# Profound vs AthenaHQ (2026): Pricing, Credits, Engines and Who Each Fits

AthenaHQ publishes a free plan and a $295 Starter. Profound lists a 7-day trial, then a custom contract. What each buys, credit by credit.

_Source: https://mentionova.com/blog/profound-vs-athenahq_

- **Author:** [Jimmy Pal](https://mentionova.com/authors/jimmy-pal), Founder, GTM 8020
- **Published:** 2026-11-01

Profound and AthenaHQ are the two AI visibility platforms that sell hardest on doing the work, not only measuring it. Both run agents that turn citation gaps into content. Their pricing pages point in opposite directions. AthenaHQ publishes a free Essential plan and a $295-a-month Starter plan with 3,600 credits across 11 models. Profound publishes a free 7-day trial and a custom Enterprise plan, and nothing in between. Every price and limit below was read on both vendors' live sites on 1 November 2026 and is linked in the sources. We make Mentionova, a third option, and we cover it last and plainly.

**[Comparing Profound and AthenaHQ? Run your own buying questions in a Mentionova free trial, no card.](https://app.mentionova.com/login?mode=signup&utm_source=blog&utm_medium=content&utm_campaign=profound-vs-athenahq&utm_content=hero)**

## What are the key takeaways?

-   **AthenaHQ has published prices; Profound does not.** AthenaHQ Starter is $295 a month for 3,600 credits, where 1 credit is 1 AI response. Profound lists a free trial and custom Enterprise.
-   **Both have a free way in.** AthenaHQ's Essential plan is free with 300 credits on five engines. Profound's Trial runs 50 preset prompts daily for 7 days on three engines.
-   **AthenaHQ covers more engines on a self-serve plan:** 11 models on Starter, including Claude, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral. Profound reaches up to 9 engines, on Enterprise only.
-   **Both give unlimited seats.** Profound says so for Trial and Enterprise; AthenaHQ lists unlimited seats with role-based access on Starter and Enterprise.
-   **AthenaHQ meters everything in credits.** Claude, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral cost 5 credits per response, so the 11-model setup burns credits fast.
-   **Mentionova is the third route:** published prices from $99 a month billed annually, six engines on Scale, drafts pushed to your CMS, with scans that refresh weekly rather than daily.

## How do Profound and AthenaHQ compare at a glance?

AthenaHQ is a credit-metered platform with a free tier, a $295 Starter plan and 11 models, plus agents that optimise and publish content. Profound is an enterprise platform with a free 7-day trial, custom pricing, up to 9 engines and an AI Marketer that runs agents on credits. The table compares both, read 1 November 2026.

|  | Profound | AthenaHQ |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free option | Trial: 7 days, 50 preset prompts, daily | Essential: free, 300 credits |
| Entry paid plan | None published: Enterprise is custom | Starter $295 a month |
| Annual billing | Not published | 17% off |
| Usage unit | Prompts tracked; AI Marketer credits for agents | Credits: 1 credit = 1 AI response |
| Engines on free option | ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Copilot |
| Engines on paid plan | Up to 9 on Enterprise | 11 on Starter |
| Seats | Unlimited on Trial and Enterprise | Unlimited, with role-based access |
| Prompt demand data | Prompt Volumes: 5 searches on Trial, custom on Enterprise | Prompt volume estimation on Starter and Enterprise |
| Content | AI Marketer, Agents, Profound Sheets | Content optimization agent, on-page and off-page actions |
| Publishing | Agents stage pages in your CMS | Publishes to WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Contentful, Sanity, Framer, Wix and Payload |
| API | Enterprise | Paid add-on on Starter; included on Enterprise |
| SSO | Enterprise (SSO/SAML) | Enterprise (SAML and OIDC) |

## Is Profound or AthenaHQ cheaper?

AthenaHQ is cheaper to start because it is the only one of the two with a price. Essential costs nothing and Starter costs $295 a month for 3,600 credits, with 17% off on annual billing. Profound's pricing page lists a free 7-day trial and a custom Enterprise plan, so ongoing tracking needs a sales quote.

| Tier | Profound ([tryprofound.com/pricing](https://www.tryprofound.com/pricing)) | AthenaHQ ([athenahq.ai/pricing](https://www.athenahq.ai/pricing)) |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Free | Trial: 50 preset prompts daily for 7 days, 3 engines, limited AI Marketer credits, 5 Prompt Volumes searches, no history or exports | Essential: 300 credits, 5 engines, unlimited users, sources and competitor insights, content recommendations, Athena AI agent |
| Entry paid | None published for brands | Starter $295/mo: 3,600 credits, 11 models, unlimited topics, prompts and competitors, CSV export, content optimization agent |
| Enterprise | Custom: tailored prompt plan, up to 9 engines, AI Marketer credits for the whole team, SSO/SAML and SOC 2, dedicated support | Custom credits: Knowledge Base and claim review, Athena Citation Engine, SAML and OIDC SSO, audit log, multi-region and multi-language, BI dashboards |
| Add-ons | Credit packages above Trial need an Enterprise package | API access and extra credits billed on top of Starter; price on request |

Two limits change the real price of Starter: API access is a paid add-on, and AthenaHQ's credit calculator points heavier users to Enterprise, which it describes as "8,000+ included credits".

Profound's pricing page names a "self-serve Agency Growth plan" with 400 credits per month per client workspace, without a price.

## How far do AthenaHQ's 3,600 credits go?

One credit buys one AI response from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini or Copilot. Claude, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral cost 5 credits each. AthenaHQ's calculator multiplies prompts, locations, credits per response, run days per week and 4.33 weeks, so cadence and model choice decide what Starter covers.

Worked examples using AthenaHQ's own formula, one location, prompt expansion off:

| Setup | Credits a month | Fits in 3,600? |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 30 prompts, ChatGPT + Perplexity + AI Overviews, daily | 30 x 3 x 7 x 4.33 = 2,728 | Yes |
| 100 prompts, the six 1-credit models, once a week | 100 x 6 x 1 x 4.33 = 2,598 | Yes |
| 25 prompts, the six 1-credit models, daily | 25 x 6 x 7 x 4.33 = 4,547 | No |
| 100 prompts, all 11 models, once a week | 100 x 31 x 1 x 4.33 = 13,423 | No |

Prompt expansion multiplies the bill again. When it is on, AthenaHQ runs 3 extra rephrasings of each prompt and every response counts 4 times toward credits.

Starter runs a focused prompt set daily on three engines, or a larger set weekly. All 11 models daily is an Enterprise-sized workload.

Profound's Trial, for comparison, collects 50 prompts on three engines daily for 7 days, which is 1,050 responses before the trial ends.

## Does Profound still sell a self-serve brand plan?

No. Profound's pricing page, read on 1 November 2026, lists two options for brands: a free Trial and a custom Enterprise plan. The Trial runs 50 prompts daily for 7 days on ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews. There is no paid self-serve brand plan between the trial and Enterprise.

Three trial limits matter when you set it against AthenaHQ's free Essential plan:

-   **Preset prompts.** Profound's FAQ says Trial users "receive a recommended prompt set based on their industry and cannot customize their prompts". On Enterprise you can edit, disable or add prompts.
-   **No data out.** The Trial lists no history, no exports and no API. Enterprise lists all-time history, CSV and JSON exports and an API.
-   **It ends.** The Trial stops after 7 days. AthenaHQ's Essential is listed as a free plan, not a timed trial.

Profound's Enterprise adds daily tracking on a tailored prompt plan, up to 9 engines, ChatGPT Shopping, custom regions and languages, and support up to a dedicated specialist with a 24-hour SLA.

## Which AI engines does each tool track?

AthenaHQ tracks more engines without a contract: 11 models on the $295 Starter plan. Profound reaches 9 engines, only on Enterprise. Eight engines overlap. Profound alone names Exa Search; AthenaHQ alone names Grok, Meta AI and Mistral, and says more models are available on request.

| Engine | Profound Trial | Profound Enterprise | AthenaHQ Essential | AthenaHQ Starter |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| ChatGPT | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Google AI Overviews | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Gemini | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Perplexity | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Microsoft Copilot | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Google AI Mode | No | Yes | No | Yes |
| Claude | No | Yes | No | Yes (5 credits) |
| DeepSeek | No | Yes | No | Yes (5 credits) |
| Exa Search | No | Yes | No | No |
| Grok | No | No | No | Yes (5 credits) |
| Meta AI | No | No | No | Yes (5 credits) |
| Mistral | No | No | No | Yes (5 credits) |

On cadence, Profound states daily tracking on both plans. AthenaHQ lets you pick how many days per week the prompt set runs, from 1 to 7, and charges credits for each run.

If you need Claude or Copilot without signing an enterprise contract, only AthenaHQ includes them. If you need Exa Search, only Profound names it.

## What does each tool do with the data?

Both push past dashboards into agents. Profound's AI Marketer rewrites pages with citation decay and stages them in your CMS, priced in credits. AthenaHQ runs a content optimization agent with on-page and off-page actions, and its integrations page lists publishing to eight content and commerce platforms, from WordPress to Payload CMS.

Profound, from its [pricing page](https://www.tryprofound.com/pricing) and [homepage](https://www.tryprofound.com/):

-   **AI Marketer and Agents.** Reusable workflows for recurring marketing work, priced in credits; the platform shows an estimated credit cost before each run.
-   **Content agents.** The homepage says the agent "rewrites pages with citation decay and stages them in your CMS" and builds pages for questions you have no answer for.
-   **Profound Sheets.** Runs agents at scale, on both plans.
-   **Agent Analytics.** AI-sourced traffic across unlimited domains, with integrations including Akamai, AWS, Cloudflare, Fastly, Google Analytics, Netlify, Vercel and WordPress.
-   **Governance.** The homepage lists RBAC, SCIM and SOC 2.

AthenaHQ, from its [pricing page](https://www.athenahq.ai/pricing) and [integrations page](https://www.athenahq.ai/integrations):

-   **Content optimization agent** and self-learning content improvement on Starter.
-   **Smart robots.txt and llms.txt** to manage AI crawler access.
-   **Publishing.** WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Contentful, Sanity, Framer, Wix and Payload CMS, plus Shopify product titles, descriptions and FAQs.
-   **Analytics.** GA4 and Google Search Console, so search queries can become tracked prompts.
-   **MCP.** Connects ChatGPT, Claude or any MCP client to AthenaHQ data.
-   **Enterprise extras.** Knowledge Base and claim review, Oracle discrepancy detection, the Athena Citation Engine and persona targeting.

## Which tool fits which team?

AthenaHQ fits teams that want to buy today at a published price, need many engines including Claude and Copilot, and want content published straight to their CMS. Profound fits enterprises that want an AI Marketer across marketing work, Exa Search coverage and a custom contract with daily tracking and dedicated support.

**Choose AthenaHQ if:**

-   You need a price for a budget request today. Starter is $295 a month.
-   You want to start free and keep a free plan, not a 7-day clock.
-   Claude, Copilot, Grok or Meta AI are on your must-track list without an enterprise deal.
-   You publish on Shopify, Webflow, Wix or Payload and want content sent there directly.

**Choose Profound if:**

-   You want one AI Marketer for research, content, social and PR, not only AI search.
-   You want prompt-volume research and ChatGPT Shopping under one contract.
-   Daily tracking on every prompt is a requirement, not a credit trade-off.
-   Procurement needs SSO/SAML, SCIM and SOC 2 in one Enterprise package.

## What is the verdict, criterion by criterion?

AthenaHQ wins on price transparency, free access, engine count and publishing targets. Profound wins on fixed daily cadence, breadth of marketing agents and enterprise governance. Mentionova wins only where a lower published price and Reddit coverage matter more than daily runs. The verdicts below use only the live pricing and product pages.

| Criterion | Profound | AthenaHQ | Mentionova | Verdict |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Published price | No | Free and $295 | From $99/mo annual | Mentionova lowest paid entry; AthenaHQ has a free plan |
| Free access | 7-day trial | Free Essential plan | Free trial, no card | AthenaHQ |
| Engines without a contract | 3 (trial) | 11 | 6 on Scale | AthenaHQ |
| Engines at the top tier | Up to 9 | 11, more on request | 6 | AthenaHQ |
| Cadence | Daily | 1 to 7 days a week, credit-metered | Weekly | Profound |
| Seats | Unlimited | Unlimited | 3 per plan | Tie: Profound and AthenaHQ |
| Prompt demand data | Prompt Volumes | Prompt volume estimation | Not offered | Tie: Profound and AthenaHQ |
| Content to CMS | Stages pages in your CMS | 8 publishing targets | WordPress, Webflow, Ghost, Sanity, webhook | AthenaHQ |
| Reddit as a tracked source | Not listed | Not listed | Tracked engine on Scale | Mentionova |

**[Want agent-written drafts at a published price? Start a Mentionova free trial, no card.](https://app.mentionova.com/login?mode=signup&utm_source=blog&utm_medium=content&utm_campaign=profound-vs-athenahq&utm_content=body)**

## Where does Mentionova fit as a third option?

Mentionova publishes its prices, from $99 a month billed annually, and drafts content into your CMS. Scale tracks six engines, including Claude, Gemini and Reddit, for $400 a month or $320 billed annually. Scans refresh weekly, not daily, each plan has 3 seats, and it has no prompt-volume data.

|  | Mentionova ([pricing](https://mentionova.com/pricing), read 1 Nov 2026) |
| --- | --- |
| Starter | $125/mo, or $99/mo billed annually: 25 prompts, 3 engines, 100 agentic tasks a month |
| Scale | $400/mo, or $320/mo billed annually: 100 prompts, 6 engines, 500 agentic tasks |
| Enterprise | $999/mo, or $799/mo billed annually: 250 prompts, 6 engines, 2,500 agentic tasks |
| Engines | Starter: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google. Scale and Enterprise add Claude, Gemini and Reddit |
| Cadence | Scans refresh weekly |
| Seats | 3 team seats on each brand plan |
| Content | Drafts pushed to WordPress, Webflow, Ghost, Sanity or a webhook, always as drafts for a person to publish |
| Reddit | Lists the threads your engines cite and drafts a reply for you to post; Mentionova never posts for you |
| Trial | Free trial on every paid plan, no card |

Where Mentionova is weaker than both: no daily runs, fewer seats, fewer engines, no Copilot or Google AI Mode, and no prompt-volume data. Pick it if the job is turning citation gaps into published pages at a price you can see, and Reddit sits on your list of sources that matter.

More detail: [Mentionova vs Profound](https://mentionova.com/blog/mentionova-vs-profound), [Mentionova vs Athena](https://mentionova.com/blog/mentionova-vs-athena), [Profound alternatives](https://mentionova.com/blog/profound-alternatives) and [Athena alternatives](https://mentionova.com/blog/athena-alternatives).

## Why does AI cite your competitors and not you, and which tool shows it?

AI engines name the brands that appear in the sources they retrieve. If competitors own the review sites, listicles and forum threads an engine reads, they get the mention. All three tools show which sources each engine cited. They differ in what they do once you see the gap.

What each tool does next:

-   **Profound** shows the cited sources, then hands the gap to its AI Marketer, which can rewrite the page and stage it in your CMS for approval.
-   **AthenaHQ** shows the cited sources and competitor insights, recommends on-page and off-page actions, and can publish the optimised content to your CMS. On Enterprise, Knowledge Base and claim review check what AI says about you.
-   **Mentionova** shows the cited sources across six engines on Scale, ranks the gaps as opportunities with briefs, and drafts the content or the Reddit reply for a person to publish.

If your brand is missing from ChatGPT answers today, start with the cited sources, not your own homepage. Our guide on [how to check if ChatGPT mentions your brand](https://mentionova.com/blog/how-to-check-if-chatgpt-mentions-your-brand) walks through a manual check you can run before any trial.

## How do you test Profound and AthenaHQ before you commit?

Run Profound's 7-day Trial and AthenaHQ's free Essential plan in the same week. Compare only the engines both cover for free: ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews. Record mention rate, cited sources and the first action each tool hands you, then decide whether a quote or a credit budget fits.

A one-week plan:

1.  **Day 1.** Start Profound's Trial and open AthenaHQ Essential. In AthenaHQ, add your top buying questions, starting with unbranded prompts such as "best \[category\] software".
2.  **Days 2 to 6.** Let both build data. Watch AthenaHQ's credit balance; Essential holds 300 credits.
3.  **Day 6.** Compare ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Overviews results at category level; Profound's prompts are preset.
4.  **Day 7.** Take the biggest gap to each tool's agent. Note which gives you something to ship that week.
5.  **Before you buy.** Put your real prompt count, models and run days into AthenaHQ's credit calculator, and ask Profound for an Enterprise quote in writing.

## Where does each number come from?

All pages read on 1 November 2026.

-   Profound: [tryprofound.com/pricing](https://www.tryprofound.com/pricing) (Trial and Enterprise, engines, seats, integrations, Prompt Volumes, credits, Agency Growth, FAQ on prompt customisation); [tryprofound.com](https://www.tryprofound.com/) (content agents that stage pages in your CMS; RBAC, SCIM, SOC 2).
-   AthenaHQ: [athenahq.ai/pricing](https://www.athenahq.ai/pricing) (Essential, Starter, Enterprise, credits, models, annual discount, add-ons); [credit calculator](https://www.athenahq.ai/credit-calculator) (credits per model, formula, prompt expansion, Enterprise credits); [integrations](https://www.athenahq.ai/integrations) (publishing targets, GA4, Search Console, MCP).
-   Mentionova: [pricing](https://mentionova.com/pricing); [plans overview](https://mentionova.com/docs/billing/plans-overview) (seats, weekly scans, engines); [publishing targets](https://mentionova.com/docs/integrations/cms-integrations).

## What else do people ask about Profound and AthenaHQ?

### Is Profound or AthenaHQ better?

Neither wins for every team. AthenaHQ is better if you want a published price, a free plan, 11 models and direct CMS publishing. Profound is better if you want daily tracking under a custom contract, an AI Marketer across marketing work and enterprise governance with SCIM.

### How much does AthenaHQ cost?

Essential is free with 300 credits. Starter is $295 a month for 3,600 credits, with 17% off on annual billing. Enterprise is custom. API access and extra credits are paid add-ons on Starter.

### How much does Profound cost?

Profound publishes no brand price. Its pricing page lists a free 7-day Trial and a custom Enterprise plan.

### What is an AthenaHQ credit?

One credit is one AI response. ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini and Copilot cost 1 credit per response. Claude, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral cost 5.

### Which tracks more AI engines, Profound or AthenaHQ?

AthenaHQ. Its Starter plan covers 11 models and more are available on request. Profound tracks up to 9 engines on Enterprise and 3 on its Trial.

### Can Profound or AthenaHQ publish content to my website?

Both can. Profound's agents rewrite pages and stage them in your CMS. AthenaHQ publishes to WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Contentful, Sanity, Framer, Wix and Payload CMS.

### Is there a cheaper alternative to Profound and AthenaHQ?

Mentionova starts at $99 a month billed annually ($125 monthly) for 25 prompts on 3 engines, and Scale covers six engines for $320 a month billed annually. It drafts content into WordPress, Webflow, Ghost, Sanity or a webhook, with scans that refresh weekly.

**[See which engines name you before you sign a contract. Start a Mentionova free trial, no card.](https://app.mentionova.com/login?mode=signup&utm_source=blog&utm_medium=content&utm_campaign=profound-vs-athenahq&utm_content=close)**

---

_Mentionova, https://mentionova.com. Markdown rendering of the page above for AI readers._