# Podium

> Google review requests by text, plus a lead inbox for local businesses

Podium is a customer messaging and lead platform for local businesses such as car dealers, home services, med spas and retailers. Its review tools text customers a link to leave a Google or Facebook review and draft replies with AI, while the rest of the platform handles website chat, a shared text inbox, text marketing, phones and payments. Plans are sold through Podium's sales team.

- **Category:** Customer Review Tools
- **Made by:** Podium Corp Inc.
- **Website:** https://www.podium.com
- **Runs on:** Web, iOS, Android, Browser extension
- **Facts last checked:** Oct 18, 2026

## Pricing

Podium is a paid product, starting at $399 per month; billing basis not shown.

- **Pricing model:** Paid
- **Free plan:** None.
- **Free trial:** None listed.

| Plan | Price | What you get |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Core | $399 per month; billing basis not shown | Lead inbox, website chat, Google and Facebook review requests with AI replies, 250 bulk message credits and 5 numbers. Sold through sales. |
| Pro | $599 per month; billing basis not shown | Adds automatic AI review replies, review response templates, lead routing, text surveys and 500 bulk credits. Sold through sales. |
| Signature | Custom | Custom plan with AI scheduler, salesperson and marketer agents, multi-location tools and discounts on phones and bulk messages. |

Read from https://www.podium.com/pricing/ on Oct 18, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Podium before buying.

## Key features

- **Review requests by text:** Texts customers a link to review the business on Google, Facebook or industry review sites, with review reminder automations and a reviews leaderboard.
- **AI review replies:** Every plan drafts replies to Google and Facebook reviews with AI; Pro posts them automatically, which is an add-on on Core.
- **Lead inbox:** Texts, calls, website chat, contact forms, third-party leads and Facebook, Instagram and Google messages arrive in one inbox.
- **Text marketing and automations:** Bulk text campaigns with images, plus automations for payment reminders, appointments, referrals, birthdays and after-hours replies.
- **Phones:** Podium Phones adds calling from the same number as texts, call routing, phone menus, recordings and AI call summaries.
- **AI Employee:** An AI agent called Jerry, added to any plan, that sells, schedules and talks with customers day and night.

## Good for

- Car dealers, home services and med spas that work by text
- Local businesses that want more Google reviews from a text link
- Teams that want leads, reviews and payments in one inbox

## Worth knowing

- Plans are bought through sales; Podium says the final monthly cost depends on industry, integrations, volume and carrier fees.
- Bulk texts are capped at 250 credits a month on Core and 500 on Pro, and US locations pay a $5 monthly 10DLC carrier fee.
- Phone seats cost extra: $30 per user a month for 1 to 4 users, $25 for 5 or more.
- Automatic AI review replies, review response templates and surveys start at Pro.

## ToolGPA grades

**GPA: 2.0 out of 4**, graded Oct 18, 2026. Podium texts customers a link to leave a Google or Facebook review and drafts replies with AI, all inside a bigger inbox for texts, calls, web chat and payments. Its phone app is rated 4.74 from about 31,800 ratings. The catch is price: Core is $399 a month through sales, and Podium doesn't say how it's billed.

- **Value for money: D.** Core is $399 a month, and Podium doesn't show whether that's billed monthly or yearly; it says the final cost depends on industry, integrations, volume and carrier fees, plus $5 a month for 10DLC. Set against its listed rivals, that's the dear end, though it buys a lead inbox and texting too.
- **Free plan and trial: F.** No free plan and no trial on record. Plans are bought through Podium's sales team, so there's no way in without a call.
- **Features: C.** Text review requests to Google, Facebook and industry sites, reminders, a leaderboard and AI drafted replies, which post on their own from Pro. That's the basics: no website review widgets or wider review monitoring are on record, and most of the money goes on the inbox, texting and phones.
- **Ease of use: A.** 4.74 from about 31,800 App Store ratings, the best score in this category by far. Sending a review link by text is about as simple as asking gets.
- **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web, iPhone, Android and a browser extension, with Google, Facebook and Instagram. That's a short list of connections, and there's no desktop app, which keeps it off an A.

These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Podium's own pages on 18 October 2026, and its App Store rating. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.

## Where it stands among customer review tools

- Podium's GPA of 2.0 is higher than 2 of the 14 other customer review tools we grade, and level with 2.
- It stands best on ease of use (A, above 14 of 14) and worst on free plan and trial (F, above 0).
- Its paid plans start at $399 a month, against a middle price of $39.50 for the category: 13 of the 13 others that charge start lower.
- On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.0 out of 4, and no tool on the category's chart scores higher without costing more.

The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/reviews

## Keep it, or make your own?

**Keep it.** To replace Podium you would be making texts to thousands of numbers, registered with the carriers. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 10 of the 14 other customer review tools grade higher. It costs $4,788 a year.

- You could make: Review collection: an app builder makes this well.
- You could not: Texts to thousands of numbers, registered with the carriers.
- You could not: Phone numbers and calls carried over the phone network.
- You could not: An AI agent, with the models and the safeguards behind it.
- You could not: Texts from a business number, registered with the carriers.
- You could not: A chat box on your site that reaches you the moment a customer types.
- You could not: A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.

A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it.

## What people say

- **App Store rating of the iPhone and iPad app:** 4.7 out of 5 from 31,793 ratings in the United States, read Oct 18, 2026. This is the store's rating of the app, not a score from ToolGPA. Source: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/id971412288

## Works with

Google, Facebook, Instagram

**Tags:** Review collection, Business texting, SMS marketing, Live chat, Business phone line, AI agents

## Alternatives

- [Birdeye](https://toolgpa.com/tools/birdeye): Review management and AI agents for multi-location local businesses. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/birdeye-vs-podium)
- [NiceJob](https://toolgpa.com/tools/nicejob): Review requests and referrals for local service businesses. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/nicejob-vs-podium)
- [Broadly](https://toolgpa.com/tools/broadly): Google reviews, AI receptionist and listings for local service firms. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/broadly-vs-podium)
- [GatherUp](https://toolgpa.com/tools/gatherup): Review requests, NPS surveys and review monitoring per location. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/gatherup-vs-podium)
- [Grade.us](https://toolgpa.com/tools/grade-us): White-label review management for agencies and local businesses. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/grade-us-vs-podium)

## Sources

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 18, 2026:

- https://www.podium.com/pricing/

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/podium
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).