Surfer vs YourText.Guru (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Surfer grades higher than YourText.Guru: 2.2 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Surfer grades higher on the free plan and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money, features and 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
YourText.Guru
Semantic SEO guides that score drafts against the search results
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 YourText.Guru if
- Fits if you write SEO content in French, or in one of eight other languages
- Works for agencies giving outside writers guest access to a single guide
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if you want to try it first, as there's only a demo mode
- Watch out: a guide can be analyzed for 50 days, and unused AI tokens don't roll over
- Skip it if you want to publish straight to your CMS, as there are no native integrations
- Pricey if you need the API, as API plans are separate and start at $432 a month
- Tight if more than 2 of you write, since Lite has 2 members and Essential is $227
How we grade them
| 2.2GPASurferFair | 1.8GPAYourText.GuruWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CLite is $98 a month billed yearly ($107 monthly), excluding VAT, for 50 guides and 2 members. That's in this category's dearer quarter, just short of its dearest tenth ($99). Five members means Essential at $227. |
| 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. | FNothing free: no free plan and no free trial, just a demo mode that shows the interface. Token packs from $21 for 3 guides are the cheapest way in. |
| 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. | BGuides with a target score for Google, Bing and ChatGPT, two writing modes, keyword and competitor research, content gap and cannibalization checks, internal linking and daily rank checks. The whole job, metered in guides and AI tokens. |
| 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. Guide tokens, AI tokens, rollover rules and a 50-day window per guide are a lot to keep track of. |
| 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 no CMS integrations: text is copied into WordPress or Shopify by hand. API plans are sold separately from $432 a month. |
| Best for | scoring articles as you write them | French-language SEO writing guides |
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 YourText.Guru. How we grade
Where they differ
- Surfer also covers long-form writing.
- YourText.Guru also covers rank tracking, content optimization and internal linking.
At a glance
| Surfer | YourText.Guru | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Paid |
| Starts at | $49 per month, billed yearly ($59 billed monthly) | $98 per month, billed annually ($107 billed monthly), excluding VAT |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial with Pro access for new accounts; card required, converts to the chosen plan | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | Surfer Sp. z o.o. | Babbar |
| Price read from | surferseo.com | yourtext.guru |
| 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.
YourText.Guru
- There is no free plan or free trial, only a demo mode that shows the interface and some features.
- A guide can be analyzed for 50 days after it is made; guide tokens roll over at 70%, AI tokens do not.
- There are no native CMS integrations; text is copied into WordPress or Shopify. API plans are separate, from $432 a month.
- Token packs for occasional use start at $21 for 3 guides, cover semantic optimization only and expire after a year.
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.
YourText.Guru
- Semantic SEO guides
- A guide for a query costs 5 tokens and lists the words to include and the score to reach, with recommendations for Google, Bing and ChatGPT.
- Chill and Pro writing modes
- Write with light guidance in Chill mode, or switch to Pro mode for detailed scores and full control over the optimization.
- LLM SEO
- Guides writing that AI assistants such as ChatGPT, Gemini and Claude are more likely to cite, using EEAT markers.
- Keyword and competitor research
- Keyword Explorer, Content Gap against competing sites, SERP cannibalization checks and a Digital Brainstormer for topic ideas.
- Internal linking and site checks
- Topical mesh planning, internal linking recommendations, internal PageRank, 404 link recovery and a backlink value check.
- Daily rank checks
- Each monitored guide's main keyword is checked on Google every morning, with the ranking URL shown in the dashboard.
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.
YourText.Guru
Lite$98
per month, billed annually ($107 billed monthly)
50 SEO guides a month, 2 members, 25,000 AI tokens and 50 guides with daily rank checks. Excludes VAT.
Essential$227
per month, billed annually ($247 billed monthly)
375 guides a month, 5 members and 2 guests, 187,500 AI tokens and 375 guides with daily rank checks.
Enterprise$396
per month, billed annually ($431 billed monthly)
Unlimited guides at up to 3 a minute, 10 members and 4 guests, 400,000 AI tokens and 800 guides with daily rank checks.
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.
YourText.Guru
- Annual discount
About 10% off with yearly billing
YourText.Guru's pricing page says paying yearly in one sum gives around 10% off the monthly rate: Lite is $98 a month billed annually against $107.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Surfer or YourText.Guru?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Surfer is cheaper to start with: $49 a month, against $98 a month for YourText.Guru. Surfer starts at $49 per month, billed yearly ($59 billed monthly), and YourText.Guru starts at $98 per month, billed annually ($107 billed monthly), excluding VAT.
Which has a free plan, Surfer or YourText.Guru?
As of Oct 23, 2026, neither Surfer nor YourText.Guru has a free plan. Surfer has a free trial.
Which platforms do Surfer and YourText.Guru 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.