HissingKitty vs.
Capterra Alternatives: HissingKitty vs. Capterra, GetApp and Software Advice
Capterra is good for browsing many small-business tools by feature. Know that listing order can be paid. HissingKitty shows what teams pay with no sponsored spots.
Capterra, GetApp and Software Advice are three software listing and review sites run together for years by Gartner Digital Markets, and sold to G2 in 2026. They earn mostly from vendors paying per click. HissingKitty takes no vendor money.
This page also covers GetApp and Software Advice.
Scorecard: Capterra vs. HissingKitty
Six questions every buyer should ask a review site. Checks favor buyers; X marks favor vendors.
Capterra
0 / 6
checks that favor buyers
HissingKitty
6 / 6
checks that favor buyers
Who pays them
Can vendors pay for visibility?
Are reviewers paid or rewarded?
Can buyers post anonymously?
Shows what teams actually pay?
Compares building your own?
Checked November 2026 against public pages, linked as Source. Spot something out of date? Tell us and we will correct it.
Who Pays Whom
Follow the money and you know whose interests a site serves first.
How money moves at Capterra
- Software vendors
- Clicks to their site, bids on category and position, sponsored profiles
- Small businesses browse lists for free
How it works at HissingKitty
- Buyers share ratings and prices, unpaid
- A person checks every review
- Anyone reads it free; no vendor can pay
How Capterra Makes Money
Capterra earns from software vendors on a pay-per-click model. Vendors bid by category and listing position, alongside unpaid listings ranked by reviews. (Capterra on Wikipedia)
Its vendor terms describe sponsored profiles and fees when a buyer clicks through to a vendor. (Capterra vendor terms)
Sponsored listings are labeled. Still, on a busy category page, the first tools you see may be the ones paying the most per click, not the ones buyers rate highest. Switching the sort to rating gives a different list.
Three Sites, One Owner, Now Four
Capterra was founded in 1999 and bought by Gartner in 2015. Gartner ran it with Software Advice and GetApp as Gartner Digital Markets. In January 2026 G2 agreed to buy all three. (G2 announcement)
Many buyers check one review site against another. With G2, Capterra, GetApp and Software Advice under one owner, those checks are no longer independent. G2 has said the review pools stay separate for now.
Where HissingKitty Is Different
Nobody can bid for a spot on HissingKitty. Alternatives are ordered by buyer ratings and votes, and company pages have no sponsored rows.
Capterra is built for discovering a tool you don't have yet. HissingKitty is built for the tool you already pay for: what similar teams pay, what reviewers say, and whether switching or building your own would cost less over time.
The HissingKitty record, live
213
software companies
43
published reviews
181
price reports
"Originally bought perpetual lifetime license only to be forced into a monthly subscription that cost half what I paid for the previous full product. Now spend 10x as much yearly what I paid for full lifetime use. Will switch when I have the opportunity."
"Logic and user-friendliness are non-existent. Too slow. Expensive."
"Spying on users. Ads in the OS. Killing off windows 10. Where do I start?"
Unpaid reviews, checked by a person. Nobody paid to be here.
When to Use Which
Use Capterra for
- Small businesses browsing many tools in a category
- Filtering by feature and starting price
- Finding niche tools you have not heard of
Use HissingKitty for
- Teams already paying for a tool who want to know if it is worth it
- Lists no vendor can bid on
- Seeing what building your own would take
Common Questions
Is Capterra legit?
Yes. It is a long-running site with real reviews. It earns from vendors paying per click, so sponsored tools can appear first. Look for the sponsored label and sort by rating.
Are Capterra, GetApp and Software Advice the same company?
They were all run by Gartner Digital Markets, and G2 agreed to buy all three in January 2026.
What is a good alternative to Capterra?
For reviews without pay-per-click placement, TrustRadius says it has no ads. For what teams pay and keep, switch or build options, HissingKitty, which takes no vendor money.
Other Alternatives to Capterra
HissingKitty vs. Gartner
Enterprise buying committees that need analyst sign-off.
HissingKitty vs. G2
Shortlisting well-known tools in a busy category.
HissingKitty vs. Reddit
Candid back-and-forth with people who have been there.
HissingKitty vs. TrustRadius
Long, structured reviews of complex B2B tools.
PeerSpot
Enterprise IT reviews from verified users.
Trustpilot
Consumer brands; thin on business software.
Vendr
Help negotiating a software contract, for a fee.
Paying for software you have opinions about?
Anonymous, unpaid, 30 seconds. It helps the next team decide.
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