The short answer
- Pick BrightLocal if you, or someone on your team, has a few hours a week to do the work and you want low-cost tools to do it with.
- Pick GrowLevel if you want the work done for you and want to pay only once the map shows you in the top 3.
Side by side
| BrightLocal | GrowLevel | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Local SEO software, plus a separate managed service | A done-for-you local SEO service |
| Who does the work | You, with the software. Or BrightLocal's team on a managed plan | We do |
| Price | Software: $41 to $65 a month billed monthly. Managed: $499 or $1,299 a month | $750 or $997 a month. $0 a month until you're in the top 3 on the Partnership plan |
| When you start paying | At signup | On the Partnership plan, when your map shows you in the top 3 in 5 of 25 squares, confirmed on two scans |
| A new website | Not part of the software. The Essentials managed plan needs your own web team to make the changes | Included in every plan, live in 14 days |
| Google Business Profile | Audits on every plan; post scheduling from the Manage plan | Fully managed for you |
| Map rank tracking | Geo-grid maps for up to five keywords on the Track plan | Your map scanned every week from 25 points, and every scan saved for you to see |
| Reviews | Review monitoring and requests on the Grow plan | Part of the work we do for you |
| AI search | A Local AI Visibility Tracker on every plan | AI search optimization included |
| Updates | Dashboards and reports you read | A plain-English update every week |
Two different jobs
BrightLocal and GrowLevel aren't two versions of the same thing. BrightLocal's software tells you where you rank, which listings are wrong and which reviews need a reply. Someone still has to fix the listings, write the service pages, post on the profile and ask for the reviews. If that someone is you, the software is a good, low-cost way to do it.
GrowLevel is the person doing it. We build a new website with a page for each service and town, run your Google profile, fix your listings and work on AI search. You see the result on the same 25-point map we use, every week.
Where BrightLocal is the better pick
- Your budget is under $100 a month. BrightLocal's software starts at $41 a month per location. GrowLevel starts at $750 once you're in the top 3.
- You already have a good website and a person to do the work, such as an office manager or a marketer who knows local SEO.
- You run an agency and want reporting for many clients in one place.
- You have many locations and need listings and reviews managed across all of them.
Where GrowLevel is the better pick
- You don't have the hours. We do the work, and you get a plain-English update each week.
- Your website is weak or missing. A new one is included, with no separate charge to build it.
- You want to pay for results. On the Partnership plan there's no setup fee and $0 a month until your map shows you in the top 3. If the target isn't met by day 120, you can leave and owe nothing.
- You want one business per trade in your area. We don't work for the plumber down the street at the same time.
The terms are written out on the Top-3 Promise and How we measure pages, and every price is on our pricing page.