Profound alternatives: AEO tracking tools compared
Kaan Ersoy3 min read
Profound is an enterprise AI visibility platform: it tracks how ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Claude and other answer engines talk about a brand, with agents that suggest and draft content. Its pricing page now lists a free 7-day trial and a custom-priced Enterprise plan. Startups look for alternatives with a published monthly price, no sales call, and a way to act on what the tracking shows.
Profound pricing
| Plan | Price | Prompts | AI engines |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trial | Free | 50, daily for 7 days | ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom, daily | Up to 9 answer engines |
Reviews from earlier in 2026 list two self-serve plans: Starter at $99 a month (ChatGPT only, 50 prompts) and Growth at $399 a month (ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, 100 prompts), both billed yearly. A September 2026 report says Profound withdrew them for brands; the pricing page no longer shows them.
Profound vs Citable
| Profound | Citable | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free trial; Enterprise custom. Reported earlier in 2026: Starter $99 and Growth $399 a month, billed yearly | $49, $149 or $349 a month per site (Starter, Standard or Advanced) |
| Billing | Enterprise contract | Month to month, cancel anytime; boosters paid once |
| AI engines | Trial: ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews. Enterprise: up to 9, including Perplexity, Google AI Mode, Claude and DeepSeek | ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode, on every plan |
| Prompts tracked | Trial: 50 prompts. Enterprise: custom | 25, 75 or 150 buyer questions, one naming your brand |
| How often | Daily | Daily, on every plan |
| Competitors | Not on its pricing page | 3, 5 or 10, found from AI answers and Google, or pinned by you |
| Google rankings | Not on its pricing page | Every search you rank for in the top 100, plus 10, 25 or 50 pinned keywords with AI Overview citations |
| Backlinks | Not on its pricing page | Referring domains, new and lost, weekly, with your Domain Rating |
| Site audit | Agent Analytics: AI crawler visits to your site | AI readiness audit: AI crawler access, content in the HTML, structured data, sitemap and page speed |
| Gets you into sources | Content agents and suggestions; no press release or directory distribution | Boosters: a press release on 500+ news sites ($199), AP and USA Today on Scale, and up to 100 directories; 15% off on a plan |
| Free to try | 7-day trial, 50 prompts | Free Domain Rating and PageSpeed check; one free AI visibility check with an account |
What Profound does well
- Coverage. Up to nine answer engines on Enterprise, including Perplexity, Claude and DeepSeek, which few tools track.
- Depth. Agents that suggest and draft content, Prompt Volumes for what people ask, ChatGPT Shopping and crawler analytics.
- Enterprise needs. Unlimited seats, data exports, an API, SSO and a dedicated support channel.
Why people look for an alternative
- They want a price on the page they can pay with a card, not a sales call and an annual contract.
- They are a startup tracking one site, and need tens of prompts, not thousands.
- They want Google rankings, competitors and backlinks next to AI answers, in one place.
- They want to act on the gap: when competitors are cited from news sites and directories, they want to be on those sites too.
Which to choose
Choose Profound if you are an enterprise brand that needs many engines, many markets, content agents, an API and SSO, and you have the budget for a custom contract.
Choose Citable if you are a startup that wants to see, every day, whether ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode name and cite you, next to your Google rankings, competitors and backlinks, from $49 a month and month to month. When the answers cite news sites and directories you are not on, Citable's boosters put you there: a press release on 500+ news sites and listings on up to 100 directories, 15% off on a plan. See AI visibility tools for what to look for.
Other Profound alternatives
| Service | Price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Citable | $49, $149 or $349 a month per site (Starter, Standard or Advanced) | Startups: AI answers, Google rankings, competitors and backlinks in one plan, plus boosters |
| Otterly.AI | From $29 a month | Low-cost prompt monitoring, including Perplexity and Copilot |
| Peec AI | From $95 a month | Teams tracking several countries and many competitors |
| Semrush AI Toolkit | $99 a month, plus a Semrush plan | Teams already paying for Semrush |
Questions people ask
How much does Profound cost?
Its pricing page lists a free 7-day trial and custom Enterprise pricing (checked November 2026). Earlier in 2026, reviews listed Starter at $99 and Growth at $399 a month, billed yearly.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Profound?
Yes. Otterly.AI starts at $29 a month, Citable at $49, and Peec AI at $95, each with a published price and monthly billing. They track fewer engines than Profound's Enterprise plan.
Does Profound get my brand cited?
No tool can promise that; the assistant decides what it cites. Profound measures and suggests content. Getting your brand onto the sources answers draw on, such as news sites and directories, is a separate step.