3 Ahrefs Brand Radar Alternatives Under $100

P

Paul

Co-founder

Airefs dashboard showing AI visibility tracking and source-level citation analysis

Ahrefs Brand Radar is built on infrastructure that most teams can’t afford: EUR 119/mo for the Ahrefs Lite base plan plus EUR 654/mo for the all-indexes bundle puts the minimum total at EUR 773/mo (~$840/mo). Single-platform add-ons (EUR 179/mo each) don’t solve this—if you want meaningful cross-platform coverage, you need the bundle.

Add the documented accuracy concerns—independent testing found 97% undercounting in ChatGPT and Perplexity—and the cost-to-accuracy ratio is difficult to justify for most teams.

Three platforms deliver serious AI visibility tracking for under $100/mo with prompt-based methodology, sentiment analysis, and third-party validation that Brand Radar at EUR 773/mo doesn’t fully provide.

What are the best Ahrefs Brand Radar alternatives under $100?

The top 3 Ahrefs Brand Radar alternatives under $100 are Airefs, Otterly AI, and Profound.

Airefs at $24/mo uses prompt-based tracking and Reddit monitoring to surface future citation opportunities that Brand Radar’s keyword methodology can’t identify. Otterly AI at $29/mo brings Gartner Cool Vendor 2025 recognition, a 4.9/5 rating across 250 verified reviews, and sentiment analysis that Brand Radar lacks entirely. Profound at $99/mo is the G2 Winter 2026 Leader with 10+ AI platforms, prompt volume data, and enterprise customers that Brand Radar can only partially match.

Top affordable Ahrefs Brand Radar alternatives — Comparison table

PlatformStarting PriceAI PlatformsBest ForKey DifferentiatorFree Trial
Airefs$24/moChatGPT by default (+ other LLMs on request)Startups, SMBs, agenciesReddit monitoring + prompt-based trackingYes (7-day)
Otterly AI$29/moChatGPT, AI Overviews, AI Mode, Perplexity, Gemini, CopilotTeams needing validated credentialsGartner Cool Vendor 2025 + sentiment analysisYes (14-day)
Profound$99/moChatGPT (Starter); 10+ platforms (Growth)Enterprise teamsG2 Leader + prompt volume dataFree AEO Report

1. Airefs: The proactive alternative at 97% less

Brand Radar measures what AI systems said about your brand across keyword-mapped queries. Airefs shows you what Reddit discussions will determine what AI says about your brand next week.

At $24/mo—97% less than Brand Radar’s EUR 773/mo minimum—Airefs provides a fundamentally different and more forward-looking approach that keyword-based tracking can’t replicate regardless of database size.

Airefs platform showing prompt tracking, AI visibility scores, and Reddit keyword monitoring for brand mentions in AI search

The accuracy difference matters at any budget level. Independent testing found Brand Radar reporting 3 ChatGPT mentions where 123 actually occurred—a 97% undercounting rate that undermines strategic decisions built on that data. Airefs’ prompt-based tracking avoids the keyword-to-natural-language translation problem entirely by querying AI platforms with actual prompts rather than keyword mappings. For teams that need data they can act on, tracking accuracy is as important as database scale.

The done-for-you tier ($249/mo) handles content creation and community participation on your behalf—Brand Radar offers no service layer at any price tier.

Key features

  • Prompt-based tracking: ChatGPT by default; other LLMs on request; daily refresh
  • Reddit keyword monitoring: Track up to 30 keywords to surface future citation sources
  • AI Search Analytics: Real AI-driven traffic and crawler monitoring
  • Competitor source analysis: Which sources your competitors are cited in
  • Content opportunity identification: Specific articles and discussions AI models rely on

Pricing

  • Lite: $24/mo — 1 domain, 3 competitors, 25 prompts, 3 Reddit keywords
  • Pro: $49/mo — 3 domains, 60 prompts, 10 Reddit keywords, 7-day free trial
  • Expert: $83/mo — Unlimited domains, 150 prompts, 30 Reddit keywords, AEO strategist

Pros & cons

Pros:

  • $24/mo vs EUR 773/mo minimum — 97% less expensive
  • Prompt-based tracking eliminates Brand Radar’s keyword-to-AI methodology gap
  • Reddit monitoring surfaces future citation opportunities before they appear in any tracking tool
  • No accuracy issues — avoids Brand Radar’s documented 97% undercounting problem
  • 7-day free trial; Brand Radar has no trial

Cons:

  • No Ahrefs SEO suite integration — Brand Radar’s cross-platform SEO data correlation is absent
  • No 253M+ historical prompt database — Brand Radar’s data scale is unmatched
  • Fewer platforms by default — requires opt-in for non-ChatGPT coverage
  • No sentiment analysis on standard plans

Customers

Airefs serves 100+ teams across startups, agencies, and B2B SaaS. 5.0/5 customer rating.

Thanks to Airefs, Techmap went from invisible in LLM answers to showing up every time as one of the best courses for tech recruiters—and it all happened in just a few weeks.

— Ruben K, Co-founder, Techmap

2. Otterly AI: The validated alternative with sentiment analysis

Brand Radar has no sentiment analysis—it tells you how often your brand appears in AI responses, not how positively or negatively it’s framed. Otterly AI includes sentiment analysis from $29/mo, alongside Gartner Cool Vendor 2025 in AI in Marketing, G2 High Performer status, and a 4.9/5 rating across 250 verified reviews.

At 96% less than Brand Radar’s EUR 773/mo minimum, it provides two capabilities Brand Radar doesn’t—sentiment tracking and third-party category recognition—for a fraction of the cost.

Otterly AI dashboard showing affordable AI search monitoring with brand tracking and GEO audit features

Otterly’s GEO Audit analyzes 25+ on-page factors and delivers prioritized optimization recommendations—a capability Brand Radar, despite its scale, doesn’t include. Where Brand Radar focuses entirely on measuring AI visibility as an output, Otterly’s GEO Audit identifies the inputs you can change to improve that visibility. For teams that want both measurement and actionable optimization guidance, Otterly covers ground that Brand Radar’s keyword-monitoring architecture explicitly doesn’t.

Key features

  • 6-platform tracking: ChatGPT, AI Overviews, AI Mode, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot
  • Sentiment analysis: Tone and framing of brand references — absent from Brand Radar
  • GEO Audit: 25+ on-page factors with actionable optimization recommendations
  • Brand mention and citation tracking: Position, share of voice, competitor benchmarking
  • 40+ country support: Multi-language monitoring across global markets

Pricing

  • Starter: $29/mo — 14-day free trial, no credit card
  • Growth: $189/mo
  • Business: $489/mo
  • Enterprise: Custom

Pros & cons

Pros:

  • $29/mo vs EUR 773/mo — 96% less expensive
  • Sentiment analysis included — Brand Radar has no equivalent at any price
  • GEO Audit identifies optimization levers Brand Radar’s measurement-only approach misses
  • Gartner Cool Vendor 2025 and G2 High Performer — comparable enterprise category recognition
  • 14-day free trial; Brand Radar has no trial

Cons:

  • 6 platforms vs Brand Radar’s 6 — comparable coverage, different platforms (Otterly misses Claude and Grok)
  • No Ahrefs SEO suite integration — Brand Radar’s cross-platform data correlation is absent
  • No historical AI visibility data
  • Small team (2-10 employees); Ahrefs has 300+ employees

Customers

Otterly AI serves Opera, Bacula Systems, XXXLutz, Avis Budget Group, Auto1, Storyblocks, and Campaign Monitor.

2x increase in both our visibility in AI search engines and incoming traffic.

— Rebecca Anderson, Instant Commerce

3. Profound: The closest like-for-like at $99/mo

Brand Radar targets enterprise teams on established Ahrefs subscriptions. Profound targets enterprise teams with a dedicated AEO platform—10+ AI platforms, G2 Winter 2026 Leader status, prompt volume data showing actual AI search demand, and customers including TripAdvisor, HubSpot, McKinsey, and Ramp.

At $99/mo Starter and $399/mo Growth, Profound is the most direct like-for-like replacement for Brand Radar’s enterprise positioning—at a fraction of the cost and with better accuracy methodology.

Profound dashboard showing AI visibility tracking, share of voice, and enterprise analytics for major brands

Profound’s prompt volume data is the most direct alternative to Brand Radar’s search-demand signal. Where Brand Radar derives AI query volume from its existing keyword research infrastructure (large database, indirect measurement), Profound measures AI search demand directly from AI platforms (smaller database, direct measurement). For enterprise teams using Brand Radar partly for strategic demand-sizing rather than just brand monitoring, Profound’s approach is more accurate to the AI-native query pattern that matters.

Key features

  • 10+ AI platform tracking: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot, Claude, Grok, DeepSeek, AI Overviews, AI Mode, and more
  • Prompt volume data: Actual AI search demand for topics in your category
  • ChatGPT Shopping tracking: Visibility in AI-driven product recommendations
  • Sentiment analysis: Tone and framing of brand references — absent from Brand Radar
  • Share of voice and citation analytics: Brand position across all platforms

Pricing

  • Starter: $99/mo — ChatGPT only, 50 prompts; free AEO Report available
  • Growth: $399/mo — 10+ platforms, unlimited prompts
  • Enterprise: Custom

Pros & cons

Pros:

  • G2 Winter 2026 Leader — the strongest dedicated AEO category recognition available
  • 10+ platforms on Growth ($399/mo) vs Brand Radar’s 6 on all-indexes bundle (EUR 654/mo add-on)
  • Prompt volume data measures actual AI search demand — more accurate than Brand Radar’s keyword extrapolation
  • Sentiment analysis included — Brand Radar has no equivalent
  • $99-$399/mo vs EUR 773/mo minimum — 50-90% less expensive

Cons:

  • $99/mo Starter is ChatGPT-only — Brand Radar’s single-platform add-on (EUR 179/mo) covers more queries
  • No Ahrefs SEO suite integration — Brand Radar’s cross-platform data is a genuine differentiator
  • No 253M+ historical prompt database
  • No free trial — only a free AEO Report

Customers

Profound serves TripAdvisor, HubSpot, McKinsey, and Ramp, among others.

Profound has become an indispensable tool in our arsenal for AI search.

— Profound enterprise customer

Frequently asked questions

Why look for Ahrefs Brand Radar alternatives under $100?

Two reasons. First, Brand Radar’s minimum cost (EUR 773/mo for meaningful cross-platform coverage) is prohibitive for most teams—all three alternatives in this guide cost between 88% and 97% less. Second, independent testing found Brand Radar undercounting ChatGPT mentions by 97% and Perplexity mentions by 97%—a keyword-based methodology gap that dedicated AEO tools avoid by using prompt-based tracking. Lower cost and better accuracy methodology are achievable simultaneously.

Does any under-$100 alternative have Brand Radar’s historical data?

No. Brand Radar’s historical AI visibility dataset—showing how brand visibility has evolved as AI platforms have grown—is unique and unavailable from any alternative at any price. For teams that specifically need historical trending data to justify investment or benchmark against a pre-AEO baseline, this is a genuine Brand Radar differentiator without a sub-$100 equivalent.

Which under-$100 alternative covers the most AI platforms?

Profound’s Growth plan ($399/mo) covers 10+ platforms, but exceeds this guide’s $100 threshold. At $99/mo, Profound’s Starter covers only ChatGPT. Otterly AI covers 6 platforms for $29/mo. Airefs covers ChatGPT by default with other LLMs on request from $24/mo. Brand Radar covers 6 platforms from EUR 773/mo minimum—comparable coverage to Otterly at 26x the cost.

Which has the strongest third-party validation?

Profound: G2 Winter 2026 Leader. Otterly AI: Gartner Cool Vendor 2025, G2 High Performer, 4.9/5 across 250 reviews. Airefs: 5.0/5 customer rating. Brand Radar: Ahrefs’ 10M+ user base provides credibility, but no AEO-specific G2 or Gartner recognition for Brand Radar specifically. For teams that need category-specific validation (AEO/GEO rather than broad SEO), Profound and Otterly AI provide stronger dedicated credentials.

Is there a free trial for these alternatives?

Airefs: 7-day trial on Pro ($49/mo). Otterly AI: 14-day trial, no credit card. Profound: free AEO Report (not a full trial). Brand Radar: no free trial. Otterly AI offers the most accessible no-credit-card evaluation window.

What’s the most important thing Brand Radar offers that sub-$100 alternatives don’t?

The Ahrefs SEO platform integration. For teams already on Ahrefs subscriptions, Brand Radar connects AI visibility data with traditional SEO metrics—keyword rankings, backlink profiles, traffic trends—in a single platform. No sub-$100 alternative offers this integration. The question for each team is whether that integration is worth EUR 654/mo in add-on fees on top of an existing subscription.

Conclusion: Choosing your under-$100 Ahrefs Brand Radar alternative

For teams that want proactive AI visibility tracking at the lowest cost, Airefs at $24/mo provides Reddit monitoring and prompt-based tracking for 97% less than Brand Radar’s minimum—identifying future citation opportunities before keyword-based monitoring registers them.

For teams that need validated credentials and sentiment analysis, Otterly AI at $29/mo delivers Gartner Cool Vendor 2025, G2 High Performer, and sentiment tracking—two capabilities Brand Radar, despite its premium pricing, doesn’t offer. The 14-day free trial makes evaluation easy.

For enterprise teams looking for a dedicated AEO replacement that matches Brand Radar’s positioning, Profound at $99/mo (Starter) or $399/mo (Growth) is the G2 Winter 2026 Leader with 10+ platforms, prompt volume data, and enterprise customers that demonstrate the track record Brand Radar is still building in the dedicated AEO category.


Want to start tracking AI visibility for less than 4% of Ahrefs Brand Radar’s cost? Try Airefs free for 7 days — $24/mo with Reddit monitoring and prompt-based tracking.

Published Feb 21, 2026

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