The Elmo Insider’s Guide

Everything we know about Elmo in one document: what it costs, its grades, getting a refund, getting help and what else to look at. Read it here, or keep a copy.

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ToolGPAOctober 2026

Elmo

The Insider’s Guide

Open-source AI visibility tracker, self-hosted free or as a cloud app

Every plan, grade, refund rule and rival among AI search visibility tools, read from Elmo’s own pages.

Made by Blue Whale Software, LLC · checked Oct 23, 2026 · toolgpa.com

2.2GPA

01WelcomeWhat it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first
02What it costsEvery plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved
03What it doesIts main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it
04Where it standsIts grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own
05The alternativesThe tools it is most often weighed against, side by side
06Quick answersThe questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two
07About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from Elmo’s own pages, its app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on Elmo’s page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 23, 2026.

Part 01 · Overview

Welcome

What it is, who it suits, its grades and the ten things to know first

2.2

GPA, above 68 of the 157 other AI search visibility tools we grade

Elmo tracks how ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot, Claude and other models mention a brand, which competitors appear beside it and which sources they cite. Consumer apps are read from their real interfaces and other models through their APIs. The MIT-licensed code can be self-hosted for free, and Elmo Cloud is a hosted version with self-serve plans and unlimited seats.

To get you started, here are 9 things to know about Elmo, taken from its own pages and our grades.

The cloud app suggests prompts, but you still choose four platforms and what to track.

From our grade for ease of use

1
Best for self-hosted AI visibility tracking
Elmo is open source: you can run it free on your own server, or pay for the cloud version, which has unlimited seats and an API and MCP server on every plan.
2
Paid plans start at $29 a month
As its pricing page puts it: $29 per month for 50 prompts on ChatGPT, billed monthly.
3
There is a free plan
The self-hosted edition is free and open source, with unlimited prompts and every model; you pay for your own servers and AI provider API keys.
4
It runs on Web
Web.
5
Visibility, share of voice and sentiment
Each prompt gets a visibility score from 0 to 100%, plus share of voice against competitors, a sentiment score and the brand's position in the answer.
6
Real interfaces and APIs
ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Perplexity and other consumer apps are scraped from the screens users see; Qwen, DeepSeek, Mistral and Claude are queried through their APIs.
7
Citation and search analysis
Breaks each answer into the domains and URLs cited and the web searches the model ran to find them.
8
A 2.2 GPA, above 68 of 157
That is against the other AI search visibility tools we grade, on value, the free plan, features, ease of use and platforms.
9
Keep it
The plain part of Elmo you could make: reports. What surrounds it you could not. The 2 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.

Elmo at a glance

Pricing: Free plan, from $29 per month for 50 prompts on ChatGPT, billed monthly
Free plan: Yes
Free trial: None stated
Runs on: Web
Made by: Blue Whale Software, LLC, since 2025
Category: AI Search Visibility (AEO & GEO)
Our grade: 2.2 GPA, fair

The report card

Best for self-hosted AI visibility tracking

Elmo is open source: you can run it free on your own server, or pay for the cloud version, which has unlimited seats and an API and MCP server on every plan. But the $29 cloud plan covers ChatGPT only, once a day, other engines start at $99, and self-hosting means running Docker and paying for your own servers and AI keys.

ToolGPA report cardElmoGraded Oct 24, 2026

Subject	Grade	Comment
Value for money	C	Starter is $29 a month for 50 prompts, at the edge of this category's cheaper quarter, but it's ChatGPT only, once a day. Four engines and 4 checks a day start at Basic for $99, above the dearer quarter at $95. Self-hosting is free, but you pay for servers and API keys.
Free plan and trial	C	No free cloud plan or trial. The free edition is the full product with unlimited prompts, but you host it yourself with Docker and pay for the servers and the AI providers' API keys.
Features	C	Visibility, share of voice, sentiment, position, citations and the searches a model ran, read from real chat screens or APIs, plus prompt suggestions. The gap the listing names: cloud plans cover any 4 platforms, and Claude (web) and Grok (web) start at Pro.
Ease of use	C	No rating on record. The cloud app suggests prompts, but you still choose four platforms and what to track. The free edition needs Docker, a CLI and your own PostgreSQL database.
Platforms and integrations	B	Web only, with no desktop or phone app. Every plan has a REST API with TypeScript and Python SDKs and an MCP server for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and VS Code.

Grade point averageFair, out of 4.02.2

An A is worth 4 points, a B 3, a C 2, a D 1 and an F nothing. The GPA is the average of the five.

Who Elmo is for

Fits if your prompt data must stay on your own servers and you can run Docker
Works for developer teams that want an API, SDKs and MCP on every plan

Who it is not for

Skip it if you need more than ChatGPT for under $99 a month, as Starter covers ChatGPT only, once a day
Not for you if you can't run servers, since the free edition is self-hosted and the hosting and AI API keys are on you
Watch out: cloud plans cover any 4 platforms, and Claude (web) and Grok (web) are Pro and up, with extra pairings at $5 a month each
Pricey if you track several brands, as 2 brands need Pro at $299 a month and 5 need Business at $649

Good to know

Good for

Developer teams and regulated companies that must keep prompt data on their own servers
Small brands wanting a low-cost start tracking ChatGPT
Teams that want frequent sampling, with checks up to 4 times a day
Agencies looking for a white-label AI visibility product

Worth knowing

Starter tracks ChatGPT only, once a day; other engines and 4 daily checks start at Basic for $99 a month.
Paid cloud plans cover any 4 platforms; premium models such as Claude (web) and Grok (web) are Pro and up, with extra pairings at $5 a month each.
Self-hosting is free but you pay for your own servers and for the AI provider API keys it uses.
White-label deployments for agencies are quoted on request.

Part 02 · Pricing

What it costs

Every plan, the free plan, ways to pay less and how prices have moved

$29

A month to start. There is a free plan too

Elmo has a free plan. Paid plans start at $29 per month for 50 prompts on ChatGPT, billed monthly.

Self-hosting is free, but you pay for servers and API keys.

From our grade for value for money

Self-hosted
$0
The same product on your own servers via Docker, with unlimited prompts and any model. You host it yourself.
Starter
$29
per month for 50 prompts on ChatGPT only, billed monthly
1 brand, each prompt checked once a day in ChatGPT, unlimited seats, and API and MCP access.
Basic
$99
per month for 50 prompts on 4 AI platforms, billed monthly
1 brand, with prompts checked 4 times a day on any 4 platforms picked from ChatGPT, Google AI Mode and AI Overviews, Copilot, Perplexity, Gemini and others.
Pro
$299
per month for 150 prompts on 4 AI platforms, billed monthly
2 brands, checks 4 times a day, plus 20 daily premium pairings on Claude (web), GPT Search or Grok (web).
Business
$649
per month for 350 prompts on 4 AI platforms, billed monthly
5 brands, checks 4 times a day, plus 30 daily premium prompt and model pairings.
Custom
Custom
More brands, custom prompt limits, more frequent sampling and any models, by contract.

The free plan

The self-hosted edition is free and open source, with unlimited prompts and every model; you pay for your own servers and AI provider API keys.

Read from elmohq.com on Oct 23, 2026.

Ways to pay less

Annual discount
Two months free with annual billing
Elmo's pricing page says annual billing saves two months: Starter is $290 a year instead of $29 a month, and Basic $990 instead of $99 a month.
Stated on elmohq.com

Part 03 · Features

What it does

Its main features, where it runs, what it works with and who makes it

Place it runs: Web

Open-source AI visibility tracker, self-hosted free or as a cloud app. Here is what it does, as its own site describes it, and what it covers: open source, self-hostable, public API, reports, AI search visibility.

Every plan has a REST API with TypeScript and Python SDKs and an MCP server for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and VS Code.

From our grade for platforms and integrations

Visibility, share of voice and sentiment: Each prompt gets a visibility score from 0 to 100%, plus share of voice against competitors, a sentiment score and the brand's position in the answer.
Real interfaces and APIs: ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Perplexity and other consumer apps are scraped from the screens users see; Qwen, DeepSeek, Mistral and Claude are queried through their APIs.
Citation and search analysis: Breaks each answer into the domains and URLs cited and the web searches the model ran to find them.
Prompt Wizard: Suggests the questions buyers are likely to ask, based on the site's products, competitors and personas, and starts tracking them.
REST API and MCP server: Every plan includes a REST API with TypeScript and Python SDKs, and an MCP server for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and VS Code.
Self-hosting: Runs as a Docker Compose stack set up with a CLI, storing brands, prompts and answers in your own PostgreSQL database.

Where it runs

What it works with

OpenRouter
PostgreSQL
Docker
Claude Code
Cursor
Codex
VS Code

Elmo is made by Blue Whale Software, LLC, and has been around since 2025.

Part 04 · Standing

Where it stands

Its grades against its category, and whether to keep it or make your own

68/157

Other AI search visibility tools it is graded above

Elmo's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 68 of the 157 other AI search visibility tools we grade, and level with 56.

It stands best on platforms and integrations (B, above 51 of 157) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).

Its paid plans start at $29 a month, against a middle price of $59 for the category: 22 of the 128 others that charge start lower.

On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.3 out of 4. 6 tools score higher and cost less.

Each grade against the category

Every bar is all 158 AI search visibility tools we grade, cut by the letter each got. Elmo’s own letter is outlined.

CValue for money
Above 19 of 157
CFree plan and trial
Above 63 of 157
CFeatures
Above 6 of 157
CEase of use
Above 0 of 157
BPlatforms and integrations
Above 51 of 157

Price against what you get

Each dot is one of 131 AI search visibility tools. Further left costs less; higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Elmo is the marked dot.

What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →

Keep it, or make your own?

Whether this is something you could build for yourself with an AI app builder, and what you would give up.

Keep it

The plain part of Elmo you could make: reports. What surrounds it you could not. The 2 things listed below take a company, not a weekend.

It costs $348 a year. Elmo is open source, so there is a third way: take its code and run it yourself.

What you could make

Reports: an app builder makes this well.

What you could not

The same prompts asked of ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI answers every day, and the answers kept.
It plugs into other products, OpenRouter, PostgreSQL and Docker among them, and has an API.

What this rests on. Elmo’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.

Part 05 · Alternatives

The alternatives

The tools it is most often weighed against, side by side

Profound, Peec AI, Otterly.AI, LLMrefs and Rankscale AI

The 5 tools Elmo is most often weighed against, with where each one differs from it.

2.2GPA
Profound
Free trial · from $99/mo
AI search visibility tracking with an AI marketing agent built in.
- Elmo has a free plan. Profound does not, though it has a free trial.
- Elmo is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Elmo also covers reports.
Elmo and Profound compared in full
2.2GPA
Peec AI
Free trial · from $95/mo
AI search analytics that tracks brand prompts across AI models.
- Elmo has a free plan. Peec AI does not, though it has a free trial.
- Elmo is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Peec AI also covers web analytics.
Elmo and Peec AI compared in full
2.4GPA
Otterly.AI
Free trial · from $25/mo
Daily brand and citation tracking across AI search engines.
- Elmo has a free plan. Otterly.AI does not, though it has a free trial.
- Elmo is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Otterly.AI also covers site audit.
Elmo and Otterly.AI compared in full
2.2GPA
LLMrefs
Free trial · from $79/mo
Keyword-based AI search visibility tracker with one flat plan.
- Elmo has a free plan. LLMrefs does not, though it has a free trial.
- Elmo is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
Elmo and LLMrefs compared in full
3.0GPA
Rankscale AI
Free trial · from $17/mo
Credit-based AI visibility tracker covering 17+ AI engines.
- Elmo has a free plan. Rankscale AI does not, though it has a free trial.
- Elmo is open source and self-hostable, according to its own site.
- Rankscale AI also covers web analytics.
Elmo and Rankscale AI compared in full

Part 06 · Questions

Quick answers

The questions people ask about it, each answered in a line or two

Questions, each answered in a line or two

The short version of everything above, for when you only need the answer. Each one is told in full in its part of the guide.

Is Elmo free?

Elmo has a free plan. The self-hosted edition is free and open source, with unlimited prompts and every model; you pay for your own servers and AI provider API keys.

How much does Elmo cost?

Elmo lists 6 plans. Self-hosted: $0.

What platforms does Elmo work on?

Elmo is available on Web.

Does Elmo offer any discounts?

Elmo publicly lists the following: Two months free with annual billing.

Does Elmo have an Android app?

No Android app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 23, 2026. Elmo is listed for Web.

Does Elmo have an iPhone app?

No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 23, 2026. Elmo is listed for Web.

Is Elmo open source?

Yes. Elmo is open source, according to its own site.

Does Elmo have an API?

Yes. Elmo offers a public API, according to its own site.

What does Elmo integrate with?

Elmo's listing names OpenRouter, PostgreSQL, Docker, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex and VS Code.

Who makes Elmo?

Elmo is made by Blue Whale Software, LLC. It dates from 2025.

What are the alternatives to Elmo?

The closest alternatives to Elmo in our directory are Profound, Peec AI, Otterly.AI, LLMrefs and Rankscale AI.

How does Elmo compare with other AI search visibility tools?

Elmo's GPA of 2.2 is higher than 68 of the 157 other AI search visibility tools we grade, and level with 56.

Is Elmo good value for money?

ToolGPA grades Elmo C for value for money. Its paid plans start at $29 a month, against a middle price of $59 for the category: 22 of the 128 others that charge start lower.

Could I make my own version of Elmo?

The plain part of Elmo you could make: reports. What surrounds it you could not.

Where this guide comes from

The prices, plans, platforms and features were read from Elmo’s own pages on Oct 23, 2026, and the grades were given on Oct 24, 2026. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Elmo's own pages on 23 October 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews.

Every tool we list gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. How each is decided is at toolgpa.com/grades. This guide is ToolGPA’s own work; it is not made, paid for or approved by Blue Whale Software, LLC. Prices change, so check elmohq.com before you buy.

Part 07 · About

About ToolGPA

Who made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

3,189

Tools graded, in 94 categories

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

3,189
tools graded
94
categories
426
price changes on record
579
apps priced in 12 countries

What else is on toolgpa.com

Scan for the live page

Prices and grades as they are today

Quoting this guide?

Please name ToolGPA and link to the live page, so readers can check the figures for themselves:

ToolGPA, "Elmo: The Insider's Guide", checked Oct 23, 2026. https://toolgpa.com/tools/elmo

Know someone choosing between AI search visibility tools?

Send them this guide: toolgpa.com/tools/elmo/guide

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See our other guides

The best-graded AI search visibility tools after Elmo, each with an Insider's Guide of its own.

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Choosing software? Every tool graded, every price dated.

Compare tools at toolgpa.com ›

Everything in this guide is ToolGPA’s own summary of what Elmo’s pages, its app-store listings and public reviews said on the dates shown. Grades are our judgement under the rules at toolgpa.com/grades. Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Elmo is a trademark of its owner, and this guide is not made, paid for or approved by Blue Whale Software, LLC. Prices and plans change: check elmohq.com before you buy.