The best Otterly AI alternative for AI visibility in 2026

Which Otterly AI 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 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 an alternative to Otterly AI?

Because the plan is monthly and the six AI engines are not all in it. Otterly's cheapest plan is 29 dollars a month for 15 questions on four AI engines, and the two a MentionChecker check asks on every pack, Google AI Mode and Gemini, are 9 dollars each on top of it, so all six on its entry plan is 47 dollars a month, and 307 dollars on its 189 dollars middle plan, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page. And because a run cannot be asked for: every question goes once a day on one cadence, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's help centre on monitoring.

Here all six are on every pack, and a month with no check costs nothing.

Otterly AI review and pricing: what does Otterly do?

Otterly is an AI search monitoring tool that runs a fixed list of questions on four AI engines once a day and reports where a brand is mentioned, where it ranks and which websites the answers cited. Above the entry plan the cards add API and MCP access and unlimited weekly recommendations, where the entry plan holds one workspace and three a week, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page. Its four cards are written for solo marketers, small teams, SMEs, mid-sized companies and agencies, on one pricing page with a Monthly and an Annually switch. Every card carries the same line, Tracking of 4 AI Search Engines, and names ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot, with Claude, Google AI Mode and Gemini listed under it as extra add-ons.

Prices as of 28 September 2026. Every card also says Daily tracking frequency. A hundred more questions is 99 dollars a month, or 1,020 dollars for the year when the plan is billed annually, is not offered on the entry plan, and the middle plan stops at 300 extra before the page moves you up a tier, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page.

What do the AI engines say about Otterly AI and its competitors?

Otterly was mentioned in 24 of the 46 answers that ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot gave to eight questions about AI visibility tools, asked from the United States on 13 September 2026, and its own website was listed as a source under 4 of the 46. Eight questions on six AI engines is 48, and two came back with no answer. Asked for the cheapest AI visibility tool, five of the six AI engines mentioned Otterly. Asked for the best GEO tools of 2026, every one of the five that answered did. Asked for the best AI visibility tool, four of the six did, and asked for an AI visibility tool without a subscription, none of the six did.

The standings on every report rank every name the answers mentioned, yours among them, next to the websites those answers cited as their sources.

Otterly AI vs MentionChecker side by side

Otterly and a MentionChecker check differ on how a check is sold and how often it runs: a month of daily runs, or the check you ask for. The Otterly column comes from Otterly's pricing page, Otterly's help centre on the trial and on monitoring, and Otterly's API documentation, all read on 28 September 2026. The other column comes from the pricing page.

Those 50 credits run 12 questions once on the four AI engines a check ticks by default, or 8 on all six.

What are Otterly AI's limits, and what does a check do instead?

Otterly sells a month of daily runs, every card saying Daily tracking frequency, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page, and four of its limits are set for you: the questions once they are added, when a run happens, how long the free trial lasts, and how far back history goes.

• A question cannot be edited once it is added. Its API documentation says a question's text and country are fixed at creation, and that changing either means making a new one and deleting the old, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's API documentation. Here the questions are yours from the first check, edited before it runs and again before the next one.
• A run cannot be asked for. Its help centre answers the question of whether you can trigger a run yourself with "Not at the moment", and says every question runs on the same daily cadence at no fixed hour, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's help centre on monitoring. Here a check starts when you start it, and the report is yours when it finishes.
• The free trial is seven days. It holds 50 questions and needs no card, and after it the plan begins, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's help centre on the trial. Here the first check is free with no card and no clock, and the next one is bought when you want it.
• History begins the day a question is added. Its help centre says nothing from before that is collected or filled in, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's help centre on history. Here a check reads every answer the AI engines gave on the day it ran, and keeps them in the account, so the second check is what turns it into a trend.

What does MentionChecker do differently from Otterly?

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. At the same volume it costs less than Otterly, without a monthly plan: its middle plan, 189 dollars a month, runs 100 questions on four AI engines every day, 12,000 in total across a 30-day month, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page, and that count here is the 15,000-credit pack on the pricing page, $159, bought once.

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: Otterly or MentionChecker?

Choose Otterly if you want a daily dashboard that a team opens every morning and the extras its plans carry, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page. Choose a MentionChecker check as the Otterly alternative if you want rank tracking on six AI engines today, in the answers themselves, on your own questions, and again when you decide to, paid one check at a time.

How to move off Otterly

The list comes out of Otterly either way, because reports and export are on every plan and its API documentation lists a call that returns every question a workspace monitors, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page and Otterly's API documentation, so nothing has to be retyped.

1. Bring the questions across. Paste them one per line or upload the CSV in the check wizard or in the brand's Settings. Nothing is added twice and there is no cap, and the questions drafted from your website sit under them for you to keep or drop.
2. Tick the two AI engines you were paying extra for. Gemini and Google AI Mode are on every pack here, one credit a question each. A check asks ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot, and does not ask Claude.
3. Choose the country and run the check. It is preselected from your web address, and the report stays in the account with every answer in it.
4. Add a repeat only if you want a series. Let the two overlap until the plan's renewal date, so History has two points to compare before the month ends.

Questions people ask about Otterly alternatives

What is Otterly AI?

Otterly is an AI search monitoring tool that runs a fixed list of questions on four AI engines once a day and reports where a brand is mentioned, where it ranks and which websites the answers cited. Its four plans run from 29 dollars a month for 15 questions to a custom Enterprise tier, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page. MentionChecker is the Otterly alternative paid per check: credits bought once, six AI engines, the first check free.

How much does Otterly AI cost?

Otterly's four plans run from 29 dollars a month to a custom price, with the middle plan at 189 dollars, and a hundred more questions costs 99 dollars a month on top, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page. A MentionChecker check costs one credit per question per AI engine, and the smallest pack is 50 credits for $9, bought once and spent only when a check runs.

Is Otterly AI free?

There is no free plan on its pricing page. Its help centre offers a seven-day free trial with 50 questions and no credit card, and the plan starts after it, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's help centre on the trial. Your first MentionChecker check is free too, with no card: 5 questions on ChatGPT and Gemini, on questions you can edit, with the report and every answer kept afterwards.

Which AI engines does Otterly AI track?

Four on every plan, ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot, with Claude, Google AI Mode and Gemini sold as add-ons beside them at 9 dollars, 59 dollars and 149 dollars a month by tier, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page. A MentionChecker check asks any of ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot on every paid check, with nothing to add on, and the free first check asks ChatGPT and Gemini.

Does Otterly track Gemini?

Only as a paid add-on. Gemini and Google AI Mode are listed under every plan card as extras at 9 dollars, 59 dollars and 149 dollars a month depending on the tier, and the four AI engines each plan tracks are ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page. A MentionChecker check asks Gemini and Google AI Mode on any pack, at one credit per question each, the same as the other four.

How often does Otterly check?

Every day, on one cadence. Its help centre says every question runs daily at no fixed hour, that a run cannot be triggered, and that the frequency cannot be raised or lowered, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's help centre on monitoring. A MentionChecker check runs the moment you run it, and a repeat is daily, weekly or monthly or nothing at all, each run paid from the balance on the day it happens.

Can you change a question after you add it in Otterly?

No. Its API documentation says a question's text and its country are fixed once it is created, and that changing either means creating a new question and deleting the old one, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's API documentation. In a MentionChecker check the questions are edited, added to or unticked before the check runs, and again before the next one, with the country chosen per check.

What are the best Otterly alternatives?

When ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot were asked for the best AI visibility tool from the United States on 13 September 2026, four of the six mentioned Otterly. Beside it, six mentioned Profound, five mentioned Peec AI, and four mentioned Ahrefs and Semrush. A MentionChecker check gives that list for your own market: every name the answers mention, ranked by how many mentioned it, with your brand marked.

Is there a cheaper Otterly alternative?

At the same volume, yes. Its middle plan, 189 dollars a month, runs 100 questions on four AI engines daily, 12,000 in total across a 30-day month, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page. The same count here is the 15,000-credit pack, $159, bought once, spent only when a check runs, on any of six AI engines, and a month with no check costs nothing.

Does Otterly let you read the AI answers?

No. Otterly's pricing page lists a Brand Visibility Index, a domain ranking and a Link Citations Analysis as what a plan reports through, and no answer text among them, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page. A MentionChecker check keeps every answer word for word with your name marked and each citation under the answer it came with, and the three numbers on the report each open to the answers they were counted from.

Does Otterly track competitors?

Otterly's pricing page lists a Brand Visibility Index and a domain ranking on every plan, and does not say whether either counts names other than your own, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page. A MentionChecker report ranks every name the answers mentioned, most mentioned first, with your brand marked, so who the AI engines recommend instead of you is read from the answers. A rival's name can be tracked on the History chart, and a name that is not a rival left out of the numbers.

Does Otterly track Claude?

Only as a paid add-on. Claude is listed under every plan card as an extra at 9 dollars, 59 dollars and 149 dollars a month depending on the tier, alongside Google AI Mode and Gemini, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page. A MentionChecker check asks ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot at one credit per question per AI engine, and Claude is not among them.

Does Otterly have an API?

Above the entry plan, yes: API access and MCP access are listed on the middle and top cards and not on the cheapest one, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page. A MentionChecker AI visibility report has no API: it goes out as a link that opens with no login, or as a PDF, Markdown or JSON export with every answer, every citation and every question in it.

How many countries does Otterly track?

Its pricing page lists multi-country support for 50 or more countries on every plan, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page, and a question's country is fixed when the question is created, read the same day on Otterly's API documentation. A MentionChecker check asks from the country you pick, preselected from your web address, and a brand with people in two countries is checked from both, each with its own report and History.

Does Otterly work for a small business?

Otterly's entry plan is written for solo marketers and small teams, at 29 dollars a month for 15 questions on four AI engines, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page. A small business, a clinic, a game studio or a charity that wants to know whether the AI engines mention it runs a MentionChecker check on the questions people ask about what it does, reads the report, and pays for the next check when it wants one.

How do I move my questions from Otterly to MentionChecker?

Take the list out first: reports and export are listed on every plan, read on 28 September 2026 on Otterly's pricing page, and the API returns every question a workspace monitors, read the same day on Otterly's API documentation. Then paste them one per line or upload the CSV in the check wizard or in the brand's Settings. Nothing is added twice, there is no cap, and each question is one credit per AI engine when the check runs.