Podium

Podium is a customer messaging platform for local businesses, with an AI Employee that handles texts and calls. Podium's own pricing page, read directly, shows no prices or plan names, saying plans are designed to fit your business needs and to talk to the sales team, with a sales phone number and a Get a Demo button. It says you can add AI Employee to any plan, with no price given, and mentions no free tier or trial. So treat it as contact sales. Third-party sources are specific: one reported Core at $399 a month and Pro at $599 on the pricing page as of October 5, 2026, with Signature custom, and says plans can vary by industry, partnerships, integrations, volume and carrier fees. Core is described as including 250 bulk credits, 5 phone numbers, a unified inbox, AI review responses and basic automations. Pro adds 500 bulk credits, 15 numbers, AI Concierge, AI call summaries and lead routing.

Sources conflict on locations, with Core covering one or two and Pro up to five, and on Signature, which is custom or $999-plus a month for six or more locations with AI Scheduler, AI Salesperson and AI Marketer. AI Employee pricing ranges from about $99 a month to $99 to $399 depending on configuration, or demo-only. All tiers reportedly require annual contracts, and total monthly spend for a single location is estimated at $450 to $800 once add-ons are included. One review mentions a 251st-message cliff, so ask about message caps and carrier fees before signing.

Podium suits local service businesses, retailers and dealerships that run customer communication over text. Compare Capacity, Helpshift and SoundHound. Browse the Speech & Transcription tools directory for more.

Customer texting and reviews

Unified inbox.

AI voice and text employee

AI Employee.

Podium pricing?

Talk to sales; third parties report $399-$599 plus add-ons.

Is the AI Employee extra?

Yes, an add-on to any plan.

Contract?

Annual, reportedly.

Free trial?

None stated.