Trustpilot Statistics 2024: Revenue, Employees & Fake Reviews

Online reviews are crucial for consumers and businesses alike in 2024. According to surveys, 95% of people read reviews before making a purchase. And positive reviews can help companies boost sales and grow their customer base.

That‘s why review sites like Trustpilot are so valuable. Trustpilot hosts consumer reviews for over 626,000 businesses worldwide. The site gets millions of new reviews each month.

But how is Trustpilot itself doing in 2024? What‘s the latest on its revenue, employees, and issues like fake reviews? Let‘s dig into the key Trustpilot statistics and trends.

A Quick Look at Key Trustpilot Stats for 2024

Before we get into the details, here are some of the most notable Trustpilot statistics for 2024:

• Trustpilot had $131 million in revenue in 2021, up 24% from the previous year.

• The site is on track for over $150 million in bookings for 2022.

• Trustpilot now has over 669 employees globally.

• From July 2020 to January 2021, Trustpilot received over 25 million new reviews.

• But in 2020 alone, they deleted 2.2 million fake reviews from the platform.

• During COVID, the percentage of people reading business reviews jumped to 31%.

Let‘s explore what‘s behind these numbers and more.

Digging Into Trustpilot‘s Revenue Growth

Trustpilot generated impressive revenue growth in 2021. The consumer review platform made $131 million in revenue last year. That‘s a 24% jump compared to 2020.

Diving deeper into Trustpilot‘s own financial reports reveals some interesting trends:

• Trustpilot‘s Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR) hit $144 million in 2021, up from $119 million the prior year.

• The company‘s total bookings also grew steadily, reaching $150 million in 2021 versus $118 million in 2020.

• Average bookings per customer grew as well. In 2021, it was $8,106, a 27% increase over the previous period.

• Trustpilot operates on a negative profit margin as it invests heavily in growth. But revenue far outpaces operating expenses.

• Over 93% of Trustpilot‘s revenue comes from subscriptions. The rest is from transaction fees.

It‘s clear Trustpilot is on a strong growth trajectory revenue-wise. As the global market for online reviews expands, the company is positioning itself well to continue capturing increasing revenue in coming years.

Who‘s Working at Trustpilot? A Look at Company Employees

As Trustpilot‘s business grows, so does its workforce. The company now employs over 669 people worldwide.

To put Trustpilot‘s headcount growth into perspective:

• In 2019, Trustpilot employed just 352 people. So its workforce has nearly doubled (increased 90%) in the past three years.

• Trustpilot hired over 200 new employees in 2021 alone.

• The company really started expanding between 2020 and 2021. During that period, they increased total staff by 50%.

• Most of Trustpilot‘s employees (over 300) are based at its headquarters in Copenhagen, Denmark.

• But the company has over 100 employees dispersed across offices in New York, London, Berlin, and Melbourne.

• And there are at least 50 open job listings right now on Trustpilot‘s careers page. So they continue to grow.

Trustpilot likes to highlight its fun, entrepreneurial office culture. The company has various social clubs and encourages employees to take initiative. This has helped attract top talent across departments from engineering to sales.

Trustpilot Received 25 Million+ Reviews in 6 Months

Now let‘s look at Trustpilot‘s core product—consumer reviews.

• From July 2020 to January 2021, people left over 25 million reviews on Trustpilot.

• Breaking it down: there were 22.4 million service reviews and 3+ million product reviews.

• On a monthly basis, Trustpilot gets 4+ million new reviews left by consumers.

The surge of reviews in 2020 aligns with ecommerce growth during COVID-19. As more shopping moved online, review volume spiked. This presented both an opportunity and a challenge for Trustpilot (which we‘ll discuss next).

But in general, the massive influx of reviews is a testament to Trustpilot‘s popularity with consumers. The sheer breadth of reviewed companies is impressive too.

• There are over 626,000 businesses reviewed on Trustpilot.

• The number of unique domains reviewed has risen 21% from 2020 to 2021.

• Top categories like ecommerce, retail, and financial services see especially high review volumes.

Millions of Fake Reviews Removed Annually

With so many reviews pouring in, Trustpilot is locked in a constant battle against fake reviews.

• In 2020 alone, Trustpilot removed 2.2 million fake reviews from its platform. That represented 5.7% of all reviews submitted.

• 1.5 million were caught by Trustpilot‘s automated fraud detection tools. The rest were identified and deleted manually.

• Fake review detection happens in real-time upon submission. Trustpilot‘s AI assesses things like IP addresses, geolocation, and review patterns.

• The company is also working to stop fake reviews before they‘re even posted. For example, using user surveys to identify suspicious service providers.

• Beyond fakes, Trustpilot moderates reviews based on 16 guidelines like bias, relevance, and harmful content. Over 2 million reviews were removed for guideline violations in 2020.

While Trustpilot still relies heavily on automation, deletions from human reviewers are rising quickly as well. This more nuanced approach helps catch bad actors trying to beat the system.

Monitoring and purging fake reviews remains imperative for Trustpilot to keep providing authentic insights consumers depend on.

How COVID Impacted Online Review Reading and Writing

The global pandemic profoundly impacted online reviews and Trustpilot itself. Let‘s explore some revealing statistics:

• According to surveys, 31% of consumers started reading more online business reviews during COVID-19 lockdowns.

• The percentage who said they check reviews before making any purchase jumped 12 percentage points during the pandemic.

• However, 34% of people said they rely less on reviews for decision making compared to pre-COVID. This aligns with shifting priorities.

• On the writing side, 22% of consumers said they started leaving more reviews to support businesses during economic shutdowns.

• 67% said they would avoid a business that had negative health/safety reviews during COVID restrictions. This demonstrates the pandemic‘s influence on review motivations.

In summary, the pandemic caused an uptick in review readership and writing. But it also led some consumers to depend less on reviews overall. For Trustpilot, it meant managing a review volume surge while meeting new expectations.

This period proved reviews are invaluable for consumers in researching companies at all times, not just COVID. These insights can help Trustpilot tailor its platform accordingly.

The Takeaway: Reviews Matter Now More Than Ever

Third-party review platforms like Trustpilot provide immense value in today‘s digital economy. Consumers overwhelmingly depend on reviews to guide purchasing decisions and research businesses.

Meanwhile, companies lean on reviews for reputation management and gathering customer feedback. But fostering genuine, trustworthy reviews remains a constant challenge.

Trustpilot sits at the center of this complex and evolving online review landscape. The statistics we‘ve covered reveal key trends that will shape the company‘s strategy and the broader industry in 2024 and beyond.

A few closing thoughts:

• Authenticity and relevance are critical as review volume increases. Culling fakes while emphasizing useful insights will be ongoing priorities.

• Revenue and bookings growth indicate Trustpilot is capitalizing well on the market opportunity so far. But competition is rising, too.

• New challenges keep emerging, like how best to support consumers and businesses during unprecedented events like the pandemic.

• Ultimately, the relationships between customers, companies, and reviewers manifest through platforms like Trustpilot. So building lasting connections will be the key driver of long-term success.