Updated September 2026

SurfacedBy vs Profound

The $155M+ funded enterprise platform vs an affordable, self-serve alternative. Here's an honest look at what each delivers.

SurfacedByvsProfound

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The Quick Verdict

Profound and SurfacedBy serve fundamentally different markets. Profound is an enterprise-focused platform backed by $155M+ in funding at a $1B valuation, offering exclusive prompt volume data and shopping visibility for large brands. But their Starter plan ($99/mo) only covers ChatGPT, Claude requires their custom-priced Enterprise tier, and reaching clearly actionable insight takes a 1 to 3 month ramp. SurfacedBy starts at $29/mo with 3 AI platforms (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity), adds Google AI Mode on Professional with Claude, Grok, and DeepSeek as add-ons, provides a free AI visibility check that returns in a few minutes, and delivers a closed loop that goes beyond recommendations to content, community engagement, and publisher outreach you approve. If you're a Fortune 500 brand that needs prompt volume data and has enterprise budget, Profound is the category leader. For everyone else, SurfacedBy provides deeper actionable insights at a fraction of the cost.

Feature Comparison

How the two platforms compare across monitoring, analytics, pricing, and integrations.

Feature	SurfacedBy	Profound
Monitoring
AI platforms monitored	4 included by tier; Claude, Grok, and DeepSeek as add-ons	1 on Starter ($99), 3 on Growth ($399), 9 on Enterprise (custom)
Claude (Anthropic) tracking	Paid add-on	Enterprise only (custom pricing)
Google AI Mode	Professional+	Enterprise only
Check frequency	Daily Check + Full Check	Daily refresh
Analytics & Insights
AI Visibility Score
Citation tracking
Prompt volume data (real search volumes)		Enterprise only
Shopping Visibility (product recs)		ChatGPT only
AI Content Readiness Score	Automated on every scan (30 to 250 pages per domain)
Actionable recommendations	8 types with action steps
Executive Brief
Weekly Action Brief
Read actual AI responses
Pricing & Access
Starting price	$29/mo (3 platforms)	$99/mo (ChatGPT only)
Self-serve signup		Starter and Growth self-serve; Enterprise sales-led
Free AI visibility check	30 real checks, a few minutes	Gated AEO report (lead gen)
Time to first data	a few minutes	1 to 3 month implementation
Free trial	7 days	Growth only
Integrations & Extras
GSC + GA4 integration	GSC + GA4	GSC via Agents (Enterprise)
Bot crawl monitoring	All plans (which AI bots crawl, per page)	Agent Analytics
AI content generation		3/mo (Growth), unlimited (Enterprise)
Data exports
API access	Professional (read), Agency (read + write). On-demand scans for anyone via SurfacedBy Console.	Enterprise only

SurfacedByProfound

Monitoring

AI platforms monitored

4 included by tier; Claude, Grok, and DeepSeek as add-ons1 on Starter ($99), 3 on Growth ($399), 9 on Enterprise (custom)

Claude (Anthropic) tracking

Paid add-onEnterprise only (custom pricing)

Google AI Mode

Professional+Enterprise only

Check frequency

Daily Check + Full CheckDaily refresh

Analytics & Insights

AI Visibility Score

Citation tracking

Prompt volume data (real search volumes)

Enterprise only

Shopping Visibility (product recs)

ChatGPT only

AI Content Readiness Score

Automated on every scan (30 to 250 pages per domain)

Actionable recommendations

8 types with action steps

Executive Brief

Weekly Action Brief

Read actual AI responses

Pricing & Access

Starting price

$29/mo (3 platforms)$99/mo (ChatGPT only)

Self-serve signup

Starter and Growth self-serve; Enterprise sales-led

Free AI visibility check

30 real checks, a few minutesGated AEO report (lead gen)

Time to first data

a few minutes1 to 3 month implementation

Free trial

7 daysGrowth only

Integrations & Extras

GSC + GA4 integration

GSC + GA4GSC via Agents (Enterprise)

Bot crawl monitoring

All plans (which AI bots crawl, per page)Agent Analytics

AI content generation

3/mo (Growth), unlimited (Enterprise)

Data exports

API access

Professional (read), Agency (read + write). On-demand scans for anyone via SurfacedBy Console.Enterprise only

Pricing Comparison

// price-literal-ok: Profound's Starter price, which now equals ours SurfacedBy starts at $29/mo with 3 AI platforms. Profound starts at $99/mo with ChatGPT only.

SurfacedBy

Self-serve, instant access

Starter

$29/mo

1 domain , 15 prompts , 3 platforms (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini) , Daily Check + Full Check

Professional

$99/mo

5 domains , 100 prompts , 4 AI platforms (adds Google AI Mode) + AI Overviews , Content, community + outreach

Agency

$299/mo

10 fully monitored domains , 350 prompts , 4 AI platforms + AI Overviews , Command center + read/write API

All plans include a 7-day free trial. Free AI visibility check with 30 real AI answers across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini.

Profound

Enterprise sales-led, multi-week ramp

Starter

$99/mo

50 prompts , ChatGPT only , Self-serve

Growth

$399/mo

100 prompts , 3 platforms , 3 articles/mo , Free trial

Enterprise

Custom

9 answer engines , Prompt volumes , Full API + SSO

Enterprise is sales-led; Growth has a free trial. Reaching clear value takes a 1 to 3 month ramp.

// price-literal-ok: Profound's Starter price, which now equals ours SurfacedBy gives you 3 AI platforms for $29/mo. Profound gives you 1 platform (ChatGPT) for $99/mo.

Where SurfacedBy leads

Instant Self-Serve Access

Sign up, run a free AI visibility check, and get results in a few minutes. No enterprise sales process, no multi-week ramp. Start today.

3 Platforms for $29/mo

SurfacedBy includes ChatGPT, Gemini, and Perplexity on the $29/mo Starter, where Profound charges $99/mo for ChatGPT alone. At that same $99 our Professional plan adds Google AI Mode for four platforms in total, and Claude is an add-on from $19/mo; Profound puts Claude behind their $2,000+/mo Enterprise plan.

Actionable Recommendations

Research-backed recommendation types, executive briefs, and weekly action plans. Profound monitors visibility but does not provide structured optimization guidance.

Where Profound leads

Exclusive Prompt Volume Data

Real search volume data from consumer panels showing how many people ask specific questions to AI platforms. We do not offer an equivalent. Available on Enterprise ($2,000+/mo).

Shopping Visibility & Bot Analytics

Track your brand in ChatGPT Shopping recommendations at the SKU level. Plus Agent Analytics for server-side bot crawl monitoring across your site.

Which one should you choose?

Choose SurfacedBy if...

You want to start today for $29/mo instead of $99/mo
You need more than just ChatGPT on your entry plan
You want full self-serve without an enterprise sales process
You want actionable recommendations, not just monitoring data
You want results in a few minutes, not a multi-week rollout
You can add Claude, Grok, or DeepSeek for a monthly fee, with no Enterprise contract

Choose Profound if...

You need real prompt volume data from consumer panels
You want Shopping Visibility for ChatGPT product recommendations
You want AI-generated content articles built into the platform
You're a Fortune 500 brand with enterprise budget and dedicated support needs

SurfacedBy is our own product. We've done our best to represent competitors accurately based on their public pricing pages and documentation, each checked on the date shown on its page and all of them since June 2026. We encourage you to try each tool yourself. Pricing and features may have changed since publication.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I sign up for Profound without a sales call?

Profound's Starter and Growth plans are now self-serve, with a free trial on Growth. Only the Enterprise tier (where Claude, Google AI Mode, and prompt volume data live) requires a sales call, and that tier takes a 1 to 3 month ramp before insights are clearly actionable. SurfacedBy is fully self-serve at every tier: sign up, run a free AI visibility check, and see results in a few minutes.

What is Profound's prompt volume data?

Profound offers exclusive prompt volume data sourced from double opt-in consumer panels. It shows how many people are asking specific questions to AI platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity. This data is only available on their Enterprise plan ($2,000+/mo). No other AI visibility tool currently offers this type of data.

Why is Profound's Starter plan ChatGPT-only?

Profound's Starter plan ($99/mo) monitors ChatGPT and nothing else. Their Growth plan ($399/mo) adds Perplexity and Google AI Overviews. Claude, Gemini, and all other platforms require their Enterprise plan ($2,000+/mo). Our Professional plan is the same $99/mo as their Starter and covers four platforms instead of one: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity and Google AI Mode. Three of those four start on our $29/mo Starter, and Claude, Grok and DeepSeek are add-ons on any paid plan rather than a reason to quote you an enterprise contract.

Is Profound worth the price?

For Fortune 500 brands with dedicated budgets and a need for prompt volume data or shopping visibility, Profound is the category leader. For startups, growing SaaS companies, and brand owners who want actionable AI visibility insights without enterprise pricing or sales processes, SurfacedBy delivers significantly more value per dollar.

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