Koala vs Scalenut (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Koala and Scalenut share a 2.4 GPA, neither has a free plan, and Koala starts cheaper, at $25 a month against $59 a month.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Koala
AI article writer with SERP analysis, internal links and an SEO agent
Scalenut
AI article writing and optimization with AI answer tracking
Which one is for you
Pick Koala if
- Fits if you run a blog or affiliate site and publish articles in volume
- Works for WordPress and Shopify sites that want drafts sent straight to the site
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want a free plan, as the free allowance is one-time
- Watch out: word allowances assume one model, and the others count double or triple
- Tight if you lean on the SEO agent, at 25 messages a month on Starter and 50 on Professional
- Pricey if you write for several brands, as each extra one is $29 a month
- Watch out: refunds come only within 15 days, and only if under 15,000 words and 100 credits were used
Pick Scalenut if
- Fits if you publish a steady stream of blog articles with AI help
- Makes sense if you want article writing and AI answer tracking in one account
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're on Starter, at 5 new articles, 5 optimizations and 5 clusters a month
- Watch out: there are no refunds once the 7-day trial is over
- Skip it if you need daily AI answer checks, as prompts are checked weekly and Perplexity needs Professional at $199
- Pricey if you want internal links, audits or auto-publishing, which start at Plus for $89 a month
- Watch out: yearly prices only show as a time-limited Black Friday deal, with no regular yearly price
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAKoalaFair | 2.4GPAScalenutFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStarter is $25 a month for 45,000 words and 500 credits, between this category's cheaper quarter ($20) and its middle ($45). The SEO-scored editor, the Search Console dashboard and Deep Research start at Professional, $49. | CStarter is $59 a month billed monthly, between this category's middle ($45) and its dearer quarter ($83), for 5 articles, 5 optimizations and 5 clusters. Yearly plans are only shown at a time-limited Black Friday price, with no regular yearly price. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo ongoing free plan. A new account gets a one-time 5,000 words and 25 credits with no card, which is enough for a look and not much more. | CNo free plan, but monthly plans start with a 7-day trial, and the listing doesn't say it asks for a card. Once the trial is over there are no refunds. |
| Features | BAn article writer working from the ranking pages, an SEO agent that plans from Search Console, automatic internal links, publishing to four CMSs, Amazon affiliate articles, an API and an MCP server. The whole job, though the scored editor starts at Professional. | BKeyword clusters, an article writer working from SERP research, an optimizer with NLP terms and a score, page audits, internal linking and weekly AI answer tracking. The whole job, though audits and internal links start at Plus. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. There's Brand DNA to set up, Search Console and a CMS to connect, and words and credits counted separately. | CNo rating on record. There's a domain to set up, prompts to pick and monthly allowances for articles, optimizations and clusters to keep track of. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, publishing to WordPress, Shopify, Webflow and Ghost, with Zapier, Make, Search Console, Analytics, an API and an MCP server. No desktop or phone app. | BWeb only, publishing to WordPress and Shopify, with Semrush and Copyscape linked in. No API on record, and no desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | AI blog articles published straight to your CMS | AI articles with weekly AI answer 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: Koala and Scalenut. How we grade
Price against what you get
Koala starts at $25 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Scalenut starts at $59 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Koala starts $34 a month lower. Of the other SEO content tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Koala for less, and 1 scores higher than Scalenut 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
- Koala also covers image generation.
- Scalenut also covers AI search visibility.
At a glance
| Koala | Scalenut | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $25 per month, billed monthly | $59 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free account with a one-time 5,000 words and 25 credits, no credit card required | 7-day free trial on monthly plans; no refunds after the trial ends |
| Web | ||
| Made by | F5 Media, LLC | Scalenut Inc. |
| Price read from | koala.sh | scalenut.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Koala
- There is no ongoing free plan; new accounts get a one-time 5,000 words and 25 credits.
- Word allowances assume the GPT-6 Luna model; GPT-6.1 Sol and Claude Sonnet 5 count double and Claude Opus 5.5 triple.
- The SEO agent is capped at 25 messages a month on Starter and 50 on Professional; Boost removes the cap.
- Extra brands cost $29 a month each; refunds are given within 15 days only if under 15,000 words and 100 credits were used.
Scalenut
- Annual plans are sold only at a time-limited Black Friday price at present; the regular annual price is not shown.
- There is no free plan, and the refund policy rules out refunds once the 7-day trial is over.
- AI answers are checked weekly, not daily; Starter and Plus cover only ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews.
- Internal linking, content audits, auto-publishing, Social UpReach and the backlinks marketplace start at Plus.
Key features
Koala
- KoalaWriter
- Drafts articles that cover the entities and terms shared by the ranking pages, with Deep Research sources from Professional, AI images and a bulk mode.
- Brand DNA and SEO agent
- Reads your website or Google Maps listing once, then plans topics from your Search Console and Analytics with built-in keyword, backlink and SERP data.
- Automatic internal linking
- KoalaWriter indexes your site and places internal links in each article; KoalaLinks adds links and schema markup across existing pages from Professional.
- One-click publishing
- Publishes drafts or finished posts to WordPress, Shopify, Webflow and Ghost, or anywhere else through webhooks for Zapier and Make.
- Amazon affiliate articles
- Writes product roundups and single-product reviews from live Amazon data, including product details and customer reviews.
- API and MCP server
- Every paid plan can write by API or connect an AI assistant to 62 SEO tools; research calls cost 0.1 to 4 credits each.
Scalenut
- AI Visibility
- Tracks a set of prompts weekly in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews, plus Perplexity on Professional, with insights on AI bot traffic.
- GEO article writer
- Cruise Mode drafts articles from keyword and SERP research, with tone of voice settings and AI images included in each plan's monthly allowance.
- Content optimizer
- Scores existing articles against the ranking pages with NLP terms and a content score, and suggests the changes to make.
- Keyword planner
- Groups keywords into topic clusters; Professional adds an advanced planner and cannibalization analysis.
- Content audit and internal linking
- From Plus, audits a set number of pages a month for topic gaps and suggests internal links between them.
- Social UpReach and backlinks
- From Plus, Social UpReach follows Reddit threads by keyword and subreddit, and a marketplace sells backlinks.
Plans
Koala
Starter$25
per month for 45,000 words, billed monthly
500 credits a month, 1 brand, 25 agent messages, bulk writing, publishing integrations, the API and MCP server.
Professional$49
per month for 100,000 words, billed monthly
1,000 credits, 50 agent messages, Search Console and Analytics dashboard, SEO-scored editor, Deep Research and KoalaLinks for 50 sites.
Boost$99
per month for 250,000 words, billed monthly
2,500 credits a month, the full Brand DNA experience with no agent message cap, and content calendar autopilot.
Growth$179
per month for 500,000 words, billed monthly
Everything in Boost with 5,000 credits a month and 3 brands.
Elite$350
per month for 1,000,000 words, billed monthly
Everything in Boost with 10,000 credits a month and 7 brands.
Advanced$500
per month for 1,500,000 words, billed monthly
Everything in Boost with 12,500 credits a month and 12 brands. Scale plans go on up to $2,000 a month.
Scalenut
Starter$59
per month, billed monthly
1 domain, 10 prompts checked weekly in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews, and 5 new articles, 5 optimizations and 5 keyword clusters a month.
Plus$89
per month, billed monthly
2 domains, 4 team members, 25 prompts, 30 articles and 30 optimizations a month, a 200-page audit, internal linking and auto-publishing.
Professional$199
per month, billed monthly
Unlimited domains and members, 100 prompts with Perplexity added, 75 articles a month, 1,000-page audits, cannibalization checks and a CSM.
VIP ServiceCustom
Done-for-you work by a dedicated strategist, writers, editors and AI agents, with backlinks and weekly reports. Sold after a strategy call.
Ways to pay less
Koala
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual billing
Koala's pricing page offers 20% off every plan with annual billing, with the whole year's words and credits given up front.
Scalenut
- Other savings
Black Friday early access: 65% off annual plans
For a limited time, annual Starter is $21, Plus $31 and Professional $70 a month, with 3x usage limits. No end date is given and the deal is non-refundable.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Koala or Scalenut?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Koala is cheaper to start with: $25 a month, against $59 a month for Scalenut. Koala starts at $25 per month, billed monthly, and Scalenut starts at $59 per month, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Koala or Scalenut?
As of Oct 23, 2026, neither Koala nor Scalenut 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.