9 best AthenaHQ alternatives in 2026, compared by price, prompts and AI engines

• 3 prompts

  What $295 tracks daily in all 11 engines

  Starter has 3,600 credits a month. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot and Google’s AI cost 1 credit an answer; Claude, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral cost 5. One prompt a day in all 11 uses about 940 credits a month (plans, credit calculator).

• $0 → $295

  Nothing between the free plan and Starter

  Essential gives $25 of credit (300 answers), described as an “initial credit allowance”; the next plan is $295 a month, or $2,940 a year (plans). In between: Otterly.AI $29, SE Visible $89, Peec AI $95, Writesonic $99.

• 7,145

  Credits AthenaHQ’s own calculator asks for by default

  50 prompts, 7 engines, 3 days a week: 7,145 credits a month, about twice Starter. Its advice: “Starter + add-on credits”. Extra credits and the API are “Contact us” prices (credit calculator).

• 90 days

  How long Enterprise data stays after you leave

  Order Forms “cannot be terminated for convenience”; after the term, data can be downloaded for 90 days, then “all data may be deleted”. Self-serve payments are “non-refundable” (MSA §5, terms §8).

• 5%

  AI assistants rarely name AthenaHQ

  In 93 AI answers to “which AI-visibility tool?” questions (our own data; a sample, not a market survey), AthenaHQ was named in 5. Semrush was named in 43%, Profound in 13%. Rankfender: 0.

Monthly billing, checked 28 Oct 2026 on each vendor’s own page from the US. Ratings as listed on Trustpilot and G2.

* Scrunch publishes no frequency; 5,000 answers a month across 125 prompts and 4 engines works out to about every 3 days (our calculation). AthenaHQ’s G2 count differs between G2 search results (32 to 48 reviews); its 3- and 20-prompt figures are our calculation from its calculator (4.33 weeks a month). Semrush’s page shows $99 “billed annually”; its own pricing code and help page give the same $99 billed monthly. Review counts in brackets; a score from 1 or 2 reviews says little. G2 figures as listed in G2 search results. Rankfender has no Trustpilot profile yet; our G2 page is linked rather than quoted.

What AthenaHQ and its rivals say (verbatim, dated)

Impressions are times one of our pages was shown in Google, not search volume. This URL is new, so we looked at every query containing “athena” across rankfender.com over 90 days (30 Jul – 28 Oct 2026, Rankfender’s own data): 13 queries, 98 impressions, 0 clicks. Too few to steer a page, so we also read today’s US results for “athenahq alternatives”, “competitors”, “pricing” and “vs Profound / Peec AI”.

• AI-agent evaluations

  “evaluate the ai visibility products company athena on ease of use / data accuracy / competitor analysis / historical data”

  49

  An AI agent researching for a user: ratings and the FAQ answer each criterion

• public affairs on price

  “i’m a pac cfo… should we just bid suede against athenahq on price?”

  40

  Real costs and specific needs

• vs other tools

  “evertune vs athenahq”, “otterly.ai vs hubspot aeo vs athenahq”, “profound or athenahq”

  9

  Covered below

What the search results told us: Rework ranks first; vendor pages fill most of page 1. Google’s AI answer cites a page saying AthenaHQ has “no free trial” (it has a free plan), and pages still quote “8 engines”, “3,500 credits”, “$95 a month” or a plan called “Self-Serve”. None of the pages we read does the credit math: what 3,600 credits buy when 5 engines cost 5 credits. That is the first thing this page shows.

Rankfender tracks what AI assistants answer to our customers’ questions. We took the 93 answers (8 assistants, Mar – Oct 2026) to questions asking for an AI-visibility tool or platform that named no tool themselves, and counted which tools each answer mentions. 59 of the questions are in Portuguese, 26 in English and 8 in French. It’s the same sample as on our Profound page.

• Semrush
  43% (40)
• Ahrefs (incl. Brand Radar)
  33% (31)
• Google Search Console
  16% (15)
• HubSpot
  15% (14)
• BrightEdge
  14% (13)
• Profound
  13% (12)
• Peec AI
  11% (10)
• Writesonic
  10% (9)
• Otterly.AI
  9% (8)
• Scrunch
  8% (7)
• AthenaHQ
  5% (5)
• Rankfender
  0% (0)

What it means: even when someone asks for an AI-visibility tool, assistants name SEO suites first. AthenaHQ appears in 5% of answers, behind Profound, Peec AI and Otterly.AI; Rankfender in none. 93 answers isn’t a market survey: these are the questions our customers track, mostly from one Portuguese-language project.

AthenaHQ meters credits, the others mostly prompts, so we priced three real set-ups on each tool’s public plans, monthly billing, from each vendor’s page on 28 Oct 2026. AthenaHQ credits use its own calculator’s formula (prompts × credits per answer × days × 4.33 weeks). These scenarios price **monitoring only**: articles, site fixes and SEO data aren’t counted, which is why Rankfender looks expensive here.

Monthly billing in USD, before tax. Annual billing lowers most figures by 15–20% (AthenaHQ Starter: $245 a month billed yearly, $2,940). 30.3 days = AthenaHQ’s own 4.33 weeks a month. Scrunch publishes no check frequency; 5,000 answers ÷ (125 prompts × 4 engines) = 10 checks a prompt a month.

AthenaHQ’s main features, and the closest replacement for each, checked 28 Oct 2026. In the Rankfender column, Yes means it does the job, Partial means part of it, No means it doesn’t.

We rate every tool on the same six criteria, with the same scale. We don’t add them into one total: the right tool depends on what you used AthenaHQ for, so after Rankfender (listed first, see the disclosure) the tools are ordered by the job they replace best. Rankfender is our product and is rated with the same rules; if broad engine coverage is what you need, AthenaHQ itself, Ahrefs Brand Radar or SE Visible will suit you better.

• AI engines covered
• Prompts and frequency for the price
• Acting on gaps (content, fixes)
• Seats, agencies and API
• Public price and contract
• Trial, refunds and support

Excellent = 9–10, Strong = 7–8, Fair = 5–6, Limited = 0–4. Ratings are based on the verified facts on this page (prices, limits, terms and features from vendor pages, ratings from Trustpilot and G2) and our hands-on use where marked in “How we compared”.

No free tool tracks dozens of prompts every day. But AthenaHQ’s own Essential plan is free ($25 of credit), and Google and Bing now report AI visibility for your own site at no cost.

1. 01

   Export before you cancel

   Starter exports to CSV. Self-serve cancellation takes effect at the end of the paid period; the terms set no data window. On an Enterprise Order Form you get 90 days to download, then “all data may be deleted”. Export prompts, answers and citations first.

2. 02

   Check your renewal terms

   Self-serve plans renew automatically until cancelled in account settings. Enterprise Order Forms renew unless either side gives notice 30 days before the term ends, and can’t be ended early for convenience.

3. 03

   Refund rules differ more than prices

   Rankfender

   14 days, full, from your first payment

   Writesonic

   7 days, no questions asked

   Semrush

   7 days, annual plans only

   Ahrefs

   Only if unused (monthly plans)

   AthenaHQ, Peec AI, Otterly.AI, Goodie, Profound, SE Visible

   Non-refundable

   Scrunch

   No refund clause found

4. 04

   Convert credits into answers a month

   Vendors meter prompts × engines × checks. AthenaHQ Starter is 3,600 credits, fewer answers once Claude or Grok are in. Peec Starter is 50 × 3 × 30 = 4,500 answers; Scrunch Core 5,000; SE Visible Basic about 11,250.

5. 05

   List the engines you really need

   Most entry plans cover 3–5 engines. Claude is an add-on on Otterly.AI, Agency-only on SE Visible, Enterprise-only on Peec AI and Goodie. Rankfender tracks up to 8 LLMs, Claude included, plus Google’s AI Overviews and AI Mode for tracked keywords, weekly (daily on Business).

6. 06

   Count countries, not just prompts

   AthenaHQ Starter tracks one country. Goodie Core includes 2; on SE Visible each location counts as a separate prompt. Price the markets you report on.

7. 07

   Results won’t match exactly

   Tools mix scraping and APIs, and answers vary run to run. Track the same 20 prompts in both tools for two weeks and compare trends, not single numbers.

1. 01

   Export

   Prompts, answers, citations and share of voice to CSV, before you cancel.

2. 02

   Record your baseline

   Visibility and share of voice for your 20 most important prompts, engine by engine.

3. 03

   Cancel on time

   Self-serve: in account settings before renewal. Enterprise: written notice at least 30 days before the term ends.

4. 04

   Rebuild your prompts

   Re-add your own prompts; check which engines your new plan covers.

5. 05

   Run both for two weeks

   Compare trends on the same prompts, then switch your reporting over.

More engines than AthenaHQ (Rankscale)

Rankscale also sells credits, across 17+ engines, with checks from hourly to monthly: Essentials $17 a month (billed yearly only, 120 credits), Pro $99 (1,200 credits). Same trade-off as AthenaHQ: count what your credits buy.

Evertune vs AthenaHQ

Evertune samples each prompt many times per model for statistical confidence. Starter is $60 a month (5,000 credits, 5 engines incl. AI Mode and Copilot, daily), no trial, “non-refundable”. Better for brand perception than for many prompts.

Profound vs AthenaHQ

AthenaHQ has a public $295 plan with 11 engines; Profound sells brands only a free trial or an Enterprise quote, with prompt volumes and crawler logs. Many pages still quote Profound’s gone $99 / $399 plans. See Profound alternatives.

Peec AI vs AthenaHQ

Peec AI: $95 a month for 50 prompts daily in 3 engines you choose, unlimited users, Claude only on Enterprise. AthenaHQ: more engines on Starter, but credits; 50 prompts daily in 3 one-credit engines need about 4,550 credits.

Otterly.AI vs HubSpot AEO vs AthenaHQ

Otterly.AI is the cheapest paid start ($29, 15 prompts daily). HubSpot’s AI Search Grader is a free one-time check. AthenaHQ’s free plan is a one-off $25 credit. See Otterly.AI alternatives.

Public affairs on a budget (Suede Web Systems)

Suede Web Systems is new (site registered Feb 2026), demo only, no public price, built for policy and campaign prompts. For a campaign, prefer monthly plans you can stop: Otterly.AI, Peec AI or SE Visible.

Already on Semrush or Ahrefs

Semrush’s AI Visibility Toolkit is $99 a month per domain (25 prompts daily, +$99 per user, no trial). Ahrefs prompt packs start at $50 on top of Lite. See Semrush alternatives and Ahrefs alternatives.

• Prices and limits: read on each vendor’s own pricing, help and terms pages on 28 October 2026, from a US connection, in US dollars. AthenaHQ’s yearly price and credits per engine come from its plans page code and its credit calculator; contract terms from its terms (27 Jul 2026) and MSA (Sep 2025).
• Credit math: AthenaHQ’s own formula: prompts × credits per answer × days a week × 4.33 weeks. One prompt daily in all 11 engines = 31 credits × 30.3 = about 940 credits a month.
• Price history: AthenaHQ’s pricing and plans pages in the Wayback Machine, April 2025 to October 2026, plus its May 2025 customer email; company facts from Y Combinator and its About page.
• Ratings: Trustpilot pages read the same day; G2 figures as listed in G2 search results (G2 blocks automated reading). Reddit could not be read on build day, so no Reddit comment is quoted.
• Search data: Rankfender’s own data, 30 Jul – 28 Oct 2026 (13 queries containing “athena”, 98 impressions across rankfender.com). US results for six AthenaHQ queries read on 28 Oct 2026.
• AI answers: 93 answers from 8 assistants stored by Rankfender between March and October 2026, to questions asking for an AI-visibility tool or platform that named no tool and weren’t about agencies (in English, Portuguese and French). Each tool counted once per answer, by name. Counts only; no customer or question is shown.
• Hands-on vs not: we use Rankfender daily; its screenshots, and the Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools reports, come from our own accounts. We did not run a paid account of the other tools: their features come from official pages and documentation, and the screenshots from their public pricing pages on 27–28 Oct 2026.
• Updates: we re-check prices every 30 days and change the date above when anything moves.