Friday vs. Podium, Weave and AI receptionists
What each one costs, what you sign, and who actually does the work. A plain comparison for owners shopping for a better front desk.
So Podium gives me an inbox for texts?
FridayYes. And someone on your team still has to answer everything in it.
And you?
FridayI answer it. And book it, and chase the deposit, and tell you in the morning.
If you're comparing tools for your front desk, most of them fall into three groups. Here is how they stack up, with prices owners report paying in 2026.
The comparison
| What it costs | Contract | Who does the work | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Podium | $450–800 a month once fees stack up | Yearly | Your staff, in Podium's inbox |
| Weave | $249–500 a month, plus about $750 setup | Yearly, auto-renews | Your staff, in Weave's inbox |
| AI receptionist apps | $50–500 a month, usually priced by call minutes | Varies | A voice bot on the phone, for the length of the call |
| Friday | $299 a month, plus a one-time setup fee | None | Friday |
Podium and Weave: an inbox, not a person
Podium and Weave are good at putting every customer text in one place. That's a real improvement over texts scattered across personal phones. But an inbox doesn't answer anything. At 9pm on a Saturday, the message still waits for a person.
Owners also report the same complaints about both: yearly contracts, auto-renewal, prices that go up at renewal, and cancellation that's hard to do. Podium averages 1.5 out of 5 on Trustpilot, mostly for billing and contract disputes. Weave's setup fee and renewal increases come up in almost every review.
AI receptionists: a script on the phone
Voice bots are cheap and answer every call. But most of them only do the call itself. They take a message or read a script. When the call ends, the work isn't done: somebody still has to book it, collect the deposit and follow up.
Friday: the work, done
Friday is a teammate you text. She answers your customers, books straight into your calendar, takes the deposit, fills the cancellation, covers the call-out, sends the invoice and texts back the regular who hasn't been in for three months. The inbox is empty because the work in it got done.
- No contract. Month to month.
- A simple setup. One small setup fee per location, shown before you pay, and she starts working that day.
- No new app for your staff. They keep using the phone and the chat they already have.
If you're paying for an inbox and a person to answer it, Friday replaces both for $299 a month.