Yes, there is a real difference between these vendors, and picking the cheapest only works if the cheapest covers the engines and the output you need. Suede Web Systems is built for public affairs, policy and regulated industries and publishes no prices. AthenaHQ starts free and then charges $295 a month for 3,600 credits across 11 AI models. Scrunch AI starts at $250 a month on yearly billing for 350 prompts. Profound starts at $99 a month billed yearly, but that tier covers ChatGPT only. YouGotRanked starts with a free scan across five engines, then $79 a month, and is the only one of the five that names the authors of the pages behind every AI answer, with a ranked plan to close the gap.
For a nonprofit or a small team, the cheapest published starting points are AthenaHQ's free credit and Scrunch's Starter. Before paying anything, run one free scan to see which questions you already lose and on which engines, then buy the tool that covers those.
See where your brand stands right now. Free scan across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overview, no card.
Run a free scanSide by side, with prices
| Vendor | Published price | Engines | Built for |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouGotRanked | Free first scan; Pro $79/mo, Growth $199/mo, Custom retainers | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overview on every plan, plus Claude or any other engine on Custom; 500 answers a month on Pro, 1,500 on Growth, and 15,000+ on Custom, which tracks 130+ questions every day and raises the limit per client | Teams that want the pages and authors behind every answer, topic gaps, competitor benchmarks and a ranked plan |
| Suede Web Systems | Not published, demo only | ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, Grok, Perplexity | Public affairs, policy, campaigns and advocacy, corporations, regulated industries |
| AthenaHQ | Free with $25 credit; Starter $295/mo for 3,600 credits | 11 models on Starter, including ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, Claude, Copilot | Teams that want many engines and pay per AI response |
| Scrunch AI | Starter $250/mo yearly or $300 monthly, 350 prompts | Major AI assistants | Teams focused on making their content readable to AI |
| Profound | Starter $99/mo yearly (ChatGPT only, 50 prompts); Growth $399/mo (3 engines, 100 prompts) | ChatGPT on Starter, more on higher tiers | Enterprise teams with in-house analysts |
| Rankability | Starter $97/mo, 100 tracked AI queries | 11 AI platforms on every plan | Agencies that already use Rankability for SEO |
From each vendor's pricing page, checked 9 October 2026, except Scrunch AI and Profound, from our comparison research. Suede Web Systems is a different company from Suede AI (suedeai.ai), which sells GEO consulting. Confirm current pricing with each vendor.
Should you just pick the cheapest?
Only if the cheapest tier covers the engines your buyers use. Profound's $99 tier tracks ChatGPT alone, so a team whose audience uses Gemini or Copilot would be measuring the wrong place. AthenaHQ charges one credit per AI response, so 50 questions checked on 5 engines every day uses about 250 credits a day, and the $295 plan's 3,600 credits last around two weeks.
Price per useful answer matters more than the sticker price. Work out how many questions you need, on how many engines, how often, and divide.
Which one fits which team
- Teams that need to know where to get placed, not just whether they were named: YouGotRanked, which shows the pages, domains and authors behind every answer and ranks the fixes.
- Policy nonprofits, advocacy groups and campaigns: Suede Web Systems is the only one of the four built for that audience, but you will need a demo to get a price.
- Teams that want the widest engine list in one place: AthenaHQ, as long as credit use is budgeted.
- Content teams whose main problem is pages AI cannot use well: Scrunch AI.
- Large brands with analysts to interpret raw data: Profound.
- Agencies on Semrush: adding a dedicated AI tracker makes sense once clients ask which pages AI cites, since an SEO suite's AI module reports presence more than sources.
What the trackers don't answer on their own
Suede, AthenaHQ, Scrunch and Profound all tell you whether you were named. The decision that follows is which pages the engines read, who wrote them, and what to change first. YouGotRanked's free scan answers that: the pages and authors behind each AI answer, your topic gaps against every competitor, and a ranked plan to close them. Full head-to-heads are on the comparison hub.
Find out which engines you lose on before you buy
One free scan shows which AI engines name you, which skip you, who they recommend instead and the pages they read, so you can pick the tool that covers the gap.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a real difference between Suede, AthenaHQ and Scrunch?
Yes. Suede Web Systems targets public affairs, policy and regulated industries and is sold through demos. AthenaHQ charges per AI response across 11 models, starting free and then $295 a month. Scrunch AI focuses on making content readable to AI and starts at $250 a month on yearly billing for 350 prompts.
How does YouGotRanked compare to Suede, AthenaHQ and Scrunch?
YouGotRanked tracks ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Overview, starting with a free scan and then $79 a month. It shows the pages and domains behind every AI answer, names their authors, which none of the others do, and turns that into a ranked plan, checking 1,500 answers a month on Growth and 15,000+ on Custom retainers, which track 130+ questions daily and raise the limit per client.
Which is cheapest: Suede, AthenaHQ or Scrunch?
AthenaHQ has the lowest published starting point, a free tier with a $25 credit, then $295 a month. Scrunch AI's Starter is $250 a month on yearly billing. Suede Web Systems does not publish prices. Checked October 2026.
How does Suede Web Systems compare to AthenaHQ for tracking citations across models?
Suede Web Systems tracks ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, Grok and Perplexity and says it reports the sources behind each answer, aimed at policy and regulated organisations. AthenaHQ covers 11 models on its Starter plan with per-response credit pricing. Ask both to show the cited pages for one of your real questions before you buy.
Profound or Rankability?
Profound suits enterprise teams; its $99 Starter covers ChatGPT only with 50 prompts. Rankability starts at $97 a month for 100 tracked AI queries across 11 AI platforms and suits agencies already using it for SEO. If engine coverage matters at the entry tier, Rankability covers more for a similar price.
Should an agency standardize on one AI visibility tool?
Usually yes, for consistent client reporting. Choose on engine coverage at your typical client budget, whether the tool shows the sources behind each answer, and white-label options. Run a pilot on two clients before switching the whole book.
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