Directory software comparison
HivePress Alternative with Reviewer Photos & Video
JReviews is the directory and reviews software for WordPress and Joomla. Pick it over HivePress when the directory is meant to be a real business — a professional directory, an association directory, a review site, a niche classifieds site, or a map-heavy local guide where the reviews, the custom fields, the search, and the owner tools all have to do real work. Media is built in too: photos, self-hosted or embedded video, audio, and file attachments — on listings and on reviews, where reviewers can upload their own. JReviews also runs on Joomla, so you're never locked to a single CMS — the same suite covers whichever platform you build on.
HivePress can fit a first, simple WordPress directory or classifieds site where the features stay basic and the site will only ever run on WordPress. Its core plugin is free, and you add official extensions or a theme as the site grows. The moment the directory has to carry custom fields per category, multi-criteria reviews with reviewer-uploaded photos, video, and audio, claims, inquiries, maps, and paid submissions, JReviews is built for that.
Side-by-side comparison
How JReviews and HivePress stack up for directory owners.
| Category | JReviews | HivePress |
|---|---|---|
| Product model | Paid directory and reviews software for WordPress and Joomla. Standard plan covers reviews, custom fields, and listing types; Professional bundles the paid add-ons. | WordPress-only directory plugin. The core is free; you add official extensions and industry-specific themes (real estate, jobs, rentals, etc.) as you need them. |
| Pricing | Standard is $179/year; Professional is $427/year with every paid add-on bundled — one bill, one supported suite, no assembling the directory from separately priced extensions and themes. | Core plugin has a no-cost entry path. Official extensions are commonly $29-$39 each, the all-extensions bundle is currently $199, and many official themes are around $69-$89 (current pricing at hivepress.io/extensions). |
| Best fit | Established niche directories, professional directories, review sites, paid-classifieds sites, and any directory where you need real control over fields, search, reviews, maps, and how people pay you. | First, simple WordPress directories, basic classifieds or marketplace tests, and owners who want to start minimal and add official extensions only as needed. |
| Reviews engine | ✓ User and editor reviews, multi-criteria scores (e.g. food / service / value), rating histograms, smarter top-list ranking that doesn't let one 5-star review dominate, owner replies, review discussions, media, and moderation. | HivePress has reviews and they cover simple listing-review needs. They're not the main reason to pick HivePress. |
| Media depth | ✓ Photos, video (upload your own self-hosted files or embed from YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion, Twitch, and Cloudflare Stream), audio, and file attachments — on both listings and reviews, as core features. Reviewers, not just listing owners, can attach media to a review. | Listings centre on an image gallery; video can't go in the gallery — you add a video URL in the description, which renders a player — and file attachments come through the paid "extras" model. Rich, reviewer-uploaded media on reviews isn't part of the core experience. |
| Custom fields and search | ✓ Multiple directories, different listing types, custom fields grouped by category, advanced filtering, per-field SEO settings, and layouts built for complex directories. | Custom fields, attributes, categories, and filters that follow how WordPress normally works. Good enough for straightforward directories. |
| Maps and location | ✓ MapsPro adds OpenStreetMap, Mapbox, and Google maps, distance-from-here search, full map views, address-to-coordinates lookup, and trail/route files (GPX, KML, GeoJSON) with elevation charts. | Geolocation is available in the HivePress ecosystem and works for simple local directories, but the map features are lighter than JReviews. |
| Monetization | PaidListings is included in Professional ($427/year) and is a paid add-on on Standard ($179/year). Charge for submissions, sell upgrades and featured placement, run subscriptions, apply coupons and taxes, set listing expirations, and accept PayPal out of the box. Stripe, Mollie, and Coinbase plug in through separate payment-handler add-ons. | Paid listings, marketplace, memberships, bookings, and requests are handled through separate HivePress extensions, often tied to WooCommerce. |
| Platform control | Runs inside your WordPress or Joomla site. Built for owners who want to keep the directory on their own CMS for the long haul. | WordPress-only. Keeps things simple if WordPress is the only platform you plan to use. |
When JReviews is the better pick
Choose JReviews when the directory is the business, not a quick experiment. A bar association directory, a medical-specialist directory, a construction-industry directory, a training directory, an aviation directory, a book-review community, or a niche classifieds site usually needs more than a basic listing form. It needs proper listing types, the right custom fields per category, real search filters, moderation, claims, owner replies, and a review system that can score listings on more than one thing.
Pick JReviews when reviews are part of why people come to the site. Visitors can write reviews, editors can write reviews, listings can be rated on several criteria (not just one star score), owners can reply, and discussions can happen under each review. Reviewers can back up what they say with their own photos, video, audio, and file attachments — where HivePress keeps video to a URL in the description and has no first-party reviewer media. That matters when the trust your site builds is the reason people pick a listing.
Choose JReviews when you actually plan to make money from the directory. The Professional plan bundles PaidListings and MapsPro, so you can charge for submissions, sell featured placement, and offer real map and location search without bolting on unrelated plugins. JReviews is built for owners who already know the directory has to be deep — a serious, fully supported suite rather than a free starting point you outgrow.
When HivePress is the better pick
HivePress fits when the site is a simple, WordPress-only directory — closer to a basic classifieds, rentals, or job-board listing than to a review-led directory — and you're comfortable adding official extensions one at a time as needs come up. If the listings are basic and reviews aren't the point, that lean setup does the job.
Once the directory has to do real work — custom fields per category, multi-criteria reviews with reviewer-uploaded photos, video, audio, and file attachments, claims, inquiries, proper map and proximity search, and paid submissions — that's the directory JReviews is built for. Where HivePress keeps listing video to a URL in the description and has no first-party reviewer media, JReviews makes media a core part of both listings and reviews. When the directory is meant to be a real business, JReviews is the stronger foundation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the alternative to HivePress?
JReviews is a HivePress alternative when a WordPress directory has moved past a lean first build and needs multiple directories, listing types, custom fields per category, advanced filtering, user and editor reviews, multi-criteria ratings with reviewer-uploaded photos and video, claims, inquiries, listing schema, maps, and paid listing upgrades. If you're still building a simple WordPress-only directory where the listings stay basic and reviews aren't central, HivePress remains a practical starting point.
Is JReviews a good HivePress alternative for WordPress?
Yes, when your directory needs more than a basic listing form — deeper custom fields, multiple listing types, multi-criteria reviews, claims, inquiries, maps, paid submissions, and proper search filters. HivePress can fit better when you want a simpler WordPress directory at a lower starting cost.
Which is cheaper, JReviews or HivePress?
HivePress has a lower entry cost because its core plugin is free and extensions are bought individually. The two are priced for different jobs: JReviews Standard is $179/year and Professional is $427/year with every paid add-on bundled — one supported suite, not a directory pieced together from separately priced extensions and themes. For a directory meant to carry real reviews, reviewer media, search, maps, and paid listings, JReviews is priced as the serious build it's designed for.
Does HivePress support reviews, and when is JReviews stronger?
JReviews is stronger when reviews drive the site. You get user and editor reviews, multi-criteria scores (not just one star), histograms, smarter top-list ranking, owner replies, discussions under each review, and moderation. HivePress has reviews, but that's not what it's best at.
Can you add video and other media to listings in JReviews vs HivePress?
JReviews has a built-in media gallery for photos, video (uploaded or embedded), audio, and file attachments, on both listings and reviews — reviewers can upload their own media, not just listing owners. In HivePress, the listing gallery is image-based; video is added as a URL in the description rather than to the gallery, and file attachments come through the paid "extras" model. For a media-rich directory, JReviews offers more out of the box.
Is HivePress really free?
The HivePress core plugin is free on WordPress.org, but a real directory usually needs paid extensions and a theme. JReviews works similarly: Standard at $179/year covers reviews, custom fields, and listing types. Paid submissions (PaidListings) and maps (MapsPro) are extra on Standard, or bundled in Professional ($427/year).
Does JReviews support maps like HivePress geolocation features?
Yes. With MapsPro, JReviews supports map views, distance-from-here search, multiple map providers, listing map covers, map overlays, and trail/route files (GPX, KML, GeoJSON) with elevation profiles. HivePress geolocation works for simpler WordPress local directories.
Can I evaluate JReviews before buying?
You can review the hosted WordPress demo at wp-demo.jreviews.com and the hosted Joomla demo at demo.jreviews.com. JReviews also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee on current plans.
Can I move from HivePress to JReviews later?
Plan on mapping your fields and categories over rather than expecting a one-click switch. JReviews has CSV import/update/export through the Import add-on, but you'll still want to plan out how listings, fields, categories, users, media, and URLs map across before moving.
Related solutions
- JReviews for travel directories List restaurants, hotels, and attractions across a city or region. Visitors rate places on what actually matters per category — food, service, value — and find what's nearest them on a map.
- JReviews for outdoor business directories List rafting outfitters, ski schools, fishing guides, and other outdoor businesses. Each operator can attach trail and route maps, mark which seasons they run, and field inquiries through a contact form on every listing.