AthenaHQ alternatives: AI visibility tools, priced and compared
AthenaHQ has the widest engine list at a published self-serve price and publishes to many CMSs. Teams look elsewhere for a lower paid entry point, predictable prompt-based pricing, or more than one market without Enterprise.
Every fact below comes from each vendor's own pages, checked on 26 September 2026. Stellarcast is our product and appears in the list; we've kept every other entry to what its own site says.
Why teams look beyond AthenaHQ
- A $295 step after the free tier. There is no published plan between the free Essential tier and Starter.
- Credits, not prompts. Starter includes 3,600 credits, each one AI response, so monthly coverage depends on engines, locations and frequency.
- One market on Starter. Multiple countries are an Enterprise feature.
The alternatives at a glance
| Tool | Choose it if you want | Entry price | Engines on entry plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stellarcast | Monitoring, fixes and confidence-labelled proof of lift, public pricing | $39/mo | 6, daily |
| Peec AI | Analytics-first monitoring with strong agency packaging | $95/mo | Pick 3 of 6 |
| Otterly.AI | The lowest-cost mainstream tracker | $29/mo | 4; others are add-ons |
| Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit | AI visibility inside the SEO suite you use | $99/mo per domain | 5 |
| Scrunch | Serving AI agents an optimised site | $250/mo | 4 |
| Ahrefs Brand Radar | A huge pre-built index of AI answers | $129/mo with 5 custom prompts | 6 in its AI index |
| Rankscale | The most engines for the least money | $20/mo | 17+ |
| HubSpot AEO | Low-cost tracking inside HubSpot | $50/mo | 3 |
Checked 26 September 2026. Top-tier prices and trials are in the full pricing table.
See your own gaps before you switch: get a free AI visibility audit.
If you want fixes shipped and the lift proven: Stellarcast
Every paid plan checks six engines daily, including Google AI Overviews, AI Mode and Copilot. From $89 a month Stellarcast drafts fixes and ships them to WordPress or Shopify after your approval; from $249 every lift claim sits in a ledger labelled MEASURED, LIKELY or TOO-EARLY. Each of 18 markets is measured with native-language prompts, and agencies get unlimited client brands on one pooled allowance. See the plans.
The rest of the field, briefly
- Peec AI: Analytics-first monitoring with strong agency packaging. From $95/mo.
- Otterly.AI: The lowest-cost mainstream tracker. From $29/mo.
- Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit: AI visibility inside the SEO suite you use. From $99/mo per domain.
- Scrunch: Serving AI agents an optimised site. From $250/mo.
- Ahrefs Brand Radar: A huge pre-built index of AI answers. From $129/mo with 5 custom prompts.
- Rankscale: The most engines for the least money. From $20/mo.
- HubSpot AEO: Low-cost tracking inside HubSpot. From $50/mo.
How to choose
- Stay with AthenaHQ if it already does what you need; switching has a cost.
- Pick a budget tracker if you only need to know whether AI mentions you.
- Pick an SEO-suite add-on if your team lives in Semrush, Ahrefs or HubSpot.
- Pick Stellarcast if you need gaps fixed and the lift proven, at a public price.
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Get your free visibility auditFrequently asked questions
What is the best AthenaHQ alternative?
It depends on why you're switching. For monitoring plus fixes and confidence-labelled proof of lift with public pricing, Stellarcast. For the lowest cost, Rankscale or Otterly.AI. For an add-on to an SEO suite, Semrush or Ahrefs.
How much does AthenaHQ cost?
AthenaHQ has a free Essential tier with limited credits and a Starter plan at $295 a month ($245 on annual billing) for 3,600 credits. Checked 26 September 2026.
Is there a cheaper alternative to AthenaHQ?
Rankscale starts at $20 a month, Otterly.AI at $29 and Stellarcast at $39. Stellarcast's $39 plan checks six engines daily, including Google AI Overviews and AI Mode.