# Topic review (2026): is it worth $99 a month? > Content briefs, outlines and a draft grader for SEO writers Checked Nov 12, 2026 ยท graded Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA. Topic builds content briefs from the top 30 Google results for a focus keyword, listing the headings, questions and keywords to cover. Editors turn the research into an outline, then run a draft through a Content Grader that points out topical gaps. The homepage says Topic has joined the CafeMedia family. - **Category:** SEO Content Optimizers - **Made by:** Chia Labs Inc. - **Website:** https://www.usetopic.com - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Not for you if you want the article written for you, since it builds briefs and grades. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 12, 2026 ## Pricing As of Nov 12, 2026, Topic is a paid product with a free trial, starting at $99 per month for 10 content briefs, billed monthly. - **Pricing model:** Free trial - **Free plan:** None. - **Free trial:** 7-day trial: 3 content briefs for $7. | Plan | Price | What you get | | --- | --- | --- | | Starter | $99 per month for 10 briefs, billed monthly | 10 content briefs and optimizations a month, 1 user, a keyword research tool and 1 month of rollover. | | Plus | $199 per month for 25 briefs, billed monthly | 25 content briefs and optimizations a month for in-house teams and agencies, with 3 users and 1 month of rollover. | | Premium | $299 per month for 50 briefs, billed monthly | 50 content briefs and optimizations a month for agencies, with 5 users and 1 month of rollover. | | Enterprise | Custom | For larger volumes or API access; the pricing page says to contact the company. | Read from https://www.usetopic.com/pricing on Nov 12, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Topic before buying. ## Ways to pay less - **20% off with annual billing** (Annual discount): The pricing page says paying annually saves 20% and lists lower yearly rates, but annual pricing is arranged by contacting the company. Source: https://www.usetopic.com/pricing ## Key features - **Research from the top 30 results:** Enter a focus keyword and Topic collects the headings, questions and keywords found across the top 30 Google results. - **Outline Builder:** Curate the research into an outline, with AI-generated ideas for titles, descriptions and headings when you want a starting point. - **Content Grader:** Paste a draft, new or existing, to see which topics it is missing, and share the grader with writers who do not count as users. - **Geo-targeting and languages:** Briefs can target searches from any location, in English, French, German, Portuguese or Italian. - **WordPress and Google Docs plugins:** Plugins let writers use Topic inside WordPress and Google Docs instead of switching tabs. ## Good for - Editors and agencies producing briefs for freelance writers - Teams that want to check drafts against what top pages cover - Writers who prefer a brief and outline over fully AI-written articles ## Worth knowing - Plans are priced by brief count: 10, 25 or 50 a month, with only 1 month of rollover for unused credits. - The pricing page shows annual rates of $80, $160 and $240 a month but sends buyers to contact the company for annual pricing. - The pricing page still carries a summer sale banner that expired in July 2021, so its figures may be out of date. - The pricing page says AI title and description ideas come from GPT-3, an older model. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 1.6 out of 4**, graded Nov 12, 2026. Topic builds a brief from the top 30 Google results and grades your draft against it. It starts at $99 a month for 10 briefs, and the pricing page still carries a sale banner from 2021. - **Value for money: D.** $99 a month for 10 briefs, $199 for 25, $299 for 50, where the dearest tenth of this category starts at $99. - **Free plan and trial: D.** A 7-day trial that costs $7 for 3 briefs, and no free plan. - **Features: C.** Briefs, an outline builder, a draft grader, geo-targeting, and WordPress and Google Docs plugins. It researches and grades, and writing is up to you. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. A brief has to be turned into an outline and a draft before it pays off. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Web only, with WordPress and Google Docs as the two named connections. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Topic's own pages on 12 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among SEO content tools - Topic's GPA of 1.6 is higher than 3 of the 95 other SEO content tools we grade, and level with 4. - It stands best on features (C, above 1 of 95) and worst on value for money (D, above 1). - Its paid plans start at $99 a month, against a middle price of $47 for the category: 67 of the 88 others that charge start lower. - On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.0 out of 4. 51 tools score higher and cost less. The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/seo-content ## Keep it, or make your own? **Keep it.** To replace Topic you would be making search volumes for millions of keywords, gathered and kept up to date. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one. That makes this kind of software worth paying for, not this one in particular: 88 of the 95 other SEO content tools grade higher. It costs $1,188 a year. - You could not: Search volumes for millions of keywords, gathered and kept up to date. - You could not: A library of papers and sources to search. - You could not: A score built from what the top results for each keyword cover. - You could not: AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself. - You could not: Sharing with other people, which means accounts and invitations. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with WordPress, Google Docs **Tags:** Content optimization, Keyword research, Research, AI features ## Alternatives - [MarketMuse](https://toolgpa.com/tools/marketmuse): Content planning and optimization built on a site-wide topic inventory. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/marketmuse-vs-topic-seo) - [Page Optimizer Pro](https://toolgpa.com/tools/page-optimizer-pro): On-page SEO scoring against the pages that already rank. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/page-optimizer-pro-vs-topic-seo) - [Dashword](https://toolgpa.com/tools/dashword): Content briefs and draft scoring, with an API and MCP server. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/dashword-vs-topic-seo) - [Content Harmony](https://toolgpa.com/tools/content-harmony): Keyword reports, content briefs and a grader, priced per workflow. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/content-harmony-vs-topic-seo) - [Rankability](https://toolgpa.com/tools/rankability): AI search visibility and content platform for SEO agencies. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/rankability-vs-topic-seo) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 12, 2026: - https://www.usetopic.com/pricing - https://www.usetopic.com - https://www.usetopic.com/about Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/topic-seo Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).