Profound vs Ahrefs Brand Radar: 2026 Comparison
Published November 2, 2026
Profound and Ahrefs Brand Radar both track how brands appear in AI answers, one as a dedicated platform with marketing agents for large brand teams and one as an add-on to the Ahrefs SEO suite. Profound sells a free 7-day trial and a custom-priced Enterprise plan, so a monthly cost cannot be read from its pricing page, while Brand Radar publishes three prompt packages from $50 per month. The open question for most teams is whether Profound's extra engines, agents, and security controls justify asking for a quote.
Our analysts compared each vendor's pricing pages, newsroom posts, and product pages as of November 2, 2026, then priced three common tracking workloads on each. In the following sections, we compare the two tools on the points buyers weigh most, price the same work on both where a price exists, and explain which buyer each fits and what changed recently.
| What buyers compare | Profound | Ahrefs Brand Radar |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price per monthSources 2, 5 | Free trial, then custom pricing. Agency Growth: client workspaces at $399 per month each | $50 (Basic custom prompt package, 2,500 checks)Published price |
| Plans per monthSources 2, 5 | Trial: free. Enterprise: custom. Agency Growth and Agency Enterprise for agencies | Custom prompt packages: Basic $50, Growth $100, Scale $250. Prompt database access from $199. Ahrefs plans with prompts included: Lite $129, Standard $249, Advanced $449 |
| Cost: 1 brand, 25 prompts, 3 enginesSources 1, 2, 5 | Custom quote, no published price | $50 per month (Basic package)Published price |
| Cost: 1 brand, 100 prompts, 3 enginesSources 1, 2, 5 | Custom quote, no published price | $130 per month (Growth package + overage)Published price |
| Cost: 1 brand, 300 prompts, 3 enginesSources 1, 2, 5 | Custom quote, no published price | $270 per month (Scale package + overage)Published price |
| Prompt limitsSources 2, 5 | Trial: 50 unique prompts, daily for 7 days. Enterprise: tailored prompt tracking plan | Billed in checks: 2,500, 7,000, and 25,000 per month on the Basic, Growth, and Scale packages. Ahrefs Lite, Standard, and Advanced include 150, 300, and 600 checks |
| How usage is countedSources 2, 5, 6 | Prompts tracked per plan, plus AI Marketer credits for agent work | One prompt on one platform in one location per run is 1 check, so daily tracking is 30 checks per prompt per platform per month. Claude uses 8 checks per update |
| AI engines coveredSources 2, 6 | Trial: ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews. Enterprise: up to 9, from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, DeepSeek, Anthropic Claude, Google AI Overviews, and Exa SearchUp to 9 engines, incl. DeepSeek and Exa | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews and AI Mode on every package. Claude is available at 8 checks per update |
| Update frequencySources 2, 5 | Daily | Daily, weekly, or monthly tracking |
| Prompt databaseSources 2, 5 | Prompt Volumes: 5 searches on trial, custom on Enterprise | Database of more than 525 million prompts, from $199 per monthPrompt database |
| Team seatsSources 2, 5 | Unlimited on the trial and on EnterpriseUnlimited | Ahrefs plans include 1 user, with extra users at $40, $60, or $80 per month on Lite, Standard, and Advanced. Seat terms for custom prompt packages: Not published |
| Agents and automationSources 2, 6 | AI Marketer agents on credits, with a Context Manager, Projects, and Profound Sheets for running agents at scaleAgents | AI-generated prompt suggestions, fanout queries, sentiment, and buyer-journey stage. No agent product listed |
| AI traffic and crawler dataSources 2, 5 | Agent Analytics with unlimited domains and integrations for Akamai, AWS, Cloudflare, Fastly, Google Analytics, Google Cloud Platform, Netlify, Vercel, and WordPress | AI traffic from Web Analytics is free with installation. Bot Analytics is free while in beta |
| Reporting and exportsSources 2, 5 | Enterprise: CSV and JSON exports, API, and all-time history. Trial: none | API and MCP access on every Ahrefs plan. Looker Studio integration on Advanced |
| Security and supportSources 2, 5 | Enterprise: SSO/SAML, SOC 2 compliance, and dedicated support, with options for Slack and a specialist on a 24 hour SLASecurity and support | SSO and enterprise-grade security on the $1,499 Enterprise plan. Support terms for packages: Not published |
| SEO toolsSources 2, 5 | AI search and marketing agents only. No SEO keyword or backlink tools listed | Part of the Ahrefs suite, with Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Rank Tracker, and Site Audit on Ahrefs plansFull SEO suite |
| Free trialSources 2, 6 | Free, 50 prompts run daily for 7 days on 3 engines, with limited AI Marketer creditsHands-on trial | Free AI visibility preview for any brand. Trial terms: Not published |
| Best forSource 1 | Large brand teams that want many engines, agents, and security reviews, and will take a quote | Teams that want a published price, a long prompt list at a falling per-check rate, or that already use Ahrefs |
Starting price per month
- Profound
- Free trial, then custom pricing. Agency Growth: client workspaces at $399 per month each
- Ahrefs Brand Radar
- $50 (Basic custom prompt package, 2,500 checks) Published price
Plans per month
- Profound
- Trial: free. Enterprise: custom. Agency Growth and Agency Enterprise for agencies
- Ahrefs Brand Radar
- Custom prompt packages: Basic $50, Growth $100, Scale $250. Prompt database access from $199. Ahrefs plans with prompts included: Lite $129, Standard $249, Advanced $449
Cost: 1 brand, 25 prompts, 3 engines
- Profound
- Custom quote, no published price
- Ahrefs Brand Radar
- $50 per month (Basic package) Published price
Cost: 1 brand, 100 prompts, 3 engines
- Profound
- Custom quote, no published price
- Ahrefs Brand Radar
- $130 per month (Growth package + overage) Published price
Cost: 1 brand, 300 prompts, 3 engines
- Profound
- Custom quote, no published price
- Ahrefs Brand Radar
- $270 per month (Scale package + overage) Published price
Prompt limits
- Profound
- Trial: 50 unique prompts, daily for 7 days. Enterprise: tailored prompt tracking plan
- Ahrefs Brand Radar
- Billed in checks: 2,500, 7,000, and 25,000 per month on the Basic, Growth, and Scale packages. Ahrefs Lite, Standard, and Advanced include 150, 300, and 600 checks
How usage is counted
- Profound
- Prompts tracked per plan, plus AI Marketer credits for agent work
- Ahrefs Brand Radar
- One prompt on one platform in one location per run is 1 check, so daily tracking is 30 checks per prompt per platform per month. Claude uses 8 checks per update
AI engines covered
- Profound
- Trial: ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews. Enterprise: up to 9, from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Microsoft Copilot, DeepSeek, Anthropic Claude, Google AI Overviews, and Exa Search Up to 9 engines, incl. DeepSeek and Exa
- Ahrefs Brand Radar
- ChatGPT, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews and AI Mode on every package. Claude is available at 8 checks per update
Update frequency
- Profound
- Daily
- Ahrefs Brand Radar
- Daily, weekly, or monthly tracking
Prompt database
- Profound
- Prompt Volumes: 5 searches on trial, custom on Enterprise
- Ahrefs Brand Radar
- Database of more than 525 million prompts, from $199 per month Prompt database
Team seats
- Profound
- Unlimited on the trial and on Enterprise Unlimited
- Ahrefs Brand Radar
- Ahrefs plans include 1 user, with extra users at $40, $60, or $80 per month on Lite, Standard, and Advanced. Seat terms for custom prompt packages: Not published
Agents and automation
- Profound
- AI Marketer agents on credits, with a Context Manager, Projects, and Profound Sheets for running agents at scale Agents
- Ahrefs Brand Radar
- AI-generated prompt suggestions, fanout queries, sentiment, and buyer-journey stage. No agent product listed
AI traffic and crawler data
- Profound
- Agent Analytics with unlimited domains and integrations for Akamai, AWS, Cloudflare, Fastly, Google Analytics, Google Cloud Platform, Netlify, Vercel, and WordPress
- Ahrefs Brand Radar
- AI traffic from Web Analytics is free with installation. Bot Analytics is free while in beta
Reporting and exports
- Profound
- Enterprise: CSV and JSON exports, API, and all-time history. Trial: none
- Ahrefs Brand Radar
- API and MCP access on every Ahrefs plan. Looker Studio integration on Advanced
Security and support
- Profound
- Enterprise: SSO/SAML, SOC 2 compliance, and dedicated support, with options for Slack and a specialist on a 24 hour SLA Security and support
- Ahrefs Brand Radar
- SSO and enterprise-grade security on the $1,499 Enterprise plan. Support terms for packages: Not published
SEO tools
- Profound
- AI search and marketing agents only. No SEO keyword or backlink tools listed
- Ahrefs Brand Radar
- Part of the Ahrefs suite, with Site Explorer, Keywords Explorer, Rank Tracker, and Site Audit on Ahrefs plans Full SEO suite
Free trial
- Profound
- Free, 50 prompts run daily for 7 days on 3 engines, with limited AI Marketer credits Hands-on trial
- Ahrefs Brand Radar
- Free AI visibility preview for any brand. Trial terms: Not published
Best for
- Profound
- Large brand teams that want many engines, agents, and security reviews, and will take a quote
- Ahrefs Brand Radar
- Teams that want a published price, a long prompt list at a falling per-check rate, or that already use Ahrefs
List prices in US dollars before tax, billed monthly unless the row says otherwise. Ahrefs workload costs are the cheapest published package, or package plus overage, that covers the job with daily tracking. Profound brand plans have no published price.
Profound vs Ahrefs Brand Radar Cost for the Same Workload
Profound does not publish a price for brand plans, so the Top GEO Agencies research team priced each workload on Ahrefs from its published packages and show Profound as a quote. Each workload is tracked daily:
- One brand with 25 prompts on ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, and Perplexity, three engines both vendors cover.
- One brand with 100 prompts on those three engines.
- One brand with 300 prompts on those three engines.
Each Ahrefs cost is the cheapest published package, or package plus overage, that covers the workload.
| Workload | Profound | Ahrefs Brand Radar |
|---|---|---|
| 1 brand, 25 prompts, 3 engines | Custom quote | $50 (Basic package) |
| 1 brand, 100 prompts, 3 engines | Custom quote | $130 (Growth package $100 + 2,000 checks at $0.015) |
| 1 brand, 300 prompts, 3 engines | Custom quote | $270 (Scale package $250 + 2,000 checks at $0.010) |
- Ahrefs counts 1 check for each prompt on each platform per run. 25 prompts on 3 engines for 30 days are 2,250 checks, inside Basic's 2,500. 100 prompts are 9,000 checks, which cost $100 plus 2,000 checks of overage at $0.015 on Growth, below Scale's $250. 300 prompts are 27,000 checks, which cost $250 plus 2,000 checks of overage at $0.010 on Scale, below Growth plus 20,000 checks of overage.
- Profound's pricing page lists a free trial of 50 prompts for 7 days and a custom Enterprise plan with a tailored prompt tracking plan. Agency Growth adds client workspaces at $399 per month each.
Profound or Ahrefs Brand Radar: Which Fits Which Buyer
The deciding factor is whether a team needs a published price or the widest engine and agent coverage, since Profound is quoted per buyer and Brand Radar is metered in public.
Choose Profound if
- You need DeepSeek or Exa Search tracked, or up to nine engines in one plan. Profound lists both among its Enterprise engines.
- You want agents to do the work. AI Marketer runs on credits, with a Context Manager and Profound Sheets for running agents at scale.
- A security review applies. Enterprise lists SSO/SAML and SOC 2 compliance, and support options include a dedicated specialist on a 24 hour SLA.
- Many people need access. Profound's trial and Enterprise plans include unlimited seats.
Choose Ahrefs Brand Radar if
- You want a published price. 100 prompts on three engines cost $130 per month, and 300 prompts cost $270.
- You already use Ahrefs. Custom prompt tracking is free on every paid plan from Lite up, with 150 to 600 checks included.
- You want a searchable database. Database access starts at $199 per month and covers more than 525 million prompts.
- You want the per-check rate to fall as volume grows. Overage drops from $0.020 on Basic to $0.010 on Scale.
Recent Changes to Profound and Ahrefs Brand Radar
Both vendors ship often, and the dates show how current any price quote is.
- February 24, 2026: Profound announced a $96 million Series C at a $1 billion valuation and introduced Profound Agents.
- September 15, 2026: Profound announced a $180 million Series D at a $1.8 billion valuation, co-led by Sequoia Capital and Kleiner Perkins, and said it serves more than 1,000 enterprise brands.
- September 29, 2026: Ahrefs' July and August product update added entity matching to Brand Radar, which lets a team match a brand as an entity for ambiguous names such as Apple or Notion, and added AI-adjusted prompt volume.
- October 10, 2026: Ahrefs' changelog, updated that day, lists new API functions to manage prompts and tags in Brand Radar and Bot Analytics integrations with Vercel, Amazon CloudFront, and Fastly.
Where the Two Tools Are Headed in 2027 and Beyond
Profound: Profound's September 15, 2026 announcement describes AI Marketer as an agent orchestrator that works alongside every function of a marketing team, and its pricing page sells credits for that agent work alongside prompt tracking.
Ahrefs Brand Radar: As of November 2, 2026, Ahrefs' pricing page cites more than 525 million prompts, up from 519 million on its October 30 page, and labels Bot Analytics and its YouTube, TikTok, and Reddit search as free while in beta.
Profound's price is set per quote, and Ahrefs labels its beta tools free for now.
Data Collection and Methodology
Prices and plan details come from each vendor's pricing and product pages as of November 2, 2026, except where a source line shows another capture date. All prices are list prices in US dollars per month before tax, billed monthly unless the row says otherwise. A "prompt" is one question the tool asks the AI engines. Ahrefs bills its own prompts in "checks," where one prompt run once on one platform in one location is one check.
Profound Enterprise prices are quoted privately, so none appears in the cost table.
We calculated products, differences, and ratios from the published values.
Profound publishes a free trial, a custom Enterprise plan, and agency plans with client workspaces at $399 per month each. Ahrefs publishes three custom prompt packages, database access from $199 per month, and four Ahrefs plans with prompts included.
Engine lists and Claude check rates for Ahrefs are from its Brand Radar page, and plan prices, package prices, and the prompt count are from its pricing page captured November 2, 2026.
Sources
- Top GEO Agencies analysis of Profound and Ahrefs Brand Radar plans, prices, and limits, conducted November 2026. Download the data (CSV)
- Profound, Pricing, https://www.tryprofound.com/pricing, captured November 2, 2026.
- Profound, Series D announcement, https://www.tryprofound.com/newsroom/profound-raises-usd180m-series-d-at-usd1-8b-valuation-to-build-the-ai-platform-for-marketing-teams, captured November 2, 2026.
- Profound, Series C announcement, https://www.tryprofound.com/blog/profound-raises-96m-series-c, captured November 2, 2026.
- Ahrefs, Pricing, https://ahrefs.com/pricing, captured November 2, 2026.
- Ahrefs, Brand Radar, https://ahrefs.com/brand-radar, captured November 2, 2026.
- Ahrefs Blog, July and August 2026 product update, https://ahrefs.com/blog/new-features-july-august-2026/, captured November 2, 2026.
- Ahrefs Blog, Changelog, https://ahrefs.com/blog/new-features/, captured November 2, 2026.