; Nicaragua; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; Puerto Rico; Suriname; Uruguay; Venezuela

  • ANZ
    A review sourced from someone based in one of these countries:

    American Samoa; Australia; Cook Islands; Fiji; French Polynesia; Guam; Kiribati; Marshall Islands; Micronesia, Federated States of; Nauru; New Caledonia; New Zealand; Niue; Norfolk Island; Northern Mariana Islands; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Pitcairn; Samoa; Solomon Islands; Tokelau; Tonga; United States Minor Outlying Islands; Vanuatu; Wallis and Futuna

  • Southeast Asia
    A review sourced from someone based in one of these countries:

    Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia; Indonesia; Laos; Malaysia; Myanmar; Philippines; Singapore; Thailand; Timor-Leste; Viet Nam

  • Middle East & Africa
    A review sourced from someone based in one of these countries:

    Algeria; Angola; Bahrain; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Cape Verde; Central African Republic; Chad; Comoros; Congo, the Democratic Republic of the; Cyprus; Djibouti; Egypt; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Iran; Iraq; Israel; Jordan; Kenya; Kuwait; Lebanon; Lesotho; Liberia; Libya; Madagascar; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mauritius; Mayotte; Morocco; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Oman; Palestine; Qatar; Rwanda; Réunion; Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; Sao Tome and Principe; Saudi Arabia; Senegal; Seychelles; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Africa; South Sudan; Sudan; Syria; Tanzania, United Republic of; Togo; Tunisia; Turkey; Uganda; United Arab Emirates; Western Sahara; Yemen; Zambia; Zimbabwe

Usability Scoring Methodology

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):

  • Customer satisfaction with the ease of use for each product based on reviews by G2 users
  • Customer satisfaction with the ease of admin for each product based on reviews by G2 users
  • Customer responses to the Meets Requirements question on G2
  • User adoption percentage based on reviews and by G2 users
  • The number of reviews received on G2; buyers trust a product with more reviews, and a greater number of reviews indicates a more representative and accurate reflection of the customer experience

Usability Index Inclusion Criteria

For a category to be data ready for a Usability Index Report, it requires:

  • 6+ products with 10+ reviews and 5+ answers to the following questions
    • Ease of Use
    • Ease of Admin
    • Meets Requirements
    • What percentage of users adopted the product?
  • 150+ reviews in the category overall
  • All key players in that category included

Results Scoring Methodology

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):

  • Customers' estimated ROI for the product based on reviews by G2 users
  • Customers' reported time to go live with the product based on reviews by G2 users
  • Customers' satisfaction with the product's ability to meet their requirements based on reviews by G2 users
  • Customers' likelihood to recommend each product based on reviews by G2 users
  • User adoption percentage based on reviews and by G2 users
  • The number of reviews received on G2; buyers trust a product with more reviews, and a greater number of reviews indicates a more representative and accurate reflection of the customer experience

Results Index Inclusion Criteria

For a category to be data ready for a Results Index Report, it requires:

  • 6+ products with 10+ reviews and 5+ answers to the following questions
    • Meets Requirements
    • What percentage of users adopted the product?
    • Estimated ROI
    • How likely are you to recommend this product to a friend?
  • 150+ reviews in the category overall
  • All key players in that category included

Implementation Scoring Methodology

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):

  • Customer satisfaction with the set-up process for each product based on reviews by G2 users
  • Amount of time (in months) required for each product to go live based on reviews by G2 users
  • User adoption percentage based on reviews and by G2 users
  • Implementation method used by customers according to answers by G2 users
  • The number of reviews received on G2; buyers trust a product with more reviews, and a greater number of reviews indicates a more representative and accurate reflection of the customer experience

Implementation Index Inclusion Criteria

For a category to be data ready for a Implementation Index Report, it requires:

  • 6+ products with 10+ reviews and 5+ answers to the following questions
    • How long did it take you to go live?
    • Ease of Setup
    • How did you implement?
    • What percentage of users adopted the product? 
  • 150+ reviews in the category overall
  • All key players in that category included

Relationship Scoring Methodology

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):

  • Customer satisfaction with the ease of doing business with each product based on reviews by G2 users
  • Customer satisfaction with the quality of support based on reviews by G2 users
  • Customer response to the Likely to Recommend question on G2
  • The number of reviews received on G2; buyers trust a product with more reviews, and a greater number of reviews indicates a more representative and accurate reflection of the customer experience

Relationship Index Inclusion Criteria

For a category to be data ready for a Relationship Index Report, it requires:

  • 6+ products with 10+ reviews and 5+ answers to the following questions
    • Ease of Doing Business With
    • Quality of Support
    • How likely are you to recommend this product to a friend?
  • 150+ reviews in the category overall
  • All key players in that category included

Momentum Grid® Methodology

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:

  • Employee Growth, Review Growth, Social Growth, and Web Growth
  • Year-over-year change

Satisfaction Methodology

The Satisfaction rating is affected by the following (in order of importance):

  • Customer satisfaction with end user-focused product attributes based on user reviews
  • Popularity and statistical significance based on the number of reviews received by G2
  • Quality of reviews received (reviews that are more thoroughly completed will be weighted more heavily)
  • Age of reviews (more-recent reviews provide relevant and up-to-date information that is reflective of the current state of a product)
  • Customers' satisfaction with administration-specific product attributes based on user reviews
  • Overall customer satisfaction and Net Promoter Score® (NPS) based on ratings by G2 users

Product Suite Methodology

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:

  • Core Categories: A solution must offer all required features of these categories as defined by G2’s research team.
  • Additional Categories: Solutions may provide the features of these categories in complement to the core categories. Solutions can provide the features of any or none of these additional categories and still be included in the category.

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.

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