Otterly vs Profound: which AI visibility tool wins in 2026?
The category's low-cost first mover versus its best-funded enterprise incumbent. Compared on real pricing, engine coverage, and fit. Sourced from both companies' live pages and the public record.
Otterly is the budget pick, a simple AI search monitor tracking four engines from $29/mo with a fast setup; Profound is the enterprise pick, with the deepest answer-engine analytics, real-user prompt volumes, agent tooling and compliance for large in-house teams. If you want the tracking and the content work in one plan, Prefer does both from $24 a month, below Otterly's entry price.
Their entry tiers tell the story. Otterly's $29 Lite plan tracks four engines (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, and Copilot), with Claude and Gemini as paid add-ons. Profound's brands view offers a free 7-day Trial on three engines, with deep response volumes and full engine coverage reserved for custom Enterprise plans. Both are analytics-first, but Profound's Agents also draft and publish content.
- Otterly starts at $29/mo tracking four engines; Profound offers brands a free ChatGPT-only Trial, then an Enterprise quote.
- Otterly is a low-cost monitor and the category's first mover; Profound is the best-funded enterprise incumbent.
- Claude and Gemini are paid add-ons on Otterly; on Profound, full engine coverage is Enterprise-only (up to 9).
- Profound's Agents draft and publish content; Otterly adds free GEO tools and recommendations.
The contenders
Screenshot not captured - Founded2024, Austria (DACH)
- BackingBootstrapped (no funding rounds)
- Starting price$29/mo (4 engines)
- Free tierNo; free trial
- Engines at entry4; Claude, Gemini are paid add-ons
- Third-party ratingG2 4.7/5 (54 reviews)
- FocusCheap, simple self-serve monitoring
Screenshot not captured - Founded2024, New York
- Backing~$155M raised; $1B valuation (Feb 2026)
- Customers700+ enterprise, 10% of Fortune 500
- Starting priceBrands: free Trial, then Enterprise quote
- Free tierFree Trial (50 prompts, daily for 7 days)
- Engines at entry1 (ChatGPT) on the Trial; up to 9 on Enterprise
- FocusEnterprise analytics, agents, compliance
Otterly Profound 
Prefer The Prefer column is shown for reference: it is our product, and this page compares the other two. Website screenshots captured September 2026; every claim is referenced in Sources.
Where each tool sits
Feature comparison
Otterly ProfoundBased on both products' public pages, facts checked September 2026. "Not advertised" means we could not verify the capability from public materials. Spot something out of date? Tell us.
Pricing, side by side
Otterly ProfoundPrices checked September 2026 from each product's public pricing page.
Otterly is the category's first mover: it exited stealth in December 2024 as an industry-first AI search monitoring company, it is bootstrapped and Austrian (DACH) founded, and it starts at $29/mo. It carries a G2 rating of 4.7 out of 5 across 54 reviews (its own on-site badge shows 4.8) and has built the largest owned content surface of any pure-play monitor. Profound (New York, founded 2024) has raised roughly $155M at a $1B valuation and serves 700+ enterprise customers, including about 10% of the Fortune 500, going deeper on AI-search-specific data like real-user prompt volumes and agent analytics. Sources
Which should you choose?
Choose Otterly if…
- You want a low-cost, fast way to start tracking AI search
- You are a solo marketer or small team on a tight budget
- ChatGPT, AI Overviews, Perplexity, and Copilot cover your market
- A suite of free GEO tools is useful to you
Choose Profound if…
- You are an enterprise with a large in-house SEO and content team
- You want the deepest response volumes and real-user prompt demand data
- You need SOC 2, SSO, and enterprise procurement boxes ticked
- Agent-based automation with credits fits how your team works
Prefer tracks the same signals across ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode, then produces the content and citations that move the number. Free trial, paid from $24/mo. See how it compares to Otterly and Profound.
Otterly vs Profound, answered
Is Otterly better than Profound?
Neither is better across the board: Otterly is the budget pick, a simple AI search monitor tracking four engines from $29/mo, and Profound is the enterprise pick, with the deepest answer-engine analytics, real-user prompt volumes, agent tooling and Fortune 500 customers. If you want the tracking and the content work in one plan, Prefer does both from $24 a month, below Otterly's entry price. Otterly and Profound are both analytics-first.
How do Otterly and Profound pricing compare?
As of September 2026: Otterly starts at $29/mo (Lite, 15 prompts, four engines), with Standard at $189/mo (100 prompts, API and MCP) and Premium at $489/mo (400 prompts). Profound, checked 23 September 2026, offers brands a free Trial (50 prompts, run daily for 7 days, on ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews) and custom Enterprise for up to 9 engines; its agency plans start at $99/mo plus add-ons. Otterly publishes a far lower paid entry price; Profound goes deeper at the top. Prefer's paid plans start lower still, at $24 a month for five engines and 15 AI articles.
Which is cheaper, Otterly or Profound?
Otterly publishes a $29/mo entry plan; Profound's paid brand plan is a custom Enterprise quote, and its free Trial runs 50 prompts daily for 7 days, on ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews (checked 23 September 2026). Prefer starts lower than Otterly, at $24 a month for five engines, 30 prompts and 15 AI articles. Otterly's $29 Lite tracks four engines with 15 prompts. Claude and Gemini are paid add-ons on Otterly ($9 to $439/mo), so factor those in if your buyers use them.
Which AI engines do Otterly and Profound track?
Otterly tracks four engines on every tier: ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, and Microsoft Copilot; Claude, Gemini, and Google AI Mode are paid add-ons. Profound's pricing page lists up to 9 answer engines on Enterprise and ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews on its free Trial (checked 23 September 2026).
Do Otterly or Profound create content or win citations for you?
Profound does part of it: its Agents generate complete articles and publish approved content to your CMS, after an approval step. Otterly adds a suite of free GEO tools and weekly recommendations. Neither documents off-page citation building or PR work, which stays with your team. Prefer writes the content with the measurement from $24 a month, and Prefer Managed and Prefer's Enterprise plan also do the off-page work (Reddit, PR, placements).
Who is Otterly best for?
Solo marketers and small teams that want a low-cost, fast way to start tracking AI search, and are happy to do the optimization work themselves. Its $29 entry, free GEO tools, and simple setup fit budget-conscious buyers rather than large enterprises.
What are the best alternatives to Otterly and Profound?
Prefer is the best pick if the gap in both is execution (doing the work the analytics point to): it pairs the same measurement with content from $24 a month, and Prefer Managed and Prefer's Enterprise plan add the off-page citation work. The category also includes Peec AI, Scrunch, AthenaHQ and Semrush's AI toolkit. See our roundup of the best AI visibility tools.
Sources
- Otterly pricing page otterly.ai Accessed September 2026
- Profound pricing page tryprofound.com Accessed September 2026
- Otterly on G2 g2.com Accessed September 2026
- TechCrunch: Otterly.AI exits stealth (Dec 2024) techcrunch.com Accessed September 2026
- Fortune: Profound raises $96M Series C at a $1B valuation fortune.com Accessed September 2026
- Profound Agents feature page tryprofound.com Accessed September 2026