Podium Pricing: Plans, Published Fees and What to Ask Sales

Podium pricing is quote-based. As of September 2026, Podium’s pricing page lists three plans, Core, Pro and Signature, and marks each one “Custom pricing”, with a prompt to talk to its sales team. The page does publish some fees and limits, such as a base 10DLC texting fee of $5 per month per location and per-user pricing for its Phones product, so you can work out part of the bill before you call.

This guide is research-based. Everything below comes from Podium’s own website, checked in September 2026. We haven’t bought a Podium plan, and prices change, so confirm the current figures on Podium’s pricing page and in your written quote before you sign.

Podium plans as of September 2026

Podium describes itself on its pricing page as a platform to attract and convert more leads, with communication, marketing, payment and review management tools in one place. It sells three tiers. None has a published monthly price.

Plan	Published price	How Podium describes it	Examples of what’s listed
Core	Custom pricing	Essential AI features to respond to and convert leads faster	Consolidated lead conversion platform, review management with AI responses, basic automations and reporting, mobile app, 200+ integrations, dedicated customer success manager, one-on-one onboarding
Pro	Custom pricing	Advanced AI and automations	Everything in Core plus AI Concierge, AI Reputation Specialist, AI phone call summaries, automatic lead routing, lead capture forms, hosted and text-based surveys, text marketing with images, lower payment processing fees
Signature	Custom pricing	A custom plan for complex operations	Everything in Pro plus AI Scheduler, AI Salesperson, AI Marketer, advanced multi-location management, discounts on phones and bulk messages, quarterly business reviews, custom billing and processing rates

Podium also offers an “AI Employee” that its pricing page says can be added to any plan. Its price isn’t published either.

Podium’s FAQ says the monthly cost “may vary depending on your specific business needs and operations”, and that its sales team builds a plan based on your industry, partnerships, integrations, volume and carrier fees. It also notes that HVAC businesses should contact sales for applicable pricing.

Fees and limits Podium does publish

Although plan prices are hidden, Podium’s pricing page includes a comparison table and FAQ with several concrete numbers. As of September 2026, these are the ones we could confirm.

Item	What Podium’s pricing page says
Base 10DLC texting fee	$5 per month per US location, covering 3 message segments per second and up to 2,000 T-Mobile messages per day per location
Phone seats (Podium Phones)	$30 per user per month for 1 to 4 users, $25 per user per month for 5 or more; discounts available on Signature
Phones setup	A $500 network optimization fee per location
Extra phone numbers	$5 per month for each additional number
Bulk message credits	250 credits a month on Core, 500 on Pro, custom on Signature; unused credits expire monthly
Automations	4,000 segments per location per month included, overages billed at Podium’s then-current rates
Voice AI	300 minutes per month included, then overage rates
AI messaging	1,500 segments per month included, then overage rates
Phones minutes	1,000 minutes per user per month, then overage rates
Contacts, team members, one-to-one texts	Listed as unlimited on all three plans

Podium calls these “Scope of Use” limits. If you go over them, its FAQ says overage rates may apply. If you hit your bulk message limit, you can’t send more bulk messages until the next month unless you upgrade through your customer success manager.

Contract terms aren’t on the pricing page, but Podium’s terms of service (version 6.3, effective June 17, 2025) set them out. Unless your subscription documents say otherwise, the initial term is 12 months and renews automatically, either side can stop renewal with written notice at least one month before the term ends, and fees are paid annually in advance and are non-refundable.

What we couldn’t confirm: the base monthly price of any plan, whether there’s a setup fee for the core platform, and whether Podium offers a free trial. None of these is stated on the pricing page, so ask for each in writing.

What drives the cost of Podium

Based only on what Podium states, these are the levers that move your bill:

• Plan tier. Core, Pro and Signature include different AI features, automations and discounts.
• Number of locations. Several fees, including the 10DLC fee, the automation allowance and the Phones network fee, are counted per location.
• Phone users. If you add Podium Phones, each calling user is a paid seat.
• Messaging volume. Bulk message credits, AI messaging segments and Voice AI minutes all have monthly allowances with overages.
• Add-ons. The AI Employee, Phones, an advanced reporting add-on and bulk message plans are sold on top.
• Industry, integrations and carrier fees. Podium’s FAQ names these as inputs to the quote.

The practical point: two businesses on the same plan can pay very different amounts. A single-location shop that mostly wants review invites by text will look nothing like a five-location dealer group running phones, payments and text marketing.

How to get a Podium quote, and what to ask

Podium’s pricing page sends you to a demo or a sales call, and its “get pricing” page asks you to pick your industry for a custom quote. Before the call, write down what you actually need. If you mainly want more Google reviews and faster replies, say so, so you aren’t quoted for phones, payments and marketing you won’t use.

Questions worth asking, and getting answered in writing:

1. What is the monthly price for each plan, for my number of locations?
2. Does my order form change the standard 12-month, auto-renewing term, and what happens if I cancel early?
3. Is there a setup or onboarding fee for the core platform?
4. Which of my needs push me from Core to Pro or Signature?
5. What are the current overage rates for automations, AI messaging, Voice AI and phone minutes?
6. What does the AI Employee add-on cost, and is it required for the features I was shown in the demo?
7. What are the payment processing rates on my plan, if I use Podium Payments?
8. Can I export my contacts, conversations and review data if I leave?

Also ask how review requests work. Google’s review policies prohibit review gating (asking only customers you expect to be happy), and the FTC has warned that selective solicitation can mislead consumers. Any tool you buy should let you invite every customer the same way. Our guide to choosing review management software has a longer checklist.

Podium pricing vs Birdeye pricing

Birdeye is a common point of comparison, and it’s also quote-based. As of September 2026, Birdeye’s pricing page asks for your number of locations (in bands from 1 to 3 up to 1,000 or more) and a phone number before it shows pricing, and says you “pay only for what you deploy at your locations.” Its terms auto-renew unless you give written notice at least 90 days before renewal, and add an 8% “Innovation Fee” at each auto-renewal. Our Birdeye pricing guide covers it in detail, and our Birdeye vs Podium comparison looks at features side by side. For the full picture of Podium beyond cost, see our Podium review.

Cheaper and free options

If Podium’s all-in-one approach is more than you need, there are lower-cost and free routes. Figures are as of September 2026, from each company’s own site; check current pricing before you buy.

Option	Published price	Best fit
Our free platform (123 Reputation Management)	Free	Watching what people see when they search your name, with alerts and monthly plain-English reports
Google Business Profile	Free, per Google	Replying to your Google reviews directly
NiceJob	Starter $75/month, Pro $125/month; no contracts; 14-day free trial	Small service businesses that want automated review requests by SMS and email
GatherUp	One location: $124/month billed monthly or $99/month billed annually; multi-location from $75 per location per month billed monthly ($60 annually); 14-day trial	Review requests, monitoring of 100+ sites and NPS surveys
Reputation	Rep Core from $80 per location per month	Multi-location brands that want reviews, listings and analytics

Our free platform is ours, so weigh that. It does four things: it tags every page-one result for your name as positive, neutral or negative; watches for new reviews and mentions and alerts you when one needs a reply; tracks every result as owned pages climb and old ones slip; and reports back every month in plain English. It does not send review requests by text or email, and it has no webchat, payments, phone system, listings sync or integrations. If those are what you’re paying Podium for, one of the paid tools above is the closer match.

Google Business Profile is free, and Google says you can respond to customer reviews from it. For a single location with modest volume, replying there and asking customers in person may be enough. Our guide on getting more Google reviews covers the manual method.

For more options, including monitoring and search-focused tools, see our Podium alternatives and our roundup of online reputation management tools. If you’d rather have someone run your reviews for you, our review management service starts with a free audit.

A worked example

Take a hypothetical three-location dental group (illustrative, not a real client). It wants review invites by text and a shared inbox, and it’s considering Podium Phones for six front-desk staff.

From Podium’s published figures alone, the add-on items would be: a 10DLC fee of $5 per location per month (three locations), six phone seats at $25 per user per month (the 5-or-more rate), and a one-time $500 network optimization fee per location for Phones. On top of that sits the plan price, which only a quote will reveal, plus any overages. The group should ask for the full total over the contract term before comparing it with alternatives.

Healthcare adds one more check: replies to reviews must never confirm that someone is a patient. Whatever tool you use, including AI-drafted replies, review each response with that rule in mind.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Podium cost per month?

Podium doesn’t publish plan prices. As of September 2026, its Core, Pro and Signature plans are all listed as “Custom pricing”. Its FAQ says the monthly cost depends on your industry, partnerships, integrations, volume and carrier fees. Some extras are published, such as a $5 per month per location 10DLC fee and phone seats from $25 to $30 per user per month.

Does Podium have a free trial?

We couldn’t find a free trial mentioned on Podium’s pricing page as of September 2026. It offers a demo and a sales call instead. Ask sales directly if a trial or pilot period is available.

Is Podium priced per location?

Partly. Several published fees are per location, including the 10DLC texting fee, the automation allowance and the Phones network optimization fee. The plan price itself is quoted, so ask whether it scales by location.

What is the cheapest alternative to Podium?

Google Business Profile is free for replying to Google reviews, and our free platform monitors your search results and reviews at no cost, though neither sends review requests. Among paid tools, NiceJob publishes plans from $75 a month as of September 2026.

Does Podium charge overage fees?

It can. Podium’s pricing page lists “Scope of Use” limits for automations, Voice AI, AI messaging and phone minutes, with overages billed at its then-current rates.