Riley vs Podium

Texting *converts*, when there's a receptionist behind it.

audit the outcome · verify activation · prove it every Friday

Podium gives you a great inbox. Riley gives you a coworker who reads it, drafts the reply, and books the appointment.

R

Riley

Free $0 · Starter $99 · Growth $249 · Studio $499/mo

AI coworker for dental practices. Drafts review replies, runs recall, recovers missed calls, and ships a weekly digest in Slack.

P

Podium

$249 to $599+/mo (per location)

Texting-first messaging platform that converts leads. Strong texting + payments; orange-on-white brand.

Short version

Four bullets, the whole comparison.

  • Podium is messaging infrastructure. Riley is the coworker using it.
  • Both texting + AI. Riley adds reviews, AEO, and recall in the same chat surface.
  • Podium is heavier on payments + lead-conversion. Riley is heavier on dental-vertical workflows.
  • If your front-office texts patients all day, Podium might be enough. If you want the texts drafted for you, hire Riley.

Feature by feature

What's actually different.

Feature
Riley
Podium

Texting inbox

Phone-agent SMS recovery
Full texting suite

Review monitoring + reply

AI-drafted, approval-first
Manual + templates

Webchat widget

No
Yes

Text-to-pay

No
Yes

Voice receptionist

Outbound phone + missed-call SMS recovery (inbound Q3 2026)
No

AEO signal tracking

Yes
No

Recall reactivation

Yes
Manual

Slack delivery

Yes
No

Dental-vertical AI

Yes
Generic

Pricing per location

Multi-location on Scale tier
Per-location plan

Why practices switch

The difference that shows up in your week.

Drafted, not delegated

Podium gives the receptionist a better inbox. Riley does the draft and waits for your tap to send. The receptionist becomes a reviewer, not a writer.

Dental-specific responses

Riley knows hygiene-recall timing, insurance-verification language, and dental review etiquette. Podium's AI is brand-voice generic.

AEO + reviews + voice in one place

Reviews, AEO, recall, missed-call recovery: all in one Slack channel. Podium ships the channels; Riley ships the work.

HIPAA-aware patient touch

Every text passes through a PHI scanner before send. BAA available on Scale tier. Podium offers basic HIPAA mode; Riley defaults to it.

When to choose which

Not a fit for everyone. Honest take.

Choose Riley if

You want the texts drafted for you, with dental-aware reasoning, and you'd rather review than write.

Choose Podium if

You have receptionists who text fluidly and just need a better inbox + payments rail. Podium is a great keyboard.

See it in your own practice.

Start with an outcome audit, activation checks, and a proof path before anything goes out live.