Compare · 2026-06-21
AskedAbout vs Profound: the $79 one-time alternative to an enterprise AI-visibility subscription
Profound is one of the best-known platforms for tracking how AI answer engines talk about your brand. On 2026-07-31 it published two self-serve tiers — $99/mo billed yearly and $399/mo — and a sales-led Enterprise tier above them; re-read on 2026-09-22, its pricing page lists a free 7-day trial and custom Enterprise pricing only (the full priced field is on the best Profound alternatives page). It offers continuous analytics across large prompt sets, with continuous analytics across large prompt sets. If you're a dentist, an injury firm, an agency or a small SaaS, you usually want the answer to one question — does ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Claude recommend me or my competitors, and what do I fix first? — without a sales call or a recurring bill. That's what AskedAbout does for a one-time $79. Here's the honest side-by-side.
Updated
Who runs this
- Built and operated by Sensara LLC, Atlanta, Georgia — about us and how the audit works.
- See what the report looks like before you run anything — score per engine, the competitors AI names instead of you, and a fix plan.
- We run the same audit on ourselves every week and publish the result: in the latest run AI named AskedAbout in 1 of 144 answers. We report our own numbers the way we report yours.
Profound vs AskedAbout, side by side
| AskedAbout | Profound | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | $79, one-time | $99/mo billed yearly (Lite) · $399/mo (Growth) · Enterprise "tailored pricing terms" — read from tryprofound.com/pricing on 2026-07-31 |
| How you start | Run a free 60-second check now, buy the audit when ready — no call | Self-serve on the two published tiers; demo + onboarding above them |
| What it is | A scored report + a prioritized fix plan, with evidence-reviewed actions | An always-on analytics platform (dashboards, conversation/citation explorers, alerts) |
| Best for | SMBs, local & single-vertical businesses | Enterprise brand, comms & SEO teams |
| Commitment | Pay once; nothing recurring just to see where you stand | Ongoing subscription / contract |
| Engines | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity — via official APIs, methodology disclosed | Broad, continuous tracking across answer engines at scale |
| The output you act on | What to fix, in priority order | Continuous monitoring & analytics for a team to work from |
Profound's positioning, features and pricing model above are summarized from public information as of June 2026 and change frequently — check tryprofound.com for current details. We don't claim feature parity with Profound's platform; we deliberately do one thing well.
What Profound is built for
Profound is a well-funded, capable platform aimed at brand and marketing teams that need to watch AI mentions continuously — across thousands of prompts, many competitors and several stakeholders — with historical trend lines, citation/source analysis and alerting. If answer-engine visibility is a standing program with a team and a budget behind it, that's exactly the kind of always-on tooling Profound exists to provide, and a one-time audit is not a substitute for ongoing monitoring at that scale.
Where AskedAbout fits better
Most small and single-vertical businesses don't need a continuous analytics platform yet — they need to know where they stand today and what to change. AskedAbout is built for exactly that moment:
- One-time, not a subscription. $79 buys the audit and the fix plan outright. Nothing recurring just to learn your position.
- No demo, no sales call. Run a free check in about a minute and buy the full audit yourself when you're ready. You're reading your results the same day, not scheduling onboarding.
- Statistical honesty, not a single snapshot. AI engines answer differently every time you ask. We sample each buyer question many times across four engines and report how often you show up — with confidence — instead of one lucky-or-unlucky screenshot.
- A fix plan, not just a dashboard. You get the prioritized, specific actions that move your visibility — what to change, in what order — not a feed you have to interpret.
- Priced for an SMB. Enterprise suites are sold on custom contracts; agencies charge many times more. A med spa in Scottsdale or an injury firm in Tampa can afford $79 once.
When Profound is the right choice
We'd rather tell you the truth than win the wrong customer. If you're an enterprise brand team that needs to monitor AI answers continuously, across thousands of prompts and many competitors, with alerting and trend history for several stakeholders, that's what Profound (and peers like AthenaHQ) are built for — and a one-time audit won't replace that program. AskedAbout is the right call when you want to know where you stand right now and what to fix, without committing to a recurring bill or a demo to find out. Plenty of businesses start with the $79 audit, act on the fixes, and only add continuous monitoring later once it's clearly worth the spend.
What you get for $79
A full audit runs 25 buyer-intent questions across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude, sampled 3 times each — up to 300 API answers requested, with completed and failed counts shown — then reports your mention rate per engine, the competitors named instead and how often, which sources the engines lean on when they build a shortlist without you, and a prioritized fix plan. Delivered as a web report in minutes. Before you pay anything, a free 60-second check shows whether the engines name you or your rivals.
See the whole category
Comparing more than just Profound? See the best Profound alternatives, with real prices — 18 tools, every entry price read from the vendor's own page on 2026-07-31 — or the full AI visibility tools compared.
FAQ
Is there a cheaper alternative to Profound?
Update 2026-09-22: Profound's pricing page now lists a free 7-day trial and a custom Enterprise tier only; the self-serve tiers below are no longer published. Read on 2026-07-31, Profound published two self-serve tiers — $99/mo billed yearly (Lite, 1,500 responses/mo) and $399/mo (Growth, 9,000 responses/mo) — with Enterprise on "tailored pricing terms". AskedAbout is a one-time $79 audit with a free 60-second check first — no demo and nothing recurring to see where AI ranks you. For the full priced field, see the best Profound alternatives, with real prices.
What does Profound cost?
Profound doesn't publish self-serve pricing; it's quoted per the deal after a demo (as of June 2026 — check their site). AskedAbout is a flat $79, one-time, with the price on the page.
Is AskedAbout a Profound competitor?
They overlap on the core question — does AI recommend you? — but serve different buyers. Profound is an always-on platform for enterprise teams; AskedAbout is a one-time, self-serve audit and fix plan for SMB and single-vertical businesses.
Do I need a subscription to check my AI visibility?
No. You can run a free check in about a minute, and the full $79 audit is a one-time purchase. Continuous monitoring is optional and only worth it once you want ongoing trend tracking.
Which AI engines do you check?
ChatGPT (OpenAI), Claude (Anthropic), Gemini (Google) and Perplexity, through their official APIs. We disclose that API answers approximate but don't perfectly match the consumer apps.
See your number
A free 60-second check shows what AI says about you.
Method — we query the official APIs of each AI engine, with web search where supported. Answers vary between runs; the full audit repeats every question and reports frequencies, never one-off snapshots.