Ask HN: Fakespot is shutting down July 1. Alternatives?
2 cjbarber 1 5/23/2025, 3:10:06 PM
I loved Fakespot! I was a paying user even, back when they had subscriptions.
What alternative will you be switching to? I remember trying ReviewMeta in the past and not liking it.
And, I'd be interested in building one, so: what would need to be true for you to be a paying early adopter of a Fakespot alternative?
And how would you monetize it? I heard from a friend via a Fakespot founder that Amazon didn't let them use their affiliate program basically because Amazon doesn't like the look for their brand. Subscriptions may be cleanest. It looks like Fakespot was selling to the brands, which makes them biased and then you get the Wirecutter problem.
Looking at AlternativeTo[0] I see these touted as some of the most popular FakeSpot alternatives:
1. ReviewMeta.com
2. TheReviewIndex — originally focused on Indian electronics reviews
3. Star Evaluator — seems like an interesting project but it's just reviews for companies instead of individual products.
4. Best Views Reviews — uses AI to summarize (Amazon?) reviews
None of them seem particularly well known or mature however besides ReviewMeta. Seems like there's definitely room for a newcomer in this space
[0] https://alternativeto.net/software/fakespot/