What Software Awards Actually Mean
What each badge signals about a product, how rigorous the requirements are, and how much weight to give it. We decoded 25 badges across 6 platforms: G2, Capterra, TrustRadius, PeerSpot, SourceForge, and Gartner Peer Insights (GPI).
G2
8 badgesUsers Love Us
Awarded when a product reaches 20+ reviews with 4.0+ average rating in a 12-month period.
Grid Leader
Top-right quadrant placement based on high satisfaction scores AND strong market presence.
Grid High Performer
High satisfaction scores but smaller market presence - great products that are less widely adopted.
Momentum Leader
Products showing fastest growth trajectory based on review velocity, web traffic, and employee growth.
Best Relationship
Based on relationship-focused review questions measuring ease of doing business and quality of support.
Easiest To Use
Ranked by usability scores from reviews - measures how intuitive and easy the product is to adopt.
Best Results
Products delivering strongest business outcomes based on results-oriented review questions.
Best Support
Highest-rated customer support based on quality of support review scores.
Capterra
6 badgesStar Rating
Simple average of all review ratings - displayed publicly on every product listing.
Shortlist
Top 5 products in a category based on ratings and review recency - refreshed monthly.
Best Ease of Use
Top 10% for ease of use ratings within a software category.
Best Value
Top 10% for value for money ratings within a software category.
Best Functionality
Top 10% for functionality ratings within a software category.
Best Customer Support
Top 10% for customer support ratings within a software category.
SourceForge
3 badgesLeader
Highest tier recognition requiring 25+ reviews, 4.5+ rating, and recent review activity.
Top Performer
Mid-tier recognition requiring 10+ reviews, 4.0+ rating, and review within past 6 months.
Rising Star
Entry-tier recognition for newer products with 5+ reviews and 4.0+ rating.
TrustRadius
3 badgesTop Rated
Annually awarded to products with 10+ recent reviews averaging 7.5+ trScore.
Buyer's Choice
Based on buyer intent signals - which products buyers most frequently shortlist and research.
Best Of
Category-specific awards for relationship, feature set, and value ratings.
PeerSpot
3 badgesTech Leader
Highest recognition combining review ratings, market presence, and verified enterprise adoption.
Rising Star
Strong ratings with growing momentum - indicates products gaining enterprise traction.
Peer Recommended
Based on explicit recommendation rates from verified enterprise reviewers.
Gartner Peer Insights
2 badgesCustomers' Choice
Most rigorous badge - requires 50+ verified reviews, 4.5+ rating, meeting strict diversity criteria.
Strong Performer
Products with solid ratings and review volume that don't meet Customers' Choice thresholds.
How We Rate Effort
Each badge gets an effort rating from 1 to 5 based on what it takes to earn it: review volume requirements, rating thresholds, competitive positioning, time constraints, and verification complexity.
Our baseline: A B2B software company with a working product and actual customers who could write reviews. Even "Very Easy" badges require real effort — customers need prompting, review forms take time to complete, and follow-up is often necessary. The ratings reflect relative difficulty, not absolute ease.
| Rating | What It Means |
|---|---|
| 1 - Very Easy | Basic milestone with few requirements (e.g., 5 reviews, any rating) |
| 2 - Easy | Achievable with a focused review campaign (e.g., 20 reviews, 4.0+ rating) |
| 3 - Moderate | Requires sustained effort and strong ratings (e.g., top 25% in category) |
| 4 - Challenging | Competitive criteria or complex methodology (e.g., top 10%, multiple factors) |
| 5 - Very Challenging | Top percentile platform-wide or enterprise-only requirements |
What the Rating is Not
It's not a quality judgment on the platform. A "Very Easy" badge isn't worthless — Capterra Star Rating is visible to every buyer browsing Capterra. And a "Very Challenging" badge isn't automatically better — it might just mean the platform serves enterprise buyers with slower procurement cycles. The rating tells you what you're signing up for, not what the badge is worth.
Display Requirements
- Free to display: Use on your website, marketing materials, sales decks — no cost
- Requires subscription: Paid plan needed to download and use the badge
- Compliance required: Pre-approval needed before using in marketing
Related Resources
- Why AI Ignores Software Badges — The trust signal problem
- What is a Badge? — Glossary definition
- Running a Review Campaign — How to collect reviews
Need help earning these badges?
Blastra helps software companies manage their listings and review campaigns across G2, Capterra, TrustRadius, and 30+ other directories.