guide // alternatives // 2026
The best Profound alternatives in 2026
In mid-September 2026 Profound removed its self-serve Starter ($99 a month) and Growth ($399 a month) plans for brands[1][2], leaving brands a free trial and Enterprise at custom pricing[3]. The best Profound alternatives in 2026 are supereo, AthenaHQ, Scrunch, Writesonic, Peec AI, Otterly, Semrush's AI Visibility Toolkit and Ahrefs Brand Radar. supereo is our pick, and we make it: it does the work, publishes its prices and proves each move against control questions. On its own pricing page, Profound sells Enterprise at custom pricing. Four of the eight alternatives here say on their own pages that they do the work beyond tracking: supereo, Writesonic, Scrunch and AthenaHQ. supereo is the only one that says it proves each change against control questions.
Updated . Prices checked between 5 November 2026 and 7 November 2026.
The verdict
AEO done and proven, at a published price
supereoour pick, and we make it
- best for teams that want AEO done, not a dashboard: supereo does everything it takes to get you recommended, from your site and pages to the roundups, placements and videos AI reads;
- it proves each move against control questions, with sample sizes and ranges on every number;
- run it from Claude or ChatGPT: an MCP server with the same tools supereo's own agent uses.
From $149 a month
Run the free auditFree, no card, every answer shown.A toolkit for AEO specialists
Best for AEO specialists who want one platform for tracking, content and citation work.
The complete toolkit for AI Engine Optimization specialists.
athenahq.aiFree plan, then from $295 a month
A site ready for AI agents
Best for brands that want their site made ready for AI, with pages served to AI agents.
Scrunch gets your site AI-ready so you show up in answers, get cited, and grow revenue.
scrunch.comFrom $250 a month
Analytics for marketing teams
Best for marketing teams that want AI search analytics and reports on their brand and competitors.
AI search analytics for marketing teams
peec.aiFrom $95 a month
Low-cost tracking
Best for low-cost monitoring of brand mentions and website citations in AI search.
OtterlyAI helps you track brand mentions in AI Search platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and AI Mode.
otterly.aiFrom $29 a month
Teams already on Semrush
Best for SEOs and marketers already on Semrush who want AI visibility beside their SEO data.
This toolkit is designed for SEOs and marketers who want to monitor how their site and competitors are positioned across AI systems.
semrush.comFrom $99 a month, billed annually
Compared on the jobs that matter
| Tool | Does the work | Proves it against controls | Runs from Claude or ChatGPT | Free audit | Paid plans from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| supereoour pick | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | $149 a month |
| Writesonic | Yes | – | Yes | Yes | $79 a month, billed annually |
| Scrunch | Yes | – | Yes | Yes | $250 a month |
| AthenaHQ | Yes | – | Yes | Yes | $295 a month |
| Otterly | – | – | Yes | Yes | $29 a month |
| Ahrefs Brand Radar | – | – | Yes | Yes | $50 a month |
| Peec AI | – | – | Yes | – | $95 a month |
| Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit | – | – | – | Yes | $99 a month, billed annually |
| Profoundfor reference | Yes | – | Yes | Yes | Custom |
- Does the work: it changes the site, writes pages or places the brand itself, beyond tracking, reporting and recommending.
- Proves it against controls: it measures each change against control questions, or a held-out group, the change could not move.
- Runs from Claude or ChatGPT: Claude or ChatGPT can run it over MCP.
- Free audit: anyone can run an audit with it without paying or starting a trial.
- Yes means the tool's own page says it, quoted under each tool below; a dash means none of the pages we read says it.
What changed at Profound
Until September 2026 a brand could sign up for Profound on its own: Starter cost $99 a month and Growth $399 a month[1][2]. Since mid-September its pricing page offers brands a trial of 50 prompts a day for 7 days on ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews, and Enterprise for ongoing tracking[3], priced through sales.
Agencies can still buy without a sales call: Profound's self-serve Agency Growth plan comes with 400 credits a month for each client workspace[5].
So a brand that wanted Profound at a published price now has to talk to sales, or look elsewhere[3][4]. The table above shows what each alternative publishes, read from its own pricing page.
Picking a Profound alternative
If you chose Profound for its AI Marketer, which rewrites pages and builds new ones[6], look at the tools the table marks as doing the work, and read each one's own words below.
If you chose it for dashboards and reporting, Peec AI and Otterly track and report, and Semrush's and Ahrefs' tools sit beside the SEO data you may already pay for; the table shows what each one publishes.
If you want the work done and proven, supereo is our pick: it does everything it takes to get you recommended, and measures every change against control questions it couldn't move, with ranges on every number.
The tools
01supereoour pick, and we make it
- best for teams that want AEO done, not a dashboard: supereo does everything it takes to get you recommended, from your site and pages to the roundups, placements and videos AI reads;
- it proves each move against control questions, with sample sizes and ranges on every number;
- run it from Claude or ChatGPT: an MCP server with the same tools supereo's own agent uses.
From $149 a month
- Does the work
supereo writes those pages for you, aimed at the questions where AI skips you.
supereo.app - Proves it against controls
Each change targets a set of questions, and we compare them with a matched set the change can't affect.
supereo.app - Runs from Claude or ChatGPT
Run the same loop from Claude, Cursor or Codex. Your agent gets every tool supereo's own agent uses: your buyers' questions, every answer, the pages AI cites, your brand facts.
supereo.app - Free audit
Free · about 2 minutes · no card
supereo.app
| Plan | A month | Prompts | AI engines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Copilot | $149 | 40 | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude |
| Autopilot | $499 | 40 | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude |
Prices from supereo.app, checked 7 November 2026. What it does, from its own pages, checked 5 November 2026.
How the proof works, with every number it runs on: How supereo measures.
02Writesonic
Best for content teams that want an AI agent to rewrite their pages for AI search. In its own words: Our AI agent rewrites pages for GEO.
writesonic.com
From $79 a month, billed annually
- Does the work
Our AI agent rewrites pages for GEO. Adds FAQ blocks, comparison tables, and the self-contained passages AI engines cite.
writesonic.com - Proves it against controlsNone of its pages we read says so.
- Runs from Claude or ChatGPT
Plug Writesonic into ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, n8n and the rest of the AI stack your team lives in. Ask anything. Get answers from the same data the dashboard shows.
writesonic.com - Free audit
Free tools for checking how AI can read your site and creating the files that help it understand your content. No login, no email, and full output.
writesonic.com
| Plan | A month | Prompts | AI engines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $79 billed annually | 50 | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini |
| Basic | $199 billed annually | 100 | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini |
| Growth | $399 billed annually | 200 | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini |
| Enterprise | Custom | – | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Grok, Muse Spark |
Prices from writesonic.com, checked 5 November 2026. What it does, from its own pages, checked 5 November 2026.
03Scrunch
Best for brands that want their site made ready for AI, with pages served to AI agents. In its own words: Scrunch gets your site AI-ready so you show up in answers, get cited, and grow revenue.
scrunch.com
From $250 a month
- Does the work
The Scrunch Agent Experience Platform (AXP) helps you observe what agents say and do, optimize your web presence based on agent behavior, and deliver what agents need—all without disrupting the human experience.
scrunch.com - Proves it against controlsNone of its pages we read says so.
- Runs from Claude or ChatGPT
The Scrunch MCP lets you query your brand monitoring data directly inside Claude, ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and other AI assistants
developers.scrunch.com - Free audit
Get your free Brand Audit
scrunch.com
| Plan | A month | Prompts | AI engines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core | $250 | 125 | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot |
| Enterprise | Custom | – | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Grok, Meta AI |
Prices from scrunch.com, checked 5 November 2026. What it does, from its own pages, checked 5 November 2026.
04AthenaHQ
Best for AEO specialists who want one platform for tracking, content and citation work. In its own words: The complete toolkit for AI Engine Optimization specialists.
athenahq.ai
Free plan, then from $295 a month
- Does the work
Our Shopify integration is purpose-built for this, letting you publish AEO-optimized content and attribute revenue back to AI Search discovery.
athenahq.ai - Proves it against controlsNone of its pages we read says so.
- Runs from Claude or ChatGPT
AthenaHQ ships a remote Model Context Protocol (MCP) server. Once connected, an AI assistant like Claude or ChatGPT can query your AI search visibility data in plain language
docs.athenahq.ai - Free audit
Get Free Audit (10m)
athenahq.ai
| Plan | A month | Prompts | AI engines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential | Free | – | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot |
| Starter | $295 | Unlimited | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI, Mistral |
| Enterprise | Custom | – | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Grok |
Prices from athenahq.ai, checked 5 November 2026. What it does, from its own pages, checked 5 November 2026.
05Otterly
Best for low-cost monitoring of brand mentions and website citations in AI search. In its own words: OtterlyAI helps you track brand mentions in AI Search platforms like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, and AI Mode.
otterly.ai
From $29 a month
- Does the workNone of its pages we read says so.
- Proves it against controlsNone of its pages we read says so.
- Runs from Claude or ChatGPT
Connect OtterlyAI to Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible client.
otterly.ai - Free audit
Check any URL for AI-search readiness. Get a structured GEO score and actionable optimization tips.
otterly.ai
| Plan | A month | Prompts | AI engines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lite | $29 | 15 | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot |
| Standard | $189 | 100 | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot |
| Premium | $489 | 400 | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot |
| Enterprise | Custom | – | – |
Prices from otterly.ai, checked 5 November 2026. What it does, from its own pages, checked 5 November 2026.
06Ahrefs Brand Radar
Best for Ahrefs customers who want prompt tracking beside their SEO data. In its own words: Free for every paid Ahrefs Lite plan and above.
ahrefs.com
From $50 a month
- Does the workNone of its pages we read says so.
- Proves it against controlsNone of its pages we read says so.
- Runs from Claude or ChatGPT
Ahrefs SEO MCP | SEO & AEO Data in ChatGPT and Claude
ahrefs.com - Free audit
See how your brand shows up in AI search results from ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, and Google AI Overviews. No signup required. Results in seconds.
ahrefs.com
| Plan | A month | Prompts | AI engines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Custom prompts | $50 | – | – |
| AI Visibility Index | $199 | – | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot |
Prices from ahrefs.com, checked 5 November 2026. What it does, from its own pages, checked 5 November 2026.
07Peec AI
Best for marketing teams that want AI search analytics and reports on their brand and competitors. In its own words: AI search analytics for marketing teams
peec.ai
From $95 a month
- Does the workNone of its pages we read says so.
- Proves it against controlsNone of its pages we read says so.
- Runs from Claude or ChatGPT
The Peec MCP server connects tools like Claude and ChatGPT directly to your Peec AI data, so you can ask questions and get answers from your actual projects.
peec.ai - Free auditNone of its pages we read says so.
| Plan | A month | Prompts | AI engines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $95 | 50 | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Naver AI |
| Pro | $245 | 150 | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Naver AI |
| Advanced | $495 | 350 | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Naver AI |
| Enterprise | Custom | Unlimited | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Grok, DeepSeek, Mistral, Naver AI, GPT 5 Search(API), Qwen(API), Meta Spark(API) |
Prices from peec.ai, checked 5 November 2026. What it does, from its own pages, checked 5 November 2026.
08Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit
Best for SEOs and marketers already on Semrush who want AI visibility beside their SEO data. In its own words: This toolkit is designed for SEOs and marketers who want to monitor how their site and competitors are positioned across AI systems.
semrush.com
From $99 a month, billed annually
- Does the workNone of its pages we read says so.
- Proves it against controlsNone of its pages we read says so.
- Runs from Claude or ChatGPTNone of its pages we read says so.
- Free audit
Yes, the AI Visibility Checker is free to use. You can use the tool three times per day for free, without registering or creating an account.
semrush.com
| Plan | A month | Prompts | AI engines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base | $99 billed annually | 25 | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI |
| Semrush for Enterprise | Custom | – | – |
Prices from semrush.com, checked 5 November 2026. What it does, from its own pages, checked 5 November 2026.
09Profoundfor reference
Best for enterprise marketing teams that want AI search dashboards and marketing agents. In its own words: For companies operationalizing AI Search insights and running marketing agents at scale
tryprofound.com
Custom pricing, through sales
- Does the work
Scans every surface you own for retired names, off-brand claims, and stale creative, then rewrites and republishes what it finds.
tryprofound.com - Proves it against controlsNone of its pages we read says so.
- Runs from Claude or ChatGPT
Profound MCP is our hosted server for integrating with AI tools that support MCP.
docs.tryprofound.com - Free audit
Free AEO Report — See How AI Talks About Your Brand | Profound
tryprofound.com
| Plan | A month | Prompts | AI engines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise | Custom | – | ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, DeepSeek, Exa Search, Muse Spark |
Prices from tryprofound.com, checked 5 November 2026. What it does, from its own pages, checked 5 November 2026.
Questions
What are the best alternatives to Profound?
supereo, AthenaHQ, Scrunch, Writesonic, Peec AI, Otterly, Semrush's AI Visibility Toolkit and Ahrefs Brand Radar. supereo is our pick if you want the work done and proven; the table compares each on the jobs that matter and its published price.
Does Profound still have self-serve plans?
Not for brands. Since mid-September 2026 its pricing page offers brands a trial of 50 prompts a day for 7 days and Enterprise for ongoing tracking[3]; agencies keep a self-serve Agency Growth plan[5].
What did Profound cost before?
Its self-serve Starter plan cost $99 a month and Growth $399 a month, until mid-September 2026[1][2].
Is there a cheaper alternative to Profound?
The alternatives here show their published prices in the table, read from their own pricing pages; Profound's Enterprise price is set through sales[3][4]. supereo's plans are priced per brand and include the work, not only the tracking.
Which Profound alternative does the work for you?
supereo does everything it takes to get your brand recommended, on your site and off it, and proves what worked against control questions. The table marks which other tools' own pages say they do the work.
How we compiled this
Every price, prompt cap and AI engine on this page comes from each tool's own pricing page, and every capability from the tool's own product pages, docs and free tools. supereo reads them every week and keeps a value only when the page states it word for word; each tool on this page names the page and the day it was last checked.
Prices are US dollars a month on monthly billing, or the monthly price of an annual plan where that is the only price the page states, marked billed annually. A free trial is not a free plan, and custom pricing is a price the page does not publish. A tool sold only as part of a bigger product says so beside its prices.
Yes means the tool's own page says it, in the words quoted under each tool. A dash means none of the pages we read says it, so the tool may still do it without saying so there.
We make supereo, so it is listed first, as our pick. The other tools follow by how many of the four jobs their own pages claim, then by price.
Where this page's words state something the dataset doesn't hold, such as a change a tool made, the sentence links its source and the day it was read.
How supereo measures its own results, with every number it runs on: How supereo measures.
supereo (supereo.app) is an AI agent that does everything it takes to get your brand recommended by ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Google, on your site and off it: site fixes, new pages, roundups, placements and video. It proves what worked against control questions. Made by superagnt.
Sources
In mid-September 2026, around the time it announced a $180 million Series D, Profound removed its self-serve Starter ($99 per month) and Growth ($399 per month) plans for brands.
eclincher.com, read 4 November 2026.Starter $99/month
web.archive.org, read 4 November 2026.Trial includes daily analysis of 50 unique prompts for 7 days across ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews. Enterprise includes ongoing daily tracking.
tryprofound.com, read 4 November 2026.Additional credit thresholds require an Enterprise package and our accounts teams partner with customers to determine the right package based on an organization's marketing goals.
tryprofound.com, read 4 November 2026.The self-serve Agency Growth plan comes with 400 credits per month per client workspace.
tryprofound.com, read 4 November 2026.Rewrites pages with citation decay and stages them in your CMS. Builds the pages for questions you have no answer for.
tryprofound.com, read 4 November 2026.