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What Bbb does

BBB (Better Business Bureau) is a US-headquartered nonprofit organization — legally the International Association of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (IABBB) — that operates a marketplace trust platform serving consumers and businesses across the United States and Canada. The organization runs under a 501(c)(6) designation and has built its identity around the registered BBB® trademark and the "Trust, Built Locally™" tagline. Its core offerings consist of BBB Accreditation (a certification program for businesses that meet integrity standards), a business directory with ratings and reviews, a Scam Tracker that enables crowdsourced scam reporting with heatmap visualization, and a formal complaint filing and mediation service. These are complemented by an ecosystem of affiliated programs: BBB Wise Giving Alliance (charity evaluation via Give.org), BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust (marketplace education), and BBB National Programs (industry self-regulatory initiatives).

The underlying technology is a web platform supporting nine languages with cookie-based personalization, plus a separate educational property at bbbaihub.org (the BBB AI Hub) that delivers free AI-literacy workshops and courses to the community. Newer surface additions include the Scam Survival Kit and Scam Prevention Guide resources. No mobile app is offered; distribution is entirely web-based and self-serve.

BBB's revenue model is built on recurring subscription-style fees paid by businesses for Accreditation and for inclusion in the BBB business directory. Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed; businesses apply directly. The go-to-market motion is community-led and trust-based, leaning on the BBB brand reputation to drive both consumer engagement (free) and business participation (paid), with reach amplified by an organic social presence on Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram, plus a newsroom for earned media. The organization serves two primary customer segments: individual consumers seeking to verify businesses and report scams, and businesses seeking credibility signaling through accreditation or listing.

Name

Bbb

Legal name

International Association of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (IABBB)

Website

https://[email protected]

Company type

Private

Founded year

1912

Operating status

Operating

Short description

BBB (Better Business Bureau) is a US-based nonprofit that operates a marketplace trust platform serving consumers and businesses across the United States and Canada through business accreditation, ratings and reviews, scam tracking, and complaint mediation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Trust and Accreditation Services

akta.pro primary industry

B2B Marketplaces & Wholesale Platforms (BPAMAGAD)

Keywords

• Business accreditation
• Consumer trust services
• Business ratings
• Scam tracking
• Complaint resolution

Headquarters

HQ city

Not specified

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Business Accreditation Fees: BBB generates revenue through charging businesses for accreditation services. Businesses pay to become BBB Accredited, demonstrating trustworthiness to consumers.
2. Business Listing Fees: Revenue from businesses seeking to be listed in the BBB directory, providing visibility to consumers searching for trustworthy businesses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

BBB operates a nonprofit marketplace trust platform that certifies businesses through its BBB Accreditation program, maintains a public directory with ratings and reviews, enables formal complaint filing and mediation between consumers and businesses, and runs a crowdsourced Scam Tracker with heatmap visualization. The organization also offers educational resources including the BBB AI Hub for AI literacy and affiliated programs covering charity evaluation and self-regulatory industry standards, serving both consumers (free) and businesses (paid accreditation and listing fees) across the US and Canada.

Product overview

BBB (Better Business Bureau) operates as a marketplace trust organization offering a portfolio of interconnected consumer-protection and business-accreditation services. The core offerings include a business directory with ratings and reviews, a business accreditation program (BBB Accreditation) that certifies businesses meeting integrity standards, a Scam Tracker for reporting and visualizing scam activity, and complaint filing/mediation services. These core services are complemented by educational resources including the BBB AI Hub (free AI safety workshops and courses) and affiliated programs such as BBB Wise Giving Alliance (charity evaluation) and BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust. Additional consumer tools include Get a Quote, the Scam Survival Kit, and a Scam Prevention Guide. The organization primarily serves both consumers (seeking trustworthy businesses and scam protection) and businesses (seeking accreditation and visibility) across the US and Canada.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BBB AI Hub: Free workshops, courses, and easy-to-follow guidance to use AI safely and with confidence.
• BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust
• BBB Wise Giving Alliance (Give.org)
• BBB National Programs

Products and services

• BBB Accreditation A certification program for businesses that demonstrates they operate honestly and with integrity; businesses meeting BBB standards can display the Accredited Business seal to build consumer trust. Available to businesses across the US and Canada via an application process on BBB.org.
• Business Reviews and Ratings Directory An online directory allowing consumers to find, review, and rate businesses; provides credibility scores, complaint records, and accreditation status to help consumers make informed decisions about which businesses to trust.
• Scam Tracker A crowdsourced platform enabling consumers to report scams, look up scams, and view scam activity via a heatmap dashboard; helps identify emerging fraud patterns and includes the Scam Survival Kit and Scam Prevention Guide resources.
• Complaint Filing and Mediation Service A formal complaint process allowing consumers to file complaints against businesses; BBB mediates disputes between consumers and businesses to seek resolution.
• BBB AI Hub An educational platform (bbbaihub.org) offering free workshops, courses, and easy-to-follow guidance to help community members use AI safely and with confidence.
• BBB Wise Giving Alliance (Give.org) A charity evaluation service that assesses nonprofits against standards for charity accountability; helps donors make informed decisions about charitable giving.
• BBB Institute for Marketplace Trust An educational institute focused on marketplace trust and consumer protection; provides research and training on ethical business practices and marketplace trust education.
• BBB National Programs Self-regulatory programs for businesses and industries that address industry-wide issues and promote consumer confidence through accountability standards.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• BBB Institute for Marketplace TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated program focused on marketplace trust education and research. Provides resources to help consumers make informed decisions and businesses build ethical practices.
• BBB Wise Giving Alliance (Give.org)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated program focused on charity evaluation and philanthropic giving. Helps donors evaluate charities and ensures philanthropic organizations meet standards.
• BBB National ProgramscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAffiliated umbrella organization for BBB programmatic initiatives and standards development across various industries and business practices.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Trustpilot: Trustpilot is a direct competitor operating a global business review and rating platform with both free and subscription (Trustpilot Business) tiers. It mirrors BBB's core function of collecting consumer reviews and offering paid trust signals to businesses.
• Yelp: Yelp is a consumer-facing business directory and review platform. It competes with BBB on local business discovery, consumer reviews, and business advertising/listings—overlapping significantly with BBB's core directory and trust-rating offering.
• Angi (formerly Angie's List): Angi is a paid home-services marketplace with reviews and accreditation-style trust signals for contractors. It overlaps with BBB's home-services directory and accreditation program, monetizing through subscriptions and lead generation.
• Charity Navigator: Charity Navigator evaluates nonprofit organizations for donors, paralleling BBB Wise Giving Alliance (Give.org). Both are nonprofit trust intermediaries that rate organizations against accountability standards to inform consumer/donor decisions.

Broad incumbents

• Google Business Profile: Google Business Profile embeds free business listings, reviews, and ratings into Search and Maps. As the default local discovery layer, it is the most significant broad incumbent competing with BBB's directory and review function.
• Consumer Reports: Consumer Reports is a nonprofit consumer trust organization providing product testing, ratings, and advocacy. It shares BBB's nonprofit trust-and-evaluation mission and consumer-protection orientation, though focused on products rather than business integrity.
• Tripadvisor: Tripadvisor operates one of the world's largest consumer review platforms with paid business listing options. It is a broad incumbent in trust-and-review infrastructure, with comparable review, accreditation, and listing mechanics to BBB.

Emerging players

• Glassdoor: Glassdoor provides company reviews and ratings from employees and consumers. It intersects with BBB's business-rating function in a different vertical (employer/corporate reputation) and represents a partial-overlap trust platform.
• Sitejabber: Sitejabber is a consumer review platform focused on e-commerce businesses. It is a niche/emerging competitor in the same business-reviews category as BBB but with a narrower vertical focus.
• ResellerRatings: ResellerRatings is an online merchant review and accreditation platform. It shares BBB's model of collecting consumer reviews and providing trust signals to businesses, with overlap in e-commerce vertical focus.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bbb_us
• Facebookfacebook.com/BetterBusinessBureau
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/better-business-bureau
• Instagraminstagram.com/betterbusinessbureau_

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Bbb