--- title: "Podium Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra" description: "Is Podium the right Conversational AI Platform solution for you? Explore 526 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/164285/Podium/reviews/" page_type: "reviews" language: "en" --- Podium 4.2 (526) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/164285/Podium/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated September 11th, 2026 # Reviews of Podium Ease of use 4.3 Customer Service 4.0 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews LK Larry K IT ManagerConstruction, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “Podium offers a streamlined platform that allows you to manage your customer and call center interactions seamlessly.“ July 23, 2026 IS Ilayda S Marketing DirectorApparel & Fashion, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “It’s obviously designed with service businesses in mind, so some features that are common in retail, like inventory integration or product-oriented messaging aren’t exactly on point.“ April 23, 2025 JA Jhovanny A Receptionist- New Client LiaisonLaw Practice, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “What i liked most about Podium was the all in one communication found in the application. Whether it was direct messages, attachment requirements, easily accessible and editable contact information and automatic formulas for messaging: all was found in Podium.“ December 21, 2025 JL Jessica L Dispatcher, Project manager, Purchasing managerConstruction, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “The typed transcripts are not always accurate.“ February 18, 2026 IS Ilayda S Marketing DirectorApparel & Fashion, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “I love that I can respond to customer inquiries via SMS quickly, while not switching between platforms including sending reviews requests directly after making a sale while the luster of excitement is still there.“ April 23, 2025 CW Casey W Office ManagerMedia Production, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “The anayltics dashboard is not very deep and there are times where i didnt receive alerts.“ September 23, 2024 CJ Céline J Social Media ManagerConsumer Services, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “It works well with our setup — we can send payment links and bulk SMS to clients quickly and securely.“ August 12, 2025 JO Jim O CEOHospitality, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “Customer service was the deal-breaker.“ July 16, 2026 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 526 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Kevin C. VP of Marketing Real Estate Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Love it but don't always love paying for it!" November 10, 2020 5.0 Overall, it's really good. I'm a big fan of feeling valued as a customer, and I don't feel valued, I feel like a number. I rarely get check-ins from the company. On top of that, I think the ability to get reviews could be a little better. Our customers just don't really react when we ask them for the review. They are always willing, but then seem to have some difficulty completing the process. Pros The ease of use is great, I love taking the conversation from the website to texting, and it's great for that. It also makes it pretty easy to request reviews, and so that is great. Cons It feels really expensive to me. At this point I might be able to get similar functionality for significantly less money, but nonetheless, because we've made the investment in it and trained our team on it, I selfishly don't want to have to deplore another program and do another batch of training. Alternatives considered [Birdeye](https://www.capterra.com/p/152997/BirdEye/) Reason for choosing Podium It had the components of Intercom I liked, but also gave us the ability to hopefully simply get reviews. I also liked that the conversation moves from the web to the phone. Review Source JB Jessica B. Marketing Manager Furniture Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great app, not great customer service" December 5, 2024 4.0 Great. As previously stated it is easy to use to great to have all the conversations in their own categories Pros How easy everything is to use. Getting client information as well as responding to their inquiries is a breeze Cons Not being able to contact a person with issues. Their website does not have a contact me phone number Alternatives considered [Birdeye](https://www.capterra.com/p/152997/BirdEye/) Reason for choosing Podium gave us an initial discount and because of this they were the best priced at the time. Review Source JS Julie S. Owner Hospital & Health Care Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Better options are available" January 2, 2025 3.0 We used Podium as a start-up company, but as we grew, we found that it did not have enough features to meet our needs Pros It was the most cost-effective option at the time we purchased Cons Did not like the features, felt like customer service was lacking Alternatives considered [Lighthouse 360](https://www.capterra.com/p/141843/Lighthouse-360/) Reason for choosing Podium It was the most cost-effective option at the time and was recommend by a colleague Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Director of Institutional Sales Retail Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Podium--Reliable and Easy to Use" October 19, 2022 5.0 As explained, I have been a Podium customer for quite a while. My company actually dropped Podium for a hot minute and used a program called Swell. The employees and I complained so much about the glitch issues of Swell that our company returned to Podium. That's not to say Podium is "glitch-free," but it far outways the issues we had with Swell. I will note that something has changed with Podium's customer service. When I first began using Podium, the customer service chats almost felt like you were talking to a friendly developer, eager to help. Now the customer service help feels like I'm chatting with overworked, underpaid, and uninterested grumpy teenagers. Pros Podium is incredibly user-friendly. Our store has a wide range of computer knowledge--from advanced to those who struggle to find the back button. Podium has been a good fit for all levels. Cons I'm not a fan of pulling the photos from my photo album or seeing that the pictures I take through the app are stored in my phone's photo album. I take many photos of products for customers and am very busy, so I often forget that they are there. I've used Podium for so long that when I look back at my years of personal photos I still find a picture of some random product that I forgot to delete. Switched from [Swell](https://www.capterra.com/p/196277/A-more-creative-way-sell-and-ship-your-products-more-efficiently/) Swell may have been less expensive, but the glitchiness of the product became too frustrating. Everything from conversations not loading to pictures posting several times in a row. Eventually, the "powers that be" heard the employees' moans and moved us back to Podium. Review Source Jennie Z. Marketing Manager Internet Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Interesting mesh of a review and communication service" July 21, 2021 4.0 Originally, I was looking for a reputation management service, but turns out, that's our least used feature for Podium. Instead, we've really been using Podium as a communication tool for our loan officers and new leads. I like that everything is done through SMS and allows our LOs to call the lead right away. Our business is closed mainly through phone, so Podium works well for us. However, I don't recommend for all industries. Pros \-Chats with customers are through texts -Different sales agents can answer, and there is no limit to how many sales agents are allowed on 1 account Cons \-Does not integrate to our CRM tool (Hubspot) -Not really using the review portion of Podium -No automatic chatbot integration Alternatives considered [GetMoreReviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/168691/GetMoreReviews/)[Trustpilot](https://www.capterra.com/p/169618/Trustpilot/) Reason for choosing Podium Podium had an interesting SMS chat feature that I wanted to try. Review Source Julie Anna E. Marketing Manager Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Very Difficult to Get Any Support or Help" March 26, 2024 2.0 If you like help, talking to a real human, and to get what you actually pay for- I would avoid. I personally don't like this platform and would like to switch to Birdeye or something else. Pros It's good for getting customer reviews (sometimes) and has lots of features Cons They throw you to the wolves. You have to get everything figured out yourself. Communication is a huge issue. We had a manager leave at our company and they continued sending emails to her email address for a year and a half! Despite me contacting support and calling in, saying I am the main point of contact. They were sending emails to a non existent inbox. Half of the things we were paying for did not work. Things weren't set up, and nobody told us, or how to do it. Today I got a 16 step instructions document from a rep, with no help. Sometimes it takes a week to hear back from anyone. Alternatives considered [Swell](https://www.capterra.com/p/196277/A-more-creative-way-sell-and-ship-your-products-more-efficiently/)[Chekkit](https://www.capterra.com/p/173154/Chekkit-Reputation/)[Birdeye](https://www.capterra.com/p/152997/BirdEye/)[Trustpilot](https://www.capterra.com/p/169618/Trustpilot/) Reason for choosing Podium It was already set up when I started this position and job Review Source Gregg T. Marketing Construction Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Podium Rocks & The Product Works " March 23, 2021 5.0 They are amazing and I am looking forward to see where the product will go in the future. Pros It is easy to use, easy to train people, and it works to get customer reviews in the right place on the internet. Google reviews are king and the Podium works great with Google Reviews. Cons The customer support could be better and more knowledgeable. The company is growing fast and they have a lot of new people who do not know the product. Alternatives considered [Broadly](https://www.capterra.com/p/161326/Broadly-Reviews/)[Birdeye](https://www.capterra.com/p/152997/BirdEye/) Reason for choosing Podium They are the best and most reliable. Also, they have the tightest partnership and integration with Google. Review Source JS Jerry S. Owner Construction Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "They took our money and disappeared. " May 26, 2020 1.0 they took our money. Pros They were very responsive up until they got payment. I cannot get a response, cannot login to the software, can't even see any kind of portal. Just a receipt for over $500, and the next one will be coming soon. I have left message after message, left voicemail, nothing. Do not send them your money. Cons No response from the company, they just charged our card, software does not allow login, screen just spins. Switched from [Broadly](https://www.capterra.com/p/161326/Broadly-Reviews/) Podium supposedly integrates with our new dispatch software. Review Source AM Alondra M. Insurance Agent Insurance Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Podium use for office ;Made easy" July 28, 2025 5.0 Overall having this one number linked to all of our locations makes it easy for any one here to search a client and look at previous conversations , being able to pick up where the last employee left off also helpful to verify staff conversations with needed documents to match our Hawksoft notes and uploads. Pros At our Agency we all have access to Podium letting us send messages to clients /saving their contact info and allowing us to communicate with them efficiently when we are unable to get a hold of them over a phone call or Via email. We all have access to see customer reviews and see any incoming information regarding the agency I work for. Cons I have yet to come across something I dislike using Podium. I have worked in this industry for years and have never until now found something that helps all staff members be able to have access to all text messages being sent in and out with clients. Review Source IS Ilayda S. Marketing Director Apparel & Fashion Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Professional customer messaging that feels personal." April 23, 2025 5.0 Within a matter of weeks of implementing Podium, we had doubled the amount of Google reviews for our store! That also added more visibility for our brand, especially locally. It also allowed us to make up some missed sales by answering questions about fit or availability quickly over text, something email just doesn’t do. Pros Podium assisted us in being able to touch base with shoppers; very much on a personal level, particularly for reviews and text messaging. I love that I can respond to customer inquiries via SMS quickly, while not switching between platforms including sending reviews requests directly after making a sale while the luster of excitement is still there. Cons It’s obviously designed with service businesses in mind, so some features that are common in retail, like inventory integration or product-oriented messaging aren’t exactly on point. We had to work around that a little bit to shape it to our flow. Review Source MH Michaela H. Marketing Manager Automotive Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Good product, shady development" December 6, 2023 4.0 They do offer a great product, but due to their shady sales tactics, we chose to discontinue our partnership with them. Since discontinuing, they have continued to contact me and pitch me regularly despite our lack of interest. Pros They offer a good product, and have a lot of services that are beneficial to a dealership. Cons Their sales team is relentless and a little on the shady side. They call both my work phone and my cell phone constantly, and have even gone so far as to spoof a local area code to get me to answer my personal cell phone to pitch me on more products we don't want/need. Switched from [SureCritic Reviews](https://www.capterra.com/p/124445/SureCritic-Reviews/) It was a more modern and up to date company with advancements in their program. Review Source ZD Zach D. director Sports Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Awesome service for schools!" April 10, 2025 4.0 It has been a really positive experience. Our customer service and communication has improved drastically. Pros We are able to send bulk messages as well as easily communicate with members of our school. Cons The interface can be a little overwhelming at times. Review Source ML Michael L. President and Physician Medical Practice Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Functional platform when it works, but customer service is very poor." September 2, 2023 3.0 It was good until I stumbled upon problems on their end, and they do not respond to these problems in a timely fashion. I hope they iron out their problems so I don't ever have to speak to anyone at Podium Customer Service. They very rarely respond in a timely fashion. Pros I like the ability to integrate my business landline number with SMS capability. It's easy to send text review links to customers. Cons Customer service is horrific. Let me repeat--horrific! I rarely leave reviews but the inconveniences afford to me deserve a stern warning to others considering this platform. I am fairly tech savvy and a good problem solver. However, problems, server disconnects, software glitches occur from time-to-time, and customer service contacts cannot be reached, are unreliable, and human customer service is lacking! Review Source KK Kat K. Owner Medical Practice Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "This company is a scam! " March 17, 2023 1.0 Absolutely the worst experience I’ve ever done with any company in my 15 years of business. Pros There’s absolutely no produce company. Other than the fact that they’re very good liars. They con you into signing up under false pretenses. They have zero communication. The only reason they have good reviews is because you can’t write -ones on any other social media accounts and I’d like to know where the reading five star reviews on Google when there’s no Google review to be found. Cons Yes, they are absolutely a con! They lied and misrepresented their business and strategies to me overcharged me. I had to dispute with my credit card company through several months, and now I’m being harassed by them for an outstanding bill of a month and a half of service that I never received. I’ve requested to speak to people and above positions with no luck and now I’m gonna have to have my attorney get involved. Do not do any business with this company. Reason for choosing Podium I consider moving to this company to lower my rate on my text Marketing only to discover that I was paying less with my current company. Was told that I wasn’t going to have to pay anything or start anything until I receive a kick off call which was in forged and then instead of being charge $350 like I was told they were building me over $900 a month. I tried to cancel several times from the very beginning of receiving emails confirming that I had signed up when I had never agreed to move forward with this company or its over priced strategies. Funny enough I was contacted .I tried to cancel several times from the very beginning of receiving emails confirming that I had signed up when I had never agreed to move forward with this company or its over priced strategies. Funny enough, I was contacted by a different sales person, and offered an unlimited amount of text Marketing for the same dollar amount, what a joke of a company! Be ware! Review Source RK Ruslan K. CFO Construction Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Pointless application with non-customer-friendly service" May 18, 2022 1.0 Pros Good Sales Team and that's all. Don't trust them Cons I signed the contract, having listened to the beautiful promises of the sellers that everything would work perfectly and make it easier for me to communicate with clients. As a result, you can only interact with clients within this platform, you will never receive a notification that the client is waiting or the client has sent you a message. Only within the platform. If you missed the message - that's your problem. Given that my call center is still accepting messages from customers via phone, email, and Yelp, keeping another platform open is extremely inconvenient. As a result - a bunch of missed messages and dissatisfied customers. I was promised free text messages included in the price. As a result, I have to pay more than $1000 for mailings. When I tried to stop the service, the manager informed me that I had a contract for a year and I was obliged to pay for this year, even if the service did not perform its functions and promises. Review Source RH Robert H. Owner Sporting Goods Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Anti Gun Business" September 27, 2023 1.0 Never gives you the same rep, they constantly change people you talk to, customer service never follows up on anything, and they change their policies even though you have been paying for their services. Pros The program worked great and did it's job as advertised Cons This company is anti-gun. They suddenly changed this policy after 2 years of use and now we have to find another company to offer these service. They gave us 1 week to get off their platform with no notice of the change in their policy, or retro active support since we have been using their product for years.Would not recommend a company that will just kick you off with the level of integration this company has with your systems. Reason for choosing Podium Big mistake will only user OtterText now Review Source SW Sean W. Vice President Retail Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Inadequate software support to what was proposed" August 23, 2024 1.0 The multiple challenges with getting this service on line, and the expectation to pay for the full year payment without the service being full filled in our contract. They did provide one less month payment , but that was not even close to many months with no proper service. We would have stayed through this trouble if they would have off set the many months of no full support, but they seem concerned with getting one more payment for us> I will keep reviewing and posting until I see podium doing a deep dive and understand from our point of view Pros The data analysis is easy to use and operate Cons Continuous IT tickets that had months with inadequate service. The lack of communication when the system was not working properly but yet still taking our payments. I have multiple documents and IT tickets to support our challenges. This year cost with not the ability to get Google reviews made the experience a failure Review Source Response from Podium August 28, 2024 Hi Sean, I'm sorry to hear about your experience. My name is Whitney and I'm digging into your account. Would you be able to send an email to support@podium.com so I can assist you more quickly? I will watch for your email. LV Leah V. Admin Assistant Hospital & Health Care Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "We were pleased with Podium" June 5, 2022 4.0 We were pleased with the Podium texting feature that patients could communicate in this form and begin a chat from our website or on their own. This was the first time we implemented this feature to our office. Rarely did we need support from Podium but the customer care was great! Pros Being able to offer texting as an office feature for the first time was beneficial to our practice. Having a mobile app or being able to use it on the computer during office hours was beneficial. Cons We wishes Podium offered more features during our time. However, podium opened the door to us for texting and became a huge impact in our office for the 1-2 years we had it. Review Source RR Robbie R. Marketing Automotive Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Medicore product, over promised and under delivered" September 21, 2022 2.0 Terrible customer service and sales team. Pros Not much, the automation was nice, that was about it. Cons The constant phone calls from different sales specialists that are trying to sell you services. BRUTAL for anyone who employs podium. Review Source CW Casey W. Office Manager Media Production Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Enhances Customer Engagement" September 23, 2024 5.0 overall positive eperience, it's obvious their team genuinely wants to help businesses thrive. Pros User friendly platform, easy to navigate, easy to connect with dcustomers and manage communications. The messaging function allows for real-time conversations that are personal and direct Cons The anayltics dashboard is not very deep and there are times where i didnt receive alerts. Review Source KC Katie C. Director of Operations Construction Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Podium" August 9, 2023 5.0 Pros We used it daily to send out links to make leaving a review easier for our customers. Cons Not being able to pin point exactly where the issues were coming from. Review Source MC Mikey C. VP Marketing Apparel & Fashion Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Loved in the beginning" April 27, 2023 3.0 In the beginning it was awesome then the support became lacking Pros Loved their software and initially their support was amazing, we saw this as worthy of the price tag. Cons Eventually support dropped off and no longer saw the value in the pricing Review Source AM Atendi M. IT Manager Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "My Expereince With Podium" February 12, 2024 5.0 Pros It comes wit SMS marketing and mass messaging capabilities It supports live chat and makes meeting customer satisfaction easy It makes handling customer experience easy Cons Podium has really helped and no issues yet. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Director Financial Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Excellent customer management software" November 8, 2021 5.0 Implementation experience was excellent Support team is great Deployment took weeks Reports and charts coming out of customer interactions is useful for review meetings Pros Many things to like about podium - Fills the gap between sending out blanked newsletters and cold calling customers - turns genuine review, conversations into real customers - Provides sms followup, mobile notifications, web chats, video chats - Team chats and collaboration feature - Deployment is easy Cons Would have benefited from a free trial plan for small businesses to try before they buy. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Web Content Manager Furniture Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "A user-to-customer messaging platform for reviews that's hooked in with Google" April 1, 2018 4.0 None Pros Direct Google integration is definitely the biggest pro here. They also are focused on having staff message customers directly for reviews one-on-one. It won't work for everyone, just depends on the business model. Cons Very limited functionality and visibility into your account. Right now, it's basically just a review solicitation platform via messaging and email. It's efficient at getting star ratings and reviews, but that's about it. If you're looking for surveys, look elsewhere. Also, when I was a customer, they didn't even have NPS Score. That's pretty basic. Reporting is very limited and it's hard to get an overview of your total account, only individual locations. Customization is little to none for both the dashboard and the actual campaigns. Oh, and it's crazy expensive. You're basically paying for the direct Google integration. Which is super nice and important, but still. I also had a very negative experience that was unique to me. I had very specific contract conditions that were not met and it was a very difficult and painful process to get rectified. I felt very misled by the company and lost any trust I had in them. It was very disappointing. Review Source Similar Products Featured ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox.