How Does Hellopeter's Rating Actually Work?
Why the TrustIndex isn’t a simple star average
A Hellopeter business profile shows more than one number, and they aren’t the same thing. The average review rating is a plain average of a business’s individual star ratings. The TrustIndex — the score Hellopeter itself describes as the main metric consumers use to judge how trustworthy a business is — is different: a 0–10 score Hellopeter says is calculated from multiple factors, including review volume, how recent the reviews are, and how consistently the business responds to reviews, especially negative ones.
Why the TrustIndex isn’t a simple star average
Hellopeter doesn’t publish the exact formula or weighting behind the TrustIndex, and a business needs at least 10 reviews within a rolling 12-month window before a TrustIndex even generates. Hellopeter’s own guidance treats a TrustIndex above 8 as strong, above 9 as reflecting consistent, high-volume excellence over time, and below 6 as a signal for a shopper to look more carefully before committing.
Because the formula isn’t disclosed, no tool — including this one — can tell a business precisely what a given review or response will do to its TrustIndex. What Hellopeter’s own guidance does make clear is the direction: more genuine reviews, more recent reviews, and a higher response rate all move it in a favorable direction.
What Hellopeter says actually moves the TrustIndex
- Review volume — a rating built on a large number of reviews is treated as more reliable than one built on a handful.
- Recency — recent reviews carry more weight than older ones, so the score reflects how a business is performing now.
- Response rate and behavior — how consistently a business replies to reviews, particularly negative ones, factors into the score.
- Guideline compliance — reviews Hellopeter removes for breaching its content guidelines (false, spam, defamatory) don’t count, and don’t affect the business’s metrics at all.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Hellopeter review packages start at $110 for up to 5 reviews, scaling to $690 for 50, with monthly billing at 15% off. Pick a package on this page, or try a free example first.
Hellopeter says the TrustIndex is calculated from review volume, recency, and how consistently a business responds to reviews. A steady stream of genuine reviews from real customers, combined with replying to every review you receive through your Hellopeter Business plan, are the levers Hellopeter itself points to.