Knowatoa vs Waikay (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Waikay grades higher than Knowatoa: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Waikay grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Knowatoa
AI search visibility tracking with an AI crawler console
Waikay
AI brand visibility tracker that also checks facts and knowledge gaps
Which one is for you
Pick Knowatoa if
- Fits if you want an alert when AI answers start saying wrong things about your brand
- Works for teams with several sites, since one account tracks unlimited sites on a shared question limit
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if Claude, Gemini, Perplexity or Meta AI matter, as they need Growth at $199 a month
- Not for you if you need the API, MCP or Looker Studio on a budget, since they start at Growth
- Tight if you want to know your question limit before you buy, as the page doesn't say
- Watch out: the trial's length isn't stated, and annual prices are offered but not listed
- Watch out: agencies are priced on a separate calculator by sites, questions, services and refresh rate
Pick Waikay if
- Fits if you're a freelancer who wants AI tracking for about $25 a month
- Works for brands that want to know when AI models state wrong facts about them
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need to see what ChatGPT or Claude say with live web search on
- Tight if you need more than one login, as the entry plan has a single seat
- Not for you if you want a free plan, as the 3 free credits never renew
- Watch out: prompt checks and action plans share one allowance, so more plans means fewer prompts
- Too light for setups needing integrations beyond the API and MCP, as none are listed
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAKnowatoaFair | 2.4GPAWaikayFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $59 a month, in this category's usual range between $29 and $95. The page doesn't say how many questions each plan tracks, though, and Claude, Gemini and Perplexity need Growth at $199. | BThe entry plan is $24.95 a month for 40 prompts a week on 4 models, with fact checks, action plans, the API and MCP included. That's inside the cheaper quarter of this category, which starts at $29. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan. There's a free trial of Starter and Growth, but the pricing page doesn't say how long it lasts. | CA free account gets 3 credits: 1 brand report, 1 topic report and plan, and 20 prompt checks. They don't renew, so it's really a one-time trial. |
| Features | CAnswer and competitor gaps tracked daily, citation sources, sentiment alerts and an AI Search Console for crawler errors, with AI agents to draft content. The gap the listing names: Starter covers only ChatGPT, AI Overviews and AI Mode. | CBrand tracking, topic scores against two rivals, a fact and hallucination tracker, source analysis and action plans. The gap is a big one, though: ChatGPT and Claude answers come from training data, not live web search. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. You set questions per language and location and add your sites before the gaps start to show. | CNo rating on record. Prompt checks and action plans share one allowance, so you'll be juggling the two, and fewer models means more prompts. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app. It works with WordPress, Payload CMS and GitHub, and Growth adds an API, MCP for Claude and ChatGPT, Looker Studio and NinjaCat. | BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app. Every paid plan includes the API and an MCP server, though no other integrations are listed. |
| Best for | spotting the AI answers you're missing from | AI visibility tracking with fact checks |
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: Knowatoa and Waikay. How we grade
Price against what you get
Knowatoa starts at $59 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Waikay starts at $24.95 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Waikay starts $34.05 a month lower. Of the other AI search visibility tools on the chart, 11 score higher than Knowatoa for less, and 4 score higher than Waikay 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
- Knowatoa also covers AI agents and reports.
- Waikay also covers content optimization.
At a glance
| Knowatoa | Waikay | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $59 per month | $24.95 per month for 40 prompts a week on 4 AI models |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free trial of Starter and Growth; its length is not stated on the pricing page | Free account with 3 credits that do not renew: 1 brand report, 1 topic report and plan, 20 prompt checks |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Knowatoa | InLinks Optimization LTD |
| Price read from | knowatoa.com | waikay.io |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Knowatoa
- Starter covers only ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode; Claude, Gemini, Perplexity and Meta AI need Growth.
- The API, MCP server and Looker Studio connector start at Growth ($199 a month).
- The pricing page does not state how many questions each plan tracks; annual pricing is available but not listed.
- Agencies get a separate calculator that prices by client sites, questions per site, services and refresh frequency.
Waikay
- The free account's credits do not renew, so it works as a one-time trial.
- Prompt checks and action plans share the same allowance, so running more plans leaves fewer prompts.
- Waikay queries models through their APIs, and for ChatGPT and Claude it reports answers from training data, not live web search.
- The entry plan has a single seat.
Key features
Knowatoa
- Answer and competitor gaps
- Shows the AI answers your brand is missing from and where competitors appear in your place, tracked daily.
- Citation sources
- Lists which sites the AI models trust and cite most for the questions you track.
- Sentiment alerts
- Flags when AI answers start saying negative or wrong things about a brand, its products or its people.
- AI Search Console
- Reports how AI bot crawlers reach your site, with status codes such as 403 and 404 and the failures to investigate.
- Languages, locations and many sites
- Questions can be set per language and location, and an account can track unlimited sites sharing one question limit.
- MCP, API and reporting
- Growth connects to Claude, ChatGPT, Codex and other assistants over MCP, and feeds a REST API, Looker Studio and scheduled CSV exports.
Waikay
- Brand visibility tracking
- Tracks prompts over time on ChatGPT, Google, Claude and Perplexity's Sonar, and picks up every brand that appears next to yours.
- Topic reports
- An AI knowledge score from 0 to 100 for your brand and two competitors on a chosen topic, with the sources the models used.
- Fact tracker
- Checks what models state about important topics and flags hallucinations and missing knowledge.
- Source tracker
- Lists the websites, documents and forums AI models draw on, with an analysis of each source's intent.
- GEO action plans
- Turns a topic report into steps to close content and knowledge gaps; each plan uses part of the monthly allowance.
- API and MCP
- Waikay's data is available through APIs and an MCP server on every paid plan.
Plans
Knowatoa
Starter$59
per month; annual billing also offered
ChatGPT, AI Overviews and AI Mode; answer gaps, competitor gaps, citations, sentiment alerts, weekly digest and AI agents.
Growth$199
per month; annual billing also offered
All 7 AI services, higher question volume, API, MCP server, Looker Studio and NinjaCat, and a dedicated account rep.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom volume and scale, custom integrations and priority feature requests.
Waikay
Site Owners and Freelancers$24.95
per month for 40 prompts a week on 4 AI models
1 seat, up to 8 action plans a month, fact and hallucination checks, source analysis, custom scheduling, API and MCP. Fewer models allow more prompts.
Small Teams$69.95
per month for up to 120 prompts
2 seats, unlimited projects and up to 30 action plans a month; extra prompts and plans can be bought as you go.
Larger Teams$199.95
per month for 360 prompts or more
For agencies and multi-brand monitoring: unlimited seats, up to 90 action plans a month and team training.
EnterpriseCustom
For agencies and businesses tracking hundreds of brands and thousands of prompts, with volume discounts.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Knowatoa or Waikay?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Waikay is cheaper to start with: $24.95 a month, against $59 a month for Knowatoa. Knowatoa starts at $59 per month, and Waikay starts at $24.95 per month for 40 prompts a week on 4 AI models.
Which has a free plan, Knowatoa or Waikay?
As of Oct 23, 2026, neither Knowatoa nor Waikay has a free plan. Both have 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.