Birdeye vs Podium

by Gralio Feb 10, 2025

Birdeye and Podium both cater to local businesses but with different strengths. Birdeye focuses on a holistic online presence management, while Podium prioritizes direct customer interaction via messaging. Choose Birdeye for robust review management and social media engagement, and Podium for streamlined communication and a focus on converting leads through messaging.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 4792 reviews and 60 websites, saving 1 day, 3 hours, 7 minutes of reading.

Birdeye

Website LinkedIn Twitter

Podium

Website LinkedIn Twitter

About

Birdeye is an all-in-one experience marketing platform designed for multi-location businesses and local brands. It helps businesses manage their online presence, improve their reputation, and connect with customers through various channels like reviews, social media, and messaging. Birdeye uses AI to streamline tasks like generating social media posts, managing online listings, and analyzing customer feedback. Its goal is to help businesses enhance customer experience, build loyalty, and stand out in their local markets.

Podium is a communication and marketing platform designed for local businesses. It helps you manage online reviews, send marketing messages, and chat with customers through text, webchat, and social media - all from one inbox. Podium's AI tools can help automate tasks, like responding to common questions and scheduling appointments. The platform focuses on helping businesses convert leads into customers and aims to make customer interactions easier and more efficient.

Summary

Main difference

Birdeye is a comprehensive experience marketing platform best suited for multi-location businesses needing robust review management and social media engagement. Podium excels in streamlined customer communication and interaction, making it ideal for businesses prioritizing text messaging and webchat.

Relative strengths of Birdeye (compared to Podium)

Stronger review generation and management across various platforms, including Google, Facebook, and SMS.
More comprehensive social media management features, including automated posting and analytics.
Better integration with Google for businesses heavily reliant on Google services.

Relative weaknesses of Birdeye (compared to Podium)

Less emphasis on two-way text messaging compared to Podium.
Customer support responsiveness can be inconsistent.
Pricing can be complex and less transparent than Podium.

What companies are using Birdeye and Podium?

Mecca Property Management

Foundation Partners Group

Indiana Members Credit Union

D4C Dental Brands

Sun Auto Tire & Service

VanDyk Mortgage Corporation

Pacifica Senior Living

Fairlawn Real Estate

Black Bear Diner

The Fireman Hospitality Group

CF Search Marketing

Quick Care Med

Firstmark Credit Union

Cunningham Restaurant Group

No data

Who should use Birdeye VS. Podium

Birdeye is an all-in-one experience marketing platform for multi-location businesses and local brands. Users love the AI-powered review response feature and the centralized review management. However, some users have reported issues with Yelp review integration and occasional slow website performance. Birdeye streamlines tasks like social media posting and online listing management to enhance customer experience and build loyalty.

Podium is a user-friendly platform ideal for local businesses looking to streamline communication and boost their online presence. It excels at simplifying text messaging, online review management, and customer interactions. Users praise the ease of use and texting features, but some have reported issues with customer support and billing. Podium is a valuable tool for businesses seeking to enhance customer engagement and generate more reviews.

Best fit for small, medium, and enterprise businesses.
Ideal for businesses in Automotive, Consumer Goods, Finance, Healthcare, Hospitality, Legal, Manufacturing, Marketing, Media & Entertainment, Professional Services, Real Estate, Retail, Software, and Transportation & Logistics.

Best fit for small to medium-sized businesses.
Ideal for automotive, retail, and home services.

Birdeye and Podium features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

AI Employee

Not supported

Birdeye does not offer an AI employee feature.

Supported

Podium offers AI Employee for lead generation, sales, scheduling and marketing.
AI Reputation Management

Supported

Birdeye offers AI-powered review replies, improves SEO with Google reviews, and enhances social presence with Facebook reviews.

Supported

Podium offers AI-powered replies to reviews across platforms, improving SEO via Google reviews, and enhancing social presence with Facebook reviews.
AI Scheduling

Not supported

Birdeye offers appointment scheduling but without AI-powered features or call summaries.

Partially supported

Podium offers AI-powered scheduling but AI-generated call summaries are not confirmed.
Review responding

Supported

Birdeye allows responding to reviews directly with templates and custom replies.

Supported

Podium supports responding to customer reviews directly from the platform.
Review generation

Supported

Birdeye supports automated review generation across multiple platforms.

Supported

Podium offers automated review requests via text and email.
Google integration

Supported

Birdeye supports collecting and managing Google reviews.

Supported

Podium supports collecting Google reviews and provides guidance on embedding them on websites.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

-0.35

Rather negative sentiment

-0.47

Rather negative sentiment
Customer Service

+0.73

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.21

Neutral sentiment
Ease of Use

+0.87

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.94

Strongly positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

+0.33

Rather positive sentiment

+0.33

Rather positive sentiment
Ease of Implementation

+0.25

Neutral sentiment

+0.47

Rather positive sentiment
Scalability

+0.47

Rather positive sentiment

No data

Birdeye and Podium Pricing

No data

User sentiment

Rather negative

-0.35

See full Pricing page

No data

User sentiment

Rather negative

-0.47

See full Pricing page

Birdeye and Podium review insights

4703 reviews analysed from and

Users love

The AI feature that helps create professional responses to reviews is very useful.
Easy to use and track all your reviews in one place.
Helpful to bolster social media presence.
The Birdeye team has been great to work with and provides great support.

User-friendly interface praised for ease of use.
Texting feature is popular for communication with customers.
Review request feature helps generate more reviews.
Efficient and timely customer support, when available.

Users dislike

Yelp reviews don’t integrate very well.
Social connections can be buggy.
Some reviews for our other location get added to the wrong account.
The website can be a little slow sometimes.

It can be difficult to get a hold of customer support.
Many users report billing and pricing issues, including unauthorized charges.
Inability to export data is a major concern for users.
Limited keyword search functionality within conversations.

Birdeye and Podium Ratings

G2

4.8/5

(2579)
Capterra

4.7/5

(655)
TrustPilot

3.8/5

(69)

G2

4.5/5

(1557)
TrustPilot

1.8/5

(20)
Glassdoor

3.4/5

(1003)

Company health

Employee growth

14% increase in the last year

17% increase in the last year

Web traffic

No data

8% decrease in the last quarter

Financing

No data

July 2022 - $419M

How do Birdeye's multi-location features compare to Podium's?

Both Birdeye and Podium offer robust multi-location features, enabling businesses to manage reviews, listings, and customer interactions across multiple branches. While both platforms offer review generation and response features, Birdeye emphasizes broader online presence management, including social media and listings, while Podium focuses on streamlined communication and lead conversion through messaging and AI-powered tools. Therefore, Birdeye might be a better fit for businesses prioritizing brand reputation and online visibility across various platforms, while Podium may be more suitable for businesses looking to enhance direct customer interaction and lead management.

Which product better integrates reviews with customer messaging?

Podium better integrates reviews with customer messaging. It allows businesses to manage online reviews, send marketing messages, and chat with customers through various channels, all within a single inbox. While Birdeye also offers review management and communication features, Podium's emphasis on consolidating these functions into one platform suggests a tighter integration, facilitating faster response times and a more streamlined workflow.

What are the advantages of Birdeye?

Birdeye focuses on comprehensive experience marketing, particularly for multi-location businesses, enabling streamlined online presence management, reputation improvement, and customer connections through reviews, social media, and messaging. Its AI capabilities automate tasks like social media posting and review analysis. Birdeye also boasts broader industry applicability compared to Podium. While both offer review management, Birdeye's emphasis on social media management and listing management offers a more holistic approach to online presence optimization.

What are the disadvantages of Birdeye?

Birdeye users have reported issues with Yelp review integration, occasional bugs with social media connections, reviews being misplaced to incorrect locations, and occasional slow website performance. Some users also mention difficulty managing multiple locations within the platform.

Alternatives to Birdeye and Podium

HubSpot Marketing Hub

HubSpot Marketing Hub is a comprehensive marketing platform designed for businesses of all sizes. It offers a suite of tools including email marketing, marketing automation, social media management, analytics, and SEO optimization, all within a single platform. This helps businesses streamline their marketing efforts, improve efficiency, and track results. Its focus on inbound marketing and lead generation makes it a popular choice for businesses looking to attract and convert leads into customers. HubSpot Marketing Hub integrates seamlessly with HubSpot's CRM platform for enhanced sales and marketing alignment.

Ozonetel CloudAgent

Ozonetel CloudAgent is a cloud-based call center software designed for businesses of all sizes that prioritize customer service. It offers a complete suite of tools including automated dialing, interactive voice response (IVR), and real-time analytics. Ozonetel integrates with popular CRM platforms and promises easy setup and cost savings. They stand out with a focus on AI-powered features like voicebots and intelligent call routing. Ozonetel is trusted by over 2,500 companies globally and boasts high customer satisfaction ratings.

NiceJob

NiceJob is a reputation marketing platform designed for small and medium-sized businesses in the US. It helps businesses get more online reviews, manage their social media presence, and improve their search engine rankings. NiceJob automates the process of collecting reviews from customers and uses those reviews to create social media content and improve website visibility. This can lead to increased sales and customer leads. NiceJob stands out for its ease of use, affordability, and strong customer reviews.

SalesCaptain

SalesCaptain is an AI-powered platform designed to help local businesses attract more customers and improve their online presence. It offers a suite of tools including online review management, automated marketing campaigns, website chat, and payment processing. SalesCaptain focuses on providing businesses with the tools they need to engage with customers online, manage their reputation, and streamline operations, ultimately aiming to increase revenue and customer satisfaction.

GoDaddy Digital Marketing Suite

GoDaddy Digital Marketing Suite is an all-in-one marketing platform designed to help small and medium-sized businesses manage their online presence. It offers tools for social media management, email marketing, SEO, listing management on platforms like Google and Yelp, and content creation. The platform features a user-friendly dashboard that allows you to schedule posts, track performance, and create marketing materials like social media posts and email campaigns, with the help of AI. GoDaddy Digital Marketing Suite aims to simplify your online marketing efforts and help you reach more customers.

CallRail

CallRail is a marketing platform designed to help businesses track the performance of their marketing efforts. It uses call tracking, form tracking, and conversation intelligence to show which campaigns are driving leads and sales. With reporting dashboards and integrations with popular marketing tools, CallRail aims to provide insights to optimize for better results. Primarily serving small to medium-sized businesses, it is a comprehensive tool for businesses looking to improve their marketing ROI.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

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