State of review platform APIs in 2026: only 8 of 32 let you reply, 16 have no API at all

We integrated 32 review platforms into one API. Here is what each one actually lets a developer do, as of October 2026. Full report with the per-platform table: https://prismareviews.com/guides/state-of-review-platform-apis-2026

The numbers

Read the first two rows together: if you build a product that "replies to reviews", only a quarter of the platforms your customers care about will let you, and on every one of them you need the owner's own authorisation.

1. Replies are the exception

The 8 platforms with a reply API: Google Business Profile, App Store, Google Play, Judge.me, Trustpilot, eBay, Trusted Shops and eKomi. Even there the rules differ:

• Google caps a reply at 4,096 bytes and 10 edits per minute per profile, and needs the business.manage OAuth scope.
• Judge.me can create a reply but never edit or delete it by API.
• Apple and Google Play allow create, update and delete, with an App Store Connect key (Customer Support role) or a Play Console service account.
• Trustpilot's reply API comes with its API module, sold to the business, not to the integrator.

The other 24, including Yelp, Tripadvisor, Booking.com, G2 and Capterra, expect the owner to answer in their own dashboard. The honest design for a multi-platform product: a reply endpoint that returns 422 reply_not_supported plus a link to the review on the platform, instead of pretending.

2. Half the platforms have no reviews API at all

16 of 32 give a third party nothing better than the public listing page:

• Never had one: OpenTable, DoorDash, Checkatrade, Avvo, Angi, Apartments.com, Capterra, Salesforce AppExchange.
• Had one and closed it: Facebook removed the Page ratings API in Graph API v22.0; Booking.com paused new connectivity partners; Tripadvisor's Content API returns a handful of reviews for display, not an owner feed.
• Public read endpoints with no merchant credentials: Steam, WordPress.org and Etsy.

Yelp is the edge case: its Fusion API exists, but returns 3 review excerpts per business.

3. Access is gated by process more than by code

Of the 16 platforms with a usable official API:

• Manual approval of the integrator: Google Business Profile, Trustpilot, eBay (and Etsy for its public reviews API). Google requires a Business Profile verified for 60+ days before you can even apply.
• Paid plan on the business's side: Trustpilot (API module), REVIEWS.io (Plus plan), Loox (Convert or Unlimited), ProvenExpert (Premium or Enterprise).
• Just credentials: App Store Connect, Google Play, Judge.me, Yotpo, G2, Okendo, Feefo, Trusted Shops, eKomi, Shopper Approved.

4. Nobody pushes

Only Google offers notifications for new reviews, and only through the Notifications API plus a Cloud Pub/Sub topic you run. Everyone else: you poll, within each platform's quota (Google Play: 200 reads per hour per app; Google: 300 QPM shared across the whole project).

What this means if you are building on reviews

1. Design for read-only first. Replies are a feature of 8 platforms, not of "reviews".
2. Budget for approvals in calendar time, not engineering time. Google alone is 60 days of verification plus the review of your application.
3. Store history yourself. Google Play returns 7 days; Yelp 3 excerpts; some platforms change their mind (Facebook).
4. Normalise early. 32 JSON shapes, 4 rating scales (5 stars, 10 points, thumbs, recommend/not), 3 date formats.

The per-platform table (read, reply, access type, gate, webhooks) is in the full report: https://prismareviews.com/guides/state-of-review-platform-apis-2026. The access rules for each platform, with the connection body you send, are on https://prismareviews.com/which-review-platforms-have-an-api.

If a platform in the list has changed its API since October 2026, tell me in the comments and I will update the report.