Profound Alternatives for AI Search Visibility Tracking
The best Profound alternative depends on your size. Small teams can start with Otterly.AI or Peec AI, Ahrefs or Semrush users can add AI tracking to the suite they own, and agencies and multi-user teams may look at Scrunch, which lists three user licences on Starter. A free Search Console routine plus a spreadsheet also works. We have tested none of these, so check each vendor's page before you buy.
- Profound's public pricing page shows a free trial and a custom Enterprise plan, so you need a sales call to price a paid plan 1.
- Public paid list prices read on 20 October 2026 start at $29 a month (Otterly), with a free AthenaHQ tier and custom quotes at the top.
- Compare engines covered, prompt limits, exports and what you pay at your own prompt count.
- A spreadsheet and the free reports cover the basics for a small prompt list.
What are the main alternatives to Profound?
Seven options are worth a look, and they fall into four kinds. Dedicated trackers: Otterly.AI, Peec AI, AthenaHQ and Scrunch. SEO suites with AI tracking: Ahrefs Brand Radar and Semrush. A do-it-yourself route using free reports and a spreadsheet. Profound itself sits in the dedicated group, aimed at larger teams.
We read each vendor's public page on 20 October 2026. We have not run a hands-on test, so this page does not rank tools or judge accuracy. Disclosure: Chalk Labs sells AI SEO audits and page production, not a tracking tool, so we gain if you hire help rather than buy software. The prices below are the ones the vendors list, and they change often.
What should you compare before you switch?
Compare on the things that change your bill and your data, not on the logo. Work through the list in order, because the first two usually cut the shortlist in half.
- Engines: does it track the assistants your buyers use, and is each engine in the base price or a paid add-on?
- Prompt limit: how many prompts fit in the plan, and what happens when you pass it?
- Price visibility: can you see a price without a sales call?
- Data access: can you export CSV or JSON, or reach an API?
- Languages and countries: can you set the market you sell in?
- Trial: can you test it on your own prompts before paying?
What does Profound offer today?
Profound's pricing page lists two plans. The free Trial runs 50 unique prompts daily for 7 days across ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews 1. Enterprise is custom-priced, covers up to nine answer engines, and lists API access, CSV and JSON exports, and SOC 2 compliance 1. An FAQ also mentions an Agency Growth plan with 400 credits a month per client workspace, with no public price 1.
Prices have not always been this hidden. In May 2026 Digiday reported (press-reported, not vendor-confirmed) a $99 starter plan limited to ChatGPT and a $399 plan that adds three more engines, and an agency executive said Profound services can cost up to $1,000 a month 9. We could not find those plans on the current pricing page, so confirm any figure with the vendor.
How do the alternatives compare on price and coverage?
The table lists what each vendor's own page showed on 20 October 2026. Billing terms are noted where the page stated them. Treat it as a starting point for your own check.
| Tool | Public price | Prompts | Engines | Likely fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Profound | Free trial; Enterprise custom 1. | 50 in trial; tailored in Enterprise 1. | 3 in trial, up to 9 in Enterprise 1. | Large teams needing API, exports and SOC 2. |
| Otterly.AI | $29, $189 and $489 a month listed; lower likely-annual set shown 2. | 15, 100 and 400 2. | ChatGPT, AI Overviews, Perplexity, Copilot; others are add-ons 2. | Small and mid teams that want a posted price. |
| Peec AI | Plans named Starter, Pro, Advanced; no prices on the page we read 3. | Not stated on the page 3. | Homepage names ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini 3. | Marketing teams that will ask for a quote. |
| Ahrefs Brand Radar | AI add-on from $199 a month; prompt packages $50, $100, $250 4. | Counted in checks: 2,500, 7,000, 25,000 4. | Not listed on the pricing page; ask Ahrefs which engines each package covers. | Existing Ahrefs users. |
| Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit | $99 a month toolkit; SEO plus AI plans $199 and $299 56. | 25 in the toolkit; 50 and 100 daily in the larger plans 56. | Toolkit page names ChatGPT and AI Mode; Semrush's blog adds Gemini 56. | Existing Semrush users. |
| AthenaHQ | Free Essential tier; Starter $295 a month; Enterprise custom 7. | Unlimited prompts on Starter, set by credits 7. | 11 engines on Starter 7. | Teams wanting many engines at one price. |
| Scrunch | Starter $300 a month, or $250 billed annually; Growth $500, or $417 8. | 350 and 700 custom prompts 8. | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Mode, AI Overviews, Meta 8. | Agencies and multi-user teams. |
| DIY | Free reports plus a spreadsheet. | Your own list. | Whatever you check by hand. | Under about 30 prompts. |
Which alternative suits which kind of buyer?
If you want a price you can read today, Otterly.AI and Scrunch both publish plans, and AthenaHQ publishes a Starter price 278. If your team already pays for Ahrefs or Semrush, price the AI add-on there first, because you avoid a second login and invoice 45.
If you need security reviews, an API and JSON exports for a big brand, the enterprise route Profound lists is the closest match in this set 1. Scrunch also lists an Enterprise Data API and SAML/OIDC SSO on its custom tier 8. Agencies should check whether workspaces are priced per client, as Profound's Agency Growth plan appears to be 1.
Peec AI is the one to ask about directly. Its pricing page names plans but shows no amounts, and its homepage cites more than 3,500 brands and agencies and a 4.7 out of 5 rating on G2. Those are the vendor's own claims, so verify them 3.
Do you need a paid tracker at all?
Not always. A spreadsheet with 20 to 30 prompts, checked monthly, tells you whether your brand is named and linked. Profound's own study ran 753 prompts for 14 days and found that once-a-day tracking gave visibility within about 2 points of ten runs a day 10. Profound's own study, which is a vendor result, suggests run frequency may matter less than prompt choice.
Build the list with our AI prompt list builder, then follow how to set up an AI visibility tracking spreadsheet. Free reports from Google and Microsoft add real data, as explained in Search Console vs AI visibility tools.
How do you trial two tools fairly?
Give both tools the same inputs and score them against a sheet you filled in by hand. That way you judge the tools, not the luck of one run.
- Day 1: write 25 buyer prompts. Lock the list for the whole trial.
- Day 1: load the same prompts, country and language into both tools.
- Day 2: check 5 prompts by hand in each engine. Note named, linked, competitors.
- Day 7: compare the tools' results with your hand checks on those 5 prompts.
- Day 14: score each tool 0 to 2 on engines, accuracy, exports, price at 25 prompts.
- Decide: if neither beats your spreadsheet, keep the spreadsheet.
What can no tracker promise?
No tracker can promise your numbers will rise. Digiday found agency leaders treat these tools as benchmarks, not sources of truth 9. Google also warns that third-party tools lack its internal ranking data and cannot guarantee performance 11.
Pair any dashboard with plain checks: ask new customers how they found you, and read your analytics. For tool groups beyond this list, see AI visibility tracking tools compared.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest alternative to Profound?
Free reports from Google and Microsoft plus a spreadsheet cost nothing. Among paid tools, Otterly.AI lists the lowest paid starting price at $29 a month for 15 prompts, with some engines sold as add-ons 2. AthenaHQ also lists a free Essential tier 7. Compare the full cost for your engines, not just the headline price.
Does Profound publish its prices?
Which Profound alternative covers the most engines?
Can I use Ahrefs or Semrush instead of Profound?
How accurate are AI visibility trackers?
They give samples, not exact counts. AI answers vary by run, and agency leaders told Digiday that different tools return different answers to the same prompts 9. Use them for trends and confirm with customer surveys and analytics.
Sources
- Profound Pricing · ProfoundOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Free Trial (50 prompts, 7 days, 3 engines); custom Enterprise up to 9 engines with API, CSV and JSON exports and SOC 2; Agency Growth plan mentioned in the FAQ with 400 credits a month per client workspace; no public paid price.
- Otterly.AI Pricing · Otterly.AIOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Lite $29, Standard $189, Premium $489 a month for 15, 100 and 400 prompts; unlabelled lower price set; four engines included, Claude, AI Mode and Gemini as add-ons.
- Peec AI pricing and homepage · Peec AIOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Plans Starter, Pro, Advanced, Enterprise; no prices or prompt limits on the page; homepage names ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini and cites 3,500+ brands and a 4.7 G2 rating (vendor claims).
- Ahrefs Pricing · AhrefsOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Brand Radar AI add-on from $199 a month; prompt packages Basic $50 (2,500 checks), Growth $100 (7,000), Scale $250 (25,000); one check is one prompt on one platform in one location.
- AI Visibility Toolkit · SemrushOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Toolkit $99 a month, 25 tracked prompts, tracks Google AI Mode and ChatGPT.
- Semrush Pricing · SemrushOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: SEO plus AI search plans: Starter $199 (50 prompts daily), Pro+ $299 (100 prompts) on monthly billing.
- AthenaHQ Pricing · AthenaHQOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Free Essential tier with $25 credit; Starter $295 a month with 11 engines and unlimited prompts via credits; Enterprise custom.
- Scrunch Pricing · ScrunchOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Starter $250 a month billed annually or $300 monthly (350 custom prompts); Growth $417 or $500 (700); platforms listed; Enterprise with Data API and SSO.
- Marketers question expensive AI visibility tools as inconsistent results fuel skepticism · DigidayOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Published 1 May 2026: reported Profound $99 and $399 plans and up to $1,000 a month for services; tools seen as benchmarks; different tools give different answers.
- Is once a day enough? · ProfoundOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: 753 prompts, 7 platforms, 1 to 14 June 2026; visibility 78.7% at once a day versus 80.4% at ten runs a day.
- Google Search's Guidance on Third-Party SEO Tools & Advice · Google Search CentralOpened October 20, 2026. Supports: Third-party tools lack Google's internal ranking data and cannot guarantee performance.