UpCity Shuts Down: What Agencies And Small Businesses Need To Know
For many marketing agencies, web design firms, and professional service providers, UpCity was one of the main places to showcase reviews, display badges, and gain visibility with small- and mid-sized-business buyers. That chapter has ended.
As of late November 2025, UpCity.com shows a simple message that reads, “This site is no longer supported. If you are looking for help finding software, please visit Capterra.“
Visitors are encouraged to go to Capterra instead, which strongly suggests that the UpCity brand and platform have been quietly shut down.
This article looks at what happened, why it matters, and what agencies and small businesses should do next.
A Short History Of UpCity
UpCity started as an online marketplace that connected small businesses with B2B service providers, including marketing agencies, IT firms, accountants, and other professional service providers. It grew into a directory focused on local search, helping companies find providers in their cities. At its peak, it listed tens of thousands of agencies and service companies.
For agencies, UpCity offered:
- A profile page with services, case studies, and a location
- Verified client reviews
- Visibility in category and city-level rankings
- Trust badges and the well-known UpCity Excellence Awards, which many agencies proudly displayed on their websites and proposals.
In 2022, Gartner acquired UpCity. Public filings show that Gartner completed the acquisition of UpCity, LLC in October 2022 for about $ 6.4 million, bringing the platform into the Gartner Digital Markets portfolio.
Over time, Gartner Digital Markets came to include Capterra, GetApp, Software Advice, and UpCity as a group of software and service discovery brands.
Even in 2024 and early 2025, companies were still announcing new UpCity awards and highlighting the value of being recognized by the platform, which shows how active and respected it remained right up until very recently.
What We Know About The Shutdown
There has been no widely distributed press release that explains precisely why UpCity shut down or what will happen to its historical data. However, several clear facts are visible from the outside.
The UpCity website is offline.
Going directly to UpCity.com now only displays the message that the site is no longer supported and directs visitors to Capterra.
Observers have linked the shutdown to Gartner Digital Markets’ consolidation.
A detailed blog post from Jeff Social Marketing notes that UpCity, Capterra, and other review or marketplace platforms all sit under the Gartner Digital Markets umbrella and suggests that the redirect to Capterra is likely part of an internal consolidation strategy. The article also points out that, at the time of writing, there was no public confirmation of whether agency listings or reviews would be moved.
UpCity was still being referenced as a Gartner Digital Markets brand in 2025
Several press releases from software vendors recognized by Gartner Digital Markets in 2024 and 2025 specifically mention UpCity alongside Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice as part of the broader platform.
That makes the sudden removal of the site and the brand even more surprising for long-time users.
At this point, there is no public documentation that guarantees what happens to the thousands of agency profiles and reviews that once lived on UpCity. Until Gartner provides clarity, agencies should assume their UpCity presence is no longer visible to buyers and that links to those profiles will no longer work as before.
Why Might UpCity Have Been Shut Down?
Because there is no formal explanation, any discussion of reasons is educated speculation, not a confirmed fact. However, looking at how Gartner Digital Markets operates gives some clues.
Brand consolidation around core marketplaces
Gartner Digital Markets has focused intensely on Capterra, GetApp, and Software Advice as its main software review destinations. UpCity was the outlier in that group because it was primarily focused on service providers such as agencies and consultants rather than pure software vendors. Consolidating traffic into Capterra may simplify Gartner’s product line and marketing story.
Overlapping audiences and internal efficiency
All four brands served buyers looking for solutions and vendors. Maintaining separate technology, marketing, and support for multiple brands can be expensive and complex. Internal analysis showed greater benefit in allocating resources to the higher-traffic brands while quietly retiring the smaller ones.
A shift from broad directories to more transactional platforms
Across the market, there has been a gradual shift from large, open directories to more curated or transactional models in which buyers submit a project and are matched with a shortlist of vendors. Other platforms in the agency space, such as Credo, Clutch, or newer directories, have leaned into that approach.
UpCity’s classic directory model may not have fit Gartner’s long-term plans.
Again, these are informed possibilities, not confirmed reasons. Until Gartner comments publicly, the exact business logic behind the shutdown remains an internal decision.
What The UpCity Shutdown Means For Agencies
If you were listed on UpCity, the shutdown touches several parts of your marketing:
Loss of a lead source
Many agencies received a steady trickle of inquiries from UpCity, along with occasional spikes after receiving an Excellence Award or being ranked highly in a category. With the site offline, that stream of leads has effectively disappeared.
Disappearance of social proof and awards
UpCity profiles usually displayed verified reviews, star ratings, and sometimes special badges for Excellence Awards or local rankings. Those pages no longer exist in a public, buyer-facing format, so you cannot rely on them as a live reference.
Broken or weakened backlinks
Agencies often link to their UpCity profiles from their websites and vice versa. With the UpCity domain now showing a simple message and no profile content, the previous SEO value is either reduced or gone, depending on how search engines handle the site’s new state.
Confusion for existing clients
Suppose your proposals or website still reference “Top UpCity Agency” awards or link to profile pages that no longer exist. In that case, new prospects may be confused or may see those references as outdated.
What Businesses Should Do Next
Here are practical steps for agencies and service providers that previously relied on UpCity.
1. Audit Your Website And Collateral
- Remove or update any links that point to your UpCity profile.
- If you mention UpCity awards or badges, rewrite that language to avoid sending people to a dead page. You might keep a sentence such as “Previously recognized by UpCity for excellence in digital marketing” without linking it, or you can shift the focus to awards from active platforms.
2. Strengthen Your Presence On Other Directories
Several other directories and review sites continue to drive real traffic for agencies and B2B service providers. Independent studies and guides frequently highlight platforms such as Clutch, G2, DesignRush, Google Partners, and others as strong sources of leads.
You can:
- Claim or complete your profiles on these platforms.
- Invite satisfied clients to leave detailed, keyword-rich reviews there.
- Add case studies, service descriptions, and niche specializations so you stand out in the right categories.
Think of this as an opportunity to rebalance your directory strategy and avoid relying on a single platform.
3. Double Down On Your Own Review Assets
Third-party directories are helpful, but they are still rented space. The UpCity shutdown is a reminder that any external platform can change or disappear without warning.
On your own site, you can:
- Build a rich testimonial page that includes text quotes, logos, and short video clips.
- Organize case studies by service and industry.
- Highlight client review scores from sources such as Google, Clutch, Yelp, or G2, with precise dates and context.
This way, even if a directory disappears, you still own a strong record of your work.
4. Use Google Business Profile As A Cornerstone
For many agencies, especially those targeting local clients, Google Business Profile is now the most critical review environment. Updating your profile, adding photos, posting updates, and consistently requesting reviews from happy clients can replace part of what you used UpCity for in the past.
5. Evaluate Whether Capterra Makes Sense For You
UpCity’s shutdown message sends visitors to Capterra, which is primarily a software marketplace.
- If you sell software or a software-based service, it may be worth exploring a presence on Capterra and its sister sites GetApp and Software Advice.
- Suppose you are a pure agency or service firm. In that case, Capterra may not be a direct replacement, so you may be better served focusing on agency-specific directories and your own review engine.
Lessons From The UpCity Shutdown
There are a few bigger takeaways from UpCity going offline.
Platform risk is real.
Even well-known platforms that are part of large groups like Gartner can be retired. If a meaningful part of your lead generation and social proof comes from a single directory, your pipeline is vulnerable to decisions you do not control.
Diversification matters
You do not need to be everywhere, but you should be visible in several high-quality places. Combining a few strong directories, a well-optimized website, an active Google Business Profile, and owned case studies gives you more resilience.
Awards and badges should support, not define, your brand
UpCity awards were valuable, and many agencies worked hard to earn them. The key lesson is to treat any award as an enhancer rather than the foundation of your credibility. Your long-term authority should come from consistent results, precise positioning, and client stories you own.
Monitoring changes is part of modern marketing.
Just as marketers track algorithm updates or new ad policies, it is wise to periodically review the status of directories, review sites, and third-party platforms where your brand appears. A quick quarterly check can help you catch changes like the UpCity shutdown early and respond before they affect your prospects.
Final Thoughts
UpCity’s shutdown marks the end of a platform that helped many agencies and small businesses get discovered, earn reviews, and demonstrate credibility. For now, the brand has effectively vanished from the public web, replaced by a simple message that points traffic to Capterra, and no clear migration path for former listings has been announced.
If your business depended on UpCity, treat this as a prompt to strengthen your overall review and directory strategy. Update your links, move your energy to other active platforms, and invest in assets that you fully control on your own site.
