Buyer's guide · 2026
Best AI visibility tools under $50
AI visibility tooling ranges from sub-$50 monitors to enterprise platforms that quote you four figures. If you want to track — and actually raise — how ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity describe your brand without a big budget, here are the affordable options, with pricing shown as publicly listed.
Limelight — $29/mo
Limelight checks ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity, detects citations by reading the actual answer (not just matching URLs), benchmarks you against the competitors winning your category, and turns every gap into a specific, per-prompt fix. One flat price, a self-serve 3-day trial ($0 today, then $29/month, cancel anytime), and the only one on this list built around doing something about your score rather than just watching it.
- One flat price — $29/mo
- Self-serve 3-day trial — $0 today
- Three engines, read like a buyer reads
- Fixes, not just a dashboard
The 2026 roster, compared at a glance
The same criteria, side by side. Pricing and entry terms below are publicly listed (2026) and framed conservatively where an exact figure isn't confirmed — check each vendor for current numbers.
| Tool | Monthly price | AI engines tracked | Detection method | Free scan | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limelight | $29/mo, flat | ChatGPT, Claude & Perplexity | Reads the full answer (not URL-only) | Yes — instant, no signup | Founders & lean teams who want to act |
| Profound | Sales-led / enterprise (2026) — legacy self-serve ≈ $99–$399/mo | Multiple engines (broad coverage) | Answer-engine analytics & share-of-voice | Demo / sales-led | Large enterprises & agencies |
| Peec AI | From €89/mo (publicly listed, 2026) | Core engines + paid add-ons | Brand-mention & citation tracking | Free trial — see vendor | Marketing teams & SEO agencies |
| Otterly.AI | From $29/mo (publicly listed, 2026) | Core engines + paid add-ons | Brand-mention tracking + on-page audit | Free trial — see vendor | SMBs & individual marketers watching headline cost |
| AthenaHQ | From $295/mo (publicly listed, 2026) | Multiple engines (broad coverage) | Mention tracking + content actions | Demo / limited credits | Brand & growth teams investing in GEO |
| Scrunch AI | From $250/mo (publicly listed, 2026) | Multiple engines (broad coverage) | Monitoring + site audits | Demo / sales-led | Enterprises & agencies |
| Searchable | From ≈ $125/mo (publicly listed, 2026) | Core engines + add-ons | Mention & link tracking | See vendor for terms | Marketing teams monitoring AI presence |
| Visiblie | From €79/mo (publicly listed, 2026) | Multiple engines (broad coverage) | Mention tracking + GEO module | See vendor for terms | Brands wanting monitoring plus guided optimization |
| Ranketta | Free Starter; Pro €249/mo (publicly listed, 2026) | Multiple engines (broad coverage) | Mention, citation & sentiment tracking | Free tier + Pro trial | E-commerce & product brands |
“Detection method” and “Free scan” reflect each tool's public positioning and listed entry terms — a free trial or demo isn't the same as Limelight's free, no-signup instant scan. Limelight's $29/mo flat price and self-serve 3-day trial ($0 today, then $29/month, cancel anytime) are current.
Otterly.AI
Lightweight, affordable AI-search monitoring
Otterly.AI is a lightweight AI-search monitor popular with SMBs and individual marketers, pairing brand-mention tracking with an on-page GEO audit. Its entry Lite tier is $29/mo for just 15 tracked prompts — where Limelight is a flat $29/mo for 50, and, more to the point, turns every gap into a specific, per-prompt fix to get cited, not just showing where you rank.
Pricing: Lite $29/mo (15 prompts), Standard $189/mo, Premium $489/mo, publicly listed (2026) — the entry Lite tier costs more than Limelight's flat $29 while tracking fewer prompts (15 vs. 50).
Peec AI
Above $50 — listed for completenessAI visibility tracking for marketing teams
Peec AI is an AI-search visibility tracker built for marketing teams and SEO agencies to monitor how brands appear across AI assistants, with competitor tracking, daily prompt runs, and shareable reporting.
Pricing: Starter €89/mo, Pro €199/mo, publicly listed (2026); Enterprise custom — some engines are paid add-ons.
AthenaHQ
Above $50 — listed for completenessGenerative engine optimization platform
AthenaHQ is a generative engine optimization (GEO) platform that helps brands monitor and improve how they appear in AI answers across assistants like ChatGPT, with an Action Center that turns visibility data into content recommendations. It targets brand and growth teams investing seriously in GEO.
Pricing: Self-Serve from $295/mo (credit-based), Growth $695/mo, publicly listed (2026); Enterprise custom.
Scrunch AI
Above $50 — listed for completenessEnterprise AI-search brand presence
Scrunch AI helps enterprises and agencies understand and manage how their brand shows up across AI search engines and agents, spanning monitoring, site audits, and optimization, with a focus on larger organizations.
Pricing: Core from $250/mo, Agency from $500/mo, publicly listed (2026); Enterprise custom.
Searchable
Above $50 — listed for completenessAI-search visibility monitoring
Searchable tracks how brands are mentioned and linked across AI assistants and answer engines like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity, with prompt tracking, site audits, and exportable reports for marketing teams.
Pricing: From around $125/mo, publicly listed (2026); higher tiers and add-ons for larger teams.
Visiblie
Above $50 — listed for completenessAI visibility monitoring with a GEO module
Visiblie is an AI visibility platform that monitors brand mentions across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Copilot, then pairs them with a generative-optimization module that suggests changes — like comparison pages and FAQ schema — to improve how you appear.
Pricing: Starter €79/mo, Growth €129/mo, Scale €199/mo, publicly listed (2026); managed GEO services available.
Ranketta
Above $50 — listed for completenessAI visibility for e-commerce & products
Ranketta is an AI-visibility platform focused on e-commerce, tracking how products and brands are mentioned and cited across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews, with sentiment analysis and AI-shopping insights. It's an early-stage, venture-backed entrant.
Pricing: Free Starter tier; Pro €249/mo, publicly listed (2026).
Profound
Custom / sales-led pricingEnterprise answer-engine analytics
Profound is an enterprise-grade answer-engine analytics platform aimed at large brands and agencies, with deep share-of-voice analytics across the major AI assistants. As of 2026 it is sales-led — onboarding starts with a demo rather than self-serve checkout.
Pricing: Sales-led / enterprise (2026); earlier self-serve tiers were publicly listed around $99–$399/mo — treat those as buying signals, not a guaranteed current price.
Rival pricing and tiers are shown as publicly listed (2026) and framed conservatively where an exact figure isn't confirmed — check each vendor for current pricing. Limelight's $29/mo and self-serve 3-day trial ($0 today) are current.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the best AI visibility tool under $50?
- Limelight is the standout affordable pick at $29/mo flat. It checks ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity, detects citations by reading the actual answer (not just matching URLs), benchmarks you against the competitors winning your category, and turns every gap into a specific, per-prompt fix — all on one flat price with a self-serve 3-day trial: $0 today, then $29/month, cancel anytime.
- How much does Limelight cost?
- Limelight is $29/mo, flat — no per-seat math, no annual lock-in, and no enterprise quote. You can start a full 3-day trial of the whole dashboard for $0 today, then $29/month after the trial, and cancel anytime. A card secures your trial.
- What are the best alternatives to Profound?
- Profound is an enterprise-grade, sales-led platform. More affordable and lean-team-friendly alternatives include Limelight ($29/mo, with actionable per-prompt fixes), Otterly.AI, Peec AI, AthenaHQ, Scrunch AI, and Searchable. Limelight is the only one on this list built around acting on your score — turning each gap into a specific fix — rather than only watching it.
- Which AI engines does Limelight track?
- Limelight tracks how ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity describe your brand, detecting citations by reading the actual answer text rather than only matching citation URLs — so it catches mentions that URL-only tools miss.
- Is there a free AI visibility tool or trial?
- Limelight offers a 3-day free trial of the entire dashboard — $0 today, then $29/month, cancel anytime — plus a free instant scan you can run before signing up, with no card and no account, to see how ChatGPT, Claude, and Perplexity describe your brand today.