Last updated: October 2026

7 Free (and Cheap) AI Visibility Tools to Track Competitor Citations in 2026

Q: Is there a free AI visibility tool?

Yes, with caveats. HubSpot's AI Search Grader offers a free one-off check of your brand's AI visibility. For ongoing free tracking, the manual prompt-panel method (running 10-20 prompt variations across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews yourself) costs nothing but 15-30 minutes per check. Truly free ongoing automated trackers are rare because each AI query costs the vendor money.

Q: What is the cheapest AI visibility tracker?

Rankscale starts around €20/month and Otterly.ai around $29/month, making them the cheapest dedicated trackers reported in 2026. Both are EU-based tools with simpler feature sets than enterprise platforms.

Q: Can I track competitor citations without paying?

Yes. Ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini the same buying-intent questions your customers ask (10-20 variations), and record which brands get cited or recommended in each answer. It is manual but it directly shows you the competitor gap that paid tools automate.

Q: Why are AI visibility tools so expensive?

Every tracked prompt costs the vendor real API money across multiple AI models, daily. Enterprise tools like Profound or Scrunch run thousands of prompts and charge hundreds per month. Cheaper tools limit prompt counts and engine coverage to keep costs down.

Q: How do I verify a tracker's numbers before paying?

Run the same 10 prompts manually in ChatGPT and Perplexity, then compare with the tool's trial results. If the tool's citation data roughly matches what you see by hand, its methodology is sound. Watch for tools that only report brand mentions without distinguishing mentions from recommendations.

Here's the problem: you want to know whether ChatGPT recommends you or your competitors — but every AI visibility tool seems priced for agencies. If you've ever thought "a tiny subscription would be much preferable to agency-level pricing," this guide is for you.

Below: one genuinely free method, one free one-off grader, and five affordable trackers — compared with real 2026 prices, so you can see exactly what "cheap" buys you.

Why Everyone's Asking for a Free AEO Tool

AI search changed the game. Buyers now ask ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews for recommendations instead of scrolling Google results — and the brands cited in those answers win the click. Naturally, everyone wants to track their share of AI citations.

The frustration is price. Enterprise platforms charge hundreds per month because every tracked prompt costs real API money across multiple models, daily. But most solo founders and small teams don't need 10,000 prompts tracked — they need to answer one question: when someone asks AI for a recommendation in my category, does it name me or my competitors?

That question has cheaper answers than the enterprise sales pages suggest. Let's go through them from free upward.

What to Look for (Before You Compare Prices)

Cheap is only good if the tool answers your actual question. Check these three things:

Competitor citation tracking, not just your own brand. The whole point is the gap: who gets recommended when you're not. If a tool only tracks your brand mentions, it can't show you that gap.
Mention vs. recommendation. Being named in passing while the AI recommends three competitors is not a win. Good tools distinguish the two.
Full prompt text and dates stored. You need to see which prompts triggered citations and when, or the data isn't actionable.

With that lens, here are the seven options, ordered by price.

7 Free & Affordable AI Visibility Tools Compared

Disclosure: This page may contain affiliate links. Prices below were reported in mid-to-late 2026 from vendor sites and independent comparisons — verify current pricing on each vendor's official site before buying. AI-tool pricing changes fast.

Tool	Type	Entry price*	Competitor tracking	Free option
Manual prompt panels	DIY method	Free	Yes (by hand)	Yes, fully
HubSpot AI Search Grader	One-off grader	Free	Partial	Yes, one scan
Rankscale	Tracker	~€20/mo	Yes	Check vendor
Otterly.ai	Tracker	~$29/mo	Yes	Free trial
Peec AI	Tracker	~€70/mo	Yes	Free trial
Semrush AI Toolkit	Suite add-on	~$99/mo per domain	Yes	No (paid add-on)
Ahrefs Brand Radar	Suite feature	From $199/mo (standalone)	Yes	No

*Entry prices as reported in 2026. Verify on official sites.

1. Manual prompt panels — free forever

Cost: $0. The most honest "free tool" on this list is a method, not software.

Write 10–20 variations of the buying-intent questions your customers actually ask (e.g., "best CRM for a 5-person startup," "what's a good alternative to [competitor]?"). Run each one in ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. Record which brands get cited versus merely mentioned in every answer, in a spreadsheet, with dates.

It takes 15–30 minutes per check and doesn't scale — but it directly answers the competitor-gap question, and it's how you should verify any paid tool before subscribing (more on that below). Do this weekly for a month before spending a dollar.

Choose this if: your budget is zero and you track fewer than ~20 prompts. Every paid tool below is just automation of this workflow.

2. HubSpot AI Search Grader — free one-off check

HubSpot offers a free AI search grader: enter your brand and get a one-time snapshot of your AI visibility. It's a single scan, not ongoing tracking — useful as a baseline ("where do I stand today?") before you decide whether ongoing tracking is worth paying for.

Choose this if: you want a free starting measurement with zero commitment.

3. Rankscale — cheapest dedicated tracker (~€20/mo)

Rankscale is a budget AI visibility tracker (EU-based) with credit-based pricing starting around €20/month. It covers multiple AI engines and suits users who want automated tracking at the lowest entry price. The trade-off for the price is a simpler feature set than mid-tier tools.

Choose this if: you want the cheapest automated tracking and can live with fewer frills.

4. Otterly.ai — cheap and simple (~$29/mo)

Otterly.ai is another EU-based tracker starting around $29/month, deliberately simple by design, with a free trial. A genuine differentiator: it integrates with Semrush's App Center, so if your team already lives in Semrush, AI visibility data lands in the workflow you already use. It also shows which of your URLs actually get cited by AI engines — useful for connecting visibility to content.

Choose this if: you're a Semrush user who wants AI visibility without adding another dashboard.

5. Peec AI — the "affordable pro" option (~€70/mo)

Peec AI is the most-recommended affordable purpose-built tracker in founder communities. Starter is around €70/month (annual billing; ~€82 month-to-month) for 50 prompts across ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, and Google AI Overviews, with unlimited seats and a free trial. Watch the fine print: only three engines are included and extras run ~€25–55/month each depending on plan, so a full multi-model setup often lands 30–50% above the headline price. Still far below enterprise tiers.

Choose this if: you outgrow the budget tier and want a serious tracker without enterprise pricing.

6. Semrush AI Toolkit — for existing Semrush users (~$99/mo per domain)

Semrush's AI Visibility Toolkit is an add-on (around $99/month per domain) for teams already paying for Semrush. It tracks 4 engines (ChatGPT, Google AI, Gemini, Perplexity). Only makes financial sense if you're already in the Semrush ecosystem — as a standalone purchase, the dedicated tools above give you more for less.

Choose this if: you already pay for Semrush and want AI visibility inside it.

7. Ahrefs Brand Radar — the price anchor (from $199/mo standalone)

Ahrefs' Brand Radar tracks brand visibility across AI engines; standalone starts at $199/month per AI index ($699/month for all indexes), sold standalone (includes a free Ahrefs account) or bundled with Ahrefs plans, with custom-prompt packages from $50/month (vendor pricing for this product has shifted several times in 2026 — verify). It's listed here mainly as the price anchor: this is what the "serious SEO suite" tier costs, which is exactly why the tools above exist.

Note: worth knowing as a benchmark, but rarely the cheapest path for a small team.

Also mentioned in founder communities: markethq ai (reported ~$29/mo) and Mangools as budget options — we could not verify current official pricing at the time of writing, so check their sites directly.

How to Verify a Tracker's Numbers Before You Pay

Never subscribe on marketing claims alone. Here's the 15-minute verification:

Pick 10 prompts your buyers actually ask.
Run them manually in ChatGPT and Perplexity; note which brands are cited vs. mentioned.
Start the tool's free trial and run the same 10 prompts.
Compare. If the tool's data roughly matches what you saw by hand, its methodology is sound.
Red flag: a tool that reports "mentions" but can't show you whether the AI recommended anyone. That's the metric that matters.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a free AI visibility tool?

For ongoing automated tracking, truly free options are rare because every AI query costs the vendor money. Your free options: the manual prompt-panel method (free forever, 15–30 min per check) and HubSpot's free one-off AI Search Grader for a baseline snapshot.

What is the cheapest AI visibility tracker?

Rankscale (~€20/month) and Otterly.ai (~$29/month) are the cheapest dedicated trackers reported in 2026. Both are EU-based with simpler feature sets than mid-tier tools.

Can I track competitor citations without paying?

Yes — run 10–20 buying-intent prompt variations manually across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini, and log which brands get cited vs. mentioned. It's manual, but it directly reveals the competitor gap.

Why are AI visibility tools so expensive?

Each tracked prompt costs real API money across multiple AI models, every day. Enterprise tools run thousands of prompts and charge accordingly. Budget tools keep prices down by limiting prompt counts and engine coverage.

How do I verify a tracker's numbers before paying?

Run 10 prompts manually, then compare against the tool's trial results. If they roughly match, the methodology is sound. Avoid tools that report mentions without distinguishing recommendations.