GetCited vs AthenaHQ
Wide engine coverage at a published price, unlimited seats and a citation prediction engine. The leap from free to $295 is steep.
Facts checked October 2026 against athenahq.ai. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
AthenaHQ offers wide engine coverage at a published price, a free plan, unlimited seats and an interesting citation prediction engine on Enterprise. The jump from free to $295 and the Enterprise-only extras are the main trade-offs. GetCited's case is breadth and proof: AI answers alongside search, YouTube and reviews, fixes shipped to your CMS or GitHub and a before-and-after on every fix, self-serve from $99/mo or run by our team.
Understanding AthenaHQ
AthenaHQ is a San Francisco GEO platform from Y Combinator's Winter 2025 batch, founded by Andrew Yan and Alan Yao, with a reported $2.2M seed round. Its homepage shows customer logos including SoFi, Coinbase, Hearst, Twilio and PagerDuty, and it carries a G2 Spring 2026 High Performer badge.
Pricing has three tiers. Essential is free with 300 credits and covers 5 engines: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini and Copilot. Starter costs $295 a month with 3,600 credits a month and covers 11 engines: those five plus Google AI Mode, Claude, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral, with more on request. Enterprise is custom. Every plan has unlimited members, and paid plans add role-based access.
Its headline feature is ACE (Athena Citation Engine), which predicts and optimises for citations and is labelled new on Enterprise. Starter includes a self-learning content optimisation agent, on-page and off-page actions, Shopify and Webflow integrations and CSV export, with API access as a paid add-on. Enterprise adds ACE, knowledge base and claim review, Oracle discrepancy detection, persona targeting, SSO and Tableau, Power BI and Looker exports. The homepage also lists GA4, Search Console and Framer integrations, and a Shopify integration aimed at ChatGPT Shopping.
The limits are the price gap and delivery. There is no tier between free and $295, the most distinctive features are Enterprise-only, and while the agent suggests and optimises content, there is no editorial team, placement service or managed delivery.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison
| Capability | GetCited | AthenaHQ |
|---|---|---|
| AI Visibility Monitoring | 10 engines, daily (varies by plan) | 5 engines free / 11 on Starter |
| Copy-Paste Fix Generators | Plus fix dispatch to CMS + GitHub PRs | — |
| Schema/JSON-LD Generators | ✓ | — |
| Content Creation | Pages, articles, social posts (engine + editorial team) | AI content optimisation agent |
| Editorial Placement | Outreach + editorial team | — |
| AEO Scanner (no-auth) | ✓ | — |
| Citation Building | Outreach + Wikipedia/Wikidata workflows | — |
| Technical AI Readiness Audit | 400+ checks across 3 pillars | On-page and off-page actions |
| E-E-A-T Optimization | ✓ | — |
| Free Tools | 12 free tools, no login | Free Essential plan |
| Agency Services | Managed service + agency workspaces | — |
| WordPress Plugin | ✓ | — |
| GBP Review Management | Monitor + approved replies | — |
| GSC Intelligence | 40+ modules (+ GA4 outcomes) | GSC integration |
| Competitor Intelligence | AI, search, YouTube, social, ads, reviews | Competitor insights |
| Impact Measurement | Before & after on every fix | — |
| MCP Server | MCP server + API + webhooks | — |
| Shopify AEO Module | ✓ | Shopify integration (ChatGPT Shopping) |
AthenaHQ Pricing
| Plan | Price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| Essential | Free | 300 credits, 5 engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, Gemini, Copilot), unlimited members, content recommendations |
| Starter | $295/mo (17% off annually) | 3,600 credits/mo (about $0.08 per credit), 11 engines, unlimited seats + RBAC, content optimisation agent, Shopify + Webflow, CSV export; API is a paid add-on |
Published prices as listed on athenahq.ai in October 2026. Prices change; check the vendor's pricing page before you buy. GetCited plans start at $99/mo, see pricing.
When to Choose What
- •You want Claude, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral on a published self-serve plan
- •You want a free plan to start and unlimited seats as you grow
- •Citation prediction (ACE) is a priority and you can buy Enterprise
- •You run Shopify, Webflow or Framer and want native integrations
- •You want AI answers plus what buyers check next: Google rankings, YouTube, reviews and Reddit in one view
- •You want fixes shipped through WordPress, Webflow, Framer, Shopify or GitHub PRs, with schema and copy-paste generators
- •You want a before-and-after on the same buyer questions for every fix you ship
- •You want an entry plan at $99/mo, 12 free no-login tools, or a managed team to run it for you
AthenaHQ: Strengths & Gaps
- +Free Essential plan covering 5 engines
- +11 engines on the $295 Starter plan, including Claude, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral
- +Unlimited seats on every plan, with role-based access on paid plans
- +ACE citation prediction and claim review on Enterprise
- +Shopify, Webflow and Framer integrations, plus GA4 and Search Console
- +Customer logos including SoFi, Coinbase, Twilio and PagerDuty
- −No plan between free and $295/mo
- −ACE, SSO and BI exports are Enterprise-only
- −API access is a paid add-on on Starter
- −Usage is credit-based, so heavy tracking needs extra credits
- −No editorial team, placement service or managed delivery
- −Young company (founded 2025) with a small team
Best AthenaHQ Alternatives
If AthenaHQisn't the right fit, these are the tools buyers most often compare it with. Each links to our full comparison.
Why teams look for AthenaHQ alternatives
- •There is no plan between the free tier and $295/mo
- •ACE, SSO and BI exports require Enterprise
- •API access costs extra on Starter
- •Credit-based usage makes cost depend on how much you track
- GetCited
Best for teams that want AI visibility tracking plus the fixes: technical audit, content, reviews and off-site authority, self-serve from $99/mo or as a managed service.
- ProfoundEnterprise SaaS
Enterprise marketing teams with budget for a custom contract who want deep data, crawler analytics and AI agents from one large vendor.
- Peec AISaaS Monitoring
In-house SEO teams and agencies that want polished self-serve AI search analytics on 3 models of their choice.
- Scrunch AISaaS Monitoring + Analytics
Mid-market and enterprise brands, especially Sitecore customers, that want AI visibility plus agent-traffic analytics and edge delivery to AI crawlers.
- Goodie AISaaS Monitoring + Content
E-commerce and consumer brands that want AI-shopping visibility plus content and optimization actions in one tool.
- Otterly.AISaaS Monitoring
Small teams and agencies that want cheap, self-serve AI visibility tracking and will make the fixes themselves.
The Verdict
“AthenaHQ offers wide engine coverage at a published price, a free plan, unlimited seats and an interesting citation prediction engine on Enterprise. The jump from free to $295 and the Enterprise-only extras are the main trade-offs. GetCited's case is breadth and proof: AI answers alongside search, YouTube and reviews, fixes shipped to your CMS or GitHub and a before-and-after on every fix, self-serve from $99/mo or run by our team.”
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does AthenaHQ cost?+
Which AI engines does AthenaHQ track?+
Is AthenaHQ worth it? (AthenaHQ review)+
What is AthenaHQ ACE?+
AthenaHQ vs Profound: which is better?+
Does AthenaHQ create content?+
What are the best AthenaHQ alternatives?+
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