Comparison
The best AI visibility & citation tracking tools in 2026.
The leading dedicated AI visibility tools are Profound, AthenaHQ, Otterly.ai, Peec AI, Scrunch AI, Rankscale, Trakkr.ai, Goodie AI, and CitationDesk, while Ahrefs, Semrush, and HubSpot add AI-visibility tracking to their existing suites. They differ most on entry price, whether there's a free tier, and how many LLMs they track — CitationDesk is the one with a genuinely free, no-signup Citation Readiness Score.
As people increasingly ask ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini instead of searching Google, being cited by those models becomes its own discoverability channel. These tools all measure some version of that — here's how the 12 leading options compare, and which fits which budget. Written by the operator who built CitationDesk, including where each competitor is the better pick.
Prefer a written rundown? Read the guide to the best AI visibility tools, or score your own site free.
At a glance
| Tool | Entry price | Free tier | LLMs / surfaces tracked |
|---|---|---|---|
| CitationDesk | Free — optional Pro €29/mo | ✓ Free forever (no signup) | Readiness scored: ChatGPT · Claude · Perplexity · Gemini |
| Profound | Free trial (7 days) · Enterprise custom (sales-led) | ✗ | ChatGPT · Claude · Perplexity · Gemini · Copilot · Other LLMs |
| AthenaHQ | Free plan ($25 of credits) · $295/mo Starter · Enterprise custom | ✗ | ChatGPT · Perplexity · AI Overviews · AI Mode · Gemini · Claude · Copilot · Grok · DeepSeek · Meta AI · Mistral |
| Otterly.ai | $29/mo Lite → $189/mo Standard → $489/mo Premium · Enterprise custom | ✗ | ChatGPT · Perplexity · Google AI Overviews · Gemini |
| Peec AI | €85/mo Starter (50 prompts) → €205 Pro → €425 Scale · +€30–140/mo per extra LLM | ✗ | ChatGPT · Perplexity · Google AI Overviews (Claude · Gemini · Grok as paid add-ons) |
| Scrunch AI | $250/mo Core (125 prompts, 4 LLMs) · Enterprise custom | ✗ | ChatGPT · Claude · Perplexity · Gemini |
| Rankscale | Free Essentials · $99 Pro · $385 Growth · $780 Enterprise · credit-based | ~ free audit + 7-day trial | ChatGPT · Claude · Perplexity · Gemini · Google AI Mode · AI Overviews · Copilot · Grok · DeepSeek · 17+ total |
| Trakkr.ai | $100/mo Growth · $500 Scale · Enterprise from $1,000 · free AEO Checker (no signup) | ~ checker + 14-day trial | ChatGPT · Claude · Perplexity · Gemini (+ more, ~8 total) |
| Goodie AI | $399/mo Core · $999/mo Pro · Enterprise custom | ✗ (trial) | ChatGPT · AI Overviews · Perplexity (Core) → up to 11 engines incl. Claude at Enterprise |
| Writesonic | AI tracking from Starter $79/mo · Basic $199 · Growth $399 · Enterprise custom (billed annually) | ✗ (free trial) | ChatGPT · Claude · Perplexity · Gemini · AI Overviews · Grok · DeepSeek · Copilot |
| Ahrefs Brand Radar | Custom prompts from $50/mo up to $699/mo for all models · AI Visibility Index $199/mo · on paid Ahrefs plans · free AI Visibility Checker | ~ limited checker | AI Overviews · AI Mode · ChatGPT · Copilot · Gemini · Perplexity · Claude (Custom Prompts) (+ YouTube/TikTok/Reddit beta) |
| Semrush AI Toolkit | AI Visibility Toolkit $99/mo (no free trial) · or bundled in SEO + AI Search plans from €158.40/mo | ✗ | ChatGPT · Perplexity · Gemini · Google AI Overviews |
| HubSpot AEO Grader | Free one-time grade (signup) · $50/mo HubSpot AEO for continuous monitoring | ~ one-time grade | ChatGPT · Perplexity · Gemini |
| Nightwatch | €79/mo Starter (50 AI prompts) · €159/mo Pro · €399/mo Agency · Enterprise custom | ✗ (14-day trial) | ChatGPT · Perplexity · Google AI Overviews · Claude |
Pricing and surfaces verified from each vendor's public pages. Prices re-checked on 24 September 2026 (Peec AI’s page did not show prices to our check, so its figures date from June) — AI-visibility pricing changes fast; check the linked comparison and the vendor site before buying.
Dedicated AI-visibility platforms
CitationDesk vs Profound
Enterprise AI-search visibility platform
From Free trial (7 days)
Compare →CitationDesk vs AthenaHQ
AI-visibility GEO platform
From Free plan ($25 of credits)
Compare →CitationDesk vs Otterly.ai
AI search rankings + citation tracking
From $29/mo Lite
Compare →CitationDesk vs Peec AI
AI search analytics for teams
From €85/mo Starter (50 prompts)
Compare →CitationDesk vs Scrunch AI
AI customer-experience + visibility platform
From $250/mo Core (125 prompts, 4 LLMs)
Compare →CitationDesk vs Rankscale
Budget credit-based AI tracker
From Free Essentials
Compare →CitationDesk vs Trakkr.ai
Indie AI-visibility tracker + free checker
From $100/mo Growth
Compare →CitationDesk vs Goodie AI
Enterprise AEO platform, autonomous actions
From $399/mo Core
Compare →CitationDesk vs Writesonic
AI-visibility tracking in a writing suite
From AI tracking from Starter $79/mo
Compare →SEO suites & graders with AI add-ons
CitationDesk vs Ahrefs Brand Radar
Enterprise AI-visibility add-on for Ahrefs
From Custom prompts from $50/mo up to $699/mo for all models
Compare →CitationDesk vs Semrush AI Toolkit
AI-visibility add-on for Semrush
From AI Visibility Toolkit $99/mo (no free trial)
Compare →CitationDesk vs HubSpot AEO Grader
Free one-time AI brand-perception grade
From Free one-time grade (signup)
Compare →CitationDesk vs Nightwatch
Rank tracker with AI-search add-on
From €79/mo Starter (50 AI prompts)
Compare →How do you choose an AI-visibility tool?
- Want to start free / single brand: CitationDesk — free Citation Readiness Score and fixes, no signup. Optional Pro report at €29/mo.
- Widest engine coverage on a budget: Rankscale — 17+ engines, free Essentials tier, paid from $99/mo (credit-metered).
- Enterprise share-of-voice across many LLMs: AthenaHQ or Goodie ($295–$399/mo+), or Profound (custom pricing).
- Already living in an SEO suite: Ahrefs Brand Radar, the Semrush AI Toolkit, or HubSpot AEO Grader as an add-on.
- Prompt-level sentiment / agency scale: Peec AI or Scrunch AI.
See where you stand — free.
Run a free Citation Readiness Score on any URL in 90 seconds. No signup. No credit card. You get the score plus the exact fixes (llms.txt, schema, robots allowlist).
Frequently asked questions
What are the best AI visibility and citation tracking tools?
The leading dedicated trackers are Profound, AthenaHQ, Otterly.ai, Peec AI, Scrunch AI, Rankscale, Trakkr.ai, Goodie AI, and CitationDesk; Ahrefs (Brand Radar), Semrush (AI Toolkit) and HubSpot (AEO Grader) add AI-visibility features to their existing suites. They differ most on entry price, whether they have a free tier, and how many LLMs they track.
Is there a free AI citation or visibility tracker?
CitationDesk offers a free-forever Citation Readiness Score (no signup) plus a free fix generator (llms.txt, schema, robots allowlist). Most dedicated platforms — Profound, AthenaHQ, Peec, Scrunch, Goodie — have no free tier; Rankscale, Trakkr, HubSpot, and Ahrefs offer a limited free checker or trial rather than a free-forever plan.
What is the cheapest AI visibility tool?
Otterly’s Lite plan ($29/mo) is the cheapest paid dedicated tracker; Rankscale has a free Essentials tier and paid plans from $99/mo that reach the most engines (17+). CitationDesk is free — a free-forever readiness audit + fix generators; the optional Pro report for publishers is €29/mo. Enterprise-leaning platforms such as Profound and Goodie start around $399/mo.
Which tools track Claude citations?
CitationDesk scores Claude citation-readiness from its free audit. Among the monitoring platforms, Claude coverage varies: some sell it as an add-on or only on higher tiers (Otterly, Peec AI, Goodie), Ahrefs Brand Radar covers it through Custom Prompts, and HubSpot’s AEO Grader does not list it. Check the vendor’s plan page before buying.
How is AI visibility tracking different from traditional SEO rank tracking?
Traditional rank tracking measures where you appear in Google’s blue links. AI visibility (citation) tracking measures whether ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity, and Gemini reference your content when they answer a question — a separate discoverability channel that matters as users shift from search results to AI answers.
Still deciding? Email me a free sample AI-visibility report for your own site — no signup, no sales call.