LLMrefs vs Waikay (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Waikay grades higher than LLMrefs: 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.
LLMrefs
Keyword-based AI search visibility tracker with one flat plan
Waikay
AI brand visibility tracker that also checks facts and knowledge gaps
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 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
| 2.2GPALLMrefsFair | 2.4GPAWaikayFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | 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, but a 7-day free trial, and signing up needs no credit card. | 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 | 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. | 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. 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. 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 and no integrations on record. The one plan includes an API and CSV export. | 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 | tracking AI visibility by keyword, not prompt | 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: LLMrefs and Waikay. 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. Waikay starts at $24.95 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Waikay starts $54.05 a month lower. Of the other AI search visibility tools on the chart, 13 score higher than LLMrefs 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
- LLMrefs also covers reports.
- Waikay also covers content optimization.
At a glance
| LLMrefs | Waikay | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $79 per month for 500 prompts | $24.95 per month for 40 prompts a week on 4 AI models |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial; signing up needs no credit card | Free account with 3 credits that do not renew: 1 brand report, 1 topic report and plan, 20 prompt checks |
| Web | ||
| Made by | LLMrefs | InLinks Optimization LTD |
| Price read from | llmrefs.com | waikay.io |
| 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.
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
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.
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
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.
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, LLMrefs or Waikay?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Waikay is cheaper to start with: $24.95 a month, against $79 a month for LLMrefs. LLMrefs starts at $79 per month for 500 prompts, and Waikay starts at $24.95 per month for 40 prompts a week on 4 AI models.
Which has a free plan, LLMrefs or Waikay?
As of Oct 23, 2026, neither LLMrefs 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.