How many 5-star reviews do you need to raise your Google rating?
The math behind your Google star rating: why 4.6 to 4.7 can take dozens of reviews, what one 1-star really costs, and where the effort pays off most.
6 min read · Updated October 26, 2026
Your Google star rating is an average of every review you've ever received, shown rounded to one decimal place. That's why it can feel stuck: each new 5-star review is one vote among hundreds, and the next tenth only appears once your true average crosses the halfway mark.
How the number on your profile works
Google shows your average rounded to one decimal. A business averaging 4.64 shows 4.6; at 4.65 it shows 4.7. So to move up a tenth, your true average has to rise past the midpoint between the two numbers.
Google doesn't publish its exact formula, and the rating you see is already rounded, so treat the numbers below as close estimates rather than exact counts.
The formula
5-star reviews needed ≈ current reviews × (target − 0.05 − current rating) ÷ (5 − (target − 0.05))
Say you have 214 reviews at 4.6 and want to show 4.7. Your average needs to reach 4.65, so: 214 × (4.65 − 4.6) ÷ (5 − 4.65) ≈ 31 more 5-star reviews, with no new lower ones in between.
How many it takes, at a glance
| Reviews you have | 4.2 → 4.3 | 4.5 → 4.6 | 4.7 → 4.8 | 4.8 → 4.9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 17 |
| 100 | 7 | 12 | 20 | 34 |
| 250 | 17 | 28 | 50 | 84 |
| 500 | 34 | 56 | 100 | 167 |
| 1,000 | 67 | 112 | 200 | 334 |
Two patterns stand out. The more reviews you already have, the more it takes to move. And the higher you climb, the steeper it gets: with 100 reviews, 4.8 to 4.9 takes 34 five-star reviews, about 3 times the 12 it takes to go from 4.5 to 4.6.
What one 1-star review really costs
Because the average is shared across every review, one bad review has to be outweighed. To bring your average back to where it was after a single new 1-star, you need:
| Your average | 5-star reviews to undo one 1-star |
|---|---|
| 4.2 | 4 |
| 4.5 | 7 |
| 4.6 | 9 |
| 4.7 | 13 |
| 4.8 | 19 |
| 4.9 | 39 |
At 4.8, that's 19happy customers to make up for one unhappy one. That's why stopping a 1-star before it's posted is worth far more than chasing extra 5-stars.
Where the effort pays off
- Reach unhappy customers first. The cheapest 1-star is the one that never gets written. Fix the problem while the customer still wants to hear from you.
- Ask every happy customer, every time.Steady, genuine requests right after a good job beat occasional pushes. Never offer anything in exchange for a review: it's against Google's policies.
- Reply to every review. Future customers read how you handle problems, and a good reply can turn a 3-star into a repeat customer.
- Watch for reviews that change or vanish. Edited ratings, removals and late releases all move your average. (More on that in why Google reviews disappear.)
Check your own numbers
Our free rating check looks your business up on Google and runs this math for you in seconds, with no sign-up.