How to Export Customer Reviews to CSV or Excel?

Exporting customer reviews into a spreadsheet is one of those tasks that sounds simple until you actually try to do it. Whether you're analyzing sentiment trends, preparing reports for stakeholders, tracking competitor performance, or building a database for AI training, you need clean, structured review data in a format you can actually work with.

The problem? Most review platforms either don't offer exports at all, or they make it unnecessarily complicated. And the "solutions" you'll find through a quick Google search often create more problems than they solve.

This guide walks through every realistic option for exporting reviews to CSV or Excel, with a clear-eyed look at what actually works and what doesn't.

Option 1: Use the Platform's Native Export Feature

The most straightforward approach—when available—is using the review platform's built-in export functionality. If the platform offers a clean CSV or Excel export, use it. No third-party tools, no workarounds, no data quality issues.

The reality is that native export features are rare. Most platforms either don't offer exports at all, or they provide exports in formats that require significant technical work to make usable.

The JSON Problem

When platforms do offer exports, they typically provide data in JSON format rather than CSV or Excel. JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is a data format commonly used by developers, but it's not directly usable for analysis in spreadsheet applications.

Here's why converting JSON to CSV is more complicated than it sounds:

• Nested data structures. JSON allows for complex, hierarchical data. A single review might have nested objects for the reviewer, the response, metadata, and more. When you flatten this into a CSV (which requires a simple row-and-column structure), you need to decide how to handle that hierarchy. Do you create multiple columns? Do you concatenate data? Do you create separate tables?
• Inconsistent fields. Not every review has the same fields. One review might include photos, another might not. One might have a business response, another might not. Your conversion script needs to account for every possible variation, or you'll end up with malformed data or errors.
• Data types and formatting. Dates might be in ISO 8601 format, Unix timestamps, or relative formats. Text might include line breaks, special characters, or encoding issues. Numbers might be strings. Every edge case needs handling.
• Custom conversion logic. Because of these complexities, you can't just use a generic "JSON to CSV converter" tool. You need custom code written specifically for that platform's JSON structure. If the platform updates their export format, your conversion script breaks.

Unless you're a developer comfortable writing and maintaining custom scripts, converting JSON exports to usable CSV files is not a practical solution. And even if you are a developer, ask yourself whether this is the best use of your time.

Platform Export Feature Comparison

As you can see from the table, native export options are limited. Most platforms either don't offer exports, restrict them to specific account types, or provide them in formats that require technical expertise to convert.

Option 2: Use Reviewflowz Pay-As-You-Go Exports or Subscription Plans

For most use cases, the most practical solution is using Reviewflowz’s dedicated review export service. 

Reviewflowz offers two approaches depending on your needs: pay-as-you-go exports for one-time or occasional exports, and subscription plans for ongoing needs.

Pay-As-You-Go Exports

If you need to export reviews once or occasionally—for a competitive analysis, a client audit, or a research project—the pay-as-you-go option is straightforward.

• Pricing: $0.10 per review

You download a clean CSV (Excel) file that includes every available data point: review content, reviewer name, star rating, exact publication date (not relative dates like "3 weeks ago"), review ID, direct link to the review, language detection, and photo URLs when available.

You can preview 25 rows for any listing before purchasing to verify the data quality and ensure it meets your needs.

• The math: For a listing with 200 reviews, you'd pay $20. For 450 reviews (the break-even point compared to the Lite subscription plan), you'd pay $45.
• Volume discounts: If you need more than $1000 word of review data, feel free to reach out on hello@reviewflowz.com for a custom quote.
• Best for: One-time exports, occasional competitive research, small datasets, client audits, or situations where you need data from multiple sources without committing to a subscription.

Subscription Plans

If you need regular exports, monitor reviews across multiple locations, or manage review data for clients, a subscription plan makes more sense economically.

• Lite plan: $45/month

The Lite plan includes unlimited review exports for 1 profile (locations). You can export as many times as you want, pull historical data going back years, and re-export updated data as new reviews come in.

• The math: At the pay-as-you-go rate of $0.10 per review, 450 reviews costs $45. The Lite plan costs $45/month for unlimited exports from 1 profile.

You can upgrade, downgrade, add profiles, remove profiles, or cancel at any time through the self-service dashboard. No annual commitments, no retention departments, no phone calls. 

If you need to add another location, the Lite plan will cost $50 per month, for 2 locations. 

If you finish a project, downgrade or cancel. This is standard for modern SaaS tools, but it's worth noting because many data export solutions will try to lock you into rigid contracts.

• Best for: Ongoing review monitoring, multi-location businesses, agencies managing client reputation, regular competitive analysis, or any situation where you need reliable access to review data over time.

What Makes These Exports Reliable

The key differentiator is data accuracy and completeness. Many export tools cut corners or rely on publicly visible data that's incomplete. Reviewflowz pulls data directly from the source platforms' APIs and internal data structures, which means:

• Exact dates, not approximations. Google shows relative dates on public profiles ("2 weeks ago"), which makes time-series analysis impossible. Most scrapers just record whatever relative date is visible, meaning all reviews from "3 months ago" get lumped together on the same date. Reviewflowz extracts the actual timestamp Google stores internally, giving you precise dates and times for every review.
• Complete data fields. Review text, ratings, reviewer information, business responses, photos, language detection, and metadata are all included in a structured format ready for analysis.
• Consistent data schema. **All reviews are forced into the same column names, which makes processing reviews from multiple providers *much*** easier. If you’re downloading reviews from multiple platforms for analysis, this is an absolute nightmare to handle yourself.
• **Language detection and translations. **This isn’t included on pay as you go exports, but if you buy a subscription – even for a single month – Reviewflowz will automatically detect each review’s language, and allow you to translate reviews automatically before exporting.
• No gaps or sampling. Some tools only pull recent reviews or limit exports to certain thresholds. You get the complete dataset.
• No browser dependencies or blocking. Because the exports run on Reviewflowz's infrastructure, you don't need to keep your browser open, worry about rate limits, or deal with anti-scraping measures that block your IP.
• **Ongoing monitoring & sync. **This also applies only to subscriptions, but if you think you’ll need to sync your reviews with a BI tool, a google spreadsheet, a Zendesk instance, Slack workspace – you name it – Reviewflowz comes with tons of native integrations that will make your life easier and save you the hassle of periodically cleaning and uploading CSV data.

Option 3: Third-Party Scrapers and Browser Extensions

If you search for "export Google reviews" or "scrape Yelp reviews," you'll find dozens of tools—browser extensions, desktop applications, and web-based scrapers. Many advertise themselves as free or low-cost alternatives.

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The reality is more complicated.

How Browser-Based Scrapers Work

Most of these tools work by automating your web browser. You install an extension, navigate to a review page, and the extension loads page after page of reviews, extracting data as it goes.

This approach has fundamental limitations:

• It's slow. The scraper is limited by page load times and needs to simulate human browsing to avoid detection. Exporting 500 reviews might take 20-30 minutes or longer.
• It ties up your browser. You need to keep the browser window open and active while the scraper runs. If you close the tab, navigate away, or if your computer goes to sleep, the export fails.
• You might get blocked. Platforms use anti-scraping measures to detect automated behavior. If the scraper triggers these protections, your IP address might get temporarily blocked from accessing the site. Some scrapers try to work around this, but it's a constant cat-and-mouse game.
• It's often incomplete. As mentioned earlier, these tools scrape whatever is visible on the public page. That means relative dates instead of exact timestamps, missing data fields that require additional clicks, and potential gaps where the scraper fails to load certain pages. For example, for google reviews, those scrapers won't get you the exact date, and instead will give you the relative date as shown by google, aggregating all reviews from last year under "One year ago"...

The Cost Isn't What It Seems

Many browser scrapers advertise themselves as "free" but limit exports to 50-100 reviews before requiring payment. The paid tiers often end up costing more than our dedicated export services once you factor in the per-export or per-month charges.

More importantly, there's a hidden cost in your time. If an export fails halfway through, if the data needs manual cleanup, or if you need to troubleshoot browser extension conflicts, you're paying in hours of frustration.

Not to mention you’ll need to harmonize the column names from different platforms, which can take a very long time.

Option 4: Review Management or Monitoring Software

Some all-in-one review management platforms include export functionality as a feature. If you're already paying for one of these tools for other reasons—automated response management, review monitoring, reputation dashboards—it's worth checking whether they offer exports.

However, if your primary goal is exporting review data, these platforms present significant drawbacks:

Contract Lock-In

Many enterprise reputation management platforms require annual contracts with no month-to-month option. You'll go through a sales process, sign a contract, and commit to 12 months of payments regardless of whether your needs change.

If you only need exports for a specific project or want to test before committing, this creates an enormous barrier.

Pricing Opacity

These platforms often don't publish pricing publicly. You'll need to request a demo, sit through a sales pitch, and negotiate pricing, which might start at hundreds or thousands of dollars per year depending on the number of locations and features included.

For the specific use case of exporting reviews, this pricing makes no sense. You're paying for a comprehensive platform to access one feature. Not to mention you won’t get your reviews before a solid 2 month long sales process.

Export Limitations

Even when review management platforms include export functionality, they often restrict it:

• Exports might be limited to certain time ranges
• You might only be able to export reviews for locations actively monitored on the platform
• Some platforms charge additional fees for historical data or bulk exports
• Export formats might be proprietary or limited to their internal reporting formats

When These Solutions Make Sense

If you need comprehensive review management—automated responses, team collaboration, multi-platform monitoring, analytics dashboards, and integration with other business systems—then an all-in-one platform might be appropriate, and export functionality comes as a bonus.

But if your primary need is exporting review data for analysis, paying for a full review management platform is like buying a car when you need a bicycle.

Choosing the Right Approach for Your Situation

The best export method depends on your specific circumstances:

• For one-time or occasional exports: Use pay-as-you-go exports if the platform doesn't offer a native CSV export. At $0.10 per review, it's cost-effective for datasets under 450 reviews and requires no ongoing commitment.
• For regular monitoring or multiple locations: A subscription plan makes sense once you're exporting more than 450 reviews monthly or need to refresh data regularly. At $45/month for unlimited exports from 1 profile, $50 for 2 profiles, $60 for 3, ... the economics work in your favor quickly.
• For supported platforms with clean exports: If the platform offers native CSV or Excel exports with complete data, use those. This is rare, but when available, it's the most direct path.
• For budget-constrained situations with small datasets: If you're exporting fewer than 50 reviews and can tolerate incomplete data, browser-based scrapers might work. Just understand the limitations around data quality, especially regarding review dates.

What Matters in Review Data

Regardless of which export method you choose, the quality of your analysis depends on having complete, accurate data.

• Exact dates are essential. If you're tracking review velocity, response times, seasonal patterns, or the impact of specific business changes, relative dates like "3 weeks ago" are useless. You need precise timestamps.
• Complete text matters. Some export tools truncate review text or miss reviews with special characters or non-Latin scripts. If you're doing sentiment analysis or using the data for AI training, incomplete text corrupts your dataset.
• Reviewer information provides context. Knowing whether a reviewer has written 5 reviews or 500 reviews, whether they're a local guide, or whether they typically rate businesses highly or critically helps you weight and interpret their feedback.
• Business responses tell the full story. If you're analyzing competitive positioning or response strategies, you need the business's replies alongside the original reviews.

The cheapest export option is worthless if the data is incomplete or inaccurate.

Final Recommendations

For most users, the choice comes down to two options:

1. Use the platform's native export if it offers CSV/Excel with complete data
2. Use Reviewflowz for everything else

The math is straightforward: pay-as-you-go for one-time needs, subscriptions for ongoing monitoring. The data quality is reliable, the pricing is transparent, and you're not locked into long-term commitments or dependent on browser-based tools that might fail.

Third-party scrapers and comprehensive review management platforms exist, but they're not cost-effective or reliable for the specific task of exporting reviews to CSV.

Choose the approach that matches your needs, prioritize data quality over apparent cost savings, and avoid tools that require technical expertise to convert formats or impose unnecessary complexity.

What reviewflowz customers have to say about review exports

Updated on: 21/11/2025