The free tier is bigger than most owners think
Claiming costs nothing, and Yelp says it opens up more than 20 features. Yelp’s product page lists these as part of the free claimed page:
- showing up in search by category, service and location;
- getting messages and requests for calls, quotes or consultations;
- responding to all your reviews;
- uploading unlimited photos with captions;
- updating phone, address, website, hours and more;
- analytics on page visits, leads and other customer activity.
For many small businesses, that’s enough. A complete page with good photos and fast replies to quote requests does most of the work. Before spending anything, fill everything in and watch the free numbers for a few weeks.
Paid option one: the Upgrade Package
The Upgrade Package bundles up to seven features, depending on your eligibility:
- Business Highlights, badges for what sets you apart.
- Remove competitor ads, so other businesses’ ads don’t appear on your page.
- Call to Action, a custom button for calls, messages or visits.
- Logo on your page.
- Slideshow, where you choose the photo order on your page and in search.
- Yelp Connect, for posting updates and news.
- Portfolio, project photos with your own descriptions, for eligible categories.
Yelp says the standard price averages $6 per day and offers a 14-day free trial. After the trial it moves to a fixed fee billed on the first of each month; as of November 2026, Yelp doesn’t publish that monthly amount. Yelp says you can cancel any time if you choose the daily pricing option.
Paid option two: Yelp Ads
Ads put your page in the Sponsored Results section above searches and on competitors’ pages. You choose a goal, a photo, ad text, keywords, a location radius and a budget. Billing is per click, not per view. Yelp shows an estimated cost per click, which can change with demand in your category and area.
Read the budget wording carefully. Yelp calls its suggested budget a daily average, not a daily cap, so one day can run higher than another. Your spend won’t go past your monthly maximum. Yelp says you can start, adjust and stop the program any time.
What money can’t buy on Yelp
Reviews. Yelp is consistent about this across its help pages: advertising has no connection to how the recommendation software treats your reviews, and advertisers and non-advertisers are handled the same way. That covers which reviews are recommended, which are hidden as not recommended, and which are removed. If a sales pitch hints otherwise, Yelp’s own written policy says the opposite.
Larger chains have a separate route. Yelp offers custom solutions for businesses with 11 or more locations, and owners with nine or more locations pay for some From the Business sections that are free for smaller businesses.
A simple way to decide
Paid features make sense when your free page already brings leads and you want more of them. They don’t fix an empty page, wrong hours or unanswered messages. Get those right first, then use the Upgrade trial or a small ad budget as a test you can measure.
If it doesn't work
- A sales call promises a better rating: that's the one thing paid tools don't touch (see *What money can't buy* below). Judge the offer on leads.
- Your ad spend varied a lot day to day: Yelp's suggested budget is a daily average, not a daily cap. Your monthly maximum is the limit.
- You want to stop paying: Yelp says ads can be paused or stopped any time, and the Upgrade Package can be cancelled any time on daily pricing. Check your terms.
- You have nine or more locations: some From the Business sections, Specialties and History, become paid products at that size.
Questions owners ask
How do Yelp Ads charge?
Pay-per-click. Yelp says you pay only when someone clicks your ad, not for impressions. It shows an estimated cost per click when you set a budget, and that cost can change with demand in your category and area.
What's in the Upgrade Package?
Up to seven features depending on eligibility: Business Highlights badges, removal of competitor ads from your page, a Call to Action button, your logo, a photo Slideshow you order, Yelp Connect posts, and a Portfolio for eligible categories.
Is there a contract for Yelp Ads?
As of November 2026, Yelp's getting-started article lists no minimum budget, minimum spend or contract length. The advertising terms are shown before you complete the purchase, so read them there, and Yelp says you can start, adjust or stop the program any time.
Sources
- Why Claim Your Business Page on Yelp (business.yelp.com)
- Business Page Upgrades (business.yelp.com)
- Getting started with Yelp Ads (business.yelp.com)
- How We Approach Reviews at Yelp (yelp-support.com)
Checked 13 Nov 2026. When the platform changes its process we update this page and log it in What changed.