Podium’s pricing page lists Core at $399 a month and Pro at $599, with Signature priced by quote. On top of that come a $5 monthly 10DLC fee per US location, $5 for each extra phone number, phone seats at $30 a user if you use Podium’s phone system, and the AI Employee, an add-on whose price Podium doesn’t publish. For a single location using phones and the AI Employee, that puts the monthly bill somewhere around $560 to $860 before payment processing, plus a $500 per-location network fee if you use Podium’s phones.
Podium’s pricing page is hidden from search engines, which is why many results still say Podium doesn’t publish prices. It does, for Core and Pro.
We make a competing product, so weigh this accordingly. Podium’s own figures link to its pricing page, checked October 2026. Where it doesn’t publish a number, we say so and cite a dated third-party source.
What do Podium’s plans cost?
From Podium’s pricing page, October 2026:
| Plan | Price | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Core | $399/mo | Inbox for leads, review management with AI responses, basic automations and reporting, mobile app, 200+ integrations, a customer success manager |
| Pro | $599/mo | Everything in Core, plus AI Concierge, AI Reputation Specialist, AI phone call summaries, lead routing, forms, surveys, text marketing with images, and lower payment processing fees |
| Signature | Custom | Everything in Pro, plus AI Scheduler, AI Salesperson and AI Marketer, multi-location management, and discounts on phones and bulk messages |
Prices are in US dollars per month; a currency toggle shows Canadian prices of $459 and $689. Core includes 5 phone numbers and 250 bulk-message credits a month, Pro 15 numbers and 500 credits, and credits don’t roll over. Two catches are on the page itself:
- HVAC businesses are told to contact sales for their pricing, on every plan. If you run an HVAC company, the listed prices may not be yours.
- The plans have usage limits. Podium’s “Scope of Use” terms include 4,000 automation text segments per location a month, 300 Voice AI minutes and 1,500 AI messaging segments, with overages “billed at Podium’s then-current rates.” The rates themselves aren’t listed. Each phone seat includes 1,000 minutes a month.
Contract length isn’t on the pricing page. ContractorToolStack’s review (verified September 2026) reports annual contracts with auto-renewal, so ask before you sign.
Which fees sit outside the plan price?
All from Podium’s pricing page unless noted:
- 10DLC fee: $5 a month for every US location, for the carrier registration business texting needs.
- Extra phone numbers: $5 a month each beyond the 5 (Core) or 15 (Pro) included.
- Core extras: several review and messaging features (review response templates, review notes, bulk actions, high-volume carrier-verified messaging) are $15 a month each on Core and included on Pro.
- Phone seats: $30 per user a month for 1–4 users, $25 for 5 or more, if you use Podium’s phone system, plus a $500 network optimization fee per location.
- Payment processing: Podium lists rates from 2.15% + 15¢ on Pro and Signature (2.2% + 15¢ on Core) up to 2.9% + 30¢ for most card types, plus a 6% + 30¢ rate and some percentage-only rates for other payment types. The table doesn’t clearly say which rate is which, so ask which apply to you.
- AI Employee: “Add on AI Employee to any plan,” with no price shown. CheckThat.ai’s pricing analysis (April 2026) puts it at $99 to $399 a month depending on scale. ContractorToolStack (September 2026) reports that, for home services, Podium’s comparison page says AI call answering is included in the base price, so get the AI line confirmed in writing. We reviewed what it does in our Podium AI Employee review.
Hear the receptionist take a real call — it rings your phone in about a minute.
What does a real Podium bill look like?
Take one location, two people answering phones, Core, and the AI Employee:
| Item | Monthly |
|---|---|
| Core | $399 |
| 10DLC fee | $5 |
| 2 phone seats | $60 |
| AI Employee (reported range; may be included) | $99–$399 |
| Total before processing | $563–$863 |
The first month adds the $500 network optimization fee (one-time, per ContractorToolStack) if you use Podium’s phones. Payment processing comes on top if you take payments through Podium, and so do overages if you go past the usage limits. On Pro, swap $399 for $599 and the AI Concierge and AI call summaries are included.
Skip Podium’s phones and the AI Employee and Core is $404 a month with the 10DLC fee.
How to get the real number on the sales call
The pricing page gives you the plan price; the quote decides the rest. On the call:
- Give your volumes up front. Locations, phone users, monthly texts and calls, and whether you take payments.
- Ask for the all-in monthly figure in writing: plan, AI Employee, phone seats, numbers, 10DLC and the $500 network optimization fee.
- Ask for the overage rates for automation texts, Voice AI minutes and AI messaging, since the page doesn’t list them.
- Ask about the term and renewal. Get the contract length, the auto-renewal notice period and any renewal price change in writing.
- Ask what you can export if you leave: contacts, conversations and review history.
Is Podium worth it?
Worth it if your customers want to deal with you by text and webchat, reviews drive your growth, and your team will live in the inbox every day. Podium’s review tools and shared inbox are mature, and Signature adds multi-location management with discounts on phones and bulk messages.
Not worth it if most of your leads phone you and you mainly need those calls answered, since Podium’s answering comes through phone seats and the AI Employee on top of a $399 plan, or you’re a single location for whom $560 or more a month is a big share of the marketing budget.
A flat-priced alternative
Stack Space is a CRM with an AI receptionist built in, so it starts where many service businesses leak leads: the phone. The receptionist answers 24/7 within your plan’s minutes, books onto your calendar and sends you a summary of each call. Review requests, the inbox, estimates and invoicing come with it, and Stax, the AI brain, runs the AI employees (two of them need Starter or above).
Prices are published and the same for everyone: $30 (Launch), $125 (Starter), $355 (Professional) or $800 (Agency) a month, or pay annually and get two months free. There’s no free trial and no contract; you cancel yourself. A phone number for the receptionist comes with every plan. Everyday texts (reminders, invoices, replies and missed-call text-back) go out from our registered number with your business name, or from a text number of your own for $15 a month. Marketing texts, and texting from a number you bring yourself, wait on your carrier registration (A2P 10DLC). Extra receptionist minutes come in packs from 100 minutes for $24; texts are a fixed monthly allowance (150 on Launch, 800 on Starter).
Where Podium is stronger: its review tooling and multi-location inbox are more mature, it runs SMS marketing today, and it has a long track record. If text-and-reviews at several locations is your exact problem, Podium is a reasonable buy. If the phone is where you lose jobs, hear our receptionist answer a call on the AI receptionist page first. Comparing the two in full? See Podium alternative.
FAQ
How much does Podium cost per month? Podium’s pricing page lists Core at $399 a month and Pro at $599 a month (October 2026), with Signature priced by quote. Add $5 a month per US location for 10DLC, and phone seats, extra numbers and the AI Employee if you use them.
Does Podium publish its pricing? Yes, for Core and Pro. Signature is custom, the AI Employee add-on has no listed price, and HVAC businesses are told to contact sales.
Does Podium have hidden fees? They’re listed, but outside the plan price: the 10DLC fee ($5/mo per US location), extra numbers ($5/mo each), phone seats ($25–$30 per user a month), a $500 network optimization fee per location for phones, payment processing, and overages past the usage limits.
How much is Podium’s AI Employee? Podium doesn’t publish it. CheckThat.ai’s April 2026 analysis puts it at $99 to $399 a month depending on scale. Ask for it in writing.
What’s a cheaper alternative to Podium? Stack Space includes review requests, an inbox and an AI receptionist that answers your calls, at published flat prices from $30 a month. Podium is stronger on SMS marketing and multi-location review management. Full comparison: Podium alternative.