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TrustScore and star rating explained
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A TrustScore is the overall measurement of reviewer satisfaction, based on all the service and location reviews a business receives on Trustpilot. A star rating is the TrustScore visualized. Learn how they’re calculated here.
TrustScore calculation
A TrustScore is calculated on a scale from 1 to 5.
For businesses with less than 10,000 reviews, the overall TrustScore is recalculated immediately after a new review is posted. For businesses with more than 10,000 reviews, TrustScore recalculation happens once per day, since the TrustScore will not change as quickly once this threshold is reached.
The formula for calculation considers three factors: time span, frequency, and Bayesian average.
- Time span. A TrustScore gives more weight to newer reviews, and less to older ones. The most recent review holds the most weight, since newer reviews give more insight into current customer satisfaction.
- Frequency. Businesses should continuously collect reviews to maintain their TrustScore. Because the most recent review holds the most weight, a TrustScore will be more stable if reviews are coming in regularly.
- Bayesian average. We use a Bayesian average in the calculation, to make sure that a business with fewer reviews starts off with a balanced TrustScore. This means that we automatically include the value of 7 reviews worth 3.5 stars each in all TrustScore calculations. As a business collects more reviews, this becomes a smaller factor in the calculation.
From TrustScore to star rating
After the calculation, a TrustScore is then visualized into a star rating from 1 to 5 stars, including half stars. Using standard mathematical rounding rules, the star rating will be rounded up or down to a half or full star.
Note: A business’s TrustScore will show as 0 until they receive their first review.
Where can I find the TrustScore?
A business’s TrustScore is located at the top of their business profile page on Trustpilot.
Asking for reviews can lead to a higher TrustScore and star rating
Overall, businesses that regularly invite their customers to write reviews tend to have a higher TrustScore than businesses that don’t. Actively collecting feedback can encourage reviews from a broader range of people, including those who had a positive experience and may not otherwise have taken the time to write a review. Regularly inviting customers to write reviews can also lead to more feedback that may be used to improve business.