Best of
Best LLM monitoring tools for ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity
By Maya Ellison, content lead · Updated 3 October 2026
In short
MentionChecker is the best AI engine monitoring tool for most brands, at 94 of 100 against fifteen other tools. A MentionChecker repeat monitors your brand on ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot daily, weekly or monthly, paid from credits bought once from $9, with no monthly fee. Your first check is free.
Know where you stand in AI search.Best LLM monitoring tools, scored out of 100
MentionChecker scores 94 of 100, and Rankscale is next at 61. Every other tool is scored at the cheapest tier on its own pricing page that carries a price, and tools on the same score are ordered by name.
| Tool | Score | AI engines on the first paid step (30) | Monthly fee (20) | A month with no run (20) | A free look (20) | Price list (10) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MentionChecker | 94 / 100 | All six on every pack, 30 of 30 | No monthly fee, 20 of 20 | Nothing, 20 of 20 | Your first check, no card, 14 of 20 | Every tier, 10 of 10 |
| Rankscale | 61 / 100 | Six or more, 30 of 30 | €20 on Essentials, 16 of 20 | The monthly plan, 5 of 20 | A 7-day Pro trial with a card, 0 of 20 | Every tier, 10 of 10 |
| AskWatch | 57 / 100 | Six or more, 30 of 30 | $100 on Monitor, 8 of 20 | The monthly plan, 5 of 20 | A check on its pricing page, 14 of 20 | Not every tier, 0 of 10 |
| AthenaHQ | 53 / 100 | Six or more, 30 of 30 | $295 on Starter, 4 of 20 | The monthly plan, 5 of 20 | Essential, a free tier, 14 of 20 | Not every tier, 0 of 10 |
| HubSpot AEO | 50 / 100 | 3, 9 of 30 | $50 on HubSpot AEO on its own, 12 of 20 | The monthly plan, 5 of 20 | The AI Search Grader, once, 14 of 20 | Every tier, 10 of 10 |
| Promptwatch | 49 / 100 | 4, 18 of 30 | $95 on Essential, 12 of 20 | The monthly plan, 5 of 20 | Explore, a free tier, 14 of 20 | Not every tier, 0 of 10 |
| Otterly | 45 / 100 | 4, 18 of 30 | $29 on Lite, 16 of 20 | The monthly plan, 5 of 20 | A 7-day trial, no card, 6 of 20 | Not every tier, 0 of 10 |
| Ahrefs Brand Radar | 44 / 100 | 1, 3 of 30 | £99 on Lite, 12 of 20 | The monthly plan, 5 of 20 | The AI Visibility Checker, a preview, 14 of 20 | Every tier, 10 of 10 |
| Profound | 40 / 100 | 3, 9 of 30 | $99 on Agency Growth, 12 of 20 | The monthly plan, 5 of 20 | The Trial, 10 questions run once, 14 of 20 | Not every tier, 0 of 10 |
| Gauge | 39 / 100 | Six or more, 30 of 30 | $599 on Growth, 1 of 20 | The monthly plan, 5 of 20 | A one-week trial on Growth, 3 of 20 | Not every tier, 0 of 10 |
| Writesonic | 32 / 100 | 3, 9 of 30 | $99 on Starter, 12 of 20 | The monthly plan, 5 of 20 | A 7-day trial, no card, 6 of 20 | Not every tier, 0 of 10 |
| Peec AI | 29 / 100 | 3, 9 of 30 | €85 on Starter, 12 of 20 | The monthly plan, 5 of 20 | A trial, its length not stated, 3 of 20 | Not every tier, 0 of 10 |
| Superlines | 29 / 100 | 3, 9 of 30 | €79 on Starter, 12 of 20 | The monthly plan, 5 of 20 | A 7-day trial, 3 of 20 | Not every tier, 0 of 10 |
| Scrunch AI | 27 / 100 | 4, 18 of 30 | $250 on Core, 4 of 20 | The monthly plan, 5 of 20 | A 7-day trial with a card, 0 of 20 | Not every tier, 0 of 10 |
| Searchable | 25 / 100 | 3, 9 of 30 | $125 on Pro, 8 of 20 | The monthly plan, 5 of 20 | A 14-day trial, 3 of 20 | Not every tier, 0 of 10 |
| Semrush | 20 / 100 | 1, 3 of 30 | $99 on AI Visibility Toolkit, 12 of 20 | The monthly plan, 5 of 20 | None, 0 of 20 | Not every tier, 0 of 10 |
Prices as of 21 to 30 September 2026, each dated in its entry below, in the currency the tool's own page prints.
On 13 September 2026, asked "best AI visibility tool", six AI engines mentioned twelve different tools across six answers, five of them in four or more answers.
What is LLM search monitoring?
LLM search monitoring means asking the AI engines the same questions on a schedule and reading every answer for your brand. A MentionChecker repeat does exactly that. It is not observability for software built on a model, which logs the requests, tokens and costs of an app. This page ranks tools that monitor what ChatGPT, Gemini and the other AI engines say about your brand.
An AI engine is an assistant that answers a typed question in full sentences, such as ChatGPT or Gemini.
A mention is your brand's name inside an AI engine's answer. A citation is a website the answer gives as its source. One run tells you where you stand today, and the runs after it tell you whether that is moving.
How to choose the best LLM monitoring tool
Choose a tool on five things: how many AI engines its first paid step monitors, the monthly fee, what a month with no run costs, whether you get a free look first, and whether every tier has a published price. MentionChecker scores full marks on four of the five.
| Criterion | Weight | How the points are given |
|---|---|---|
| AI engines monitored on the first paid step | 30 | Six or more, 30. Four or five, 18. Three, 9. One or two, 3 |
| The monthly fee to keep monitoring | 20 | No monthly fee, 20. Under 50 a month, 16. 50 to 99 a month, 12. 100 to 249 a month, 8. 250 to 499 a month, 4. 500 or more a month, 1 |
| What a month with no monitoring run costs | 20 | Nothing, the credits wait for the next run, 20. The monthly plan, owed anyway, 5 |
| A free look before monitoring | 20 | A free check of your own questions on every AI engine it lists, 20. Something free with no end date, 14. A trial that asks for no card, 6. Any other trial, 3. A trial that takes a card, or nothing free, 0 |
| A published price for every tier | 10 | Every tier on its page carries a price, 10. A tier priced only after a call, 0 |
AI engines carry the most weight because monitoring two of them leaves out the answers people read on the others.
Which AI engines does LLM search monitoring cover?
MentionChecker monitors all six AI engines from the first pack: ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot. Eight of the fifteen other tools here monitor three AI engines or fewer on their cheapest paid tier, and four reach six, each dated and linked in its entry below.
You tick the AI engines for each run, and each one costs a credit per question. For example, 25 questions on the four ticked by default use 100 credits a run, and the same questions on all six use 150.
What does AI brand monitoring track: mentions, citations, competitors?
A MentionChecker run records three numbers for your brand, mentioned, share of voice and average rank, and lists every competitor the answers mentioned and every website they cited. Mentioned is the share of answers with your brand in them, share of voice is your mentions as a share of all brand mentions, and average rank is your place in the answers that listed names in order.
The standings rank your brand against those competitors on the same three numbers. The sources panel ranks the cited websites by how many answers each one was in.
How often should you monitor AI mentions?
As often as you would act on a change: a MentionChecker repeat runs daily, weekly or monthly for one, three, six or twelve months, and each run is paid from your balance when it happens. A monthly repeat suits a brand that changes its site a few times a year, a weekly one a brand running a campaign, and a daily one a launch week.
Otterly runs its questions once a day, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's help centre on monitoring. HubSpot AEO runs its tracker daily, read on 28 September 2026 on HubSpot's AEO product page. Both bill a monthly fee for that schedule, and a daily MentionChecker repeat runs from credits instead.
Why do AI search monitoring results change?
Results change when the answers change: a MentionChecker repeat asks the same questions each time, so a move in the numbers is a move in the answers behind it.
What changed on History lists each answer that gained or lost your brand since the last run, with its AI engine and question.
What to do when an LLM monitoring tool shows a drop
Open What changed on History to find the answers that stopped mentioning your brand, then work on the websites those answers cited. Get your brand onto those websites or publish the page they are missing, then let the next repeat run and History shows whether the answers came back.
Is there an LLM monitoring tool without a monthly fee?
Yes: MentionChecker charges no monthly fee, because its credit packs are bought once from $9 and last 12 months, so a month with no run costs nothing. All fifteen other tools in this ranking sell their first paid step as a monthly plan, from Rankscale's Essentials at 20 euros a month, read on 29 September 2026 on Rankscale's pricing page, to Gauge's Growth at 599 dollars a month, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page, so the fee is owed in a month when nothing is monitored.
AskWatch does not carry an unused monthly allowance over to the next month, read on 29 September 2026 on AskWatch's pricing page. On MentionChecker, credits are spent only when a run happens, and a paused repeat carries on from where it stopped.
How much does LLM search monitoring cost for a year?
Twelve months of monthly monitoring on MentionChecker, 25 questions on four AI engines, costs $59, one 3,000 credits pack bought once. The fifteen other tools here start from Rankscale's 20 euros a month, read on 29 September 2026 on Rankscale's pricing page, to Gauge's 599 dollars a month, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page, owed again every month. The pricing page lists every pack.
| Schedule | Runs in twelve months | Credits used | The pack that covers it | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly, 25 questions on four AI engines | 12 | 1,200 | 3,000 credits | $59 |
| Weekly, 20 questions on four AI engines | 51 | 4,080 | 5,000 credits | $75 |
| Daily, five questions on four AI engines | 360 | 7,200 | 10,000 credits | $109 |
One credit is one question on one AI engine, and a twelve-month term counts 30-day months, so it is 360 days and holds 12 monthly, 51 weekly or 360 daily runs. The pack in each row is the smallest one that covers its credits.
AI search monitoring tools compared, one by one
MentionChecker
94 of 100. All six AI engines on every pack, a repeat on the schedule you pick, any of 13 countries per check, and credits bought once that cost nothing while a repeat is paused.
Rankscale
61 of 100. Rankscale is an AI visibility tracker whose monthly credits are spent at a different rate on each AI engine. On Essentials, it monitors six AI engines or more for 20 euros a month, read on 29 September 2026 on Rankscale's pricing page. Rankscale's free offer is a 7-day Pro trial with a card.
AskWatch
57 of 100. AskWatch is an AI visibility monitor whose monthly allowance resets unused. Monitor costs 100 dollars a month and covers six AI engines or more, read on 29 September 2026 on AskWatch's pricing page. AskWatch's free offer is a check on its pricing page.
AthenaHQ
53 of 100. AthenaHQ is an AI visibility platform sold on monthly tiers paid in credits. Its entry tier, Starter, asks six AI engines or more at 295 dollars a month, read on 28 September 2026 on AthenaHQ's plans page. AthenaHQ's free offer is Essential, a free tier.
HubSpot AEO
50 of 100. HubSpot AEO is an AI search tracker inside the HubSpot marketing suite. Bought on its own, HubSpot AEO monitors three AI engines for 50 dollars a month, read on 28 September 2026 on HubSpot's marketing pricing page. HubSpot AEO's free offer is the AI Search Grader, once.
Promptwatch
49 of 100. Promptwatch is an AI search tracking subscription sized around content agents. Essential costs 95 dollars a month and covers four AI engines, read on 29 September 2026 on Promptwatch's pricing page. Promptwatch's free offer is Explore, a free tier.
Otterly
45 of 100. Otterly is an AI search monitoring tool sold by the month. Its entry tier, Lite, asks four AI engines at 29 dollars a month, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page. Otterly's free offer is a 7-day trial, no card.
Ahrefs Brand Radar
44 of 100. Ahrefs Brand Radar is the AI tracking part of the Ahrefs SEO suite. On Lite, it monitors one AI engine, daily, for 99 pounds a month, read on 29 September 2026 on Ahrefs' plans and pricing page. Ahrefs Brand Radar's free offer is the AI Visibility Checker, a preview.
Profound
40 of 100. Profound is an AI visibility platform whose brand plans are priced after a sales call, so its agency track is the first step with a price. Agency Growth costs 99 dollars a month and covers three AI engines, read on 21 September 2026 on Profound's pricing page. Profound's free offer is the Trial, 10 questions run once.
Gauge
39 of 100. Gauge is an AI visibility tracker with one priced monthly plan. Its entry tier, Growth, asks six AI engines or more at 599 dollars a month, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page. Gauge's free offer is a one-week trial on Growth.
Writesonic
32 of 100. Writesonic is a content platform with AI visibility plans sold by the month. On Starter, it monitors three AI engines for 99 dollars a month, read on 28 September 2026 on Writesonic's pricing page. Writesonic's free offer is a 7-day trial, no card.
Peec AI
29 of 100. Peec AI is an AI search analytics dashboard sold by the month. Starter costs 85 euros a month and covers three AI engines, read on 21 September 2026 on Peec AI's pricing page. Peec AI's free offer is a trial, its length not stated.
Superlines
29 of 100. Superlines is an AI search tracking platform sold in monthly packages. Its entry tier, Starter, asks three AI engines at 79 euros a month, read on 29 September 2026 on Superlines' pricing page. Superlines' free offer is a 7-day trial.
Scrunch AI
27 of 100. Scrunch AI is an AI search monitoring platform sold by the month. On Core, it monitors four AI engines for 250 dollars a month, read on 28 September 2026 on Scrunch's pricing page. Scrunch AI's free offer is a 7-day trial with a card.
Searchable
25 of 100. Searchable is an AI search tracking tool that sells some AI engines as paid add-ons. Pro costs 125 dollars a month and covers three AI engines, read on 29 September 2026 on Searchable's pricing page. Searchable's free offer is a 14-day trial.
Semrush
20 of 100. Semrush's AI Visibility Toolkit is a monthly add-on to the Semrush SEO suite, priced per domain, and asks one AI engine at 99 dollars a month, read on 28 September 2026 on Semrush's pricing page. Semrush has no free offer.
Each name opens a page of its own with that AI search monitoring tool's whole plan list. The list of the best AI visibility tools scores the same tools for every kind of brand.
Why most LLM search monitoring tools are not ranked here
Sixteen LLM monitoring tools are scored here, and the directory lists 257. A tool is scored when this site has a comparison page for it holding the whole plan list read off its own pricing page between 21 and 30 September 2026, and MentionChecker is scored on its own pricing page.
The other 241 are in the directory of AI visibility tools with what each one does, 55 of them with an entry price and the day it was read.
Which LLM monitoring tool is best for you?
Pick MentionChecker for any brand that wants all six AI engines monitored on a schedule with no monthly fee. Run the free check first, set a repeat, then buy the pack that covers the runs you plan.
MentionChecker is a pay-as-you-go AI visibility checker. It asks ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot the questions people ask about what you do, and tells you whether your brand is mentioned in the answers.
The guide to how to check ChatGPT visibility walks through one check end to end, and AI visibility tracking covers repeats in full.
Questions people ask about LLM monitoring tools
What is the best LLM monitoring software?
MentionChecker is first, at 94 of 100 in this ranking of sixteen tools, with Rankscale next at 61. It monitors all six AI engines from the first pack, charges no monthly fee, costs nothing in a month with no run, and every tier of its price list is on the pricing page.
Is there a free LLM monitoring tool?
Your first MentionChecker check is free, with no card and no end date: 5 questions on ChatGPT and Gemini, with every answer, the brands mentioned and the websites cited. After that free check, a repeat that keeps monitoring is paid from credits, from $9, with no monthly fee. The list of the best free AI visibility tools scores what each tool gives free.
How do I monitor my brand in AI search?
Run a MentionChecker check: enter your website, tick the AI engines, pick a country and read the report. Then set a repeat, daily, weekly or monthly, and each run lands in History beside the last one, so you can see which answers started or stopped mentioning your brand.
Can I monitor my brand on ChatGPT every day?
Yes. A daily MentionChecker repeat asks the same questions on ChatGPT and the other AI engines you tick every day for one, three, six or twelve months, and each run is paid from your balance when it happens. Five questions on four AI engines every day for twelve months fits in one $109 pack, with no monthly fee.
Can I monitor competitors in ChatGPT and Gemini?
Yes. Every MentionChecker report lists each brand that ChatGPT, Gemini and the other AI engines mentioned beside yours, with each one's share of voice and average rank. On a repeat, History shows which competitor gained or lost answers since the last run, question by question.
Does an LLM monitoring tool show which websites AI engines cite?
MentionChecker does: each report keeps every answer as it was given and lists the websites it cited as sources, ranked by how many answers each one was in. On a repeat, History shows which cited websites changed since the last run, so you can see which pages to look at when a competitor is mentioned and you are not.
Do I need a subscription for AI brand monitoring?
No. MentionChecker sells credit packs paid for once, from $9, that last 12 months and never renew. Every other tool in this ranking starts on a monthly plan. The list of AI visibility tools without a subscription scores each tool on what it ties you to.
What should I do if ChatGPT does not mention my brand?
Run a MentionChecker check with ChatGPT ticked and open the sources panel. It lists the websites ChatGPT's answers cited, most-cited first, and the standings show which brands it mentioned in your place. Those websites are the pages to work on. Set a repeat, and History shows the first run where ChatGPT's answers start mentioning your brand.
Is LLM search monitoring the same as AI visibility tracking?
Yes, the two names describe the same work: asking the AI engines the questions people ask about what you do, on a schedule, and reading each answer for your brand. The page on AI visibility tracking covers MentionChecker's repeats, History and the three numbers each run gives, mentioned, share of voice and average rank.
Can I monitor AI search results in different countries?
Yes. Each MentionChecker check asks from one of 13 countries, picked before it runs, and a repeat keeps asking from the same one. Monitoring a second country is a second check from the same balance, with no fee for the country itself, so you can compare how the AI engines answer in each market.
Know where you stand in AI search.Every name in this ranking is a trademark of its owner. MentionChecker is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them, and no tool here pays for its place. Keep reading: the best AI visibility tools, ChatGPT visibility tools, AI visibility tools without a subscription, the directory of AI visibility tools and the AI visibility tracking page.