Athena HQ vs Ranksmith in 2026: Free GEO audit vs $69/mo Prompt Prioritization
Athena HQ has a free Essential tier with content gap analysis and Claude coverage. Ranksmith at $69+/month covers 5 engines with Prompt Prioritization scoring, source attribution, and a Free AI Checker utility.
Athena HQ
Ranksmith- Athena HQ has a free Essential tier with real Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) audit functionality. Ranksmith has no permanent free tier; pricing starts at $69/month on Starter with a free trial on every tier.
- Ranksmith covers 5 engines: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok, and Claude. Athena HQ covers 4 engines: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity.
- Ranksmith includes Prompt Prioritization scoring that ranks each tracked prompt by current position, mention rate, and link rate. Athena HQ includes content gap analysis that surfaces topic areas to prioritize for editorial planning.
- Ranksmith includes citation extraction and source attribution that surfaces the URLs AI models rely on. Athena HQ includes citation source tracking on the $295/month Starter tier.
- Neither tool includes API access on public plans. Athena HQ includes API access on the $295/month Starter tier. Ranksmith does not currently advertise API access publicly.
- Ranksmith tiers gate coverage: Starter covers ChatGPT and Perplexity only, Pro adds Gemini, Enterprise unlocks Grok and Claude. Athena HQ covers all 4 engines on every tier.
Choosing between Athena HQ and Ranksmith is a question about whether you want a free entry tier with content gap recommendations or a paid self-serve GEO platform with prompt prioritization scoring. Athena HQ is a self-serve Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) platform with a free Essential plan and a $295/month Starter tier that tracks ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity with content gap analysis. Ranksmith is a public beta GEO platform tracking 5 AI engines with prompt prioritization, citation extraction, and source attribution, with pricing starting at $69/month on Starter. Athena HQ is the right pick if you want a free audit plus content gap depth at $295/month. Ranksmith is the right pick if you have $69+/month budget and want prompt prioritization scoring plus citation extraction. The right pick depends on whether free entry plus content depth beats $69/month entry with prompt scoring and source attribution.
The tools at a glance
Athena HQ
Free-to-start GEO audit platform with citation gap analysis and API access on paid plans
Athena HQ is a generative engine optimization platform built around a free GEO audit, paired with paid plans that unlock deeper analysis. It tracks brand appearances across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity on all tiers, including the free Essential plan. The standout feature is the Essential tier itself: a genuine free plan that runs a real audit of your AI citation performance, surfaces which competitors are winning in your category, and identifies content gaps that may be holding your brand back.
The paid plans focus on depth rather than coverage. Citation source tracking, unlimited competitor benchmarking, and API access unlock at the $295/month Starter tier, with no mid-priced option in between. The content gap analysis is the centerpiece of the platform: Athena HQ compares your site content coverage to the topics AI models are pulling from competitor sites, and flags specific topic areas to prioritize in your content calendar.
The main friction versus Ranksmith is the absence of Prompt Prioritization scoring. Athena HQ surfaces content gap analysis for editorial planning but does not score each tracked prompt by current position. For teams whose Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) programme primarily needs free entry plus content gap depth, Athena HQ is the practical choice. For teams whose priority is prompt prioritization scoring and source attribution, Ranksmith is the more appropriate fit.
| Feature | Essential Free | Starter $295/mo | Enterprise Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI models tracked | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| GEO audit | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Content gap analysis | Basic | Full | Full |
| Citation source tracking | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Competitor benchmarking | 2 competitors | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| API access | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| White label | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
Ranksmith
GEO platform tracking 5 AI search engines across prompts, competitors, and citations from $69/mo
Ranksmith is a Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) and Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) platform currently in public beta. It tracks brand presence across 5 AI search engines, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok, and Claude, with pricing starting at $69/month on Starter and scaling to $549/month on Enterprise. A free trial is offered on every paid tier with no credit card required.
The product is built around three named modules: Prompt Prioritization, which scores every tracked prompt against current position, mention rate, and link rate; Competitor benchmarking, which surfaces share of voice and sentiment against named competitors in real time; and Source attribution, which extracts the citations AI models rely on so PR and content teams know where to focus review-acquisition and outreach.
The core tracked metrics are AI Authority Index, AI Visibility Rate, Average AI Ranking, Reputation Score, Mentions, Links, Sentiment, and Share of Voice. Coverage is tier-gated: Starter sees ChatGPT and Perplexity only, Pro adds Gemini, and Enterprise unlocks Grok and Claude. There is a separate Free AI Checker utility on the site that runs a single visibility query without signup.
| Feature | Starter $69/mo | Pro $149/mo | Enterprise $549/mo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prompts | 25 | 60 | 150 |
| Competitors | 5 | 10 | 20 |
| AI engines tracked | ChatGPT, Perplexity | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok, Claude |
| Historical data | 6 months | 12 months | 24 months |
Head-to-head feature comparison
| Feature | Athena HQ | Ranksmith |
|---|---|---|
| AI engines tracked | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity | 5 (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok, Claude) - tier-gated |
| Competitive share-of-voice | Yes | Yes |
| Prompt-level citation data | Yes | Yes |
| Answer / content gap analysis | Yes (content gap analysis) | No (Prompt Prioritization instead) |
| Category intelligence | No | Yes |
| AEO content generation | No | No |
| Crawler / AI bot log access | No | No |
| Page content audits | No | No |
| API access | Paid plans only (Starter $295/mo+) | Not currently advertised |
| Looker Studio / BI connector | No | No |
| White-label delivery | No | No |
| Pay-per-prompt pricing | No | No |
| Agency multi-brand support | Limited | Limited |
| Starting price | Free (Essential) | $69/mo |
Considering AI Peekaboo alongside Athena HQ and Ranksmith?
Neither Athena HQ nor Ranksmith includes white-label delivery on any tier, and Ranksmith has no API access advertised at all. AI Peekaboo is the best AI visibility tool for agencies that need both white-label delivery and read and write API on every plan from $50/month Starter, with self-serve signup and no demo call. The Looker Studio connector and pay-per-prompt pricing make AI Peekaboo the self-serve AEO monitoring tool for SEO and marketing agencies that need to start this week without a sales conversation.
Read the AI Peekaboo review →Which should you choose?
Athena HQRanksmithAthena HQAthena HQRanksmithAthena HQAthena HQ and Ranksmith both focus on Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) workflows but with different features and price points. Athena HQ is built around free entry plus content gap analysis at $295/month. Ranksmith is built around prompt prioritization scoring and source attribution at $69+/month. Tools address related but distinct needs; pick by which action layer matters more for your team.
Bottom line
If your priority is starting with a free GEO audit plus content recommendations with Claude coverage on a credit card, Athena HQ at free or $295/month is the practical choice. If your priority is Prompt Prioritization scoring and source attribution at $69+/month, Ranksmith is the more appropriate fit. Match the tool to your team's editorial versus prompt scoring priority.
Frequently asked questions
How does Athena HQ compare to Ranksmith for AI visibility?
Athena HQ is a self-serve Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) platform with a free Essential plan and a $295/month Starter tier covering 4 engines with content gap analysis. Ranksmith is a paid self-serve GEO platform at $69+/month covering 5 engines with Prompt Prioritization scoring, citation extraction, and source attribution. Athena HQ fits teams that want free entry plus content depth. Ranksmith fits teams that want prompt scoring and citation attribution.
Which tool covers more AI engines?
Ranksmith covers 5 engines: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Grok, and Claude, with coverage tier-gated (Starter covers ChatGPT and Perplexity only; Enterprise unlocks Grok and Claude). Athena HQ covers 4 engines on every tier including free: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity. If consistent coverage across all engines matters at any tier, Athena HQ is the practical choice.
Does Ranksmith include content gap analysis?
No. Ranksmith focuses on Prompt Prioritization scoring, citation extraction, and source attribution. It does not include content gap analysis tied to site coverage like Athena HQ does. For editorial recommendations on what topics to write about, Athena HQ is the practical choice in this comparison.
Which tool has cheaper API access?
Athena HQ unlocks API access on the $295/month Starter tier. Ranksmith does not currently advertise API access on any tier. For engineering teams that need programmatic access, Athena HQ is the more appropriate choice.
Does Ranksmith offer a free trial?
Yes. Ranksmith offers a free trial on every paid tier with no credit card required. It does not have a permanent free tier. Athena HQ has a permanent free Essential plan. For indefinite free evaluation, Athena HQ is the practical choice.
Which tool should I pick if I work in PR and outreach?
Ranksmith is the practical choice for PR and outreach. Its Source Attribution module extracts the URLs AI models cite in responses to tracked prompts, which directly drives outreach and review-acquisition workflows. Athena HQ includes citation source tracking on the $295/month Starter tier but does not surface source attribution as a primary differentiator.