Koala vs SurgeGraph (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Koala grades higher than SurgeGraph: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Koala grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
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
SurgeGraph
AI visibility tracker and AI article writer built for agencies
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 SurgeGraph if
- Fits if you're an agency selling AI search work to several clients
- Works for WordPress sites that want to count visits sent by ChatGPT, Perplexity and other AI tools
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to try it first, as there's no free plan or trial, only a once-only 14-day refund
- Watch out: Spark tracks only ChatGPT and Google AI Overview, every 5 days; Perplexity starts at Scale
- Pricey if you need Gemini, Google AI Mode, daily updates or MCP, which all wait on Signature at $107.50
- Tight if you write and track a lot, as one credit pool covers both and unused credits don't roll over
- Skip it if your site isn't on WordPress, since the optimizer and the AI traffic dashboard both need it
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAKoalaFair | 2.0GPASurgeGraphFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CSpark is $32.50 a month on yearly billing ($39 monthly) for 3,000 credits, 2 projects and 2 seats, between this category's cheaper quarter ($19.99) and its middle ($45). Perplexity tracking starts at Scale, $65.83. |
| 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. | FNothing free: no free plan and no trial. The 14-day money-back guarantee can be used once per user, and a refund isn't a trial. |
| 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. | BAI answer tracking with citations and sentiment, SEO and AEO scores with fixes shown as a diff, an article writer with a 50-keyword bulk mode, voice profiles and knowledge bases. The whole job, though Gemini and Google AI Mode need Signature. |
| 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. Credits are shared by tracking, writing and research, and there are prompts, projects and voice profiles to set up. |
| 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, with no desktop or phone app. It works with WordPress through a plugin, writes with OpenAI, Gemini or OpenRouter models, and has MCP access for Claude and Cursor on Signature. |
| Best for | AI blog articles published straight to your CMS | agencies tracking and earning AI citations |
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 SurgeGraph. 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. SurgeGraph starts at $32.50 a month and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and Koala starts $7.50 a month lower. Of the other SEO content tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Koala for less, and 1 scores higher than SurgeGraph 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 and internal linking.
- SurgeGraph also covers reports, AI search visibility and schema markup.
At a glance
| Koala | SurgeGraph | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $25 per month, billed monthly | $32.50 per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | Free account with a one-time 5,000 words and 25 credits, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | F5 Media, LLC | SurgeGraph |
| Price read from | koala.sh | surgegraph.io |
| 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.
SurgeGraph
- There is no free plan or free trial; the 14-day money-back guarantee can be used only once per user.
- Perplexity tracking starts at Scale; Gemini, Google AI Mode, daily updates and MCP access need Signature.
- Credits are shared by tracking, writing and research, and unused subscription credits do not roll over.
- The AI traffic dashboard needs SurgeGraph's WordPress plugin, and the optimizer pushes updates to WordPress.
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.
SurgeGraph
- AI visibility tracking
- Tracks set prompts in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overview for citations, mentions and sentiment. Which engines, and how often, depends on the plan.
- AEO and SEO scoring with fixes
- Each page gets a score for Google rankings and one for AI citation readiness, and suggested fixes can be applied and reviewed as a diff.
- AI article writer and bulk mode
- Turns a keyword into an article with an outline and metadata, using OpenAI or Google Gemini models. Bulk mode takes a CSV of up to 50 keywords.
- Content optimizer for WordPress
- Imports existing pages from WordPress, applies SEO and AEO fixes, and pushes the updated page back, then tracks which changes moved traffic.
- AI traffic dashboard
- A WordPress plugin counts visits referred by AI platforms such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Copilot, refreshed every 5 minutes.
- Author voice and knowledge
- Builds voice profiles from writing samples and knowledge bases from URLs, documents and text, so drafts draw on a client's own material.
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.
SurgeGraph
Spark$32.50
per month for 3,000 credits, billed annually ($39 billed monthly)
2 projects and 2 seats; credits cover up to 333 prompts or 150 articles. Tracks ChatGPT and Google AI Overview, updated every 5 days.
Scale$65.83
per month for 8,000 credits, billed annually ($79 billed monthly)
10 projects and 5 seats, up to 888 prompts or 400 articles. Adds Perplexity, updates every 3 days, white-label reports and your own API key.
Signature$107.50
per month for 15,000 credits, billed annually ($129 billed monthly)
50 projects and 10 seats, up to 1,666 prompts. Adds Gemini and Google AI Mode, daily updates, MCP access and project access controls.
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.
SurgeGraph
- Annual discount
Two months free with annual billing
SurgeGraph's pricing table bills Spark at $390 a year instead of $39 a month, which it calls 2 months free; Scale and Signature get the same discount.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Koala or SurgeGraph?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Koala is cheaper to start with: $25 a month, against $32.50 a month for SurgeGraph. Koala starts at $25 per month, billed monthly, and SurgeGraph starts at $32.50 per month, billed annually ($39 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Koala or SurgeGraph?
As of Oct 23, 2026, neither Koala nor SurgeGraph has a free plan. Koala 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.