Alternatives · Gauge
The best Gauge alternative for AI visibility in 2026
By Maya Ellison, content lead · Updated 30 September 2026
In short
MentionChecker is the Gauge alternative with no monthly plan: credits from $9, any of six AI engines on a check, and your first check free. Gauge is an AI visibility platform whose one priced plan, Growth, is 599 dollars a month for a fixed list of questions asked every day, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page.
Know where you stand in AI search.Which Gauge alternative has no monthly 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. A check is paid for on its own, with credits bought once, so nothing is owed in a month you do not run one. A mention is your brand's name in the words of an answer. A citation is a website an answer points to as the source of what it says.
A check asks the questions drafted from your website, or the list you already hold. Four AI engines are ticked by default, ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Perplexity, and all six run when you tick the other two. The report opens on three numbers: how often the answers mentioned you, your share of voice among every name they mentioned, and your average rank when the answer is a list. Together they are your AI visibility score, and each number opens to the answers it was counted from.
Why do people look for a Gauge alternative?
People look for a Gauge alternative because its only priced plan is Growth at 599 dollars a month, nothing smaller is on sale, and the fee is owed whether anyone reads the answers that month or not, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page.
A team that has not yet worked out which questions matter pays for a month to find out.
Gauge review and pricing
Gauge is sold as a Growth plan with its price on the page and an Enterprise plan priced after a demo, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page, and as an Agency Mode for client work, read on 30 September 2026 on its Agency Mode page.
Each day a plan reports where the brand is mentioned, which sites the answers cite and how often competitors come up. The articles it writes go to Webflow, Framer, Sanity or GitHub, and a chat assistant called Ask Gauge answers questions about the data, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page.
| Gauge plan | A month | Tracked questions | AI engines | Answers a month, by its count | Articles a month | Seats | Locations |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Growth | $599 | 600 | 6 | 108,000 | 18 | 5 | Single location |
| Enterprise | Custom, after a demo | Custom | 6, plus Claude and Grok | Custom | Custom | Custom | Custom |
Gauge's prices in dollars, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page, which shows no yearly price.
The answers column is Gauge's own arithmetic, 600 questions times six AI engines times 30 daily runs, which its FAQ writes out in full, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page.
Agency Mode charges 300 dollars a month for each active client, and each prospect gets a one-time run of 100 questions before it signs, read on 30 September 2026 on its Agency Mode page.
Gauge competitors: what do the AI engines say?
Asked for the best AI visibility tool from the United States on 13 September 2026, not one of the six answers mentioned Gauge: Profound was mentioned by all six AI engines, Peec AI by five, and Ahrefs, Otterly and Semrush by four each. Asked for an AI visibility tool without a subscription on the same day, one of the six AI engines, Perplexity, mentioned Gauge. Across all eight questions about AI visibility tools put to the six AI engines that day, Gauge was mentioned in one of the 46 answers that came back, and no page of its own was among the citations those answers carried. Eight questions on six AI engines is 48, and two came back with no answer.
The standings on every report rank every name the answers mentioned, yours among them, next to the websites those answers cited as their sources.
Gauge vs MentionChecker side by side
Gauge and a MentionChecker check differ on what the money buys first: a month of daily answers to a fixed list, or the one check you asked for on the AI engines you tick. The Gauge column comes from Gauge's pricing page and its Agency Mode page, read on 30 September 2026. The other column comes from the pricing page.
| What differs | Gauge | A MentionChecker check |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | A plan fee charged every month | Credits bought once, spent as checks run, and they stay on the balance for 12 months |
| The smallest thing you can buy | A month of Growth | The $9 pack, 50 credits |
| A month with no check | The fee is charged anyway | Nothing |
| Free | A one-week trial on Growth, and no plan priced at zero | Your first check, no card, on your own questions |
| AI engines | Six on Growth, and Claude and Grok on Enterprise or on any plan with your own key | All six are on every pack, and each check runs the ones you tick, four of them by default |
| How many questions | A fixed list, its length set by the plan | As many as you give it |
| How often | Every day, on both plans | Once, or on a daily, weekly or monthly repeat, paid per run |
| Countries | One location on Growth | The country is set per check, so one list asked from two countries is two checks |
| What you read | A dashboard of mentions, citations and competitors, and a chat assistant over it | Every answer word for word, your name marked |
| Client work | A fee for each active client, charged by the month | Every client brand on one balance, and nothing owed for a client not checked that month |
| Work done for you | Articles written and published to your site | Nothing beyond the check and the report |
Those 50 credits run 12 questions once on the four AI engines a check ticks by default, or 8 on all six.
What are Gauge's limits?
- The only other plan is priced after a demo. Enterprise shows no price until then, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page.
- One location on Growth. More than one is part of the custom Enterprise plan, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page.
- The list is asked every day, whether the answers changed or not. Both plans refresh daily, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page. A list whose answers change little can go on a monthly repeat, each run paid as it goes.
What does MentionChecker do differently from Gauge?
Nothing is charged by the month. One question on one AI engine is one credit, so a check costs the questions you ask times the AI engines you tick.
| What | Credits |
|---|---|
| 25 questions on the four default AI engines, for example | 100 |
| The same 25 on all six AI engines | 150 |
| Your first check: 5 questions on ChatGPT and Gemini, no card | 10, free |
Run the same check again and you are tracking AI visibility week to week: History puts the two reports side by side, with the movement on each of the three numbers between them.
Which one to pick: Gauge or MentionChecker?
Choose Gauge if someone will open a dashboard most days and wants articles written and published for them: a year of Growth is 7,188 dollars, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page. Choose a MentionChecker check as the Gauge alternative if you want the answers themselves on the day you ask, and pay only for the checks you run.
How to move off Gauge
To move off Gauge, run one check with the questions you already track.
- Bring the questions across. Paste them one per line or upload a CSV, and the questions drafted from your website sit under them to keep or drop.
- Tick the AI engines you want. Four are ticked by default, and the other two join the same check when you tick them.
- Choose the country and run the check. The report opens when the answers are in.
- Get what you need out before the plan lapses. Exports are listed on the Growth card, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page.
Questions people ask about Gauge alternatives
What is Gauge?
Gauge is an AI visibility platform sold by monthly subscription, which asks a fixed list of questions on six AI engines every day and writes articles from what it finds, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page. A MentionChecker check covers the same ground one check at a time: it asks the questions people ask about what you do and keeps every answer word for word, with your name marked wherever it appears.
How much does Gauge cost?
Gauge's Growth plan is 599 dollars a month with a one-week trial, its Enterprise plan is priced after a demo, and Agency Mode is 300 dollars a month for each active client, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page and its Agency Mode page. MentionChecker has no monthly fee, and the smallest thing it sells is a pack of 50 credits for $9.
Does Gauge have a free plan?
No plan on Gauge's pricing page is priced at zero. Growth carries a one-week trial, and its FAQ says the questions start running the same day, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page. Your first MentionChecker check is free with no card: 5 questions on ChatGPT and Gemini, on the website you enter, and the report stays yours afterwards.
Is Gauge worth it?
Gauge suits a team that reads a daily dashboard every day and publishes the articles it writes, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page. For a brand that wants to know where it stands a few times a year, a MentionChecker check is charged on the day it runs, so a month with no check costs nothing, and the first one is free.
Which AI engines does Gauge track?
Gauge's Growth plan covers ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot, and Enterprise adds Claude and Grok, which Gauge's FAQ says any plan can turn on with your own key to their makers, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page. A check asks the same six, and you tick which of them each check asks.
How many questions does Gauge track?
Gauge's Growth plan tracks 600 questions and asks each of them on six AI engines every day, 108,000 answers a month by its own count, with a custom number on Enterprise, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page. A check has no cap on its list, and you pay for the questions you give it.
Is Gauge good for agencies?
Gauge's Agency Mode is 300 dollars a month for each active client, read on 30 September 2026 on its Agency Mode page. An agency on MentionChecker holds every client brand on one balance, pays nothing for a client nobody is checking this month, and shares a report by link. The AI visibility agency tool page has the details for agencies.
Does Gauge write content for me?
Gauge writes 18 articles a month on Growth and a custom number on Enterprise, and publishes them to Webflow, Framer, Sanity or GitHub, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page. A MentionChecker check writes and publishes nothing. The report names the websites each answer cited, so you can see which of your own pages the AI engines already point to.
Can Gauge track more than one country?
Gauge's Growth plan covers a single location, and more locations are part of the custom Enterprise plan, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page. A check sets the country each time it runs, so one list asked from two countries is two checks, both paid from the same balance of credits.
Does Gauge track competitors?
Gauge lists unlimited domains and competitors on both of its plans, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page. In a MentionChecker AI visibility report you do not name a rival first. Competitor mentions come out of the answers themselves, ranked by the share of answers each name appeared in, including names you did not enter.
What are the best Gauge alternatives?
Asked for an AI visibility tool without a subscription from the United States on 13 September 2026, the six AI engines mentioned Ahrefs in five of the six answers and HubSpot in four, and Perplexity mentioned Gauge once. A MentionChecker check is bought on its own and paid for on the day it runs, on the same six AI engines.
What is the cheapest AI visibility tool?
Starting on MentionChecker costs nothing: the first check is free with no card, and after that the smallest thing anyone can buy is a pack of 50 credits for $9, with no plan under it. Asked for the cheapest AI visibility tool from the United States on 13 September 2026, the six AI engines mentioned Otterly in five of the six answers and Rankscale in four.
What are the best GEO tools in 2026?
Asked for the best GEO tools from the United States on 13 September 2026, five of the six AI engines answered: Profound and Otterly came up in every one, Peec AI and Writesonic in four each, and Gauge in none. A check puts your own list to those same six AI engines, and the report ranks every name they mention.
How often does Gauge check?
Gauge asks its whole list every day on both of its plans, which is the refresh rate its own comparison prints, read on 30 September 2026 on Gauge's pricing page. A check runs when you run it, and a repeat can run the same list daily, weekly or monthly, each run paid for as it goes.
Know where you stand in AI search.Gauge is a trademark of its owner. MentionChecker is not affiliated with or endorsed by Gauge. Keep reading: pay as you go AI visibility tracker, what AI visibility is, how to check ChatGPT visibility, every AI visibility tool in one list, and the AI visibility agency tool. The Peec AI alternative, Profound alternative, Otterly alternative, Semrush alternative, Scrunch AI alternative, AthenaHQ alternative, HubSpot AEO alternative, Ahrefs Brand Radar alternative, Rankscale alternative, Searchable alternative, Writesonic alternative, AskWatch alternative, Promptwatch alternative and Superlines alternative pages compare them the same way. The About page says what MentionChecker is.