Comparison

Regulr vs Podium

An honest, side-by-side comparison. Where Podium wins, where it falls short, and which tool is right for your business.

6 min read

6

Regulr only

1

Both have

3

Podium only

Overview

Podium is strong at what it does best: getting Google reviews and managing customer messages. If your biggest problem is that you need more reviews and a unified inbox for texts, calls, and chats, Podium delivers. But it's not a retention tool. There's no POS integration, no churn prediction, no automated win-back based on visit behavior. Podium tells you what customers are saying about you online. Regulr tells you which customers are about to stop showing up.

Customer communication and review management

Feature-by-feature comparison

Green checkmarks mean the feature is included. Dashes mean it's not available or requires a workaround.

FeatureRegulrPodium
AI-powered churn prediction✓—
Automated win-back campaigns✓—
POS integration✓—
Google review generation—✓
Unified messaging inbox—✓
SMS marketing campaigns✓✓
Apple/Google Wallet pass✓—
Customer segmentation by behavior✓—
Web chat widget—✓
Predictive retention✓—

Pricing

Regulr

$99/mo

Per location. All features included.

Podium

Podium starts at $249/mo for their Essentials plan and goes up to $599/mo for Professional. Regulr starts at $99/mo for AI-powered retention.

Where Podium works well

Podium is best for local businesses that prioritize Google review generation and need a unified inbox for customer communication across text, phone, and web chat.

Where Podium falls short

Not built for customer retention or churn prevention
No POS integration or visit-based tracking
No AI churn prediction or automated win-back
No Apple or Google Wallet loyalty passes
Expensive starting price for features unrelated to retention ($249/mo)

Where Regulr does better

Built specifically to prevent customer churn
POS integration tracks real visit and purchase behavior
AI identifies at-risk customers before they leave
Apple & Google Wallet passes for frictionless loyalty
More affordable and focused on the metric that matters: retention

The bottom line

Podium is a solid choice if you need podium is best for local businesses that prioritize google review generation and need a unified inbo. But if your main goal is reducing customer churn with AI-powered retention, personalized campaigns, and POS-connected automation, Regulr is built specifically for that.

Regulr wins on 6 features that Podium doesn't offer, while Podium has 3 features Regulr doesn't. They share 1 features in common.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use Regulr and Podium together?
Absolutely. Podium handles reviews and messaging. Regulr handles retention. They solve different problems and work well as a pair.
Does Regulr collect Google reviews like Podium?
No. Regulr focuses on retention, not review management. If reviews are a priority, use Podium or a dedicated review tool alongside Regulr.
Which matters more: reviews or retention?
Both matter, but retention has a bigger revenue impact. A 5% increase in retention can boost profits 25-95%. Regulr makes sure your existing customers keep coming back.
Does Podium track customer visit behavior?
No. Podium tracks communication and reviews but has no POS integration or way to see how often customers actually visit your business.

Related reading

Ready to try AI-powered retention? Start your free Regulr trial and connect your POS in about 5 minutes.

Founder of Regulr & City Curated

Regulr is the customer retention layer for local businesses. It plugs into your POS, learns every customer's behavior, and runs personalized retention campaigns automatically — SMS, email, wallet pass updates, and RCS sentiment routing. Built for restaurants, coffee shops, salons, med spas, fitness studios, and other independent local businesses where every customer is a name and every visit matters.