We compared nearly 50 AI visibility scans. Ours included.
Every one-off scan we could find, free and paid, checked in September 2026. A few beat ours at one thing. None does all of it.
What you get for free, next to the best free alternative.
- Does it
- Does less
- Doesn't
- Unverified
| What you get | Heralded Snapshot | GEO Scout | Omnia | Ahrefs | SE Ranking | HubSpot | Readiness scanners |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Live answers from the engines buyers use | ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode | Does it | Does less | Does less | Does less | Does less | Doesn't |
| Answers read in one scan | 20 buyer questions, asked twice per engine | Does less | Does less | Unverified | Unverified | Unverified | Doesn't |
| Questions written for your business | Yes, from your own site | Unverified | Unverified | Doesn't | Doesn't | Doesn't | Doesn't |
| Your competitors | Your main rivals, how often each is named, and how each is described | Does less | Does it | Does less | Does less | Doesn't | Doesn't |
| The sources behind the answers | Every cited source, sorted by tier, the pages that matter read for your mentions and sentiment | Does it | Does it | Does less | Doesn't | Doesn't | Doesn't |
| Your own pages | Which ones the engines cite | Doesn't | Doesn't | Doesn't | Doesn't | Doesn't | Doesn't |
| Your website | Crawled and checked for what the engines can read | Doesn't | Doesn't | Doesn't | Doesn't | Doesn't | Does it |
| Rows it covers | 7 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Swipe for more tools
Plenty of free tools do one of these rows. None of them does all of them in one scan. That's the claim.
What you'll know in ten minutes.
How urgent it is, and who the engines recommend instead of you. The full report goes on to sources, your pages and what to fix first. See a sample report
Heralded Snapshot taskharbor.io · 23 September 2026
Whether you need this at all.
Your Heralded Score, with its range, and a plain verdict on how urgent it is.
14Heralded Score, out of 100
Range 9 to 19
- Not yet
- Worth watching
- Urgent
Four in five answers recommend a rival and never mention you.
The score is the average of
- Mentioned
- 19%13 to 25, 4th of 4
- Recommended
- 9%5 to 13, 4th of 4
How AI describes you, not in the score
- Understood
- 50%30 to 70
- Praised
- 20%8 to 40
Who gets recommended instead of you.
Your main rivals, and how often each is named instead of you.
- Loopline 76%
- Quillboard 56%
- Northdeck 45%
- TaskHarboryou 19%
Share of answers that name each brand.
Illustrative. TaskHarbor and its rivals are made up. heralded.ai
The ones you've heard of.
- Does it
- Does less
- Doesn't
- Unverified
| Scan | Engines asked | Questions for your business | Competitors | Cited sources | Your pages | Your site | Price and signup |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heralded Snapshot | Does itChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews and Google AI Mode | Does itWritten from your site | Does itYour main rivalshow often each is named, how each is described | Does itEvery source, by tierthe pages that matter read for mentions and sentiment | Does itWhich ones get cited | Does itCrawledfor what the engines can read | Freeno account needed |
| HubSpot AI Search Grader | Does less3GPT-5.4 mini, Perplexity, Gemini | Doesn'tPreset | Doesn'tNoyou re-run it for each brand | Doesn'tNo | Doesn'tNo | Doesn'tNot found | Freeshort form for full results |
| Semrush's free checker | Does it4ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Overviews, AI Mode | Doesn'tPresetdomain-level | Does itYes | Does lessTop cited pages | Doesn'tNo | Doesn'tNot found | Free, 3 a dayno account |
| Ahrefs AI Visibility Checker | Does less5its FAQ lists 6, incl. AI Mode | Doesn'tPresetfrom Ahrefs' prompt database | Does lessIndirect | Does lessTop 5 domains and pages | Doesn'tNo | Doesn'tNot found | Free, no limitno signup |
| SE Ranking's free checker | Does less5incl. AI Mode | Doesn'tPresetdomain snapshot | Does lessUp to 5domains you type in | Doesn'tPaidthe free check counts mentions | Doesn'tNo | Doesn'tNot found | Free, 5 a dayno account |
| Profound's free AEO report | Does less3ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews | UnverifiedNot published | Does itYes | Does itYes | Doesn'tNo | Doesn'tNot found | Freeemail; the report is emailed |
| Scrunch's free audit | Unverified7 claimednot shown on the audit page | UnverifiedNot published | Does itYes | Does itYes | Doesn'tNo | Doesn'tNot found | Freewebsite URL only |
| Otterly trial | Does less4Claude, Gemini, AI Mode cost extra | Does lessYou set them up50 for 7 days | Does itYes | Does itYes | Doesn'tNo | UnverifiedUnverifiedGEO audit in paid plans | 7-day trialaccount, no card |
| Peec AI trial | Does less3 you chooseon Starter | Does lessYou set them up50 a day on paid plans | Doesn'tPaid | Doesn'tPaid | Doesn'tNo | Doesn'tNot found | Trial, about 7 daysaccount; no free tier |
| Athena HQ free tier | Does less5no Google AI Mode | Does lessYou set them upabout 300 answers, once | Does itYes | Does itYes | Doesn'tNo | Doesn'tNot found | Free tier300 credits, once; account |
| Writesonic trial | Does less3ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Overviews | Does lessYou set them uptrial quota unpublished | Does itYesBrand Explorer, 5 runs | Does itYes | Doesn'tNo | Doesn'tNot found | Free trialaccount, no card |
Swipe for more columns
And 43 more we checked.
Free checks and trials 15
- Omnia Free checker, email. 40 answers on four engines, the most any free check publishes.
- GEO Scout First check free, account. Six engines you pick from 12, five prompts, up to 2 competitors; refreshes weekly.
- Rankscale 7-day Pro trial. Ten engines, credit-based runs.
- LLMrefs Free account with an unpublished quota; 7-day trial of the $79 plan.
- Am I Cited Trial, card required. Five prompts, one domain, three competitors.
- PromptRush Free, work email. Five engines; sources behind a second signup.
- LLM Pulse Free, email. Five engines on "a sample" of prompts, sent as a link.
- Prominara Free, three a day, no signup. Three engines and a checklist.
- Moonrank Free, no signup. ChatGPT only, six prompts; shows who was named instead.
- Honeyb Free instant check. One engine, one prompt; the rest is paid.
- Birdeye Free for one location. ChatGPT only, built for local businesses.
- Indexly Free, three domains a day, behind a login. Four engines.
- SEO Review Tools Credits, account. Three engines, preset prompts, up to 5 competitors.
- Amplitude Free, email routed to sales. Two engines.
- Searchable Free. Three to six engines; the rest is unverified.
Paid one-offs 12
- Cruelx AI Visibility Scan $19.99, no free scan. 270 answers on six engines; no page crawl.
- doesaiknow on Apify About $4.50 a run. Seven engines and your cited URLs, as JSON; no crawl, and you type the prompts.
- DACI AI Visibility Audit on Apify $15. Eight API models, no AI Overviews or AI Mode; JSON only.
- LLM Visibility Monitor on Apify $3.76 to $117.76 by preset. Five engines by API, on prompts you supply.
- BizWhiz $249 list, launch offers from $7. Six AI systems, aimed at local businesses; branded PDF.
- Prompt Visible $149, or $249 with competitors. 32 answers on four engines.
- Metricus Snapshot $499, human-curated. "200+ buyer scenarios" on unnamed engines, plus drop-in files.
- Pixelmojo Radar $5, first readiness audit free. Four API models, fix threads, PDF.
- AI Labs Audit 500 free credits, then €39. 60 answers per audit, two models at a time.
- SeekON.AI Pro Audit $27. Three engines, three keywords, three competitors.
- AuditAE 5 to 12 cents a check. Four engines, up to 10 prompts, one check each.
- Constellation on Apify $3. Four engines, your prompts, up to two repetitions.
Readiness scanners 11
- Goodie Free, no signup. 36 technical checks and three fixes.
- WebAuditFlash €29 to €39. SEO and GEO checks in a 10 to 15 page PDF.
- aisearchvisibility.ai $5 for ten audits, one page each, with code fixes.
- SEOmator Free on-page checks.
- AIOScan Free on-page checks.
- Website AEO GEO Checker Free on-page checks.
- ClayHog Free on-page checks.
- Geoptie Free on-page checks.
- Foglift Free on-page checks.
- Am I Visible On AI Free on-page checks.
- Digital Success Free on-page checks.
The closest match we found was an agency audit.
One-off AI visibility audits run from $1,500 to $25,000. They go deeper on questions and you get to meet someone.
| Other scans | Snapshot | Agency audit | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pages the engines cite and what they say about you | Most just list | Varies | |
| How AI describes you, against how you describe yourself | No | Most | |
| Which of your pages answer your buyers' questions | No | Most | |
| Fixes, in priority order | Some | ||
| Time to the report | Minutes | Minutes | 1 to 3 weeks |
Still comparing? Had you started at the top, you'd be reading your report by now.
FAQ
How did you check?
We read each vendor's own pages and sample reports, and ran the free checks where we could, on 22 and 23 September 2026, and re-read several of them on 6 October 2026. A cell we couldn't confirm says so. The Heralded Snapshot's coverage, 20 buyer questions asked twice per engine, is as of 6 November 2026. We re-check every quarter and date the page. Found something wrong? Tell us and we'll fix it.
Does any scan do more than the Snapshot?
At one thing each, yes. Ahrefs needs no signup. Free trials and credit tiers (Athena HQ, Profound, Otterly) let you ask more over a week, if you're happy to set up a tracker to find out whether you need one. Cruelx, a paid scan at $19.99, asks more questions in one go, and skips your pages and your site to get there. Fair trade if volume is all you need.
Is the Snapshot really free?
Yes. It is free to run, and you do not need an account.
What are your sources?
Our research notes and each vendor's own pages and prices, every one dated.
- Heralded research, "Free and paid one-off AI visibility scans, compared", growthpath-ai/heralded, docs/research/2026-09-free-ai-visibility-scans.md, checked 22 and 23 September 2026.
- HubSpot AI Search Grader, checked 22 September 2026.
- Semrush AI search visibility checker, checked 22 September 2026.
- Ahrefs AI Visibility Checker, checked 22 September 2026.
- SE Ranking AI visibility tracker, checked 22 September 2026.
- Profound AEO report, checked 22 September 2026.
- Scrunch brand audit, checked 22 September 2026.
- Otterly pricing, checked 22 September 2026.
- Peec AI pricing, checked 22 September 2026.
- Athena HQ pricing, checked 22 September 2026.
- Writesonic pricing, checked 22 September 2026.
- Omnia, checked 22 September 2026.
- GEO Scout, checked 22 September 2026.
- Cruelx AI Visibility Scan and pricing, checked 23 September 2026.
- citability.dev, AI visibility audit cost, checked 23 September 2026.
- Sparkle Technologies, what an AI visibility audit costs, checked 23 September 2026.
- nbound, AI visibility audit guide, checked 23 September 2026.
- AY Rank, best AI visibility audit services 2026, checked 6 October 2026.
- Avante Visibility, AI visibility audit cost 2026, checked 6 October 2026.
- Every other tool on this page: the vendor pages listed in the research file above, checked 22 and 23 September 2026.