Head to head
AthenaHQ vs Profound
A flat $295/month plan covering up to 9 AI engines with API access included from the start, metered by a credit pool, versus a cheaper $99/month entry that tracks ChatGPT only, where real multi-engine depth needs Profound's $399/month Growth tier or a custom, sales-led Enterprise plan, and no Profound self-serve tier includes an API.
On this page
AthenaHQ and Profound both measure how AI answer engines mention a brand, but they split on how they price engine breadth and API access.
AthenaHQ is a Y Combinator-backed platform with a single self-serve tier: Starter, $295/month, billed monthly (about 17% cheaper billed annually). That one tier already covers up to 9 AI engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Gemini, Claude, Copilot and Grok) and includes API access with add-on credits available. Usage is metered in credits rather than seats: Starter includes 3,600 monthly credits (roughly one credit per AI response checked), so a team running frequent prompts across all 9 engines can draw the pool down faster than the flat price suggests, pushing heavy users toward less-frequent monitoring or a custom Enterprise plan. A one-time ~$25 credit allowance (about 300 credits) is available to try it, but there is no ongoing free tier.
Profound has moved from a pure enterprise-sales model to three published tiers, all billed annually only with no month-to-month rate shown. Starter ($99/month) tracks ChatGPT and only ChatGPT, with 50 prompts tracked. Growth ($399/month) unlocks 3 answer engines and 100 prompts. Neither self-serve tier includes API access; that requires a custom, sales-led Enterprise plan, which also unlocks up to 9 answer engines, multiple tracked companies and SSO/SOC2.
The real choice is not "which is cheaper" but what a team needs on day one. AthenaHQ's $295/month buys engine breadth and an API immediately, capped by a credit pool that scales with usage, not seats. Profound's $99/month is the cheaper door in, but it opens onto ChatGPT only; real multi-engine coverage costs $399/month, and an API at all requires a sales conversation with no published price.
How AthenaHQ and Profound compare
Scroll across to compare every side. Feature names stay in view.One card per question, with every side answering it in turn.
| Feature | AthenaHQVisit AthenaHQ ↗ | ProfoundVisit Profound ↗ |
|---|---|---|
| Description | AEO/GEO platform that tracks brand visibility across AI answer engines and prescribes fixes. | AI answer engine visibility platform with content agents and AI crawler analytics. |
| Category | AI visibility monitoring, GEO & content optimization | AI visibility monitoring |
| Pricing | free, then $295/month | from $99/month |
| Tags | ||
| Pricing model | - | subscription |
| Free tier | - | No |
| Technical AEO | Yes | Partly |
| Done-for-you service | Partly (Enterprise, available higher) | No |
| Perplexity | Yes | Partly (Growth, available higher) |
| Gemini | Yes | Partly (Enterprise, available higher) |
| Google AI Overviews | Yes | Partly (Growth, available higher) |
| Google AI Mode | Partly (Starter, available higher) | Partly (Enterprise, available higher) |
| Claude | Partly (Starter, available higher) | Partly (Enterprise, available higher) |
| Microsoft Copilot | Yes | Partly (Enterprise, available higher) |
| Grok | Partly (Starter, available higher) | Partly (Enterprise, available higher) |
| DeepSeek | Partly (Starter, available higher) | Partly (Enterprise, available higher) |
| Meta AI | Partly (Starter, available higher) | No |
| Coverage in the vendor’s words | Yes | Partly |
| AI crawler analytics | Partly | Yes |
| API | Partly (Starter add-on, costs extra) | Partly (Enterprise, available higher) |
| BI export | Partly (Enterprise, available higher) | Partly (Growth (file exports); Enterprise (API-based connectors), available higher) |
| Limitations | - |
|
Who each one is for
Profound
enterprise comms, brand and content teams that need multi-engine depth and a sales-led Enterprise contract
From $99/month
Verdict: AthenaHQ or Profound?
Want broad engine coverage and API access at a single self-serve price, and can live inside a credit budget → AthenaHQ. Want the cheapest possible entry and don't mind starting on ChatGPT only → Profound's $99/month Starter, upgrading to Growth ($399/month) once more engines matter. Need an API without talking to sales → AthenaHQ; Profound's API is Enterprise-only.
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Frequently asked questions
- Which is cheaper to start?
- Profound's Starter is $99/month versus AthenaHQ's Starter at $295/month, but Profound's $99 tier tracks ChatGPT only, while AthenaHQ's $295 tier covers up to 9 AI engines from day one.
- Which one has an API?
- AthenaHQ includes API access (with add-on credits available) on its $295/month Starter tier. Profound's self-serve Starter and Growth tiers have no API access at all; it is included only on Profound's custom-priced, sales-led Enterprise plan.
- How does AthenaHQ's credit system affect its real price?
- AthenaHQ's $295/month Starter tier includes 3,600 monthly credits (roughly 1 credit per AI response checked). A team checking frequent prompts across all 9 engines can burn through that pool faster than the flat price implies, which independent reviewers flag as a real cost driver for heavier usage.
- How many AI engines does each track at the entry tier?
- AthenaHQ's $295/month Starter already covers up to 9 engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Grok). Profound's $99/month Starter tracks ChatGPT only; 3-engine coverage needs Growth ($399/month), and the full 9-engine set is Enterprise-only.
- Is either billed month-to-month?
- AthenaHQ's Starter tier is billed monthly (with a discount for paying annually). Profound's Starter and Growth tiers are billed annually only. No month-to-month rate is published for either.
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At a glance
A flat $295/month plan covering up to 9 AI engines with API access included from the start, metered by a credit pool, versus a cheaper $99/month entry that tracks ChatGPT only, where real multi-engine depth needs Profound's $399/month Growth tier or a custom, sales-led Enterprise plan, and no Profound self-serve tier includes an API.