Profound alternatives for smaller budgets
Profound is an AI visibility platform with custom enterprise pricing, so you have to ask for a quote. If you want a tool with a published price you can start on today, there are several alternatives, from under $50 a month up to around $300. This guide groups them by budget tier so you can see what fits.
What Profound is, and why people look elsewhere
Profound is an AI visibility platform. It shows how AI assistants talk about your business. On its Enterprise plan it covers up to 9 assistants, including ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Mode, Gemini, Copilot, DeepSeek, Claude and AI Overviews.
The catch for smaller companies is the pricing. Profound uses custom enterprise pricing, so you have to contact the vendor for a quote. There is no published price to check.
That matters because a small business often wants to know the cost before spending time on a demo. For example, a marketing consultant in Manchester might want to test AI visibility for three client websites. Without a published price, they cannot tell if it fits the budget.
So people look for alternatives with a clear price, a free check or trial, and the assistants their customers actually use. The rest of this guide lists those alternatives by monthly cost.
Under $50 a month
This tier is for businesses that want to start small. You can check a handful of assistants and a limited number of questions without a big commitment.
Rankscale Essentials is $17 a month billed yearly. It is credit-based. It checks ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Mode, AI Overviews, Gemini, DeepSeek, Mistral, Claude, Copilot and Grok.
Vasukai starts at $19 a month, with regional prices from $10 a month and India from 899 rupees. It has a free AI check and a 7-day trial. It checks ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Claude, DeepSeek, Sarvam and Meta AI, in the main language plus 2 more. It also includes Google SEO tools like keyword research and rank tracking.
Otterly.AI Lite is $29 a month for 15 prompts. It checks ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Copilot. AI Mode, Gemini and Claude are paid add-ons.
For example, a dentist in Leeds might ask: which assistants do my patients use? If they mostly use ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews, a lower-tier tool may cover them. But if they also need Gemini, Otterly.AI would charge extra.
$50 to $100 a month
This tier adds more assistants or more prompts. It suits a business that has outgrown a starter plan but still wants a fixed monthly cost.
LLMrefs is $79 a month, marked as a limited-time price. It checks ChatGPT, ChatGPT Search, AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Grok, Copilot, Meta AI and DeepSeek.
Peec AI Starter is $95 a month, according to Peec's own AI instructions page dated July 2026. It covers 3 assistants chosen from ChatGPT, AI Mode, AI Overviews, Copilot, Gemini and Naver AI. More assistants are add-ons.
Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit is $99 a month per domain, billed yearly. It checks ChatGPT, Google AI, Gemini and Perplexity.
SE Visible from SE Ranking is $99 a month on the Basic plan. It checks ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Mode, Perplexity and AI Overviews.
For example, an online store selling to US and UK customers might need ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity. All four tools here cover those. But if they also want Claude, only LLMrefs includes it in this tier.
Closer to Profound's scope
These tools cover more assistants and are priced higher. They are for teams that need broad coverage and have a bigger budget.
Scrunch Starter is $250 a month billed yearly, or $300 monthly. It checks ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, AI Mode, AI Overviews and Meta.
AthenaHQ Starter is $295 a month. It covers 11 assistants including ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral.
For example, a B2B software company with customers in several countries might want to track many assistants at once. AthenaHQ covers 11, which is close to Profound's 9 on Enterprise. But it costs $295 a month, so it is not for a small budget.
How to choose
Start by listing the assistants your customers use. Then check that those assistants are included in the plan, not sold as add-ons. An add-on can push the real cost above the headline price.
Next, decide how many questions you need checked and how often. Some tools limit prompts, like Otterly.AI Lite with 15 prompts. Others use credits. If you need daily checks across many questions, a higher tier may be needed.
If your customers are outside the US, check languages and countries. Vasukai, for example, asks in the customer's language and up to two more, including Hindi, Tamil and Bengali. Check each vendor's language support before you buy.
Finally, start with a free check or trial where available. Vasukai has a free AI check that needs no card, and a 7-day trial. That lets you see what AI assistants say before you pay.
Prices were checked on each vendor's own pages on 11 October 2026 and can change. The full 14-tool table is at best AI visibility tools. Peec AI alternatives are compared at Peec AI alternatives.
Questions
How much does Profound cost?
Profound lists custom enterprise pricing, so you need to request a quote from the vendor.
What is the cheapest Profound alternative?
In this comparison, Rankscale Essentials is $17 a month billed yearly, and Vasukai is $19 a month, or from $10 in some regions. Both are under $50 a month.
Which alternative checks Sarvam or Indian languages?
Vasukai is the only tool here that checks Sarvam. It asks in the customer's language and up to two more, including Hindi, Tamil and Bengali.
Where do these prices come from?
Each vendor's own pricing pages, checked on 11 October 2026. Prices can change, so confirm with the vendor before buying.
