What Does AI Visibility Monitoring Cost in 2026?

The AI visibility monitoring market grew fast and priced unevenly. AI visibility means how often AI assistants name your brand when buyers ask for recommendations. In 2025 there were a handful of tools and no pricing norms. By May 2026 there were at least 15 commercial tools, priced from $10 a month to enterprise contracts above $5,000 a month.

That spread reflects real differences in what each tier measures. Before you compare prices, know what each price buys.

This guide covers the market as of May 2026: how the market splits, where Envoyra fits, and what to ask before you buy any tool.

How the market splits

The market splits into four tiers, by how each tool measures as well as by price.

### Tier 1: Keyword and question checkers ($0 to $79/month)

Example tools: LLMRankings IO ($10/mo), AI Rank Checker ($0.03 to $0.18 per check), LLMRefs ($79/mo), Surfer SEO AI tracker ($79/mo add-on to an existing Surfer plan)

These tools send the questions or keywords you choose to one or two AI assistants and report whether your brand was named. They are the cheapest way in, and the output is simple: a yes or no for each question you choose.

The limit is the method. You write the questions. The tool reports on your questions. So you measure what you think buyers ask, which may not be what they actually ask. You also don't see who is named when you're not, how AI assistants compare, or what any of it means.

Who this suits: A brand that wants to check one known question, or that is just starting to ask whether AI visibility matters.

Who it doesn't suit: A brand that wants to understand its place against competitors, find where it's losing recommendations or track change over time.

### Tier 2: AI mention trackers ($29 to $199/month)

Example tools: Otterly AI ($29/mo for 15 questions, $189/mo for 100), Ziptie AI ($69/mo, 500 checks), Peec AI (€89/mo for 25 questions, €199/mo for 100), Writesonic ($199/mo)

These tools go beyond keywords to track brand mentions in AI answers more broadly. Some compare you with competitors. Some sort mentions by tone. A few save screenshots of AI answers so you can check them.

The method is still about volume: you buy a number of question checks a month and get named-or-not results. Most tools in this tier cover one or two AI assistants. Claude is usually left out. Questions written to mirror how real buyers shop, rather than questions about the brand itself, are usually missing.

Otterly is the most capable tool in this tier. It's affordable, compares you with competitors well and has a clean interface. It's the right choice for a brand that wants steady tracking without enterprise pricing. Its limits: two AI assistants, no Claude, and no view of who is named instead or what it means.

Who this suits: Small teams that want regular tracking of a set list of questions at an affordable price.

Who it doesn't suit: Brands that need comparison across AI assistants, data on who is named instead, or an explanation they can share internally.

### Tier 3: Mid-market monitoring platforms ($250 to $400/month)

Example tools: Scrunch AI ($250/mo, 350 custom questions), AthenaHQ ($295/mo self-serve), Profound ($99/mo ChatGPT only, $399/mo for three: ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews), SE Ranking with AI add-on ($52/mo core + $71 to $276/mo add-on)

In this tier the methods get more serious. Scrunch and AthenaHQ add recommendations to their measurement. Profound offers the clearest mid-market package for several AI assistants: $399 a month gets you ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews, tracked over time.

Notice that Claude is still missing. Profound at $399 a month, the most capable self-serve option here, leaves Claude out of its three-assistant package. If Perplexity and Claude name different brands in your category, which is common in B2B software and professional services, Profound's data has a gap for you.

Who this suits: Brands with marketing or SEO teams that have budget for ongoing monitoring and want structured data across several AI assistants.

Who it doesn't suit: Brands that need Claude, or want an explanation of the results rather than raw tracking data.

### Tier 4: Enterprise platforms ($1,000+ per month)

Example tools: Ahrefs Brand Radar ($129/mo core + $199 per AI assistant or $699/mo all-in), Semrush ($165/mo with AI built in), Goodie AI (enterprise only, contact sales)

The enterprise tier folds AI recommendation tracking into wider SEO and competitive research suites. Most teams already pay for Ahrefs or Semrush. The AI tracking is an add-on to tools they already use, not a separate product.

The trade-off: these platforms are built around search, and AI tracking is an extra. Buyer-style questions, data on who is named instead and explanation of results tend to be weaker than in specialist AI monitoring tools. You pay for convenience, not depth.

Who this suits: Teams already deep in Ahrefs or Semrush that want AI tracking as an add-on.

Who it doesn't suit: Brands for which AI recommendations are the main concern and that want the deepest view possible.

Where Envoyra fits

Envoyra sits outside the monthly subscription tiers on purpose. The entry product is a one-time AI Presence Audit at $49.99. The recurring product is Monitor at $99 a month.

How it differs from the tiers above:

Claude is included. Envoyra is the only self-serve option on the market that includes Claude alongside Perplexity and ChatGPT, and Monitor adds Gemini. Profound charges $399 a month and leaves Claude out. Envoyra includes it at $49.99 one-time or $99 a month. In categories where Claude names different brands, such as B2B software, professional services and financial products, competing tools miss part of the picture.

Questions written like a buyer's. Questions mirror how real buyers ask, not generic brand checks. We build them from your details: industry, buyer, use case and buying stage. You don't write questions for us to check. We write them around how buyers in your category actually ask AI for help.

Who is named instead, in the base product. Every Envoyra report shows which brands were named in your place, how often, and on which kinds of questions. Other tools at this price leave this out or show only part of it.

An explanation, not just a dashboard. The report explains what the pattern means, where the evidence is strongest and weakest, and what the data on who is named instead suggests. It is not a number and a bar chart. It is an analysis.

The entry product is not a subscription. The $49.99 AI Presence Audit is a one-time purchase. No monthly commitment, no minimum term. It sets your starting point. Brands that want to track change over time move on to Monitor at $99 a month. Brands that want a single reference point can stop at the audit.

Questions to ask before buying

Whatever tool you look at, get clear answers to these before you commit:

Which AI assistants does it cover, and does it include Claude? Claude names brands differently from Perplexity in ways that matter for B2B and professional services. If a tool leaves it out, ask why.

Who writes the questions? Does the tool test questions you supply, or write buyer questions for your category? Questions you supply measure your guesses about what buyers ask. Questions written around real buyers measure what they actually ask.

Does it show who is named instead? Knowing you were named in some answers tells you something is happening. Knowing Klaviyo was named in your place 18 times tells you who to look at. Without that, you can't see the competition.

How many answers sit behind each result? A tool that reports a precise-looking figure from three runs is showing false precision. Ask how many answers each result is based on and how it handles answers that vary.

Does it explain the results? Raw tracking tells you what happened. An explanation tells you what it means for your place against competitors. They are not the same product.

Compare the options with real data

Envoyra's comparison articles look at the most common alternatives directly:

- Envoyra vs. Otterly: the affordable entry-tier option - Envoyra vs. Profound: the most capable mid-market platform - Envoyra vs. Evertune: enterprise vs. self-serve

Or request an AI Presence Audit directly: $49.99 one-time, no subscription required.