Capterra Badges Guide: How to Earn Badges in 2026

TL;DR

Get 20 customer reviews on Capterra before March 31, 2026. Make sure reviewers rate you 4.5+ on Ease of Use, Value for Money, and Customer Support. If you hit those numbers, you have a real shot at earning Capterra badges this year.

Why Capterra Badges Matter for SaaS Companies

Badges are trust signals that affect how buyers find SaaS products. When someone is comparing five similar tools on Capterra, the one with a "Best Ease of Use 2026" badge stands out. It's third-party validation — not you saying you're good, but Capterra confirming you earned a spot in the top 25%.

Where badges help your visibility posture:

• On Capterra — Badge holders appear more credible in search results and software comparison pages
• On your website — You can embed badge graphics as social proof
• In sales materials — Decks, emails, proposals — anywhere you need quick credibility
• In AI search results — AI systems increasingly use third-party data signals when recommending software; badges indicate quality. (See how directories feed AI and SEO.)

Badges won't transform your business overnight. But in competitive categories where buyers are researching software, they're one more reason to choose you over the alternative. (For more on why directories matter, see What Are Software Directories?)

How to Get Capterra Badges in 2026

If you want to earn Capterra badges this year:

1. Check if your category is in Group 3 (see the schedule below) — if yes, you have until March 31, 2026
2. Collect at least 20 verified reviews from real customers
3. Ask reviewers to rate specific attributes — Ease of Use, Value for Money, Customer Support
4. Aim for 4.5+ average ratings on those attributes

If you hit 20 reviews with strong attribute ratings before the cutoff, you're in the running for both Capterra Shortlist badges and "Best of" badges.

If your category is in Group 1 or 2, the 2026 cutoffs have already passed. Focus on building toward 2027 instead.

Why We Wrote This Guide

Capterra has badge requirements spread across eight different pages on two different websites. And they don't all say the same thing.

One page says 10 reviews. Another says 20. One says 12 months. Another says 24. Some pages have no publication date, so you can't tell if you're reading current methodology or something from 2023.

We cross-referenced every official source. The table at the end catalogs all of them — which ones have dates, which ones conflict, and which ones you should trust.

A note on Capterra's family: This guide focuses on Capterra listing optimization. Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice are sister platforms that share the same review database — one review on Capterra automatically appears on the other two. All three are now owned by G2 (acquired from Gartner in February 2026). The badge programs are similar but not identical across platforms. We'll note the differences where they matter.

UPDATE: G2 Acquisition: G2's acquisition of Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice from Gartner Digital Markets appears to have closed as of February 5, 2026. Badge programs, review policies, and platform features may change as a result of this transition. We'll continue monitoring and updating this guide as details emerge. For now, all information below remains current and accurate. (For G2's badge program, see our G2 badges guide.)

The Three Capterra Badge Types

Capterra and its sister platforms offer three types of badges:

There's also "Best Product Lists." These aren't badges — you can't download or display them. They're labels on Capterra's category pages ("Highest Rated," "Highly Rated for Ease of Use"). They affect how buyers discover your software on Capterra, but you can't use them in your own marketing. We cover them separately.

Badge Type 1: Star Rating Badges

What It Is

The simplest badge. It displays your current average star rating across all reviews. Each platform (Capterra, GetApp, Software Advice) has its own version.

Requirements

Why It Matters

This is basic social proof for B2B software discovery. Even if you don't qualify for competitive badges, you can display your star rating once you have 5 reviews.

Source: GDM How to Get Badges (Published December 19, 2025)

Badge Type 2: "Best of" Badges

What It Is

Annual awards recognizing products with the highest ratings on specific attributes. These are competitive — awarded to the top 25% of products that meet the minimum threshold.

On Capterra:

• Best Ease of Use
• Best Value

On Software Advice:

• Best Customer Support
• Most Recommended

(Same methodology, different badges per platform. Your reviews count toward both since they share a database.)

Requirements

Understanding Cutoff Dates

What's a cutoff date? The deadline for reviews to count toward a specific badge cycle. Reviews published after the cutoff count toward next cycle, not this one.

The cutoff varies by category. Categories are grouped, and each group has its own cutoff:

Your product might be listed in multiple categories with different cutoffs. Email Marketing (Group 1) already passed, but Marketing Automation (Group 3) is still open until March 31. Check which categories you're in.

Why You Might Not Get a Badge

From the official FAQ:

1. Not enough reviews in the 12-month window (minimum 10)
2. Average rating below 4.5 on the relevant attribute
3. Not in the top 25% of qualifying products
4. Category doesn't have at least 10 qualifying products

If your listing was rejected or you're having issues, see our Capterra rejection and appeal guide.

Sources:

• GDM How to Get Badges (December 19, 2025)
• Gartner "Best of" Badge Methodology
• GDM Reports and Badges FAQs (May 15, 2024)

Badge Type 3: Capterra Shortlist Badges

What It Is

The Capterra Shortlist is a research report — a scatter plot ranking products by Ratings (x-axis) and Popularity (y-axis). When you qualify for the Capterra Shortlist report, you also earn the Shortlist badge.

Software Advice has an equivalent called "FrontRunners" with the same requirements.

Requirements

A note on "industry" vs. "category": When reviewers submit reviews, they select their industry (Healthcare, Finance, Construction). This is different from software category (CRM, Help Desk). "5 reviews in the concerned industry" means you need reviews from people in the industries your software serves. "Cross-industry relevance" means your product can't only serve one industry.

How the Capterra Shortlist Scoring Works

Ratings Score (X-axis):

• Based on overall user ratings from reviews in the past 24 months
• Normalized for recency and volume of reviews

Popularity Score (Y-axis):

• Average monthly search volume for your product keywords
• Your domain's position on search results for each keyword
• Number and recency of reviews

Each score is scaled to a maximum of 50.

Badge Timeline

Shortlist badges follow the same publication schedule as "Best of" badges:

Watch Out for Outdated Information

The page at insights.capterra.com/shortlist-reports shows "10 unique user reviews" and "12 month analysis period." This describes the interactive Shortlist report tool eligibility, not badge eligibility.

For badge eligibility, the current methodology (January 2026) requires 20 reviews in 24 months.

Source: Capterra Proprietary Data & Research Methodologies (Updated June 24, 2025) — methodology version "January 2026 - present"

Best Product Lists (Not Badges)

What They Are

These aren't badges you can download. They're featured labels on Capterra's category pages: "Highest Rated," "Highly Rated for Ease of Use," "Highly Rated & Affordable." Each list features 5-10 products.

These affect how buyers find SaaS products on Capterra, even if you can't use them in your own marketing.

Requirements

Types of Distinctions

1. Highest Rated — Best overall rating (products receiving this can't get other distinctions)
2. Highest Rated for [sub-sector] — For products serving a specific market segment
3. Highly Rated & Free — Highest rating among products with free version/trial
4. Highly Rated & Affordable — Lowest starting price among eligible products
5. Highly Rated for [Attribute] — Based on Ease of Use, Value for Money, Customer Support, or Functionality ratings

How It Differs from "Best of" Badges

Source: Capterra Proprietary Data & Research Methodologies — "Best Product Lists" methodology "March 2025 - present"

The 2026 Badge Publication Schedule

This schedule applies to both "Best of" badges and Capterra Shortlist badges.

Group 1: January 2026 Publication

Review Cutoff: September 30, 2025 (already passed)

Accounting, LMS, CRM, Project Management, HR, Help Desk, Email Marketing, Scheduling, Onboarding, Recruiting, Document Management, Time Tracking, Payroll, and 60+ more categories.

Group 2: April 2026 Publication

Review Cutoff: December 31, 2025 (already passed)

Service Dispatch, Grant Management, Construction Payroll, Chiropractic, Fixed Asset, Hotel Management, Medical Spa, and 35+ more categories.

Group 3: July 2026 Publication

Review Cutoff: March 31, 2026 (still time)

Password Management, Marketing Automation, eCommerce, Cybersecurity, Business Intelligence, AI, Live Chat, Data Management, Nonprofit, and 35+ more categories.

Source: GDM Badge Publication Schedule 2026 (Published January 23, 2026)

Quick Reference: The Numbers

Star Rating Badge

• 5+ reviews (all time)
• Automatic

"Best of" Badges

• 10 reviews in 12 months on the specific attribute
• 4.5+ average rating on that attribute
• Top 25% of qualified products
• Cutoff varies by category

Capterra Shortlist Badge

• 20 reviews in 24 months
• U.S. market presence
• 5+ reviews from relevant industry
• Cutoff varies by category

Best Product Lists (not badges)

• Must be on Shortlist first
• 10 reviews rating the attribute
• 4.0+ average (lower than badges)

Cross-Platform Visibility

Reviews on Capterra automatically appear on GetApp and Software Advice. From the official FAQ:

"All reviews are combined across the three sites, measured equally, and pulled from a single global database for the Gartner Digital Markets platform."

One review collection effort improves your third-party visibility across three platforms.

What Changed in 2026

1. GetApp Category Leaders discontinued — No longer offered
2. Shortlist minimum reduced — From 10 to 5 products per category (more niche categories now eligible)
3. Publication schedule formalized — Categories grouped with specific cutoffs instead of one annual cycle
4. Earlier cutoffs than expected — Many major categories used September 30, 2025 cutoff for January 2026 badges

Step-by-Step: Optimizing Your Capterra Listing for Badges

Step 1: Find Your Category's Deadline

Check the GDM Badge Publication Schedule 2026. If your category is in Group 3, you have until March 31, 2026. If it's in Group 1 or 2, focus on 2027.

Step 2: Check Your Current Position

Log into your Capterra vendor account and check:

• Total review count
• Reviews from past 12 months (for "Best of")
• Reviews from past 24 months (for Shortlist)
• Ratings by attribute

Step 3: Set Your Target

Tier 1 — Star Rating Badge:

• Need: 5 reviews total
• Timeline: 1-2 weeks of active collection

Tier 2 — Shortlist eligibility:

• Need: 20 reviews in 24 months
• Timeline: 2-6 months depending on starting point

Tier 3 — "Best of" Badges:

• Need: 10 reviews in 12 months with 4.5+ on specific attributes
• Timeline: Requires consistent high-quality reviews

Step 4: Collect Reviews

Running a review campaign takes some coordination. Here's who can leave reviews and how to ask. (For the full rules, see our G2 and Capterra Reviews guide.)

Who can review:

• Current users with direct product experience
• Past users (within the past year)
• Free trial users
• Employees at customer companies who use the product

Best practices:

• Request reviews after positive interactions
• Use direct links to your Capterra review form (if you manage your Capterra listing with Blastra, you can grab your reviews link from your Blastpad)
• Never condition requests on positive reviews — incentivized reviews violate platform guidelines
• Respond to all reviews (it's free)

Related Guides

• How G2 Badges Work — G2 badges require paid subscriptions ($2,999+/year) to display
• How to Get G2 and Capterra Reviews — Best practices for review collection campaigns
• How to Improve Your G2 Grid Position — Understanding G2's ranking algorithm and scoring factors
• How SourceForge Badges Work — Percentile-based awards: top 5% for Leader, top 10% for Top Performer

Source Documentation

We reviewed every official source. Here's what to trust:

Primary Sources (Dated, Reliable)

Secondary Sources (No Date, Use Carefully)

Outdated Sources (Don't Rely On)

Key Takeaways

1. Three badge types exist. Star Rating, "Best of," and Capterra Shortlist are distinct programs with different requirements.
2. Cutoff dates vary by category. September 30, December 31, or March 31 — check which group you're in.
3. Rating thresholds differ. "Best of" badges need 4.5; Best Product Lists need 4.0.
4. GetApp Category Leaders is discontinued for 2026.
5. Reviews count across all three platforms. Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice share one database.
6. 20 reviews before March 31 is your target if you're in a Group 3 category.

About This Guide

This guide was created by Blastra, a SaaS listings management platform. We help software companies manage their third-party visibility across directories like Capterra, G2, and Software Advice.

This guide reflects publicly available methodology documentation as of February 2026. Capterra (now owned by G2) may update their programs. Verify against official sources for the most current requirements.