While not the traditional crowdfunding platform, Podia offers a Patreon-esque experience for creators to easily market and sell digital content.
WRITTEN & RESEARCHED BY
Editor & Senior Staff Writer
Last updated onUpdated
REVIEWED BY
Expert Contributor
| Total Rating |
4.7 |
|---|---|
| Terms & Fees4.3 | |
| Project Qualifications5.0 | |
| Application Process4.8 | |
| Sales & Advertising Transparency4.8 | |
| Customer Service4.7 | |
| User Reviews4.1 | |
Table of Contents
Podia began its life as Coach, a site for sellers of online courses and digital downloads. In 2017, Coach rebranded as Podia and now allows creators to offer memberships to its customers and earn revenue on a recurring basis.
Podia doesn’t identify as a crowdfunding platform. However, at the time of its rebranding, the company began to market itself as a more creator-friendly alternative to the subscription-based crowdfunding site Patreon. Podia is an all-in-one platform that combines websites, blogs, digital content, and marketing.
It may not be a traditional crowdfunder, but all things considered, Podia deserves consideration as a crowdfunding platform for creators of digital content.
Unlike most crowdfunding sites, Podia doesn’t direct you to choose a particular campaign specialty (technology, games, music, etc.) when you sign up.
Instead, you’re prompted to sign up for a membership. Add-ons are also available for an additional monthly fee.
While specific features are dependent on membership level, here’s everything Podia has to offer:
| Project Qualifications5.0 |
|---|
| Availability 5.0 |
| Transparency 5.0 |
If you set up a Podia account, you’ll be able to start selling memberships, digital courses, and digital downloads as soon as you complete the account setup process.
Podia has a short list of content that is prohibited from its platform. This includes:
Creators in all 50 states can use Podia.
| Terms & Fees4.3 |
|---|
| Affordability 4.0 |
| Campaign Terms 5.0 |
Since our last update, Podia has removed its free plan and now has two paid plans. A 30-day free trial is available to test out the platform.
| Podia Plan | Price | When To Use |
|---|---|---|
| Mover | $39/month | If you want to sell coaching, webinars, digital downloads, and more |
| Shaker | $89/month | If you want advanced marketing features and no transaction fees |
Here’s a breakdown of each pricing plan:
The Mover plan includes features like:
The Shaker plan includes everything from the Mover plan, plus:
As mentioned previously, Podia is not a traditional crowdfunding platform, so there are no limitations to how long you can sell your content.
| Podia Extra Costs | Price |
|---|---|
| Email Marketing | Starts at $0/month |
| Payment Processing | 2.9% + $0.30 |
Payment processing fees are applied to every transaction. You can also add email marketing to your plan.
A 20% discount is available if you choose annual billing. Custom pricing is available for creators who market to over 100K subscribers.
| Application Process4.8 |
|---|
| Prescreening & Application 5.0 |
| Campaign Funding 4.4 |
Setting up a Podia account is extremely straightforward and simple. Select a plan, enter your name and email address, and select a password.
From here, getting started is made easy. Podia has a checklist of items to get you started, with links to take you right where you want to go. You can immediately set up your website, email, or community; create a product; update your settings and payments; or start blogging. A link is also available to upgrade your plan at any time.
Just getting started took less than one minute. While creating your website or blog and adding your products may take some time, the process simply can’t get any easier.
Once you’re all set up and making sales, cashing out is easy. Podia does not hold funds, and you’ll receive your payments typically within two business days.
| Sales & Advertising Transparency4.8 |
|---|
| Sales Practices 5.0 |
| Web Presence 4.6 |
Podia discloses all relevant information about its services on its website, including its Acceptable Use Policy and Terms of Service. Everything is straightforward, and there are no gimmicks or glaring red flags.
| Customer Service4.7 |
|---|
| Personal Support 4.6 |
| Self-Service 5.0 |
Podia offers email support to all users. Live chat support is available Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 6 PM EST.
| Podia Customer Service | Availability |
|---|---|
| Phone Support | |
| Email Support | |
| Support Tickets | |
| Live Chat | |
| Dedicated Support Representative | |
| Knowledge Base or Help Center | |
| Videos & Tutorials | |
| Company Blog | |
| Social Media |
Podia has a very comprehensive help center, which offers 400+ articles and walkthroughs for everything from adding an avatar to setting up your website. A company blog is available with helpful articles, and the company maintains profiles on X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Overall, users are pleased with Podia’s customer service.
| User Reviews4.1 |
|---|
| User Feedback 4.0 |
| Review Site Aggregate 4.1 |
Podia ranks highly among its users, although there are a handful of complaints. Podia receives 4.6/5 (based on 100+ reviews) on GetApp and 3.6/5 (based on 90+ reviews) on Trustpilot.
Some of the criticisms of Podia include:
It’s much easier to find praise for Podia, with users lauding the platform for:
Podia offers producers of digital content a compelling alternative to Patreon’s model of membership-based crowdfunding. Podia’s all-in-one model allows you to easily create, market, and sell your content from a single platform.
For high-volume sellers, a flat monthly fee and no transaction costs are a great deal. However, creators who aren’t making sales may find the monthly subscription pricing to be a bit hard to swallow.
Podia offers great customer support, has solid user reviews, and offers a free trial to let you try out the platform — although it is disappointing that its free plan was removed. There are a few limitations on the content that can be sold. Getting started takes minutes, and you can easily add your products, create a website, or start blogging.
While Podia won’t work for businesses that want to raise funds for their startups or business projects, it’s a great platform for creators who want to create and sell courses, charge for webinars, sell recurring memberships, and cash in on digital content.
The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
Podia |
|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Podia for yourself.
The Merchant Maverick Seal of Approval 🏆
Podia |
|---|
After hours of in-depth research and evaluation, we can confidently recommend this brand to our readers. Get started today and see Podia for yourself.
Want to help shape the future of the Merchant Maverick website? Join our testing and survey community!
By providing feedback on how we can improve, you can earn gift cards and get early access to new features.
Our team of experts spends hours on every review so that we can find the best companies to recommend to our readers. Podia made the cut.
Learn More
Help us to improve by providing some feedback on your experience today.
The vendors that appear on this list were chosen by subject matter experts on the basis of product quality, wide usage and availability, and positive reputation.
Merchant Maverick’s ratings are editorial in nature, and are not aggregated from user reviews. Each staff reviewer at Merchant Maverick is a subject matter expert with experience researching, testing, and evaluating small business software and services. The rating of this company or service is based on the author’s expert opinion and analysis of the product, and assessed and seconded by another subject matter expert on staff before publication. Merchant Maverick’s ratings are not influenced by affiliate partnerships.
Our unbiased reviews and content are supported in part by affiliate partnerships, and we adhere to strict guidelines to preserve editorial integrity. The editorial content on this page is not provided by any of the companies mentioned and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities. Opinions expressed here are author’s alone.
Our team of experts spends hours on every review so that we can find the best companies to recommend to our readers. Podia made the cut.
Learn More
