Live Chat · head to head
Acquire vs Podium

Acquire
Live Chat
Conversational customer engagement platform
- From
- $50/month
- Free plan
- No

Podium
Customer Support
Messaging platform for local businesses
- From
- $249/month
- Free plan
- No
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Acquire no pricing published on website; Podium no transparent pricing published online
- They diverge on capability: Acquire covers Live chat, Podium covers Text messaging.
- Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Acquire and Podium actually diverge.
Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Acquire
- Live chat
- Co-browsing
- Video chat
- AI chatbots
- Screen sharing
- Knowledge base
- Zendesk
- Slack
Only in Podium
- Text messaging
- Review management
- Webchat
- Payments
- Team inbox
- Automation
Both cover
- Salesforce
- HubSpot
- SOC2
- GDPR
- PCI DSS
- Web support
- Ios support
- Android support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Acquire
- Live chat and messaging on a website or appnot Podium
- Omnichannel support across chat, SMS, email and voicenot Podium
- Video and cobrowsing sessions with customersnot Podium
- Routing and SLAs across a support queuenot Podium
- Call deflection from phone into digital channelsnot Podium
Podium
- Managing customer messages and reviews for local businessesnot Acquire
- Converting inbound leads through text and web chatnot Acquire
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Acquire
- No pricing published on website
- Requires demo booking or signup to view pricing
- Plan names mentioned without associated costs
Podium
- No transparent pricing published online
- 10DLC base fee amount not specified
- Bulk Messages credits and limits not quantified
Pricing, plan by plan
Acquire
$50/month- Starter$50/month
- Live chat
- Basic co-browse
- Canned responses
- Professional$100/month
- Everything in Starter
- Video chat
- Chatbots
- Enterprise$undefined/month
- Custom features
- Dedicated support
- SLA guarantee
Podium
$249/month- Essentials$249/month
- Inbox
- Reviews
- Website chat
- Standard$449/month
- Essentials + Campaigns
- Payments
- Automation
- Professional$undefined/month
- Standard + Advanced analytics
- Multi-location
Which should you pick?
Choose Acquire if
- You need live chat.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want co-browsing.
Choose Podium if
- You need text messaging.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want review management.
Questions people ask
- Is Acquire or Podium better?
- Neither clearly leads. Acquire starts at $50/month and Podium at $249/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Acquire or Podium?
- Acquire starts at $50/month and Podium at $249/month.
- Does Acquire or Podium run on more platforms?
- Both run on Web, Ios, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
- What is Acquire best used for?
- Acquire is most often used for live chat and messaging on a website or app, omnichannel support across chat, sms, email and voice, video and cobrowsing sessions with customers, routing and slas across a support queue. Of those, live chat and messaging on a website or app and omnichannel support across chat, sms, email and voice are not what Podium is typically brought in for.
- What can Acquire do that Podium cannot?
- Acquire covers Live chat, Co-browsing, Video chat, AI chatbots. Podium covers Text messaging, Review management, Webchat, Payments. Both handle Salesforce, HubSpot, SOC2, GDPR.
Answered from the vendors’ own pages
Acquire: What are Acquire's pricing tiers?
Acquire does not display pricing on its public website. The platform offers Self Service and Integrated Solution plans, but costs are only available upon request through booking a demo or contacting the sales team directly.
SourcePodium: How do I find out Podium pricing for my business?
Podium requires contacting their sales team directly at 1-801-438-4425 or visiting http://podium.com/getpricing for a custom quote based on your business needs.
SourceAcquire: Does Acquire offer professional services?
Yes. Acquire offers tailored professional services to create a customer service solution specifically designed for your business needs. Pricing for these services is determined during a custom sales consultation.
SourcePodium: What messaging features might incur additional costs?
10DLC messaging has a base fee (amount unspecified) and Bulk Messages credits are available with limits that are not detailed on their public pricing page.
SourcePodium: Does Podium publish pricing tiers online?
No. Podium states plans are designed to fit specific business needs and requires sales team consultation instead of displaying standard public pricing.
SourceRelated pages
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- Podium vs Salesforce Service Cloud Chat
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- Podium vs IBM Watson Assistant
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- Podium vs Zendesk Chat
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- Podium vs Groove
- Podium vs Kustomer
- Podium vs Freshdesk
- Podium vs HelpCrunch
- Podium vs Klaus
- Podium vs Zoho Desk
- Podium vs HappyFox
- Podium vs SupportBee
- Podium vs Salesforce Service Cloud
- Podium vs DelightChat
- Podium vs UJET
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- Podium vs Verint
- Podium vs Jira Service Management
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