AI Visibility Tool Pricing: Cost Per Tracked Query (2026)
Sticker prices lie. A $29 AI visibility plan can be worse value than a $489 one, because what you are really buying is tracked queries, the buyer questions the tool checks across AI answers. The fair way to compare is cost per run, the monthly price divided by how many queries a plan covers. This page normalizes every major tool on its first paid plan, with a calculator to price your own volume.
Key takeaways
- Cost per run (price divided by tracked queries) is the honest way to compare, not sticker price.
- Bigger plans usually have a lower cost per run, so match the plan to your real query volume.
- On entry paid plans, Shoptank is the cheapest per run in this set at about $0.97, versus $1.00 to $7.90 for the others.
Cost per run calculator
Set how many buyer queries you want to track each month, and see the cheapest paid plan that fits for each tool, with its cost per run. All figures are public 2026 pricing.
How many buyer queries do you want to track?
| Tool | Cheapest plan that fits | Monthly | Queries | Cost per run |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ShoptankShopify | Growth | $99.00 | 150 | $0.66 |
| MeridianShopify | Standard | $299.00 | 300 | $1.00 |
| SE Ranking | Growth | $279.00 | 250 | $1.12 |
| Otterly.AI | Premium | $489.00 | 400 | $1.22 |
| LLMrefs | Pro(caps at 50) | $79.00 | 50 | $1.58 |
| Rankscale | Growth | $385.00 | 241 | $1.60 |
| Peec AI | Pro | $245.00 | 150 | $1.63 |
| Honeyb | Starter(caps at 10) | $29.00 | 10 | $2.90 |
| Profound | Growth(caps at 100) | $399.00 | 100 | $3.99 |
| VisiblyShopify | Pro(caps at 20) | $199.00 | 20 | $9.95 |
Cost per run is the plan's monthly price divided by its tracked queries at its published cadence. Each tool is shown on the cheapest paid plan that covers your selected volume. Public pricing, 2026; verify current plans with each vendor.
Cost per run on the first paid plan, by tool
Each tool on its entry paid plan, sorted cheapest first. Larger plans lower the cost per run further.
| Tool | First paid plan | Cost per run |
|---|---|---|
| Shoptank (Shopify) | $29/mo, 30 queries | $0.97 |
| Meridian (Shopify) | $299/mo, 300 queries | $1.00 |
| SE Ranking | $129/mo, 100 queries | $1.29 |
| LLMrefs | $79/mo, 50 queries | $1.58 |
| Peec AI | $95/mo, 50 queries | $1.90 |
| Rankscale | $99/mo, ~52 queries | $1.90 |
| Otterly.AI | $29/mo, 15 queries | $1.93 |
| Profound | $99/mo, 50 queries | $1.98 |
| Honeyb | $29/mo, 10 queries | $2.90 |
| Visibly (Shopify) | $79/mo, 10 queries | $7.90 |
Public pricing, 2026; verify current plans with each vendor. AthenaHQ (credit-based) and Trakkr (variable allowances) are not normalized here because their models are not a fixed price per run.
How to read it
Three things matter more than the headline number. First, cadence: a daily plan burns its query budget faster than a weekly one, so a low sticker price with daily-only checking can cost more per useful reading. Second, engine add-ons: several tools charge extra for engines like Claude or Gemini, which raises the true cost per run. Third, plan size: the same tool gets cheaper per run on bigger plans, so buy for the volume you will actually track. For the full feature picture behind these numbers, see the best AEO tools roundup.
Where Shoptank fits
Shoptank is the Shopify-native option, and the cheapest per run in this set. Its entry Starter plan is $29 a month for 30 tracked queries, about $0.97 per run, and higher tiers fall toward $0.40. It tracks ChatGPT, Claude and Perplexity plus your Shopify Catalog rank, and drafts the fixes and outreach, not just the report. For the head-to-heads, see Shoptank vs Otterly, Shoptank vs Peec, and Shoptank vs Profound.
Compare on cost per run, not sticker price, and match the plan to the queries you actually track.
