Profound vs BrightEdge
The short answer
Both are enterprise plays that reach AI visibility from opposite directions. Profound is a $155M-funded, purpose-built answer-engine platform that tracks up to ten engines on its top tier — though its $99/month entry plan sees ChatGPT only. BrightEdge is a legacy SEO suite (since 2007) whose AI Catalyst module ships bundled with every subscription but covers just three engines and publishes no pricing at all. Profound is the deeper AI tool; BrightEdge makes sense mainly if you already run it for SEO. Neither gives you a self-serve price you can act on today the way Spottlo's flat $39/month does.
Pricing for Profound and BrightEdge verified July 11, 2026. Vendors change pricing; check www.tryprofound.com and www.brightedge.com before you buy. We make Spottlo, so read the third column with that in mind.
Profound vs BrightEdge at a glance
| Profound | BrightEdge | Spottlo | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starting price |
$99/mo Starter (billed yearly) $399/mo Growth for 3 engines |
Contact sales — no public pricing | $39/mo |
| AI engines tracked | 9 named — but ChatGPT only on Starter | 3 | 4 — ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Overviews |
| Engines gated behind higher tiers? | Yes. 1 engine at $99, 3 at $399, up to 10 on Enterprise | Bundled with the SEO platform | No. All four on every plan |
| Tracked prompts included | 50 (Starter) | Not published | 25 per brand |
| Brands included | 1 — multi-brand is Enterprise-only | Not published | 1 |
| Each additional brand | Enterprise quote | Not published | +$19/mo |
| Refresh frequency | Not published per tier | Not published | Weekly (daily +$19/mo per brand) |
| Try before you buy | "Try for free" on Growth; length not stated | No — demo request only | Free report — no signup, no card |
| Public self-serve pricing | Partial — Enterprise is quote-only | No | Yes |
| Built for | Enterprise | Enterprise | Founders, lean marketing teams, small agencies |
Profound
Profound is the category heavyweight: $155M raised across a Sequoia-led Series B and a Lightspeed-led Series C at a $1B valuation, with reported adoption across roughly 10% of the Fortune 500. It tracks up to ten answer engines on Enterprise, adds agent analytics and content actions, and ships SOC 2, SAML SSO and dedicated support. It has recently added self-serve tiers, which is why the "Profound is enterprise-only, contact sales" line on older comparison pages is now out of date.
Strengths
- ↑The broadest engine coverage in the category on Enterprise plans, at up to ten answer engines.
- ↑By far the best-funded player, which matters when you are signing a multi-year contract.
Limitations
- ↓The $99/month Starter plan tracks ChatGPT only. Three engines requires the $399/month Growth plan.
- ↓Multi-brand tracking is an Enterprise feature, and Enterprise pricing is not published.
BrightEdge
BrightEdge has been an enterprise SEO platform since 2007 and brings a serious data asset: its DataCube X index holds billions of data points with about a decade of history, which lets it correlate AI-answer visibility with classic organic performance. Its AI Catalyst module ships bundled with every SEO Platform subscription and adds prompt and persona intelligence on top of raw mention tracking. It is enterprise-only, with no public pricing and no self-serve path.
Strengths
- ↑A proprietary index with roughly a decade of history, correlating AI visibility with classic organic data in one platform.
- ↑AI Catalyst ships bundled with every SEO Platform subscription rather than as a paid upsell.
Limitations
- ↓Enterprise contract, no self-serve signup, and no public pricing at all. You cannot even price it online.
- ↓AI tracking is a module inside a large legacy SEO suite, so AI-visibility depth is narrower than dedicated tools.
Where Spottlo fits
Profound and BrightEdge are built for teams with the budget and process for an enterprise platform. Spottlo answers a narrower question — do ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews name you when a buyer asks what to use, and who gets recommended instead — for a published $39/month, with all four engines on every plan and no gating. You can see where you stand before choosing between any of these tools.
Run a free report first
Enter your domain and Spottlo scans your brand across all four AI engines in about 30 seconds — no signup, no card. It is the fastest way to find out whether you even have an AI visibility problem before you price Profound or BrightEdge.
Run a free reportProfound vs BrightEdge: FAQ
How do Profound and BrightEdge compare? +
Profound: Starter is $99/month billed yearly but tracks ChatGPT only. Growth is $399/month for three engines. Multi-brand tracking is Enterprise, which is quote-only. BrightEdge: No public pricing anywhere. Contact sales only. AI Catalyst is included with every BrightEdge SEO Platform subscription, with no published quotas.
Is Profound or BrightEdge cheaper? +
Profound: Starter is $99/month billed yearly but tracks ChatGPT only. Growth is $399/month for three engines. Multi-brand tracking is Enterprise, which is quote-only. BrightEdge: No public pricing anywhere. Contact sales only. AI Catalyst is included with every BrightEdge SEO Platform subscription, with no published quotas. For reference, Spottlo is a flat $39/month for one brand with 25 prompts across all four engines, +$19/month per additional brand.
Which AI engines do Profound and BrightEdge track? +
Profound tracks ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, Meta AI, Grok, DeepSeek, Claude. BrightEdge tracks Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, Perplexity. Spottlo tracks ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews on every plan, with none gated behind a higher tier.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Profound and BrightEdge? +
Yes. Spottlo is a dedicated AI visibility tracker at $39/month for one brand with 25 tracked prompts across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews. It runs a free report on any domain with no signup and no card, so you can see where you stand before choosing between Profound, BrightEdge or anything else.
Also worth a look: Profound alternatives, BrightEdge alternatives, or every AI visibility tool compared.