Checked 4 October 2026
Profound, Scrunch, AthenaHQ and Peec AI sell software that measures and analyses how AI answer engines cite a brand. Humenta AEO is a managed service that includes monitoring but sells the execution: technical work, content, authority, PR and named human strategy. This dated, seller-authored comparison sets public software prices beside Humenta's plans and explains what each unit actually buys.
Disclosure: Humenta is the subject of this comparison. Platform facts use each provider's public pricing page. None of the providers was asked to review this page before publication. Corrections are welcome.
Profound, Scrunch, AthenaHQ and Peec AI are the right choice when your team owns implementation, content and authority work and needs data, prompt tracking and recommendations at a software price. Humenta AEO is the right choice when you want the work done by one accountable team, with monitoring included, and you would otherwise be paying for software plus internal or agency execution. They are different categories, and many buyers run both.
Self-serve prompt and citation tracking across several answer engines, competitor and citation analysis, content and optimisation recommendations, free trials or free tiers, and published paid plans from €85 to €425 per month, with Scrunch Core at $250 and AthenaHQ Starter at $295. API access is a paid add-on at AthenaHQ.
Technical implementation, approved content production, legitimate authority and digital PR, podcast and media options, a frozen treatment and holdout measurement panel, named human strategy and reporting, with 150 to 1,000 tracked prompts included in the plan.
| Provider | Category | Public entry price | Top public price | What the entry plan lists | Services included |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Humenta AEO | Managed execution | See canonical pricing | See canonical pricing | 150 tracked prompts on approved surfaces per the methodology | Yes: technical, content, authority, PR, strategy |
| Profound | Software | Free Trial for 7 days | No public monthly price; Enterprise custom | Limited AI Marketer credits; 50 prompts run daily for 7 days | No |
| Scrunch | Software | $250/month (Core), with a 7-day free trial | $250/month (Core); Enterprise custom | 125 unique prompts, 5,000 responses per month, 5 site audits per month and 4 models: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews and Copilot | No |
| AthenaHQ | Software | Free plan with $25 free credit | $295/month (Starter); Enterprise custom | Credit-based: 300 credits on Free; 3,600 credits and visibility across 11 models on Starter | No |
| Peec AI | Software | €85/month (Starter) | €425/month (Advanced); Enterprise custom | 50 prompts on Starter | No |
| Platform plan | Public price / month | Approx. EUR | What the unit buys |
|---|---|---|---|
| Profound Trial | Free for 7 days | Free | Limited AI Marketer credits; 50 prompts run daily for 7 days |
| Profound Agency Growth | No public price | No public price | Self-serve plan mentioned in Profound's FAQ; 400 credits per month per client workspace |
| Scrunch Core | $250 | €223 | 125 unique prompts, 5,000 responses per month, 5 site audits per month, 1 brand workspace, 5 user licenses, 4 models, 1 country, 1 persona, 1 language, 5 competitors; 7-day free trial |
| AthenaHQ Free | Free | Free | $25 free credit; 300 credits |
| AthenaHQ Starter | $295 | €263 | 3,600 credits; visibility across 11 models; API access and extra credits are paid add-ons; an annual option is advertised at 17% off |
| Peec AI Starter | €85 | Listed in euro | 50 prompts |
| Peec AI Pro | €205 | Listed in euro | 150 prompts |
| Peec AI Advanced | €425 | Listed in euro | 350 prompts |
| Enterprise plans | Custom | Custom | All four providers list a custom Enterprise plan; Peec AI's is annual, via sales |
Software prices buy measurement seats and prompt allowances. Humenta plan prices buy monitoring plus executed technical, content, authority, PR and media capacity with named human review. The right comparison is software plus the cost of your own execution against a managed plan, not the two list prices alone.
Euro equivalents use the ECB reference rate for 2 October 2026 of €1 = $1.1225 and are rounded to the nearest euro. They are a point-in-time comparison of list prices, not a conversion offer. Peec AI lists its prices in euro, so no conversion is applied. Taxes, exchange movements, add-ons and negotiated scope change actual spend. Humenta plan prices are shown only on the canonical pricing page.
| Capability | Humenta AEO | Visibility platforms | What to diligence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prompt and citation monitoring | Included, 150 to 1,000 prompts on approved surfaces | Core product; 50 to 350 prompts or a credit allowance on published plans; 4 models on Scrunch Core and 11 on AthenaHQ Starter | Which engines, regions, languages and how answers are captured |
| Analysis and recommendations | Strategist-led, in the reporting cadence | Dashboards, citation and competitor analysis, AI agents and content recommendations | Whether recommendations are actionable for your stack |
| Technical implementation | Audit and approved implementation | Not included; some integrate with CMS and analytics | Who does the work and verifies it |
| Content production | Up to 30 to 90 approved assets per month | Optimisation tooling on some plans; no production | Definition of an asset and editorial review |
| Authority and PR | Legitimate earned targets and campaigns | Not included | Publisher quality and disclosure |
| Human strategy | Named strategist and weekly report | Self-serve software on the published plans; Enterprise scope is custom | Seniority and cadence |
| Data ownership and export | Evidence packs with method labels | API access is a paid add-on at AthenaHQ; export options vary by provider and plan | Retention, export rights and API limits |
| Entry commitment | Month-to-month on Launch and Scale | Monthly or annual; free tiers and trials | Minimum term and seat pricing |
Only if you need the execution. Profound and Scrunch measure and analyse; they do not implement technical fixes, produce approved content, or run authority and PR work. If your team already does that well, software may be enough. If not, a managed plan replaces that internal or agency cost and includes monitoring.
Software is cheapest on list price. Profound has a free Trial and AthenaHQ has a Free plan. The lowest published paid plan at each provider is Peec AI Starter at €85 per month, Scrunch Core at $250 per month and AthenaHQ Starter at $295 per month. Humenta's entry plan costs more because it includes executed work. Compare software plus your own execution cost against a managed plan.
Humenta plans include 150 to 1,000 tracked prompts measured on approved surfaces with a frozen treatment and holdout panel, reported with surface and capture-method labels. Humenta does not sell a standalone self-serve dashboard; the monitoring is part of the managed program.
Yes. On 4 October 2026, Peec AI listed Starter at €85, Pro at €205 and Advanced at €425 per month on monthly billing, with 50, 150 and 350 prompts. Enterprise is custom. Scrunch and AthenaHQ also publish a self-serve price. Profound shows a free Trial and a custom Enterprise plan without a public monthly price.
Yes. A platform you already run can remain an additional evidence source. Ask Humenta how its approved surfaces and capture method align with your tracker so both report on comparable prompt sets, and keep your export rights in mind when comparing numbers.
Competitor prices, plan names and plan limits were read from each provider's own public pricing page on 4 October 2026. General capability descriptions were last reviewed on 6 September 2026. Providers change prices and scope without notice. Send a current first-party source through the correction log and the page will be updated.
We will tell you where Humenta fits, what the program would include and what evidence is still missing.