AthenaHQ vs Topify (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, AthenaHQ grades higher than Topify: 2.2 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
AthenaHQ grades higher on features and platforms. Topify grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan and ease of use.
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
Topify
GEO platform that tracks AI visibility and runs suggested fixes
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 Topify if
- Fits if you want the tool to write the fixes, not only point at them
- Works for teams where everyone needs a login, since seats are unlimited
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you look after more than one brand, as that starts at Pro for $399 a month
- Skip it if you need an API or integrations, which are Enterprise only
- Not for you if you need to know which AI engines are covered, as the home page and pricing FAQ disagree
- Watch out: yearly billing is said to be cheaper, but the yearly prices aren't on the page
- Watch out: the free trial needs no card, but its length isn't stated, and there's no free plan
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAAthenaHQFair | 2.0GPATopifyFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CStarter is $99 a month, shown as cut from $149, for 50 daily prompts and 15 articles. That's at the dearer quarter of this category. Yearly billing is said to be cheaper, but the page doesn't give the yearly prices. |
| 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. | CEvery plan has a free trial with no card required. How long it lasts isn't stated, and there's no free plan. |
| 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. | CVisibility, position, a 0 to 100 sentiment score, citations, prompt ideas with AI search volume, and an agent that writes the content. The gap: the home page names four engines and the pricing FAQ adds Claude and Copilot, so coverage isn't clear. |
| 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 rating on record. It suggests prompts to track, but you still set up your brand, rivals and countries before the numbers mean much. |
| 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. | CWeb only, with no integrations listed. The API and custom integrations come only with the custom-priced Enterprise plan. |
| Best for | a free start on credit-based AI answer tracking | AI visibility tracking with content made from the gaps |
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 Topify. 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. Topify starts at $99 a month and scores 2.0.
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 80 score higher than Topify 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
At a glance
| AthenaHQ | Topify | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $245 per month, billed annually ($295 billed monthly) | $99 per month for 50 prompts tracked daily, billed monthly |
| 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 on every plan, no card required; length not stated |
| Web | ||
| Made by | AthenaHQ | Topify AI, Inc. |
| Price read from | athenahq.ai | topify.ai |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 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.
Topify
- Starter and Standard cover one brand; several brands start at Pro for $399 a month.
- API access and custom integrations come only with Enterprise.
- The site names different engines in different places: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and AI Overviews on the home page, plus Claude and Copilot in the pricing FAQ.
- Annual billing is said to be cheaper, but the pricing page does not give the annual prices.
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.
Topify
- GEO analytics
- Visibility (the share of AI answers that mention you), position against competitors and a 0 to 100 sentiment score for each tracked prompt.
- Prompt discovery and AI volume
- Suggests prompts to track and estimates how many people ask AI tools about a topic each month; you can add your own prompts too.
- Competitor benchmarking
- Compares your visibility, position and sentiment with rival brands across the AI engines tracked.
- Citation analysis
- Shows which sources AI answers cite so you can see why competitors are recommended and where to be mentioned.
- One-click execution
- An agent ranks GEO actions such as content updates and citation targets; once you approve one, it generates the content and tracks the effect.
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.
Topify
Starter$99
per month for 50 prompts tracked daily, billed monthly
Shown as reduced from $149. 5,000 credits a month, 15 articles, 50 AI replies, 1 brand, unlimited seats and several countries.
Standard$199
per month for 100 prompts tracked daily, billed monthly
Shown as reduced from $299. 12,000 credits a month, 30 articles and 100 AI replies.
Pro$399
per month for 300 prompts tracked daily, billed monthly
Shown as reduced from $599. 30,000 credits a month, 50 articles, 200 AI replies, several brands and dedicated support.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom credits and prompt volume, unlimited articles and AI replies, API access, custom integrations and an SLA.
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.
Topify
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, AthenaHQ or Topify?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Topify 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 Topify starts at $99 per month for 50 prompts tracked daily, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, AthenaHQ or Topify?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only AthenaHQ has a free plan. Topify 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.