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Podium alternative

Replace Podium. And the rest.

Podium handles texts, reviews and payments. TradeMade builds those into the system that runs your whole company: every text, call and review sits on the customer's record next to the quote, the job and the invoice, and AI answers and books from your own records. One system, built around how your company works.

Free software audit Side by side

Free, no pitch deck. Bring your Podium invoice and the list of everything else you pay for.

What Podium users say

Why owners look around.

The complaint about Podium that comes up again and again on Reddit, and what its own pricing page shows.

A big bill for texting

Local businesses and the IT shops that set up their texting say Podium is expensive, often put at $300 or more a month, and some have left over the price.

One reviewer put platforms like Podium at $300 a month and up.Local businesses · summarized from Reddit, 2026

Hundreds a month

Core is $399 a month and Pro $599 a month. Signature is custom priced, and HVAC businesses are asked to contact sales for their pricing.

The AI is extra

The AI Employee is sold as an add-on to any plan.

The first card is a real complaint posted on Reddit, summarized. The complaint is theirs, not ours; we leave out names and links to protect the posters. This is the complaint that comes up most, from several separate threads. The posters are not our clients and do not endorse us. The second and third cards are from podium.com/pricing.

Side by side

One job, or the whole company.

What Podium lists on its own website, against what a TradeMade system covers.

What your company needsPodiumTradeMade
Two-way texting, web chat and review requestsYesYes
PaymentsYes; lower processing fees on ProYes
PhonesPodium Phones listedYes, with call center routing and dialing
AI that answers and booksAI Concierge on Pro, AI Scheduler on Signature, AI Employee as an add-onYes, working from your own records; outbound only to people who agreed
Leads, quotes and contracts signed in the homeLead capture and conversionYes
Jobs, crews and schedulingNot listedYes
Sales rep commissions worked out by your rulesNot listedYes
Canvassing: turf, knocks and appointments set at the doorNot listedYes, linked to the job file
Your company website, hostedNot listedYes
PricePublished: $399 or $599 a month; Signature customPublished formula, priced against what you pay today
Who decides what changesThe vendorYou

Podium column from the Core, Pro and Signature plans on podium.com/pricing, read October 26, 2026, in US dollars. “Not listed” means the feature is not on that page; Podium may offer it another way or through a partner. Podium is a trademark of its owner. TradeMade Software is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podium.

What we build, and what it replaces

What we build instead.

One system built around how your company already works, replacing the separate tools you rent today. These are the layers trade companies lean on most.

  1. Layer 02 · Pipeline

    Leads and CRM

    Every door, call, web form and referral lands in one record, and nobody re-types it. Leads from your online ads go to your call center or reps in seconds.

    Replaces
    • Rented CRMs
    • Lead spreadsheets
  2. Layer 04 · Paper

    Quotes, proposals and e-signature

    Priced from your own price book and signed at the kitchen table, inside the system, with the signed copy filed on the job.

    Replaces
    • E-signature services
    • Proposal tools
  3. Layer 05 · Jobs

    Projects, scheduling, dispatch and crews

    From sold to installed: schedules, crews, materials, photos and change orders on one job record.

    Replaces
    • Field service apps
    • Project management apps
  4. Layer 07 · Talk

    Phones, call center, texts and reviews

    Call routing and dialing for your call center, texts, email and a customer portal. Confirmations, reminders and review requests go out on their own, with consent on record.

    Replaces
    • Texting and review apps
    • Dialers
  5. Layer 08 · Money

    Billing, commissions and pay

    Invoices and service plans that bill themselves, and every rep's pay worked out the moment the deal closes.

    Replaces
    • Add-on billing modules
    • Commission spreadsheets
  6. Layer 11 · AI team

    Agents that answer while your team is in the field

    Voice and chat agents pick up calls and chats, answer from your own records and book the appointment. How our AI works.

    Replaces
    • Answering services
    • Chat widgets
  7. The whole stack

    TradeMade. One system.

    Every layer works as one, with your data moved over for you. You pick the layers your business needs, and the full list is on the home page.

What it really costs

Hundreds a month. For one job.

Podium publishes its plan prices. Here's what they add up to, from its own pricing page.

  • $399 · $599/moCore and Pro, per month.Podium pricing page, October 2026
  • ~$4,788/yrCore for a year, worked out from the page's own price.Worked out from the Podium pricing page, October 2026
  • CustomSignature, and pricing for HVAC businesses, comes from sales.Podium pricing page, October 2026
  • + AI EmployeeSold as an add-on to any plan.Podium pricing page, October 2026

From podium.com/pricing, read October 26, 2026, in US dollars; prices change and your quote may differ. Add the CRM, the quoting tool, the dialer and the website you still rent alongside it.

The math

Less from month one.

An example: a home service company paying $5,000 a month for Podium and everything around it, the CRM, the quoting tool, the dialer, the website. The build is about $42,000, paid over the first year, so about $3,500 a month. After that, running it is $1,500 a month. They pay less from the first month, with one system that does far more and the busywork automated.

Today, five years$300,000$5,000 a month
TradeMade, five years$114,000About $3,500 a month in year one, then $1,500 a month, plus AI usage at cost, for the whole system

Bigger company? The gap grows. At $20,000 a month, the build is about $168,000 and running it is $2,000 a month: about $264,000 over five years against $1.2 million. At $50,000 a month, it's about $660,000 against $3 million.

Example only, using our typical figures: the build is about 70% of one year of your current software spend, paid over the first year, with a $35,000 minimum; running it is 10% of that spend, never less than $1,500 a month. Not a promise for any one business; your Blueprint gives your real number. Work out yours.

What it costs

Priced against what you pay now.

Not a cheaper copy of what you rent. One system that does far more, with the work your team does by hand today automated, priced against what you already pay.

Work out your number Free software audit
~70%of one year of what you spend on software today, for the build, paid over the first year. Builds start at $35,000.
10%of that spend to run it after that, never less than $1,500 a month, plus AI usage at cost.
1stWe replace your most expensive software first, so the biggest bill is the first to go.

Percentages are typical figures from our builds and proposals, not a promise for any one business. AI usage is billed at cost and depends on how much your agents do.

Switching from Podium

Straight answers.

Is TradeMade a Podium alternative?

Yes, and a wider one. Podium is software you rent. TradeMade builds one system around your company that covers the work Podium does and the parts most companies rent from other vendors or run on spreadsheets: canvassing, sales and crew pay, call center phones, your website, mailers, and AI that answers calls and chats.

Can you move our data out of Podium?

Yes. We move your contacts, conversations and review history over from Podium where its exports allow, and check them before anything is switched off. Podium is canceled on your timeline, and on a TradeMade system your data sits in accounts in your name.

Is it cheaper?

Compare what you get, not just the bill. One system replaces Podium and the tools around it, does far more and automates work your office does by hand. The build is about 70% of one year of what you spend on software today, paid over the first year, with a $35,000 minimum. After that, running it costs 10% of that spend, never less than $1,500 a month, plus AI usage at cost. A company spending $5,000 a month pays about $3,500 a month in the build year, then $1,500 a month. The calculator on our home page shows your own number.

How long does it take to switch?

The Blueprint session gives you a real timeline for your company. For comparison, one of our home improvement clients went from a blank page to daily use in eighteen days.

Do we lose anything Podium does today?

The Blueprint maps every Podium feature you actually use, and the build covers those before Podium is canceled. If something you rely on isn't covered yet, you keep Podium until it is.

Who owns the system?

Your data is always yours. You hold a license to run, repair and change your system for your own business, for good, or you can own it outright, quoted case by case. Our trained AI agents stay ours and run as a service.

Bring your Podium invoice.

Free, and a few quick questions. See what replaces it, and what it costs. If we can't beat it, we'll say so.

Free software audit