AthenaHQ vs AirOps (2026): pricing, engines, which to pick
AthenaHQ is an AI visibility platform that also takes actions. AirOps is a content production platform that also measures AI visibility. The order matters.
Stellarcast is our product, so read this knowing our bias. Every vendor fact below was read from the vendor's own pages on 17 October 2026; anything a vendor does not state is marked "not published".
The short answer
AthenaHQ publishes its prices: a free tier on five engines and a $295 a month Starter on eleven engines with on-page and off-page actions and Shopify and Webflow integrations. AirOps publishes plan shapes but no prices: Solo (35,000 tasks, ChatGPT insights only) and Pro (100,000 tasks, insights across 7+ answer engines) are self-serve with a 14-day trial, and its strength is content workflows with CMS integrations, human review and approvals. Pick AthenaHQ for measurement-first with actions. Pick AirOps if content production at scale is the job and visibility is the feedback loop.
Side by side
| AthenaHQ | AirOps | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | Essential free (300 credits); Starter $295/mo for 3,600 credits (1 credit = 1 AI response) | Not published; Solo (35,000 tasks a month, single user) and Pro (100,000 tasks) are self-serve |
| Top published plan | Starter $295/mo; Enterprise custom | Enterprise, custom |
| Billing terms | Monthly, or annual at 17% off; a free tier rather than a trial | Tasks reset monthly; 14-day free trial; overage $0.025 a task on Solo |
| Engines per plan | Essential: ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, Gemini and Copilot (5). Starter: 11, adding AI Mode, Claude, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral | Solo: ChatGPT insights only. Pro: insights across 7+ answer engines, not named per tier |
| Markets and languages | Starter: country-level, a single language and region; multiple regions and languages on Enterprise | Persona, region and language personalization; counts not published |
| Publishes fixes to your site | On-page and off-page actions plus a content optimization agent; Shopify and Webflow integrations listed | CMS integrations (basic on Solo; CMS, SEO, AEO and social on Pro) with human review and approvals |
| Proof of lift | Not published | Conversion tracking and agent analytics listed; no lift method published |
Sources: athenahq.ai/plans; airops.com/pricing. Checked 17 October 2026. US dollars per month.
Where each one wins
- AthenaHQ: public pricing, with a free tier.
- AirOps: content workflows: playbooks, grids, campaigns, brand kits and knowledge bases.
Where Stellarcast fits
AthenaHQ and AirOps both act on content; neither publishes a method for deciding that a change caused a lift. Stellarcast checks six engines daily on every paid plan from $39 a month (Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Mode and Microsoft Copilot). From $89 it sends the fixes you approve to WordPress as drafts, and from $249 every lift claim is labeled MEASURED, LIKELY or TOO-EARLY with a P25 to P75 range, across 27 markets measured with native-language prompts. See the plans.
See what AI says about you today
The free audit asks Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity the questions buyers in your market ask, and shows where a competitor is named instead of you. No card, no commitment.
Get your free visibility auditFrequently asked questions
How much do AthenaHQ and AirOps cost?
AthenaHQ lists a free Essential tier and a $295 a month Starter plan, with 17% off annually and Enterprise by contract. AirOps publishes no plan prices; its pricing page lists Solo and Pro as self-serve with a 14-day trial and a $0.025 per task overage on Solo. Checked 17 October 2026.
Which engines do AthenaHQ and AirOps track?
AthenaHQ Starter tracks 11: ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral. AirOps lists ChatGPT insights only on Solo and insights across 7+ answer engines on Pro, without naming them per tier.
Can AthenaHQ or AirOps publish to my CMS?
AirOps lists CMS integrations on Solo and Pro with human review and approvals. AthenaHQ lists on-page and off-page actions, a content optimization agent, and Shopify and Webflow integrations. Stellarcast sends approved fixes to WordPress as drafts from $89 a month.