The cheapest AI visibility trackers start at roughly $15 to $49 per month, but at the low end you're usually tracking a small number of prompts across two or three engines — and legacy SEO tools often add $50–$150 in AI-Overview add-on fees on top. The cheapest tracker that's actually worth it is the lowest-priced one that covers the engines your buyers actually use; Visiby's Lite plan at $49/mo covers the three core engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews), while full five-engine coverage (adding Google AI Mode and Claude) is on the Agency plan.
Key takeaway: Don't buy on sticker price alone. Match the plan to the engines your buyers use — and check how many engines each entry price actually includes, since that varies a lot by tool and by tier.
01 — Comparison TableCheapest AI visibility trackers compared
| Tool | Entry price | Engines at entry price | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frase | ~$15/mo | Google Snippets / AI answers | Content editor focus; limited AI-answer coverage |
| Otterly AI | ~$29/mo | ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews | Lightweight brand-mention tracking |
| Visiby (Lite) | $49/mo | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews (3) | 25 prompts + Citations Explorer; Agency adds Google AI Mode + Claude for 5 |
| Writesonic | ~$99/mo | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google | AEO tracking + content generation |
| Searchable AI | ~$129/mo | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude | Citation gap analysis |
| SE Ranking | ~$144/mo | Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT | AI is an add-on to traditional SEO |
| Profound | ~$499/mo | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot | Enterprise prompt telemetry |
Prices are entry tiers and change often — confirm current pricing on each vendor's page. See our full AI visibility tool pricing guide and AI visibility tools benchmark for tier-by-tier detail.
02 — Price DriversWhat actually drives the price
Three levers move cost more than anything else:
- Number of engines tracked. Tracking one or two engines is cheap; broad coverage (ChatGPT + Perplexity + Google AI Overviews + Google AI Mode + Claude) costs more, and some tools gate the extra engines behind higher tiers.
- Prompt volume and refresh cadence. More prompts and daily (vs weekly) checks cost more — usually the biggest lever.
- Depth of insight. A mention count is cheap; showing the exact cited source pages, competitor overlap and action items costs more — and is what tells you what to fix.
03 — The Add-On TrapThe "cheapest" trap
The biggest hidden cost is the AI-Overview add-on fee: some legacy SEO platforms advertise a low base price, then charge $50–$150 more for AI-surface coverage. A tool that looks like $50 can become $150+. Also check which engines the entry tier includes — a cheap plan that only tracks one or two engines can leave you blind to where your buyers actually are.
04 — Where Visiby FitsWhere Visiby fits
Visiby's cheapest plan, Lite at $49/mo, tracks 25 prompts across the three core engines — ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI Overviews — and includes the Prompts and Citations Explorers, so you see the exact source pages each engine cites. Higher tiers scale prompts and seats (Starter $99, Pro $249), and the Agency plan ($499/mo) adds Google AI Mode and Claude for all five engines, plus white-label reports, SSO and API access. If you'd rather not run it yourself, the done-for-you Growth Engine starts at $1,000/mo.
05 — How to PickHow to pick the cheapest tracker that's worth it
- List the AI engines your buyers actually use.
- Count the prompts you need tracked (start with 20–50).
- Shortlist tools whose entry tier covers those engines at your prompt volume — including any add-on fees.
- Check each shows the cited source pages, not just a mention count.
- Buy the cheapest one left. That's your real "cheapest."
06 — FAQFrequently asked questions
What is the cheapest AI visibility tracker? Entry tiers start around $15–$29/mo (e.g. Frase, Otterly), covering a few engines. Visiby Lite is $49/mo for 25 prompts across the three core engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews). Confirm current pricing on each vendor's site.
Is there a free AI visibility tracker? Some tools offer trials or limited free tiers, and you can check manually for free by searching your buyer prompts in each engine logged-out. Free tiers rarely cover multiple engines or show cited sources, so they're best for a first look, not ongoing monitoring.
Which cheap tracker covers the most engines? It depends on tier. Many budget tools track two to three engines. Full five-engine coverage (including Google AI Mode and Claude) typically sits on a higher tier — for Visiby that's the Agency plan ($499/mo).
Does the cheapest tracker cover Google AI Overviews? Often the entry tier does cover Google AI Overviews (it's one of the core engines for most dedicated tools, including Visiby Lite). Google AI Mode, however, is frequently a higher-tier or add-on feature — check before buying.
How many prompts do I need to start? Start with 20–50 real buyer questions — the ones customers ask before choosing a vendor. Visiby Lite includes 25; you can scale up as you learn which prompts and engines drive results.
Want to track the engines your buyers use — with the fixes published for you? Compare Visiby's plans or see how the Growth Engine works.
Raunaq Arora is a senior software and AI engineer at Visiby, where he builds the AI-visibility measurement pipeline and dashboard. He writes about how AI-visibility tracking is measured and tooled. View full profile →