AthenaHQ vs Profound
Both track many models and add agents that work on your content. AthenaHQ sells credits, with a free plan and a published Starter plan on 11 models. Profound gives brands a 7-day trial, then Enterprise by quote with up to 9 engines, and says every answer is captured from the consumer apps, where AthenaHQ's docs name APIs for 4 of its 11.
Checked against athenahq.ai's and tryprofound.com's own pages between October 7, 2026 and October 14, 2026. Sources at the foot of the page.
What each one costs, plan by plan.
AthenaHQ
AthenaHQ starts at $245 a month billed yearly ($295 month to month).
Profound
Profound prices brand plans on request.
TrialFree for 7 days
50 prompts, run daily for 7 days[3]
Agency Growth$99 a month
Plus add-ons; no yearly price shown
For an agency's pitches; a client's workspace costs extra.
10 pitch workspaces a month: 25 prompts each, daily, for 7 days[4]
EnterpriseBy quote
A prompt count set per contract, run daily[3]
Agency EnterpriseBy quote
Pitch and client workspaces set per contract[4]
How AthenaHQ and Profound work.
| What you get | AthenaHQ | Profound |
|---|---|---|
| Free to try | AthenaHQA free Essential plan with 300 credits on 5 engines; a free AI search report, sent by email within an hour[1, 5] | ProfoundA 7-day trial with 50 prompts a day on ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Overviews; a free AEO Report[3, 6] |
| Engines | AthenaHQStarter: ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral. The free plan has 5[1] | ProfoundUp to 9 on Enterprise: ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Overviews, AI Mode, Perplexity, Copilot, Claude, DeepSeek and Exa Search[3] |
| How answers are collected | AthenaHQAPIs for Claude, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral, per the API changelog; not stated for the other seven[7, 8] | ProfoundCaptured from the consumer apps, not API outputs[6] |
| Prompts | AthenaHQYour own, paid for in credits, 3,600 a month on Starter: 1 credit a response on ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini and Copilot; 5 on Grok, Claude, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral[1, 2, 7] | ProfoundTrial: a recommended set you can't edit. Enterprise: your own[3] |
| How often | AthenaHQA schedule you set in days per week; every answer spends 1 or 5 credits, by model[2, 8] | ProfoundDaily[3] |
| How sure the numbers are | AthenaHQPoint percentages, with formulas in an in-app glossary[9, 10] | ProfoundPoint values, with published formulas[11] |
| AI crawler checks | AthenaHQSite Health audits whether AI crawlers can reach and read the site, including text without JavaScript; a public check fetches any domain with AI crawler user agents[12, 13] | ProfoundAgent Analytics reads AI crawler visits from server logs[14] |
| API and MCP | AthenaHQAn MCP server you sign in to with your account, with read and write tools; the API is a paid add-on on Starter and included on Enterprise[1, 13] | ProfoundMCP for Enterprise customers; API on Enterprise[3, 15] |
| Agencies and white-label | AthenaHQAn Agency Program with pitch workspaces, client management and discounted licenses; its page lists no prices or white-label reports[16] | ProfoundAgency Mode, with client and pitch workspaces[17] |
Pick by what you need.
Choose AthenaHQ if
You want a free plan to start, 11 models on a published plan, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral among them, and credits you spend as you choose.
Choose Profound if
You want answers captured from the consumer apps, AI crawler visits from your server logs, and an enterprise contract with SSO.
Where GEOFast stands against both.
GEOFast starts at $29 a month, below AthenaHQ's first paid plan, says how it collects each engine's answers and puts a 90% range on how often you're mentioned and picked first; neither of the two reports a range. It tracks fewer models than either, with no Copilot, Grok or DeepSeek.
Questions about AthenaHQ and Profound.
Is AthenaHQ or Profound cheaper?
AthenaHQ starts at $245 a month billed yearly ($295 month to month); Profound prices brand plans on request. Seats, engines and prompts differ by plan, so compare the plan that fits your size.
How do AthenaHQ and Profound charge for answers?
AthenaHQ sells credits from one pool: a response costs 1 credit on ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini and Copilot, and 5 on Grok, Claude, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral. Profound's Enterprise sets a prompt count per contract, run daily.
Can I use AthenaHQ or Profound for free?
AthenaHQ has a free Essential plan with 300 credits on 5 engines. Profound has a free 7-day trial with 50 prompts run daily on ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Overviews, and a free AEO Report.
Where each fact comes from.
Every claim about another tool links to that vendor's own page, read between October 7, 2026 and October 14, 2026. Prices are as each vendor lists them, in US dollars unless marked; vendors change them, so check before you buy.
- 1AthenaHQ: Plans & Pricingathenahq.ai/plans/
- 2AthenaHQ: Credit Calculatorathenahq.ai/credit-calculator/
- 3Profound: Pricingtryprofound.com/pricing
- 4Profound: Pricing for agenciestryprofound.com/pricing?tier=agencies
- 5AthenaHQ: AI Search Performance Reportathenahq.ai/report/
- 6Profound: Free AEO Reporttryprofound.com/aeo-report
- 7AthenaHQ: API changelogdocs.athenahq.ai/api-reference/changelog
- 8AthenaHQ: Getting Starteddocs.athenahq.ai/getting-started/setup
- 9AthenaHQ: Promptsdocs.athenahq.ai/guides/prompts
- 10AthenaHQ: Glossarydocs.athenahq.ai/guides/glossary
- 11Profound: How metrics are calculateddocs.tryprofound.com/cookbook/metrics/how-metrics-are-calculated
- 12AthenaHQ: Site Healthdocs.athenahq.ai/guides/site-health
- 13AthenaHQ: MCP Serverdocs.athenahq.ai/api-reference/mcp
- 14Profound: Agent Analyticstryprofound.com/features/agent-analytics
- 15Profound: The Profound MCP Evolution, Part 1 (May 20, 2026)tryprofound.com/blog/the-profound-mcp-evolution-part-1
- 16AthenaHQ: Agency Programathenahq.ai/agency/
- 17Profound: Agency Mode overviewhelp.tryprofound.com/articles/8593548222-agency-mode-overview
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