If you’ve contemplated selling an online course or are trying to find a hosting platform for a course you’ve created, you’ve probably figured out that there are plenty of options to choose from. Podia is one of these options. 

This platform is available for course creators, digital download sellers, and membership site owners. Even though it isn’t as well known as Teachable, Kajabi, or Thinkific, its features could make up for what it lacks in recognition.

Our Podia review takes a closer look at how this platform works and the ways it sets itself apart from competitors.

What is Podia?

Podia is packed so full of features that you can think of it as a digital storefront for your online business.

The company started in 2014 and has focused all its offerings on supporting creative entrepreneurs and small business owners. It was founded on the premise of creating a user-friendly platform that is accessible to as many people across the globe as possible. 

Podia offers tools for setting up online courses, creating digital downloads, hosting membership communities, teaching webinars, and offering coaching or consulting services. 

If you don’t have your own website for any of these options, don’t worry. Podia also provides hosting services. 

How Does Podia Work?

To get started with Podia, there are a few easy steps to follow.

Step #1: Set Up Your Site

You can set up your store either by migrating it for free from your current website or creating a new website through Podia.

If you’re worried about migration, don’t worry. Podia’s live customer support helps you with each step, including the migration process, hosting, setting up languages and currencies, plus building your website. 

Whether you use WordPress, Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, or any other platform, you simply have to copy and paste or embed links into your site. 

Step #2: Customization

Podia provides all the tools to customize your site to match your brand with images, text, videos, and testimonials. 

Additionally, there are live previews for mobile, tablet, and desktop applications. These let you check your work as you go to make sure each view is optimized.

Step #3: Select Your Products

With Podia, you can add existing content or create new products. 

This is where the platform starts to separate itself from others on the market. Products include online courses, quizzes, pre-launches, templates, files, ebooks, PDFs, cheat sheets, checklists, text, music, and bundled content. 

You also have the option to create membership site services as well as paid and free webinars.

Step #4: Market Your Products with Podia

Podia allows you to build your email contact list and market materials using multiple methods. These include email, newsletters, funnels, and segment lists.

Step #5: Sell Your Products

Podia lets you sell your courses and products in a variety of ways. You can set up payment plans, use affiliate marketing tools, add coupons to your site, embed a buy button, offer product pre-launches and bundles, and use cross-selling tools.

Features

Podia has a full suite of offerings and features for digital entrepreneurs. 

Online Courses

If your goal is to create passive income by setting up online courses, you may be interested in the numerous choices Podia offers. 

In addition to standalone courses, you can create a pre-launch, bundles, drip content (where you send lessons one at a time), and future-dated options so students can take a course at the same time. 

The online course option is only the beginning. You can further customize the course by adding quizzes, coupons to encourage purchasing, video messaging, certificates, and much more.

Digital Downloads

Podia offers you the option to give away your digital downloads, use them as lead magnets, or sell them through its platform. Whatever you decide to sell, chances are high Podia has a solution for you. 

Webinars and Live-Streams

Whether you charge for attendance or offer content for free, a webinar or live stream is a fantastic way to promote your business, a tool, or teach a complex problem. Podia gives you all the tools to perform both basic and advanced webinar functions. 

Depending on the price plan you choose, you’ll either integrate this feature with Zoom or YouTube Live.

Coaching and Consulting Tools

If you’ve longed to open a coaching or consulting business but were discouraged by how difficult it is to take payments or book sessions online, then you may appreciate Podia’s coaching tools. 

Podia gives you access to payment processing that lets you easily take payments from clients and upsell products. 

Better yet, there are no transaction fees. This means that you’ll keep more money in your pocket when you get paid.

It’s even possible to send out calendar invites and immediately book someone through the calendar service. 

Email Marketing Tools

Podia provides a full suite of email marketing tools. You’ll be able to add email sign up forms to any of your web pages and capture email addresses. 

Once you have someone’s address, you can use automated campaigns, reminders, broadcast emails, full-fledged sales funnels, and embeddable forms. 

You’ll also have access to a full range of analytics tools so you can see which emails are performing the best, your open rate, and other key metrics.

Web Design

Podia offers numerous web page designs so you can easily create your own site or web page to sell your products. 

You’ll be able to create a full website, landing pages, or sales pages. It’s simple to use a Podia subdomain, or you can transfer over a web address you already own.

All plans include an unlimited number of web pages so that you can create as many as you need.

Pricing

Podia has three main plans to choose from, including a $39 per month, $79 per month, and $179 per month option. All plans are billed annually, which means you will have to pay all expenses upfront. 

It’s worth mentioning that there is a 14-day trial period so you can test out all the features yourself before deciding which plan to choose. 

Choosing the $39 per month option gives you access to all Podia’s basic functions. This includes hosting your website, access to 24/7 customer service, and email marketing services.

The $79 per month option includes the upgrade to charge for webinars, add blogs, create an affiliate program, set membership options for your audience, and add an off-site buy button. You can have up to 15K community members for your membership site with this level. 

If you need to add an additional person to your account, like a virtual assistant or business partner, you can add them for an extra $20 per month. You can also set their permissions. 

The $179 per month plan allows you to have up to 100K members in your community. You are also allowed to add up to five users at this price point. 

Pros and Cons

Before you purchase a subscription with Podia, make sure you fully understand the positives and negatives of using the platform.

Pros

• Easy and user-friendly set up process
• Numerous options for email and course marketing, customization, and selling a variety of digital products
• Straightforward billing and costs with three plan options
• Great for beginners

Cons

• Limited design options for courses and branding
• Email marketing options are minimal compared to other third-party options
• Customer service is restricted to email or live chat

Who Should Consider Podia?

If you are new to the online entrepreneur world, you may benefit the most from Podia. The tools are straightforward and easy to use, plus there is plenty of help available if you find yourself stuck. 

Podia is also worth considering if you are a small business owner and want to expand your offerings by adding an online course or webinar. You might not need all of the features Podia offers right away. That said, when you are ready to expand, the tools will be waiting for you.

Keep in mind that Podia does not offer as many customization tools as other platforms. If you are a designer or live for the technical challenge of running a platform, then you might find Podia too simplistic. 

However, for anyone else who feels they need guidance when creating a digital product, it is a strong contender.

The Final Word on Podia

Podia offers virtually every service you could need when you are a budding entrepreneur or building your small business.

You may not have as much design flexibility with Podia’s platform as you would with other services. Nevertheless, with a wide variety of tools in one platform for a relatively affordable price, Podia is hard to beat.