Copywritely vs Surfer (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Copywritely if

• Fits if you check pages for plagiarism and keyword stuffing before they go live
• Works for teams handing written briefs to freelance copywriters

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want articles written, as it checks and edits text but generates none
• Watch out: the pricing page lists Beginner above Basic and Pro with fewer documents, so check at checkout
• Tight if you check more than 300 documents a month, which needs an arrangement by email
• Tight if you stay free, at 10 text checks and 10 briefs
• Watch out: plans renew every month through PayPal or card until you cancel

Pick Surfer if

• Fits if you write articles meant to rank and want a score to aim for, from $49 a month
• Works for writers who draft in Google Docs or WordPress and want the guidelines there

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want to try it without a card, since the 7-day trial needs one and becomes a paid plan unless cancelled
• Pricey if AI answer tracking is why you're here: Discovery has none, and Standard at $99 tracks 25 prompts weekly in ChatGPT only
• Not for you if you need a full SEO suite, as its research and audits are about content
• Watch out: on yearly plans credits reset once a year, and unlimited documents fall under a fair usage policy
• Pricey if you need the API, which needs Peace of Mind at $299 a month, Enterprise or an add-on

Copywritely

• The pricing page lists Beginner at a higher price than Basic and Pro with fewer documents, so check the price at checkout.
• It checks and edits text rather than writing it: the pages read describe no AI article generation.
• More than 300 documents a month needs a custom arrangement by email.
• Subscriptions are paid by PayPal or card and renew each month until cancelled.

Surfer

• Discovery has no AI prompt tracking and one seat; Standard tracks 25 prompts weekly in ChatGPT only.
• On annual plans, credits reset once a year, and unlimited documents fall under a fair usage policy.
• The trial needs a card and becomes a paid plan after 7 days unless cancelled; it is for new accounts only.
• API access needs Peace of Mind, Enterprise or an API add-on.

Copywritely

SEO content checker

Paste a text or a URL and the problems are highlighted in an online editor, with tips on what to rewrite, replace or delete.

Plagiarism check

Scans billions of web pages for matching wording to flag duplicated passages, and detects text that has been rewritten from another source.

Keyword density and relevance

Shows how often each keyword appears so keyword stuffing can be cut back, along with keyword relevance and keyword suggestions.

SERP checker

Analyzes the content of competing pages for a keyword to find the terms your own page should use.

Copywriter task templates

Builds a writing brief for a copywriter from built-in templates in about a minute.

Readability and grammar

Scores text with the Gunning fog and Flesch indexes, and flags grammar errors, hard-to-read sentences and difficult words.

Surfer

Content Editor and Content Score

Write or paste an article and get live guidelines on terms, structure and length, scored against the pages that rank for the topic.

AI writing assistant

Surfy drafts and edits inside the editor, with an AI detector, humanizer, plagiarism check and 1-click optimization of existing text.

AI visibility tracking

Track set prompts in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Mode and AI Overviews, with mention gaps and brand sentiment.

Content Audit and drop alerts

Monitor 10 to 500 published pages, get alerts when rankings drop and suggestions for which articles to refresh.

Keyword research and Topical Map

Plan clusters of related articles around a topic, and check search results with the SERP Analyzer.

Keyword Surfer extension

A free Chrome extension shows search volume and keyword ideas on Google results; another brings Surfer's guidelines into Google Docs.

Copywritely

• Basic$23

  per month for 100 documents, billed annually ($29 billed monthly)

  For medium businesses: 100 documents a month, checked in 8 languages. Annual billing is $278 a year.

• Pro$39

  per month for 300 documents, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)

  For agencies and large sites: 300 documents a month, with more by arrangement. Annual billing is $470 a year.

• Beginner$55

  per month for 25 documents, billed annually ($69 billed monthly)

  Labelled for small website owners but priced above Basic and Pro on the page, with 25 documents a month. Annual billing is $662 a year.

Surfer

• Discovery$49

  per month, billed yearly ($59 billed monthly)

  1 seat, 120 documents to create or optimize, 10 tracked pages, AI writing assistant and humanizer. No AI prompt tracking.

• AI Search Analytics$82

  per month, billed yearly ($95 billed monthly)

  AI visibility only: 50 prompts tracked daily across all models, mention gaps and sentiment, 5 brand spaces, 5 seats and MCP.

• Standard$99

  per month, billed yearly ($119 billed monthly)

  3 seats, 360 documents, 50 tracked pages, 1-click optimization, plagiarism checks and 25 prompts tracked weekly in ChatGPT.

• Pro$182

  per month, billed yearly ($219 billed monthly)

  5 seats, 360 documents, 200 pages, 50 prompts daily across all models, 5 brand spaces, internal linking, cannibalization report and MCP.

• Peace of Mind$299

  per month, billed yearly ($359 billed monthly)

  10 seats, unlimited documents under fair use, 500 pages, 100 prompts daily, API access and a dedicated success manager.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Custom limits, SSO, white-label, advisory program and tailored onboarding, through sales.

Copywritely

• Annual discount

  Yearly billing at up to 30% off

  Copywritely's pricing toggle advertises 30% off for yearly billing; Basic drops from $29 to $23 a month, billed at $278 a year.

Surfer

• Annual discount

  Save up to 17% with yearly billing

  Surfer's pricing FAQ gives up to 17% off for annual plans, paid upfront: Pro is $182 a month billed yearly instead of $219 billed monthly.