Comparing AEO tools: what $49/mo gets you vs. $399/mo

The AEO tool market is small but growing fast. As of mid-2026, there are about a dozen tools worth evaluating, with prices ranging from $29/mo to $500+/mo. The features overlap significantly at the monitoring layer. The differences are in actionability, pricing models, and who the tool is designed for.

This is an honest comparison. We built one of these tools (onpage.app), so we're biased. We've tried to be fair about where competitors are genuinely better. You'll notice we include a "when to choose them instead" for each one.

The contenders

Profound ($99-$399+/mo)

The most established AEO tool. Strong monitoring across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, and Claude. Citation share-of-voice analytics. On the Growth tier ($399/mo), they offer AI-generated content briefs via their "Agents" feature.

Best at: Deep monitoring with the largest historical dataset. Google Analytics integration for correlating visibility with traffic.

Weakest at: Pricing. The Starter tier ($99/mo) is ChatGPT-only, which is too narrow. The useful tier starts at $399/mo. One website per account means no agency support. Demo-only sales model.

Choose Profound if: You're an enterprise brand with budget for $399/mo+, need historical trend data, and want Google Analytics integration. You have a team that can translate monitoring data into content strategy.

Otterly ($29-$489/mo)

Budget-friendly monitoring across the widest set of AI engines: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Copilot, and Gemini.

Best at: Engine coverage at a low price. Looker Studio connector for custom reporting. Strong user reviews on G2.

Weakest at: Zero actionable output. Monitoring only — no recommendations, no content suggestions. Prompt-based limits create unpredictable costs ($99 per 100 extra prompts). Sentiment analysis is unreliable.

Choose Otterly if: You need Google AI Overview tracking specifically, want Looker Studio integration, or are on a tight budget and just need to know whether you appear.

Peec AI (EUR89-EUR199+/mo)

Clean European platform focused on multi-language analytics and regional benchmarking.

Best at: 115+ language support. Regional visibility breakdowns. Prompt organization and relevancy discovery.

Weakest at: Analytics only, no actionable output. Hidden per-model costs (EUR30-140/mo per additional model). No free tier. Limited track record (launched Feb 2025).

Choose Peec AI if: You operate in many languages and need regional benchmarking. Citation source identification is important to your workflow.

AthenaHQ ($295/mo self-serve)

Enterprise-positioned platform with 8+ model coverage and role-based dashboards.

Best at: Broadest model coverage. Role-based dashboards for different stakeholders. "Action center" with content fix suggestions.

Weakest at: Credit-based pricing makes monthly costs unpredictable. Action center recommendations are generic ("optimize your FAQ") rather than specific. High entry price. Limited methodology transparency.

Choose AthenaHQ if: You need role-based dashboards for CMO/SEO/PR stakeholders, track 8+ AI engines, and have enterprise budget.

onpage.app ($0-$499/mo)

That's us. AEO auditing with actionable content recommendations.

Best at: Specific, page-level content recommendations with every audit. Raw LLM responses visible. Transparent flat-rate pricing. Free tier with no credit card.

Weakest at: Fewer models than Profound or AthenaHQ (currently 2, adding third). No Google Analytics integration. No historical trend charts (yet). Newer than Profound or Otterly.

Choose onpage.app if: You need audits that end with a to-do list, not a dashboard. You're an operator or agency that needs to turn visibility data into content plans. You want to see the raw data behind scores.

The feature matrix

Feature	onpage.app	Profound	Otterly	Peec AI	AthenaHQ
Entry price	$0	$99	$29	~$97	$95*
Multi-model price	$49	$399	$189	$97+	$295
Content recommendations	Yes	Growth only	No	No	Generic
Raw LLM responses	Yes	No	No	No	No
Agency support	$149	No	No	No	Enterprise
Pricing model	Flat tier	Flat tier	Prompt-based	Per-model add-on	Credit-based
Free tier	3/day	No	No	No	No

* AthenaHQ first-month promotional price with annual commitment.

The real question

The pricing difference between tools is significant, but the more important question is: does the tool change what you ship?

A $399/mo monitoring dashboard that nobody acts on is more expensive than a $49/mo tool that generates a content brief every week. The total cost of an AEO tool isn't the subscription — it's the subscription plus the time your team spends translating data into action.

If your team has the expertise to go from visibility data to content plans, the monitoring-only tools work fine. If you want the tool to do that translation for you, that's what we built onpage.app to do.