Yelp (m.yelp.com)
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Use it free as a consumer to find local businesses . assuming your IP hasn't been blocked, which happens often.
New check
Comparison
Yelp (m.yelp.com) vs Tripadvisor
Yelp (m.yelp.com) and Tripadvisor both land on Depends.
Tripadvisor
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Use it free for trip research . its billion-review coverage of hotels, restaurants, and attractions is unmatched.
| Compare | Yelp (m.yelp.com) | Tripadvisor |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Depends |
| Best for | Consumers checking local restaurants and services | Travelers researching hotels and restaurants |
| Who it's not for | VPN or shared-IP users . Yelp blocks them at the door | Booking flights or hotels without price-checking the source site |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed. | Past customer data breach disclosed; no Tripadvisor-owned CVEs found . recent CVEs hit third-party WordPress plugins.15 |
| Support quality | Reddit: contact attempts ignored, no follow-through | Complaint threads visible on forums and Trustpilot. |
| Public sentiment | Users report sudden IP blocks, forced app usage, and poor advertising ROI, even as consumers keep relying on Yelp reviews.⁴ | Travelers value the coverage but openly dispute review reliability, moderation, and booking prices.14 |
| Biggest gotcha | Your IP can be silently banned; unbanning requires contacting support and is slow, unreliable⁵ | Commissions on bookings can mean prices higher than booking direct . always compare the source site. |
Pick Yelp (m.yelp.com) when
- Consumers checking local restaurants and services
- Small businesses claiming a free listing
- Restaurants wanting review-driven discovery
When Yelp (m.yelp.com) is not a fit
- VPN or shared-IP users . Yelp blocks them at the door
- Businesses buying Yelp ads on lead promises
- Anyone refusing to install the mobile app
- Teams scraping or automating Yelp data
Pick Tripadvisor when
- Travelers researching hotels and restaurants
- Comparing attractions before booking
- Hotels and restaurants managing reputation
- Tour operators wanting traveler visibility
When Tripadvisor is not a fit
- Booking flights or hotels without price-checking the source site
- Anyone needing verified, scam-proof reviews
- Businesses expecting generous review moderation
- Buyers wanting a contract-backed review data product
Sources
- Yelp homepageyelp.comofficial
- Why Claim Your Business Page on Yelpbusiness.yelp.comofficial
- Trustpilot reviews of business.yelp.comtrustpilot.comreview
- My IP address is being blocked by Yelp?!reddit.comreview
- Yelp Bans IP Addressestelapost.comnews
- Yelp walling off mobile web reviews (Hacker News)news.ycombinator.comreview
- Yelp keeps removing my business reviewsreddit.comreview
- Yelp.com blocked from all AirVPN serversairvpn.orgnews
- Yelp developer authorization docsdocs.developer.yelp.comofficial
- Alternatives to Yelp Reservations (Tablein)tablein.comnews
- Tripadvisor homepage . over a billion reviewstripadvisor.comofficial
- Tripadvisor for Businesstripadvisor.comofficial
- Trustpilot . Tripadvisor customer service reviewstrustpilot.comreview
review
- TripAdvisor admits customer data breachmarketingweek.comnews
- Hacker News coverage . TripAdvisor/Viator breach warningsthehackernews.comsecurity