Best AI visibility tools for startups and small teams

What this page ranks on, before the list

Two things, both checkable, and neither of them "features". If you care more about engine count or country coverage, the order below is the wrong order for you and you should read the general list instead.

• Is there a real free tier. Not a demo, not a call: something that runs an actual scan and shows you an actual answer. Two tools here have one.
• Cost per tracked buyer question a month. This is the number that decides whether the tool survives your next budget review, and it is not the headline price. A $29 plan tracking 15 prompts costs more per prompt than a $189 plan tracking 100.
• Deliberately NOT ranked on: engine count, prompt volume ceilings, or enterprise features. A startup that needs 9,000 responses a month is not a startup for the purposes of this page, and Profound is the better answer for it.

The short answer

AnswerTrace, for the free plan. It runs a real scan on ChatGPT with no credit card, and paid starts at ₹1,499 a month. It is not the cheapest per tracked question on this page, but Growth costs about 56% less per question than the comparable international plan, Otterly.AI Standard.

AthenaHQ, if you want the widest free trial. Its Essential tier is free with $25 of credit and covers five engines, which is more than AnswerTrace gives away and more than several paid entry plans here.

Otterly.AI, if you want four engines for the least money and can live with 15 prompts. At $29 a month that is the cheapest paid entry point on this page in dollar terms.

On covering many engines, which is where this gets argued badly

Every tool here advertises an engine count, and the count on its own is a weak thing to buy on. An engine you can ask 15 questions on tells you less than an engine you can ask 100 on. What you are actually buying is engines times questions, so that is what this section compares.

Two facts first, because they do not favour us. Scrunch carries seven engines and AthenaHQ's paid tier carries ten, against AnswerTrace's four. And on engines times questions per rupee, Scrunch wins outright: Scrunch Starter returns 103 engine-questions per ₹1,000 a month against AnswerTrace Growth's 38, and ZipTie Basic, SE Ranking Core and AITLAS Starter are ahead of AnswerTrace Growth too. One caveat on that ranking: ZipTie sells searches a month rather than a question allowance, so its figure here is converted at a weekly cycle, and at a two-week cycle, the one AnswerTrace Starter and Growth use, it doubles and passes Scrunch. If raw coverage is what you want and you can spend, Scrunch or ZipTie is the answer and this page will not talk you out of it.

What is true for a small team is narrower. Scrunch starts at about ₹23,850 a month, which is not a small-team number, and neither is Profound, Semrush or AthenaHQ's paid tier. Under ₹5,000 a month the field is AITLAS Starter, AnswerTrace Starter, Otterly.AI Lite and AITLAS Growth, and there AITLAS Starter gives the most per rupee, 40 engine-questions per ₹1,000 against AnswerTrace Starter's 33. On raw coverage Otterly.AI Lite gives 4 engines across 15, 60 engine-questions, against 50 for AnswerTrace Starter. Growth, at ₹5,999, is above that line.

The engines AnswerTrace covers are ChatGPT, Google's AI Overview, Claude and Perplexity. The one it does not carry at all is Microsoft Copilot, and Otterly.AI does. Whether that costs you anything is a question about your buyers rather than about either tool: if they ask Copilot which product to buy, Otterly.AI sees that and we do not.

• Scrunch Starter: 7 engines across 350 buyer questions, 103 engine-questions per ₹1,000 a month.
• ZipTie Basic: 3 engines across 125 buyer questions, 57 engine-questions per ₹1,000 a month.
• SE Ranking Core: 4 engines across 100 buyer questions, 41 engine-questions per ₹1,000 a month.
• AITLAS Starter: 2 engines across 20 buyer questions, 40 engine-questions per ₹1,000 a month.
• AnswerTrace Growth: 3 engines across 75 buyer questions, 38 engine-questions per ₹1,000 a month.
• AnswerTrace Starter: 2 engines across 25 buyer questions, 33 engine-questions per ₹1,000 a month.
• Otterly.AI Lite: 4 engines across 15 buyer questions, 22 engine-questions per ₹1,000 a month.
• Otterly.AI Standard: 4 engines across 100 buyer questions, 22 engine-questions per ₹1,000 a month.
• Writesonic Starter: 3 engines across 50 buyer questions, 20 engine-questions per ₹1,000 a month.
• AITLAS Growth: 2 engines across 50 buyer questions, 20 engine-questions per ₹1,000 a month.
• Profound Starter: 3 engines across 50 buyer questions, 16 engine-questions per ₹1,000 a month.
• Semrush AI Toolkit: 4 engines across 25 buyer questions, 11 engine-questions per ₹1,000 a month.

Side by side

The same tools in one view. Every figure is read from that vendor's own pricing page on the date given in its entry below, and the last column is derived rather than quoted: engines multiplied by tracked questions, divided by the monthly price in rupees.

1. AnswerTrace

First here for the free plan, which runs a real scan on ChatGPT with no card, at 10 questions; the next entry gives away more engines. On the second criterion it is not first: AITLAS Starter and ZipTie Basic cost less per tracked question. Against Otterly.AI Standard, Growth is about 56% less per question.

• Free is ₹0: one product, 10 buyer questions, one scan, no credit card. Starter is ₹1,499 a month for 25 buyer questions per scan, Growth ₹5,999 for 75, Pro ₹19,999 for 150. Prices exclude 18% GST, which GST-registered businesses claim back.
• ChatGPT on every plan including free, Google's AI Overview from Starter, Claude from Growth, Perplexity from Pro. No Microsoft Copilot.
• 8 countries, 101 cities across 7 of them, and 12 languages of which 10 are Indian.
• Choose it if you want to see a real answer before you pay anything, and a lower cost per tracked question than Otterly.AI or Profound once you do. It also tells you which questions you lose and what to change, rather than only reporting the score.
• Facts read from AnswerTrace's own pricing page on 26 August 2026.

2. AITLAS by Shiprocket

Second for an India-based startup and nowhere for anyone else. A genuinely free tier at ₹0 with three scans, then ₹999 a month, below AnswerTrace's ₹1,499 entry. Two AI platforms at every tier is the ceiling you are buying into.

• Free is ₹0 for 3 scans of 15 prompts. Starter is ₹999 a month or ₹7,999 a year for 5 scans of 20 prompts, Growth ₹4,999 or ₹50,999 for 10 scans of 50, Scale ₹12,999 or ₹1,32,599 for 10 scans of 100. Managed service starts at ₹24,999 a month. Prices exclude 18% GST.
• Its comparison table states 2 AI platforms tracked on every DIY tier, free through Scale. More platforms are an add-on, on request, from Growth up.
• Its pricing page states no country or language list.
• Its pricing page states no Indian language support and no city-level measurement.
• Choose it if you are an Indian ecommerce brand already inside Shiprocket, or if you want someone to run the programme for you rather than run it yourself. It is the only tool here selling a managed service at a published rupee price.
• Facts read from AITLAS by Shiprocket's own pricing page on 3 September 2026.

3. AthenaHQ

Third overall and first on free tiers, which is worth saying plainly: five engines and $25 of credit is a more generous trial than ours. It drops to second because paid starts at $295 a month, which is not a startup number.

• Essential is free with $25 of credit, Starter $295 a month with 17% off annually, Enterprise custom. It is priced in credits, where one credit is one AI response.
• Essential covers ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Copilot; Starter adds AI Mode, Claude, Grok, DeepSeek and Meta AI.
• Essential and Starter are single country and single language; multi-region is Enterprise.
• Choose it if you want a genuinely free tier to try and a long engine list, for one market. Its free plan carries more engines than most paid entry plans here.
• Facts read from AthenaHQ's own pricing page on 26 August 2026.

4. ZipTie.dev

Fourth. A 14-day trial with 75 checks and no card, then a flat $69 a month for 500 checks across three engines, consumed as you use them. For a small team that wants a number without a sales call or an annual commitment, this is about as simple as the category gets. One seat on every plan, and no Claude.

• Basic is $69 a month or $703 a year, Standard $99 or $1,009, Pro $159 or $1,621. They buy 500, 1,000 and 2,000 AI searches a month. A 14-day free trial gives 75 searches with no card.
• Every plan covers the same three: Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT and Perplexity. Each AI search returns all three at once.
• It lists 14 countries, India among them: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.
• Its pricing page states no Indian language support, and every plan carries one seat.
• Choose it if you want a lot of checks for a low flat price and three engines is enough. 500 searches at $69 is the cheapest volume on this page in dollars, and it names India as a supported country in writing.
• Facts read from ZipTie.dev's own pricing page on 3 September 2026.

5. Otterly.AI

Fifth. The $29 Lite plan is the cheapest paid entry here and carries four engines, which is remarkable value if 15 prompts is enough. Per tracked question it is the most expensive plan on this page.

• Lite is $29 a month for 15 search prompts, Standard $189 for 100, Premium $489 for 400, Enterprise from $1,000. Annual billing takes 15% off.
• Every plan tracks four engines: "ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, MS Copilot". Claude, Google AI Mode and Gemini are add-ons at $9 to $439 a month.
• It advertises "Multi-country support (50+)" on every plan.
• Its pricing page states no Indian language support.
• Choose it if you sell across many countries at once, or if you want every core engine on the cheapest plan rather than unlocking them as you grow. It leads on both.
• Facts read from Otterly.AI's own pricing page on 26 August 2026.

6. Frase

Sixth, and the cheapest way here to get the writing as well as the watching. $39 a month billed yearly covers 10 articles, AI visibility on ChatGPT and Google AI, and publishing into WordPress, Webflow, Sanity or Wix. Perplexity waits until the $103 tier.

• Starter is $39 a month billed yearly, $49 monthly, with 10 articles a month, AI visibility tracking and site audits. Professional is $103 yearly or $129 monthly for 3 seats and 5 domains. Scale is $239 yearly or $299 monthly.
• AI visibility on Starter covers ChatGPT and Google AI. Perplexity is added at Professional.
• Its pricing page states no Indian language support.
• Choose it if writing and publishing the fix matters more to you than measuring the gap. It is a content platform first, it pushes finished posts to WordPress, Webflow, Sanity or Wix, and it hosts a blog for you free if you have no CMS.
• Facts read from Frase's own pricing page on 3 September 2026.

7. Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit

Seventh, and effectively free if Semrush is already in your stack. As a standalone purchase, $99 a month for 25 prompts is hard to justify at this stage.

• Semrush sells AI visibility as a toolkit inside its wider SEO suite, at $99 a month billed annually, with 25 tracked prompts and one domain. Another 50 prompts is $60 a month, and extra domains or locations are $99 each.
• It covers mentions from ChatGPT, Google AI, Gemini and Perplexity.
• Choose it if you already pay for Semrush and want AI visibility next to the SEO tools you use daily rather than another login. It is the only option here that is part of a broader suite.
• Facts read from Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit's own pricing page on 26 August 2026.

8. Writesonic

Eighth. $79 a month billed annually gets 50 tracked prompts, 50 answers a day and 15 articles, which is a lot of surface for the money, but Starter is one market only and the useful tiers step up fast to $199 and $399.

• Starter is $99 a month, $79 billed annually, with 50 prompts tracked, 50 answers a day and 15 articles a month. Basic is $249 monthly or $199 annually, Growth $499 monthly or $399 annually, Enterprise custom.
• Starter tracks ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews. Its pricing page advertises 10 AI platforms across the range.
• Starter is one market, counted as one language plus one country.
• Choose it if you want measurement and content production from the same subscription and expect to grow into a large plan. Nothing else here bundles an article writer, a site audit and AI visibility at this tier.
• Facts read from Writesonic's own pricing page on 3 September 2026.

9. Profound

Ninth for a startup, first for a funded team. $99 a month is reachable, but it is billed yearly, which is a twelve-month commitment before you know whether the category matters to you.

• Starter is $99 a month and Growth $399 a month, both billed yearly, with Enterprise custom. Starter tracks 50 unique prompts and 1,500 responses monthly; Growth 100 prompts and 9,000 responses.
• Self-serve plans monitor ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, with Gemini, Copilot, Grok, DeepSeek and Claude on Enterprise.
• Starter and Growth are one language and one region. Multi-region means Enterprise.
• Choose it if you want high response volume against a single market and are comfortable with annual billing. Nothing else here returns 9,000 responses a month at that tier.
• Facts read from Profound's own pricing page on 26 August 2026.

10. SE Ranking

Tenth on a startup budget and unbeatable on allowance. 100 prompts tracked daily comes with the base plan, but that base plan is $103.20 a month billed annually before the AI Search add-on, which is a department purchase rather than a founder one.

• It sells AI visibility two ways. The Core plan is $103.20 a month billed annually, $129 monthly, and already includes 100 prompts tracked daily and 5 domains of AI research. A separate AI Search add-on is $71.20 a month annually, $89 monthly, for 200 prompts, rising to 450 and 1,000 on higher tiers.
• Its AI Results Tracker covers Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Perplexity and ChatGPT, with competitor research across the same four.
• Its pricing page states no Indian language support.
• Choose it if you want AI visibility inside a full SEO platform rather than beside one, and you track a lot of prompts. 100 prompts a day on the base plan is the most generous entry allowance on this page.
• Facts read from SE Ranking's own pricing page on 3 September 2026.

11. Peec AI

Eleventh, mostly on process. A startup evaluating four tools on a Friday afternoon cannot compare a price that is only available through a sales call.

• Peec AI does not publish prices. Its pricing page lists Starter, Pro, Advanced and Enterprise by name with a "Talk to Sales" route.
• It states the engines available across plans as "ChatGPT, AI Mode, AI Overviews, Microsoft Copilot, Perplexity, Gemini". The number of models is tiered: Starter 1, Pro 2, Advanced 3.
• Countries per project are tiered too: Starter 1, Pro 2, Advanced 5.
• Choose it if you are happy to go through sales to get a number and want to pick which specific models you monitor. Be aware the entry plan monitors one model.
• Facts read from Peec AI's own pricing page on 26 August 2026.

12. Scrunch

Twelfth here and excellent elsewhere. $250 a month at entry is not a startup price, and the 350 prompts you get for it are far more than a small team will use.

• Starter is $250 a month billed annually or $300 month to month, Growth $417 annually or $500 monthly, Enterprise not stated. Starter includes 350 custom prompts and 1,000 industry prompts. Extra seats are $25 a month each.
• It covers seven engines: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, AI Overviews and Meta.
• Its pricing page states no country or language limits.
• Choose it if prompt volume is your constraint. It tracks far more prompts at entry than anything else here, and covers the widest engine list.
• Facts read from Scrunch's own pricing page on 26 August 2026.

When another tool fits better

If you want the most generous free trial rather than a low-priced paid plan, AthenaHQ gives you more engines than we do for nothing, and you should take it.

If price is not actually your constraint and coverage is, this page is ranking on the wrong axis for you. It covers eight countries live today where Otterly.AI covers 50+, and adds more on request with a buyer-question bank and search geography of their own rather than by relabelling an existing one. It does not carry Microsoft Copilot at all, and engines unlock by tier rather than all arriving on the cheapest plan.

And if you are pre-product or pre-first-customers, do not pay for anything yet, ours included. Run the free scan, see whether AI engines name you at all, and come back when buyers are actively comparing you against named rivals. That is the point at which being absent from the answer starts costing you deals, and it is the point the paid plans are built for.

What none of them can do

No tool on this page, ours included, can make an AI engine recommend you. Engines decide what to say from sources nobody controls, and they change their minds between runs. What these tools do is measure where you stand today and track what moves after you change something.

Any vendor promising you a placement is selling you something it cannot deliver. That includes us, which is why this page ranks tools on what they measure and what they cost rather than on outcomes none of us can promise.