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
| Feature | AthenaHQVisit AthenaHQ ↗ | ProfoundVisit Profound ↗ |
|---|---|---|
| Description | AEO/GEO platform tracking brand visibility across 11 AI models, with content and technical actions. | 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 plan and up) | No |
| Perplexity | Yes | Partly (Growth plan and up) |
| Gemini | Yes | Partly (Enterprise plan and up) |
| Google AI Overviews | Yes | Partly (Growth plan and up) |
| Google AI Mode | Partly (Starter plan and up) | Partly (Enterprise plan and up) |
| Claude | Partly (Starter plan and up) | Partly (Enterprise plan and up) |
| Microsoft Copilot | Yes | Partly (Enterprise plan and up) |
| Grok | Partly (Starter plan and up) | Partly (Enterprise plan and up) |
| DeepSeek | Partly (Starter plan and up) | Partly (Enterprise plan and up) |
| Meta AI | Partly (Starter plan and up) | No |
| Coverage in the vendor’s words | Yes | Partly |
| AI crawler analytics | Partly (currently limited) | Yes |
| Wrong answers about you | Partly (Enterprise plan and up) | Yes |
| Projects or brands | Yes | Partly (Enterprise plan and up) |
| API | Partly (Starter API access add-on add-on) | Partly (Enterprise plan and up) |
| BI export | Partly (Enterprise plan and up) | Partly (Growth (file exports); Enterprise (API-based connectors)) |
| 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
Watch for: The full 9-engine breadth and SSO/SAML stay behind a sales-led Enterprise contract and cannot be evaluated self-serve.
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.