RankIQ vs Scalenut (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Scalenut grades higher than RankIQ: 2.4 against 1.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Scalenut grades higher on the free plan, features and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
RankIQ
Blog SEO toolset with niche keyword libraries and a content grader
Scalenut
AI article writing and optimization with AI answer tracking
Which one is for you
Pick RankIQ if
- Fits if you run a blog in a common niche and want ready-made keyword lists
- Works for bloggers refreshing older posts that have lost traffic
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to try it first, as there's no free plan or trial
- Watch out: RankIQ is now sold only with Aided, and the $49 price is a special with no end date
- Skip it if you work in a team, as no seats, integrations or API are listed
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
| 1.6GPARankIQWeak | 2.4GPAScalenutFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$49 a month for RankIQ plus Aided's writing apps, a little above this category's middle ($45). It's shown as a special against a $398 combined rate, with no end date given. | 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 | FNothing free: the site shows no free plan and no free trial. Billing is monthly and you can cancel any time, but you pay before you see it. | 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 | CNiche keyword libraries, a content optimizer, title analysis, an old-post refresh workflow and Aided's AI writing and social posts. The listing's gaps keep it here: no team seats, integrations or API, and keywords come from pre-picked niche lists. | 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. It's built for bloggers, but there's a keyword library, an optimizer and Aided's separate apps to learn. | 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 | CWeb only, with no integrations listed and no API. Nothing for a desktop or a phone. | 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 | bloggers picking low-competition keywords | 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: RankIQ and Scalenut. How we grade
Price against what you get
RankIQ starts at $49 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Scalenut starts at $59 a month and scores 2.7.
Scalenut scores higher, and starts $10 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other SEO content tools on the chart, 32 score higher than RankIQ 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
- Scalenut also covers AI search visibility and internal linking.
At a glance
| RankIQ | Scalenut | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Free trial |
| Starts at | $49 per month, billed monthly | $59 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | 7-day free trial on monthly plans; no refunds after the trial ends |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Gailleon, LLC | Scalenut Inc. |
| Price read from | rankiq.com | scalenut.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
RankIQ
- The maker says RankIQ has evolved into Aided, and RankIQ is now sold only together with Aided under one subscription.
- The site shows no free plan or free trial; the terms say billing is monthly and you can cancel at any time.
- The $49 price is presented as a special against a $398 combined rate, with no end date given.
- The site lists no integrations, team seats or API.
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
RankIQ
- Niche keyword libraries
- Hand-picked keyword lists for each major blog niche, filtered for low competition and high traffic potential.
- Content optimizer
- Grades a draft or published post and lists what to add to compete with the posts on Google's first page.
- Title analysis
- Analyzes the top 30 results to show which words Google favors in titles for a keyword.
- Old post refresh
- A workflow for reworking an underperforming post for Google results, AI Overviews and ChatGPT answers.
- Aided content packages
- Aided drafts a blog post with matching social posts for Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, TikTok and YouTube, and a promo email.
- Multi-model chat
- Aided's chat window switches between ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok and Perplexity, with saved prompts, brand voices and audiences.
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
RankIQ
RankIQ + Aided Unlimited$49
per month, billed monthly
RankIQ's tools plus Aided's Unlimited plan, shown as a special against a $398 combined rate ($99 RankIQ, $299 Aided).
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
RankIQ
No public discounts listed.
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, RankIQ or Scalenut?
As of Oct 23, 2026, RankIQ is cheaper to start with: $49 a month, against $59 a month for Scalenut. RankIQ starts at $49 per month, billed monthly, and Scalenut starts at $59 per month, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, RankIQ or Scalenut?
As of Oct 23, 2026, neither RankIQ nor Scalenut has a free plan. Scalenut 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.