Highlighted.ai vs ZipTie (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, we pick ZipTie: it is second in our ranking of AI search visibility tools, and it grades higher too, 2.6 against 1.4.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
ZipTie grades higher on value for money, the free plan, features and platforms. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Highlighted.ai
ChatGPT and AI Overview tracker that runs on your DataForSEO key
ZipTie
AI search visibility tracker priced per prompt and engine
Which one is for you
Pick Highlighted.ai if
- Fits if your agency already has a DataForSEO account and a budget for checks
- Works for agencies sending white-label reports, from Premium at $79 for up to 10 brands
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you don't want a second account and a second bill from DataForSEO for every check
- Too light for more than ChatGPT and AI Overviews, and it gives no source lists or suggestions
- Not for you if you want a free plan or trial, as there's only a 30-day money-back guarantee
- Tight if you're on Starter: one user, and reports carry Highlighted's branding
- Watch out: older homepage text also names Claude and Perplexity, which the pricing page doesn't list
Pick ZipTie if
- Fits if you want to pay only for the prompts and engines you track
- Works for agencies that need white-label PDF reports on every plan
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you want content written for you, as that's $20 a month per brand extra
- Skip it if you might cancel mid-period, since unused time isn't refunded
- Pricey if you want UGC Impact Analysis, which adds 80% to the prompt cost, or the API and MCP at $10 more
- Watch out: the trial covers only ChatGPT, AI Overviews and Copilot, and engines vary by country
How we grade them
| 1.4GPAHighlighted.aiWeak | 2.6GPAZipTieGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $29 a month for 1 brand, inside this category's cheaper quarter, but that's before DataForSEO's charge for each check, which you pay on top. So the real bill is higher and depends on how much you track. | BThe Starter preset is $25.65 a month for 30 daily prompts on 3 engines, inside this category's cheapest quarter, which starts at $29. Yearly billing takes 20% off the prompt cost. The API and MCP are $10 a month extra. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing is free: no free plan and no trial. First-time subscribers get a 30-day money-back guarantee, which isn't the same thing. | CNo free plan, but a 7-day trial with 25 daily prompts and no card. It only covers ChatGPT, AI Overviews and Copilot, though. |
| Features | DIt needs another product to work at all, your own DataForSEO account. Then it tracks ChatGPT and AI Overviews only, with a visibility score, answer history and competitor overlays, and no source lists or suggestions. | BSeven engines, AI Mode, Gemini and Bing's AI Overview among them, at the same price each, a 0 to 100 score per prompt, daily to monthly checks, an Action Center, competitor ranking and organic results alongside. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. Before it reads a single answer you need a DataForSEO account and API key, then prompts, schedules and competitors to set up. | CNo rating on record. You choose prompts, cadences and engines per project in a calculator, and which engines run depends on the country. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only, with DataForSEO as the one integration, and that one is required rather than optional. | BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app. Search Console connects, Excel exports and share links need no account, and the API and MCP are a $10 add-on. |
| Best for | SEOs who already pay for DataForSEO | AI tracking priced per prompt and engine |
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: Highlighted.ai and ZipTie. How we grade
Price against what you get
Highlighted.ai starts at $29 a month and scores 1.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. ZipTie starts at $25.65 a month and scores 2.7.
ZipTie scores higher and starts $3.35 a month lower. Of the other AI search visibility tools on the chart, 23 score higher than Highlighted.ai for less, and 1 scores higher than ZipTie 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
- ZipTie also covers content optimization.
At a glance
| Highlighted.ai | ZipTie | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | $29 per month for 1 brand | $25.65 per month for 30 daily prompts on 3 engines, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial with 25 daily prompts on 3 engines, no card required |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Highlighted.ai | ZipTie, Inc. |
| Price read from | highlighted.ai | ziptie.ai |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Highlighted.ai
- Every plan needs your own DataForSEO API account, and the cost of each check is paid to DataForSEO on top of the plan.
- The pricing page lists only ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews, though older homepage text also names Claude and Perplexity.
- There is no free plan or trial; first-time subscribers get a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Starter is for one user with Highlighted-branded reports; white-label reports start at Premium.
ZipTie
- Add-ons cost extra: API and MCP access $10 a month, content generation $20 a month per brand context, and UGC Impact Analysis adds 80% to the prompt cost.
- The trial covers only ChatGPT, AI Overviews and Copilot; other engines need a paid plan.
- Cancelling takes effect at the end of the paid period, and unused time is not refunded.
- Which engines can run depends on the country chosen for each project.
Key features
Highlighted.ai
- Answers as users see them
- Reads the real ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews output through DataForSEO rather than calling a model's API directly.
- Unlimited prompts on a schedule
- Track as many prompts as your DataForSEO budget allows, refreshed daily, every 3 days, weekly or monthly.
- AI visibility score
- Shows the share of answers that name your brand, overall and per prompt, with the full history of each answer.
- Competitor overlay
- Track competitors on the same prompts and lay their results over yours on one chart.
- Workspaces and white-label reports
- Separate workspaces per client with client access, and reports under your own branding from Premium.
ZipTie
- Seven AI engines
- Checks ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, Microsoft Copilot, Bing AI Overview and Gemini, at the same price per engine.
- AI Success Score
- Combines citation rate, mention rate and sentiment into a 0 to 100 score for each prompt and a trend line for the project.
- Daily, weekly or monthly checks
- Cadence is set per project, so key prompts can run daily and long-tail prompts monthly from one shared pool.
- Action Center
- A ranked queue of gaps per project, such as prompts where no engine names or cites the brand across several checks.
- Competitors and organic results
- Ranks the brands and domains AI answers name and cite, with Google and Bing organic results captured alongside at no extra cost.
- Client reports
- White-label PDF reports with an agency's logo, Excel exports and share links that need no account, on every plan.
Plans
Highlighted.ai
Starter$29
per month for 1 brand
Unlimited prompts with your own DataForSEO key, ChatGPT and AI Overviews, competitor tracking, one user and Highlighted-branded reports.
Premium$79
per month for up to 10 brands
Up to 10 users and workspaces and white-label reports.
Agency$299
per month for unlimited brands
Unlimited users and workspaces and white-label reports.
ZipTie
Starter$25.65
per month for 30 daily prompts on 3 engines, billed monthly
A starting preset on ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and Perplexity. Every plan is built in a calculator at about $0.01 per prompt check.
Professional$340.20
per month for 100 daily and 280 weekly prompts, billed monthly
A preset on 5 engines, adding AI Mode and Gemini, with the UGC Impact Analysis add-on switched on.
Enterprise$1,647
per month for 300 daily, 1,050 weekly and 1,500 monthly prompts
The largest preset: all 7 engines with UGC Impact Analysis, billed monthly. Bigger volumes get a custom quote.
Ways to pay less
Highlighted.ai
No public discounts listed.
ZipTie
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
ZipTie's calculator takes 20% off the prompt cost for annual billing, 10% for semi-annual and 5% for quarterly. Flat add-ons stay at full price.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Highlighted.ai or ZipTie?
As of Oct 23, 2026, ZipTie is cheaper to start with: $25.65 a month, against $29 a month for Highlighted.ai. Highlighted.ai starts at $29 per month for 1 brand, and ZipTie starts at $25.65 per month for 30 daily prompts on 3 engines, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Highlighted.ai or ZipTie?
As of Oct 23, 2026, neither Highlighted.ai nor ZipTie has a free plan. ZipTie 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.