Free whiteglove setup from a ConsentStack Concierge
Software Advice

Software Advice

Software Advice embeds review badges and software comparison widgets on vendor websites. Scripts display aggregated ratings and user review counts sourced from the Software Advice platform, and may set cookies to track referral traffic originating from embedded badge clicks.

Back to Vendor Library

Overview

Software Advice is a Gartner-owned platform that aggregates software reviews and facilitates vendor comparisons for business buyers. When embedded on vendor websites, Software Advice provides social proof through review badges and comparison widgets displaying ratings pulled from its review database. The platform primarily serves SaaS vendors looking to surface third-party validation on their marketing pages and product landing pages.

What This Script Does

Software Advice's embedded scripts (loaded from domains such as badges.softwareadvice.com or cdn.softwareadvice.com) perform the following:

  • Render review badges showing aggregate star ratings and review counts sourced from the Software Advice platform
  • Display comparison widgets that link back to the vendor's Software Advice profile page
  • Set cookies to track referral traffic when visitors click through embedded badges to Software Advice's website
  • Transmit impression data to Software Advice's analytics endpoints, recording how often badges are viewed and clicked
  • May load additional third-party resources from the Gartner Digital Markets ecosystem (including GetApp and Capterra related domains)

The scripts make network requests to Software Advice's servers to fetch current rating data and report badge interaction metrics. Cookies set during badge clicks are used to attribute leads and referral traffic back to the originating vendor website.

Consent & Compliance

Software Advice badges function as marketing tools: they provide social proof to influence purchase decisions and track referral attribution through cookies. Under GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive, the cookies set for referral tracking require prior consent, as they are not strictly necessary for the website's core functionality.

Under CCPA, impression and click-through data transmitted to Software Advice constitutes sharing of information with a third party for marketing measurement purposes. This should be disclosed in the site's privacy policy.

The consent category for Software Advice is marketing.

Should You Block This Without Consent?

Yes.

Software Advice badges set referral tracking cookies and transmit impression analytics to third-party servers. These functions are marketing-related and not essential to website operation. The badges should be blocked until the visitor has provided consent for marketing cookies.

Is Software Advice GDPR compliant?

Software Advice typically loads marketing trackers, which are not strictly necessary for your site to work. Under the GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive, non-essential cookies and trackers must stay blocked until a visitor gives clear opt-in consent. So Software Advice can be fully GDPR compliant, but only if your site holds its scripts until consent is granted and lets visitors decline just as easily. Compliance depends on how your site loads Software Advice, not on Software Advice itself.

Visit website

Consent Categories

Marketing

Also Known As

software advice cookiessoftware advice badge trackingsoftware advice widget privacysoftware advice referral consentsoftware advice gdpr

Industries

Computers Electronics and Technology

Tracked Domains (1)

softwareadvice.comMarketing

softwareadvice.com is a marketing domain operated by Software Advice, used to serve ads, build audiences, and measure ad conversions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Related Vendors

Aimtell
Aimtell
Aimtell scripts prompt visitors to grant browser push notification permissions using the Web Push API. For opted-in subscribers, they register a service worker to receive and display targeted push notification campaigns without requiring the website to be open.
DevCycle
DevCycle
DevCycle scripts deliver feature flag configurations and A/B test variant assignments to website visitors. They evaluate targeting rules client-side to enable or disable features for specific user segments, and report experiment exposure events for analysis.
Privy
Privy
Privy is an email and SMS marketing platform built for ecommerce stores, focused on list growth and abandoned cart recovery. Scripts display signup popups and flyouts triggered by exit intent, scroll depth, and time on page. Captured email and phone data is stored in Privy for use in automated drip campaigns.
Pixlee TurnTo
Pixlee TurnTo
Pixlee TurnTo scripts display user-generated content galleries, product ratings, written reviews, and Q&A modules on e-commerce product pages. They collect and moderate customer-submitted photos and reviews, and track widget interactions for social proof performance analytics.
Wisepops
Wisepops
Wisepops is an onsite popup and notification bar platform used to grow email lists, announce promotions, and reduce cart abandonment. Scripts display triggered overlays based on user behavior signals like scroll percentage, exit intent, and session duration. Visitor interactions with campaigns are tracked for A/B testing and conversion reporting.
AdPushup
AdPushup
AdPushup scripts optimize ad layout placement and manage header bidding auctions on publisher websites. They communicate with multiple ad exchanges simultaneously, serve programmatic display advertisements, and collect impression and viewability data for revenue reporting.

Manage consent for Software Advice

ConsentStack automatically detects and manages Software Advice trackers so your site stays compliant with global privacy regulations.

Get started free