geoSurge vs Profound (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, we pick geoSurge: it is third in our ranking of AI search visibility tools, and it grades higher too, 3.0 against 2.2.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 and Oct 24, 2026 by ToolGPA
geoSurge grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Profound grades higher on features. 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.
geoSurge
Free AI visibility tracking that runs on your own AI subscriptions
Profound
AI search visibility tracking with an AI marketing agent built in
Which one is for you
Pick geoSurge if
- Fits if you already pay for ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini and want tracking at no extra cost
- Works for developers happy to bring their own API keys or an OpenRouter account
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need Perplexity, Copilot or Google's AI Overviews, as none is named
- Watch out: the desktop app runs prompts on your own computer, and cloud runs bill your own API keys, so model costs and limits are yours
- Not for you if you want corpus engineering, token probabilities or crawler data without a sales call, as they're Enterprise only with no published price
Pick Profound if
- Fits if you're a large brand that wants answers tracked on up to 9 engines and can sign a custom contract
- Works for agencies running pitch audits for prospects, at $99 a month for 10 short workspaces
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to sign up and pay without a sales call, as brands can't
- Pricey if you're an agency with several clients, at $399 a month per client workspace on top of $99
- Tight if you want to test your own questions, since the trial's prompts are fixed
- Watch out: custom prompts, the API, exports and SSO all come only with Enterprise
- Watch out: agents spend credits, and extra credits need an Enterprise package with overage billing or a pause
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAgeoSurgeVery good | 2.2GPAProfoundFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AThe desktop app and cloud runs on your own API keys are both $0, with unlimited prompts and seats. The catch is that model usage goes on your own ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini plans or API bills. Enterprise has no published price. | DBrands get no published price: past the trial it's a custom Enterprise quote, given only on a sales call. Agency Growth is $99 a month, but that buys 10 short pitch audits, and each real client workspace is $399 a month on top. |
| Free plan and trial | AFree with no cap on prompts or seats, with visibility, competitors, sources, the API and MCP included. You need your own AI subscriptions or API keys for it to run. | CNo free plan, but a 7-day trial runs 50 preset prompts daily on ChatGPT, Gemini and AI Overviews. You can't edit those prompts, so you see the questions Profound picks, not your own. |
| Features | CShare of answers, mentions in context, competitors, cited sources and rank over time, with all-time history. The gap the listing names: only ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are covered, with no Perplexity, Copilot or AI Overviews. | BDaily answers with citations, sentiment and competitor ranking on up to 9 engines, Claude, Copilot and DeepSeek among them, plus an AI Marketer, reusable agents, Prompt Volumes and crawler analytics across unlimited domains. It covers the whole job; the agents run on credits. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. You install the desktop collector and use it with your AI subscriptions, or connect API keys or OpenRouter for cloud runs, before anything is tracked. | CNo rating on record. Brands are onboarded through sales, and custom prompts, exports and the API only arrive with Enterprise, so there's set-up before it's really yours. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux, with a REST API, CSV and JSON export and an MCP server for Claude and ChatGPT. No phone app. | BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app. It connects to Google Analytics, Search Console, Cloudflare, Vercel, WordPress, Webflow, Slack and G2, and the API comes with Enterprise. |
| Best for | free tracking on your own AI subscriptions | big brands tracking AI answers on many engines |
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: geoSurge and Profound. How we grade
Where they differ
- Profound also covers AI agents, web analytics and content optimization.
At a glance
| geoSurge | Profound | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | Not published | $99 per month (Agency Growth, the self-serve plan for agencies) |
| Free plan | Unlimited prompts on ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini through the desktop app and your own subscriptions, or in the cloud with your own API keys. Unlimited seats. | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial: 50 preset prompts run daily on ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews, with limited AI Marketer credits |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Linux | ||
| Made by | geoSurge Limited | Profound |
| Price read from | geosurge.ai | tryprofound.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
geoSurge
- Only ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini are covered; Perplexity, Copilot and Google AI Overviews are not named.
- The free desktop app runs collections on your own computer, and cloud runs use your own API keys, so model costs and limits are yours.
- Enterprise is sold through a call with no published price, and corpus engineering, probabilities and crawler data are limited to it.
Profound
- Brands have no self-serve paid plan: after the 7-day trial, ongoing tracking needs a custom-priced Enterprise contract.
- Trial users get a recommended prompt set and cannot edit it; custom prompts, API access, exports and SSO come with Enterprise.
- On Agency Growth, each full client workspace is a $399-a-month add-on and 5 more trial workspaces cost $199 a month.
- Agent runs use credits; extra credits beyond the plan need an Enterprise package, with overage billing or a pause set by the account team.
Key features
geoSurge
- Desktop collector
- A menu bar or system tray app for macOS, Windows and Linux runs your prompts daily through the ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini subscriptions you already have.
- Cloud runs with your own keys
- Connect API keys or an OpenRouter account to run prompts in geoSurge's cloud instead, with nothing to install and more models available.
- Visibility dashboard
- Share of answers that mention you, each mention in context, competitors, cited sources and rank over time, with all-time history and daily to weekly runs.
- API, MCP and exports
- A REST API, CSV and JSON export, and an MCP server for querying your data from Claude or ChatGPT are included on the free tiers.
- Corpus engineering
- On Enterprise, geoSurge places material about your brand for models to learn from in training, with tools for token probabilities, AI crawler visits and tokenization.
Profound
- Answer Engine Insights
- Runs set prompts daily and reports where a brand appears in the answers, which sources are cited, sentiment and how it ranks against competitors.
- Wide engine coverage
- Enterprise can track ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, DeepSeek, Claude, Google AI Overviews and Exa Search.
- AI Marketer and agents
- An assistant that finds gaps in AI answers and drafts or rewrites pages, plus reusable agents for recurring work. Agents run on credits.
- Agent Analytics
- Tracks AI crawler visits and AI-referred traffic across unlimited domains by connecting to CDNs and hosts such as Cloudflare, Fastly, AWS and Vercel.
- Prompt Volumes
- Estimates what people ask AI answer engines about a topic; the trial allows 5 searches.
- Agency workspaces
- Agency plans manage short pitch workspaces for prospects and full client workspaces from one dashboard with consolidated billing.
Plans
geoSurge
Desktop app$0
Runs prompts on your own computer through your ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini plans; visibility, competitors, sources, trends and mentions.
API keys$0
Runs in geoSurge's cloud with your own API keys or OpenRouter account, with more models and higher limits; usage is billed by your provider.
EnterpriseCustom
Corpus engineering, token probabilities, AI traffic classification, crawler data, the Tokenizer and an account manager on Slack.
Profound
Agency Growth$99
per month for up to 10 pitch workspaces a month
For agencies: 10 seven-day pitch audits a month on ChatGPT, Perplexity and AI Overviews, 5 agency seats. Each full client workspace is $399 a month extra.
EnterpriseCustom
For brands: tailored prompt tracking on up to 9 answer engines, AI Marketer credits, all-time history, CSV and JSON exports, API, SSO and dedicated support.
Agency EnterpriseCustom
For large agencies and networks: tailored client and trial workspaces, a dedicated agency partner, go-to-market help and Slack support.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, geoSurge or Profound?
As of Oct 23, 2026, geoSurge publishes no starting price, and Profound starts at $99 per month (Agency Growth, the self-serve plan for agencies).
Which has a free plan, geoSurge or Profound?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only geoSurge has a free plan. Profound does not, though it has a free trial.
Which platforms do geoSurge and Profound run on?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only geoSurge lists macOS, Windows and Linux apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.