Surfer vs thruuu (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Surfer and thruuu share a 2.2 GPA, neither has a free plan, and thruuu starts cheaper, at $13 a month against $49 a month.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Surfer grades higher on features and platforms. thruuu grades higher on value for money and the free plan. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Surfer
Content editor that scores articles for search and AI citations
thruuu
SERP analysis, content briefs and AI answer checks on credits
Which one is for you
Pick Surfer if
- Fits if you write articles meant to rank and want a score to aim for, from $49 a month
- Works for writers who draft in Google Docs or WordPress and want the guidelines there
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to try it without a card, since the 7-day trial needs one and becomes a paid plan unless cancelled
- Pricey if AI answer tracking is why you're here: Discovery has none, and Standard at $99 tracks 25 prompts weekly in ChatGPT only
- Not for you if you need a full SEO suite, as its research and audits are about content
- Watch out: on yearly plans credits reset once a year, and unlimited documents fall under a fair usage policy
- Pricey if you need the API, which needs Peace of Mind at $299 a month, Enterprise or an add-on
Pick thruuu if
- Fits if you want the full top 100 results for a keyword, not just the top 10
- Works for writers building briefs from what ranks and what AI engines cite
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you're staying free, as the 10 credits are one-time and US English only
- Skip it if you need ChatGPT in the AI analysis on Starter, as it starts at Pro, $33 a month on yearly billing
- Watch out: Gemini, Perplexity and AI Mode need Agency, $66 a month on yearly billing
- Not for you if you work in a team on Starter, as team members start at Pro
How we grade them
| 2.2GPASurferFair | 2.2GPAthruuuFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CGraded against other content editors. Discovery is $49 a month billed yearly ($59 monthly) for 1 seat and 120 documents: more than Frase's $39 and NeuronWriter's $19, well under Clearscope's $129. Standard, with 3 seats, is $99. | BStarter is $13 a month billed yearly ($19 monthly) for 75 credits, inside this category's cheapest quarter ($20). A SERP analysis is 1 credit and a brief 5, so that's 75 analyses or 15 briefs a month. |
| Free plan and trial | DNo free plan. The 7-day trial gives new accounts Pro, but it needs a card and turns into a paid plan unless you cancel. The free Keyword Surfer extension is a small consolation. | CNo free plan. You get a one-time 10 credits, limited to the top 10 results for google.com in US English, and the listing doesn't mention a card. |
| Features | BA live Content Score and guidelines, an AI writer with humanizer and plagiarism checks, keyword research, topical maps, content audits with drop alerts and AI answer tracking. The whole content job, though Discovery has no AI prompt tracking. | C100-result SERP analysis in 196 countries, AI answer comparison, AI Overview monitoring, briefs and AI drafts, keyword clustering, a page audit and an API. Research and briefs are covered, but no editor that scores a draft as you write is on record. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. Writing against a score is easy to grasp, but topical maps, audits and the AI tracking spaces are more to learn. | CNo rating on record. Each task costs a different number of credits, and which AI engines you get depends on the plan. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus Chrome extensions, one bringing the guidelines into Google Docs. It connects to WordPress, Zapier, Contentful, Jasper, ChatGPT and Claude; the API needs Peace of Mind or an add-on. No desktop or phone app. | CWeb only, with an API for SERP and brief requests but no integrations listed. No desktop or phone app. |
| Best for | scoring articles as you write them | SERP research and briefs on a small budget |
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: Surfer and thruuu. How we grade
Where they differ
- Surfer also covers long-form writing.
- thruuu also covers AI search visibility, content optimization and sERP API.
At a glance
| Surfer | thruuu | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $49 per month, billed yearly ($59 billed monthly) | $13 per month for 75 credits, billed annually ($19 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial with Pro access for new accounts; card required, converts to the chosen plan | 10 one-time free credits: up to 10 SERP analyses of the top 10 US results, or 2 briefs |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Surfer Sp. z o.o. | thruuu |
| Price read from | surferseo.com | thruuu.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Surfer
- Discovery has no AI prompt tracking and one seat; Standard tracks 25 prompts weekly in ChatGPT only.
- On annual plans, credits reset once a year, and unlimited documents fall under a fair usage policy.
- The trial needs a card and becomes a paid plan after 7 days unless cancelled; it is for new accounts only.
- API access needs Peace of Mind, Enterprise or an API add-on.
thruuu
- Free use is a one-time 10 credits, limited to top-10 results for google.com in US English.
- Starter's AI analysis covers AI Overviews only; ChatGPT starts at Pro, and Gemini, Perplexity and AI Mode need Agency.
- Team members come only with Pro (3) and Agency (10).
- Credits roll over while subscribed; annual plans receive the whole year's credits at once.
Key features
Surfer
- Content Editor and Content Score
- Write or paste an article and get live guidelines on terms, structure and length, scored against the pages that rank for the topic.
- AI writing assistant
- Surfy drafts and edits inside the editor, with an AI detector, humanizer, plagiarism check and 1-click optimization of existing text.
- AI visibility tracking
- Track set prompts in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Mode and AI Overviews, with mention gaps and brand sentiment.
- Content Audit and drop alerts
- Monitor 10 to 500 published pages, get alerts when rankings drop and suggestions for which articles to refresh.
- Keyword research and Topical Map
- Plan clusters of related articles around a topic, and check search results with the SERP Analyzer.
- Keyword Surfer extension
- A free Chrome extension shows search volume and keyword ideas on Google results; another brings Surfer's guidelines into Google Docs.
thruuu
- 100-result SERP analysis
- Pulls headings, word counts, structure and questions from up to 100 Google results in any of 196 countries and 151 languages.
- LLM analysis
- Compares the answers of AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Gemini and Perplexity, with the brands and sources each cites. Engines vary by plan.
- AI Overviews monitoring
- Tracks which keywords show an AI Overview and whether your content is cited, at 50 credits per 1,000 keywords. Pro and Agency only.
- Content briefs and AI drafts
- Briefs built from 100 results and AI citations, with templates; AI Draft then writes the article to your outline and brand voice settings.
- Keyword clustering
- Groups keywords by how similar their Google results are, at 50 credits per 1,000 keywords and up to 15,000 per batch on Agency.
- Page audit and API
- Audit a page against 100 competitors free on paid plans, and run SERP and brief requests through the API in batches of 20 or 100 keywords.
Plans
Surfer
Discovery$49
per month, billed yearly ($59 billed monthly)
1 seat, 120 documents to create or optimize, 10 tracked pages, AI writing assistant and humanizer. No AI prompt tracking.
AI Search Analytics$82
per month, billed yearly ($95 billed monthly)
AI visibility only: 50 prompts tracked daily across all models, mention gaps and sentiment, 5 brand spaces, 5 seats and MCP.
Standard$99
per month, billed yearly ($119 billed monthly)
3 seats, 360 documents, 50 tracked pages, 1-click optimization, plagiarism checks and 25 prompts tracked weekly in ChatGPT.
Pro$182
per month, billed yearly ($219 billed monthly)
5 seats, 360 documents, 200 pages, 50 prompts daily across all models, 5 brand spaces, internal linking, cannibalization report and MCP.
Peace of Mind$299
per month, billed yearly ($359 billed monthly)
10 seats, unlimited documents under fair use, 500 pages, 100 prompts daily, API access and a dedicated success manager.
EnterpriseCustom
Custom limits, SSO, white-label, advisory program and tailored onboarding, through sales.
thruuu
Starter$13
per month for 75 credits, billed annually ($19 billed monthly)
Up to 75 SERP analyses or 15 briefs, 100 results per report in 196 countries, AI Overviews analysis. A SERP analysis is 1 credit, a brief 5.
Pro$33
per month for 250 credits, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)
Adds ChatGPT to the AI analysis, AI Overviews monitoring of up to 500 keywords per report, 3 team members and 3 workspaces.
Agency$66
per month for 700 credits, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
All five AI engines, monitoring of up to 5,000 keywords per report, 10 team members, 100-keyword API batches and a free Website API.
Ways to pay less
Surfer
- Annual discount
Save up to 17% with yearly billing
Surfer's pricing FAQ gives up to 17% off for annual plans, paid upfront: Pro is $182 a month billed yearly instead of $219 billed monthly.
thruuu
- Annual discount
30% off with annual billing
thruuu's pricing page lists annual billing at 30% off: Starter is $13 a month instead of $19, with all credits for the year given upfront.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Surfer or thruuu?
As of Oct 23, 2026, thruuu is cheaper to start with: $13 a month, against $49 a month for Surfer. Surfer starts at $49 per month, billed yearly ($59 billed monthly), and thruuu starts at $13 per month for 75 credits, billed annually ($19 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Surfer or thruuu?
As of Oct 23, 2026, neither Surfer nor thruuu has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Surfer and thruuu run on?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only Surfer lists a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.