The G2 Best Software Awards are almost here!
On February 18, G2 will announce the Best Software Awards for 2026! These annual awards rank the world’s best software companies and products based on authentic, timely reviews from real users and publicly available market presence data.
Every year, G2 awards the best in B2B software, from the top products to the top vendors worldwide — using a scoring methodology that’s rooted in verified customer reviews. While there are over 3.2 million verified reviews on our marketplace today, only those from the past calendar year are included in the scoring to help decide the winners.
The Best Software Awards are about much more than just a badge of honor (though it’s a milestone worth shouting from the rooftops). For millions of buyers across hundreds of industries, these rankings are a definitive resource for choosing the technology they need to succeed.
If this is your first time tuning in or you just need a reminder of how our selection process works, we’ve summarized everything you need to know below — including the latest updates for 2026.
How are the winners of the Best Software awards determined?
To determine the winners of the Best Software Awards, G2 utilizes a proprietary algorithm that analyzes verified user reviews and publicly available market presence data. To ensure the rankings are current, only reviews from the prior calendar year — between January 1 and December 31 — are considered.
The selection process is broken down into three primary categories:
- Best Software Companies: The top 100 software companies are ranked based on weighted Satisfaction and Market Presence scores. Specifically, G2 scores Satisfaction within each category and averages those scores across all of a vendor’s products. Market Presence is aggregated and scored relative to all eligible software companies.
- Additionally, G2 releases geographic Best Software Companies lists highlighting the top companies in select regions and countries. A company’s headquarters, according to LinkedIn, is the primary source used to determine a software company’s region. Several other factors are used as needed, including where the majority of its workforce is located, where the company was founded, and where its executive team resides.
- Best Software Products: The top 100 products are ranked based on weighted Satisfaction and Market Presence scores. Specifically, the score for a product is first calculated for each category, and then those category scores are combined to create an overall score for the product. The overall score is then weighted based on the competitiveness of each category. Competitiveness is determined by how many products compete in each category and how many reviews each receives. G2 also releases the following supplemental Best Software Products reports:
- Highest Satisfaction: Ranking is based solely on Satisfaction scores.
- Fastest Growing Products: Ranking is based on Momentum scores.
- Segment: Rankings are based on reviews submitted by reviewers from the corresponding market segment.
- Rookies of the Year: This report includes the top 25 products that were listed on G2 and received their first review during the previous calendar year. To qualify for inclusion, both the product and its corresponding vendor must be newly listed.
- Best Software by Function: For these lists, which focus on the software’s function or persona use case, individual products need at least 10 reviews in the eligibility period in at least one category in the correlated persona area (for example, Best Sales Software) to be eligible for that list. The top 50 products are ranked based on weighted Satisfaction and Market Presence scores, which in turn are based on reviews within the corresponding top-level G2 categories. The score for a product is first calculated for the subcategory, and then the category scores are combined to create an overall score. The overall score is then weighted based on the Competitiveness of each category and the relevance of each product to the given function or persona.
Read more about the methodology used to calculate G2’s Best Software Awards here.
How many reviews does my product or service need to be eligible for a Best Software award?
We’ve made some changes regarding eligibility this year — products and vendors now need a minimum of 10 reviews from the prior calendar year. For functional product lists, individual products need at least 10 reviews in the eligibility period in at least one category in the correlated persona area (for example, Best Sales Software) to be eligible for that list.
While in 2025, only one review from the past year was needed, in addition to appearing on a G2 Grid®. We made this change to expand eligibility for vendors and products on G2 while simplifying the requirements, making it easier to be considered.
This year’s change aims to maintain that simplicity while prioritizing review recency and volume as key factors for continued and consistent high performance.
However, on the most competitive Best Software lists, winners typically have hundreds or even thousands of reviews.
Not sure if you’re eligible? Find out here!
We were just included in a G2 quarterly report. How are these awards different?
Key differences between G2’s Best Software Awards and Market Reports include:
- Best Software consists of annual awards lists accessible without a login, whereas Seasonal Market Reports are quarterly, detailed reports accessible only after logging in to my.g2.
There are also differences in eligibility criteria and the depth and breadth of the product and vendor recognition.
Can software vendors and products win multiple awards?
Yes! A software vendor and/or product has the potential to be named on multiple lists based on its eligibility and rankings.
Are vendors able to display their Best Software badges on their G2 Profile?
Only vendors who are G2 customers can access and display these badges on their G2 Profile. However, all winners will have access to promotional materials to celebrate their well-earned recognition.
How are reviews verified and vetted?
Authenticity, accuracy, and integrity are the cornerstones of our approach to review collection, moderation, and publishing. It is our aim to ensure every review is the honest opinion of a real user based on their experience with a product or service. This is a core tenet of our vision to be the most trusted data source in the age of AI for informing software purchasing decisions and go-to-market (GTM) strategies.
At G2, every review is subject to a strict vetting process to maintain total integrity. By validating user identities and analyzing more than 40 distinct data signals, we aim to ensure every piece of feedback is authentic and from a real customer. As a result of this vetting process, over one-third of submissions are turned away for failing to meet our quality benchmarks.
We employ rigorous moderation practices to ensure reviews on G2.com reflect honest, real-world experiences. Our approach to Review Validity outlines how reviews are collected, moderated, and published to maintain credibility, including:
- Verifying every user on G2: We verify the identity of every user on G2 to ensure reviews come from real people.
- Data-driven assessment: We leverage over 43 data points to assess authenticity.
- Strict moderation: We vet every review with a consistent and strict guideline.
How will Best Software Award winners be announced and promoted?
If your product or company has won a 2026 Best Software Award, keep an eye out for an email from us on February 4th notifying you of this achievement! However, we ask that you keep this news under embargo until our awards are live on our site on February 18th. An email will also be sent to all vendors on February 18th.
G2 will announce the awards not only on our site but also through news announcements, social media posts, and more. We’ll be sure to arm all winners with promotional materials and instructions, including templates and guidelines for:
- Accessing their Best Software Award badge(s) in my.g2 (for customers only)
- Promoting their recognition via news announcements
- Celebrating with social media graphics
What else is new for the 2026 Best Software Awards?
Above, we mentioned some eligibility changes this year, where products and vendors now need a minimum of 10 reviews from the prior calendar year to be considered. We’ve also made some changes to how categories are weighted as part of the scoring algorithm and introduced some new award lists for 2026.
- Scoring algorithm update for category weighting: For the Functional Product Lists, a product’s percentage of categories and reviews earned within that functional list are used as a factor in scoring. This year, we have adjusted the category weighting in our algorithm to ensure the best possible fit for products on functional product lists, based on their categories and reviews.
- New lists: We’re also introducing the following new “Best Software By Function” lists in 2026:
- Best Agentic AI Software
- Best ERP Software Products
Who were the winners in 2025?
The 2025 Best Software Awards showcased lots of exciting winners! Some highlights included:
Best Software Products:
Best Global Software:
Fastest-Growing Products:
Highest Satisfaction Products:
Rookies of the Year:
We can’t wait to see what the 2026 lists have in store!
Mark your calendars for February 18!
From the best software products to the fastest-growing and highest-rated products, you won’t want to miss who takes home the trophy! With so many lists about to drop, highlighting the best companies and products across company size, region, and function, these lists are designed to guide software buyers as they make software purchasing decisions in the year ahead.
Now that we're in a new calendar year, want to get a head start on your 2026 review collection for our 2027 awards? Learn how here.
