Profound no longer wants to be cheap. In September 2026 it withdrew its $99 and $399 self-serve plans. The same month it raised $180 million at a $1.8 billion valuation. It now sells through a sales demo to brands and agencies.
That is fine. It is built for a different buyer. Below is what a solo founder can do instead, us included. Prices checked October 2026.
Side by side
| Profound | Otterly (cheapest tracker) | Kovmere (cheap check) | Heard of You | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What it is | Enterprise monitoring and AI-marketing platform | Self-serve tracker | $19 automated check with fixes | Done-for-you placements and re-tests |
| Price | 7-day free trial (50 recommended prompts on ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Overviews), then Enterprise, custom; agency workspaces | $29 a month Lite (15 prompts); $189 Standard; $489 Premium | $19 one-time; $49 a month Pro | Free check; audit $149 (credited); project $799 once; $349 a month optional after day 30 |
| Engines | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Copilot, DeepSeek, Claude, AI Overviews, Exa, ChatGPT Shopping | ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, Copilot included; Gemini, AI Mode, Claude as paid add-ons | 5 engines | ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity |
| Does the outreach | No | No | No | Yes: 25 named sites, two follow-ups each |
| Writes pages | AI Marketer agents draft content for your team to use | No | Up to 3 ready-to-edit fixes | 3 pages written: story, comparison, alternatives |
| Review profiles | No | No | No | Set up on the 2 sites AI cites most |
| Proof | Daily dashboards, share of voice, crawler analytics | Dashboards | A report | Same 25 questions re-asked at day 30, 60, 90, raw answers included |
| Built for | Enterprises and agencies | Small teams and solo founders | Single-site businesses | Solo founders |
What Profound does better than anyone here
- Breadth. About nine engines, including ChatGPT Shopping. Crawler and agent analytics on your own domain. Estimated prompt volumes.
- Research. Profound publishes some of the most-quoted studies in the field. We cite their “shortlist is the new shelf” work, with the vendor label. It is free to read whether or not you buy.
- Ads. Its Ads Studio for AI search launched in September 2026. If you will buy AI ads at scale, it is a serious tool.
What the cheaper options do instead
- Otterly is a $29 a month tracker that covers the basics. See Otterly alternative.
- Kovmere is a repeated-run check with three fixes for $19, once. Good value if you do the fixes.
- We do the placement work for $799, once: 25 named lists and sites pitched, three pages, two review profiles, a Reddit plan. Re-checks at day 30, 60 and 90.
What none of them do
No platform, dashboard or service can make an AI say your name. Profound’s own research is clear that answers vary. So is everyone else’s.
You can buy measurement, or work, or both.
Choose Profound instead if you are funded, need enterprise reporting across many engines and markets, and have a team to act on it. Also if a sales call is a normal way for you to buy software.
Choose us if you are one person and would rather pay once. What you need is to be on the lists, in the threads and on the review site your buyers’ assistants actually read. Start with the free check.
Related: Peec alternative · Tracker vs done-for-you · All comparisons
Questions
Can I still get Profound for $99 a month?
Not as of October 2026. Profound withdrew the $99 and $399 self-serve tiers in September 2026. Its pricing page then listed only a 7-day trial, Enterprise and agency workspaces. Check their page, since it may change again.
Is Profound worth it if I can afford it?
For an enterprise or a busy agency, it is one of the most complete platforms. Nine or so engines, crawler analytics, prompt volumes, ChatGPT Shopping tracking. For a one-person company it is a lot of dashboard and no outreach.
What is the cheapest honest alternative?
For tracking, Otterly's $29 Lite plan. For a cheap repeated-run check, Kovmere at $19. For the placement work done once, our project at $799. Pick by whether you want numbers or work.