LLMrefs vs Rankscale AI (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, we pick Rankscale AI: it is first 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 by ToolGPA
Rankscale AI grades higher on value for money and features. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
LLMrefs
Keyword-based AI search visibility tracker with one flat plan
Rankscale AI
Credit-based AI visibility tracker covering 17+ AI engines
Which one is for you
Pick LLMrefs if
- Fits if you already track SEO keywords and want the same lists checked in AI answers
- Works for agencies, since projects and seats are unlimited on one plan
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need daily data, as it refreshes about once a week per keyword
- Not for you if you need SSO, white-label reports or an enterprise tier, as none are listed
- Skip it if you need a price you can count on, as $79 is marked limited time only
- Watch out: no integrations are listed beyond the API and CSV export
Pick Rankscale AI if
- Fits if you want 17+ AI engines on one plan and can do the credit sums
- Works for brands where local results matter, as it shows your place in AI map packs
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you track a lot every day, since monitoring pauses when the credits run out until renewal or a top-up
- Skip it if you want the cheapest plan paid monthly, as Essentials is yearly only and the trial is for Pro
- Pricey if you need the REST API, which starts at Pro+ for $229 a month, or white label at $385
- Watch out: Claude costs 2 credits a run against 0.25 for ChatGPT, so Essentials' 120 credits go fast
- Watch out: extra brand dashboard slots are bought separately in the app
How we grade them
| 2.2GPALLMrefsFair | 3.0GPARankscale AIVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$79 a month for 500 prompts on every engine, with unlimited projects and seats. That's mid-range for this category, between $29 and $95. But the price is marked limited time only, with no end date or regular price given. | A$17 a month on yearly billing is just under $17.40, the line for an A in this category. But Essentials' 120 credits cover about five prompts a day on ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity at 0.25 a run. Pro, at $99 a month for 1,200 credits, is where daily tracking gets room. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a 7-day free trial, and signing up needs no credit card. | CNo free plan, just a 7-day trial of Pro with a limited credit allowance. Enough to see how fast credits drain, not much more. |
| Features | CFan-out prompts built from your keywords, share of voice and position across ChatGPT, AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Grok, Copilot, Meta AI and DeepSeek, and cited sources in 50+ countries. The gap: data refreshes weekly, not daily. | AAll 17+ engines on every plan, Claude and DeepSeek included, with visibility, sentiment, citations and query fan-out, plus things few rivals track: your place in AI local and map packs, and the questions ChatGPT asks before it recommends brands. Page audits cover what to fix. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. Importing an SEO keyword list is a familiar start, but you still set up projects, countries and competitors before the rankings say much. | CNo rating on record. A run costs 0.25 to 2 credits depending on the engine, and tracking pauses when credits run out, so there are sums to do before you set a schedule. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app and no integrations on record. The one plan includes an API and CSV export. | BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app. Looker Studio, Google Sheets, Cloudflare and an MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor, with the REST API from Pro+ at $229. |
| Best for | tracking AI visibility by keyword, not prompt | 17+ AI engines from $17 a month |
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: LLMrefs and Rankscale AI. How we grade
Price against what you get
LLMrefs starts at $79 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Rankscale AI starts at $17 a month and scores 3.0.
Rankscale AI scores higher and starts $62 a month lower. Of the other AI search visibility tools on the chart, 13 score higher than LLMrefs for less, and none scores higher than Rankscale AI 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
- Rankscale AI also covers web analytics.
At a glance
| LLMrefs | Rankscale AI | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $79 per month for 500 prompts | $17 per month, billed yearly only (Essentials) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial; signing up needs no credit card | 7-day free trial of the Pro plan with a limited credit allowance |
| Web | ||
| Made by | LLMrefs | Rankscale GmbH |
| Price read from | llmrefs.com | rankscale.ai |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
LLMrefs
- There is one plan; the $79 price is labeled limited time only, with no end date or regular price given.
- Dashboard data refreshes at least once a week per keyword, not daily.
- The pricing page lists no enterprise tier, SSO or white-label options.
Rankscale AI
- Tracking is limited by credits, not prompts: each engine run costs 0.25 to 2 credits, and monitoring pauses when credits run out until renewal or a top-up.
- Essentials is sold on yearly billing only; the 7-day trial is for Pro.
- The REST API starts at Pro+ ($229 a month); white-label dashboards start at Growth.
- Extra brand dashboard slots are bought separately in the app.
Key features
LLMrefs
- Keyword-based tracking
- Import SEO keyword lists; LLMrefs generates fan-out prompts for each keyword from real AI conversations and aggregates the answers.
- Share of voice rankings
- Ranks brands against competitors per keyword by share of voice and average position, weighted across every prompt.
- Source and citation lists
- Shows and filters the URLs AI engines cite when answering about your products, to find content and outreach targets.
- Countries and languages
- Geo-targeted tracking in 50+ countries and 20+ languages, filterable by engine and country.
- Agency projects
- Unlimited projects and seats under one subscription, with client dashboards and keywords spread across projects.
- Free AI SEO tools
- An AI crawlability checker, a Reddit threads finder and an llms.txt generator come with the plan.
Rankscale AI
- Wide engine coverage
- All plans can query 17+ engines, from ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity at 0.25 credits a run to Claude at 2 credits, on schedules from hourly to monthly.
- Visibility, sentiment and citations
- Tracks a visibility score over time, benchmarks competitors, analyzes sentiment and shows which sources AI engines cite.
- Query fan-out and ChatGPT follow-ups
- Shows the internal searches AI engines run while answering, and the clarifying questions ChatGPT asks before recommending brands.
- Shopping, ads and local results
- Analyzes shopping cards and sponsored ads in ChatGPT, AI Mode and Copilot, and brand placement in AI local and map packs.
- AI visits from Cloudflare
- A read-only Cloudflare connection reports AI crawler and assistant visits, top pages and the 404 errors AI bots hit.
- Sharing, API and MCP
- Shareable dashboard links, CSV and Google Sheets exports, Data Studio, an MCP server for AI assistants and, from Pro+, a REST API.
Plans
LLMrefs
All in One$79
per month for 500 prompts
All AI engines, weekly reports, citations, 50+ countries, unlimited projects and users, CSV export and API. Marked limited time only.
Rankscale AI
Essentials$17
per month for 120 credits, billed yearly only
For individuals and startups: 2 brand dashboards and 10 page audits a month. Shown as $20 crossed out.
Pro$99
per month for 1,200 credits, billed monthly
Up to 4,800 AI answers a month, 10 brand dashboards, 50 page audits, Looker Studio and MCP. Unused credits roll over up to 2x.
Pro+$229
per month for 3,000 credits, billed monthly
Up to 12,000 answers, 25 brand dashboards, 100 page audits, REST API access and 5 prompt researches a month.
Growth$385
per month for 5,500 credits, billed monthly
For agencies: up to 22,000 answers, 50 brand dashboards, 200 page audits, white-label dashboards and the agency program.
Enterprise$780
per month for 12,000 credits, billed monthly
Up to 48,000 answers, 100 brand dashboards, REST API access, a dedicated partner, and credit rollover up to 3x.
Custom PlanCustom
Built around credit volume and team size, with options such as SSO, custom API work, SLA guarantees and a success manager.
Ways to pay less
LLMrefs
No public discounts listed.
Rankscale AI
- Annual discount
15% off with yearly billing
Rankscale's pricing FAQ says yearly billing is 15% cheaper than monthly, paid 12 months upfront, with credits still renewing each month.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, LLMrefs or Rankscale AI?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Rankscale AI is cheaper to start with: $17 a month, against $79 a month for LLMrefs. LLMrefs starts at $79 per month for 500 prompts, and Rankscale AI starts at $17 per month, billed yearly only (Essentials).
Which has a free plan, LLMrefs or Rankscale AI?
As of Oct 23, 2026, neither LLMrefs nor Rankscale AI 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.