AthenaHQ vs The Prompting Company (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, AthenaHQ grades higher than The Prompting Company: 2.2 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
AthenaHQ grades higher on the free plan and features. The Prompting Company grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
AthenaHQ
Credit-based AI search tracking with content optimization agents
The Prompting Company
AI search visibility and agent experience for software products
Which one is for you
Pick AthenaHQ if
- Fits if you want to look at real AI answers about your brand before paying anything
- Works for shops checking their products in ChatGPT, AI Mode and Gemini shopping results
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you outgrow the free credits, as the next step is $245 a month on yearly billing
- Tight if you track lots of prompts every day, because every answer spends a credit
- Skip it if you need Claude, AI Mode or Grok on the free plan, as they start on Starter
- Watch out: the API and extra credits on Starter are add-ons priced only on request
- Not for you if you need SSO, audit logs or multi-region tracking without an Enterprise contract
Pick The Prompting Company if
- Fits if you sell software and want to see where ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini name you
- Works for a team that would pay for written articles on Pro at $299
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want article writing on the cheapest plan, as Basic has none
- Not for you if you need Claude or DeepSeek tracked on Basic, as they start on Pro
- Tight if you track more than 25 prompts or want more than 1 seat on Basic
- Watch out: the pricing page does not say whether the monthly prices are billed monthly or annually
- Watch out: White-glove is $3,000 a month, and the trial terms are not stated
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAAthenaHQFair | 2.0GPAThe Prompting CompanyFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DStarter is $245 a month billed annually, $295 monthly, for 3,600 credits. That sits in this category's dearest tenth, which starts at $129, and the API and extra credits are add-ons priced only on request. | C$99 a month for 25 prompts on Basic, just above the category's $95 dearer quarter. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free plan, Essential, with 300 credits on ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, Gemini and Copilot and unlimited users. But one credit is one AI answer, so 10 prompts on 5 models spend 50 credits a run. You'll hit the wall fast. | DA free trial is offered but its terms are not stated. A free audit needs no card, and it is one audit. |
| Features | BUp to 11 models on Starter, Claude, AI Mode and Grok among them, with competitor benchmarks, sentiment and source insights. It adds an optimization agent, AI shopping results and robots.txt and llms.txt controls. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job. | CQuestion finding, AI-optimized articles, traffic and mention measurement. Articles start on Pro, and the agent experience audit is Enterprise only. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. Credits take some working out: there's a whole calculator just for estimating how prompts, locations, models and cadence add up. | CNo store rating on record, and it asks for your product, prompts and analytics connections before it is useful. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app. It links to Google Analytics, Search Console, WordPress, Shopify and Webflow, and works inside ChatGPT or Claude over MCP. The API is a paid add-on. | BWeb app with Google Analytics, PostHog and Slack connections. No desktop or phone apps. |
| Best for | a free start on credit-based AI answer tracking | AI visibility for software products |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: AthenaHQ and The Prompting Company. How we grade
Price against what you get
AthenaHQ starts at $245 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. The Prompting Company starts at $99 a month and scores 2.3.
AthenaHQ scores higher, and starts $146 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other AI search visibility tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than AthenaHQ for less, and 20 score higher than The Prompting Company for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- The Prompting Company also covers reports.
At a glance
| AthenaHQ | The Prompting Company | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $245 per month, billed annually ($295 billed monthly) | $99 per month for 25 prompts and 1,000 credits, billing basis not stated |
| Free plan | Essential plan: $25 of credit (300 credits, 1 credit = 1 AI response) across ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, Gemini and Copilot, with unlimited users. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | Free trial offered; terms are not stated on the pricing page. A free AI visibility audit needs no credit card. |
| Web | ||
| Made by | AthenaHQ | The Prompting Company |
| Price read from | athenahq.ai | promptingcompany.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
AthenaHQ
- Everything runs on credits: 3,600 a month on Starter. A free credit calculator helps estimate use by prompts, locations, models and cadence.
- API access and extra credits on Starter are paid add-ons whose prices are given only on request.
- The free Essential plan covers 5 models; Claude, AI Mode, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral need Starter.
- SSO, audit logs, multi-region tracking and BI dashboards come only with Enterprise.
The Prompting Company
- The pricing page does not say whether prices are billed monthly or annually.
- Basic includes no content generation; articles start on Pro.
- The agent experience audit is listed for Enterprise only.
- Claude and DeepSeek appear on Pro and above, not on Basic.
Key features
AthenaHQ
- AI answer monitoring
- Analyzes prompts and responses for brand mentions, competitor benchmarking and real-time sentiment across up to 11 models on Starter.
- Sources and citation intelligence
- Shows which sources AI answers draw on and where competitors are cited instead of you.
- Content optimization agent
- Recommends on-page and off-page actions and rewrites content against brand guidelines; drafts can be published to WordPress, Shopify and other CMSs.
- Shopping insights
- Shows how a site's products appear in AI shopping results in ChatGPT, AI Mode and Gemini carousels, with position and competitor pricing.
- AI crawler controls
- Manages AI crawler access through a generated robots.txt and llms.txt.
- MCP and analytics connections
- Connects Google Analytics and Search Console to tie AI visibility to traffic, and works inside ChatGPT or Claude through MCP.
The Prompting Company
- Question finding
- Finds the questions users ask AI assistants so tracked prompts match real demand.
- AI-optimized content
- Generates and optimizes articles written to be referenced by AI, with a monthly article allowance on Pro and above.
- Traffic and mention measurement
- Measures incoming traffic and mentions from AI bots, with Google Analytics and PostHog integrations.
- Agent experience audit
- Maps tasks coding and personal agents run on a user's behalf and flags friction such as API setup, missing docs or unclear errors. Listed for Enterprise.
- Engines covered
- AI search coverage is ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity; Basic lists ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, with more models on higher plans.
Plans
AthenaHQ
Essential$0
300 credits on 5 models, unlimited users, prompt and source analysis, content recommendations and the Athena AI agent.
Starter$245
per month for 3,600 credits, billed annually ($295 monthly)
11 models including Claude, AI Mode, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral; unlimited topics, prompts and competitors, CSV export and the optimization agent.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom credits and websites, API access, knowledge base and claim review, multi-region tracking, BI dashboards, SAML SSO, audit logs and a 2-hour SLA.
The Prompting Company
Basic$99
per month for 25 prompts, billing basis not stated
1,000 monthly credits, ChatGPT, Perplexity and Gemini, 1 language, 1 seat, Google Analytics and PostHog integrations, email support.
Pro$299
per month for 100 prompts, billing basis not stated
4,000 monthly credits, adds Google AI, 8 AI-optimized articles, content optimization, 3 seats, email and Slack support.
White-glove$3,000
per month, billing basis not stated
Fully managed service with 12,000 credits, 50 AI-optimized articles, weekly and custom reports and a dedicated success manager.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom credits, prompts and languages, the agent experience audit, SAML SSO and enterprise support. Sold through sales.
Ways to pay less
AthenaHQ
- Annual discount
17% off with annual billing
AthenaHQ's plans page takes 17% off for annual billing, described as two months free: Starter is $245 a month instead of $295.
The Prompting Company
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, AthenaHQ or The Prompting Company?
As of Nov 13, 2026, The Prompting Company is cheaper to start with: $99 a month, against $245 a month for AthenaHQ. AthenaHQ starts at $245 per month, billed annually ($295 billed monthly), and The Prompting Company starts at $99 per month for 25 prompts and 1,000 credits, billing basis not stated.
Which has a free plan, AthenaHQ or The Prompting Company?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only AthenaHQ has a free plan. The Prompting Company does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.