Athena HQ vs Visiblie in 2026: Free GEO audit vs €79/mo 5-engine with GEO recommendations
Athena HQ has a free Essential tier with content gap analysis and Claude coverage on 4 engines. Visiblie starts at €79/month covering 5 engines including Google AI Overviews with GEO recommendations and email alerts.
Athena HQ
Visiblie- Athena HQ has a free Essential tier with real Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) audit functionality. Visiblie has no free tier; pricing starts at €79/month on Starter with mid-range euro-denominated pricing.
- Visiblie covers 5 engines: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. Athena HQ covers 4 engines: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity.
- Athena HQ includes content gap analysis as a core feature on free and paid tiers. Visiblie includes GEO recommendations and content optimization hints, plus email alerts for visibility changes.
- Neither tool includes API access on any plan. Athena HQ unlocks API access at the $295/month Starter tier; Visiblie does not expose API access on any tier.
- Visiblie includes email alerts for visibility score changes, competitor gains, and new citation sources. Athena HQ does not include email alerts as a feature.
- For teams that need Google AI Overviews coverage plus email alerts, Visiblie is the practical choice. For teams that want free entry plus content gap depth with Claude coverage, Athena HQ is the appropriate fit.
Choosing between Athena HQ and Visiblie is a question about starting budget and engine coverage, with each tool bringing a different optimization layer. Athena HQ is a self-serve Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) platform with a free Essential plan and a $295/month Starter tier that tracks ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity with content gap analysis tied to citation data. Visiblie is an AI search visibility tracker starting at €79/month covering 5 engines including Google AI Overviews, with built-in GEO recommendations and email alerts for visibility changes. Athena HQ is the right pick if you want to start with a free audit plus content recommendations with Claude coverage. Visiblie is the right pick if you have €79+/month budget and want Google AI Overviews coverage plus email alerts. The right pick depends on whether free entry plus Claude coverage beats €79/month entry with Google AI Overviews and email alerts.
The tools at a glance
Athena HQ
Free-to-start GEO audit platform with citation gap analysis and API access on paid plans
Athena HQ is a generative engine optimization platform built around a free GEO audit, paired with paid plans that unlock deeper analysis. It tracks brand appearances across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and Perplexity on all tiers, including the free Essential plan. The standout feature is the Essential tier itself: a genuine free plan that runs a real audit of your AI citation performance, surfaces which competitors are winning in your category, and identifies content gaps that may be holding your brand back.
The paid plans focus on depth rather than coverage. Citation source tracking, unlimited competitor benchmarking, and API access unlock at the $295/month Starter tier, with no mid-priced option in between. The content gap analysis is the centerpiece of the platform: Athena HQ compares your site content coverage to the topics AI models are pulling from competitor sites, and flags specific topic areas to prioritize in your content calendar.
The main friction versus Visiblie is the absence of email alerts and Google AI Overviews coverage. Athena HQ focuses on content gap analysis without continuous notification workflows or Google AI Overviews tracking. For teams whose Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) programme primarily needs free entry plus content depth on the four main engines, Athena HQ is the practical choice. For teams that need Google AI Overviews coverage plus email alerts, Visiblie is the more appropriate fit.
| Feature | Essential Free | Starter $295/mo | Enterprise Contact |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI models tracked | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| GEO audit | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Content gap analysis | Basic | Full | Full |
| Citation source tracking | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Competitor benchmarking | 2 competitors | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| API access | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| White label | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
Visiblie
AI search visibility tracker with GEO recommendations and alerts across 5 platforms
Visiblie monitors brand visibility across five AI platforms: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, and Google AI Overviews. It tracks where a brand appears in AI-generated answers, how sentiment around those mentions shifts over time, and how performance compares to competitors. The Google AI Overviews inclusion is notable: most tools at this price point either skip it entirely or add it only on higher tiers.
The platform goes beyond monitoring by adding GEO recommendations: rather than just showing that visibility dropped, Visiblie tries to explain why and suggests specific content changes that could improve citation rates. This makes it more useful for content teams who want something actionable alongside the dashboard data. Email alerts flag visibility score changes, competitor gains, and new citation sources.
The trade-off versus Athena HQ is the absence of a free tier and the absence of API access. Visiblie focuses on self-contained dashboard workflows with email alerts and GEO recommendations rather than programmatic integrations. For teams that want €79/month entry with Google AI Overviews coverage and email alerts, Visiblie is the practical choice. For teams that want free entry plus content gap depth and API access on a credit card, Athena HQ is the more appropriate fit.
| Feature | Starter €79/mo | Growth €129/mo | Scale €199/mo | Enterprise Custom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI platforms tracked | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 |
| GEO recommendations | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Sentiment analysis | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Competitor tracking | 2 | 5 | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Email alerts | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| API access | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| White label | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
Head-to-head feature comparison
| Feature | Athena HQ | Visiblie |
|---|---|---|
| AI engines tracked | ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity | 5 (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews) |
| Competitive share-of-voice | Yes | Yes |
| Prompt-level citation data | Yes | Yes |
| Answer / content gap analysis | Yes (content gap analysis) | Yes (GEO recommendations) |
| Category intelligence | No | Limited |
| AEO content generation | No | No |
| Crawler / AI bot log access | No | No |
| Page content audits | No | No |
| API access | Paid plans only (Starter $295/mo+) | No (not on any tier) |
| Looker Studio / BI connector | No | No |
| White-label delivery | No | No |
| Pay-per-prompt pricing | No | No |
| Agency multi-brand support | Limited | Limited |
| Starting price | Free (Essential) | €79/mo |
Need white-label AI visibility reports alongside Athena HQ and Visiblie?
Neither Athena HQ nor Visiblie includes white-label delivery on standard tiers. AI Peekaboo is the best AI visibility tool for agencies that need white-label client reports, with guest access links included on every plan from $50/month. For SEO and marketing agencies delivering branded reports to clients, AI Peekaboo covers the gap without enterprise contracts.
Read the AI Peekaboo review →Which should you choose?
Athena HQVisiblieAthena HQVisiblieAthena HQVisiblieAthena HQAthena HQ and Visiblie are both Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) tools but with different optimization layers and engine sets. Athena HQ provides free entry plus content gap depth on 4 engines. Visiblie provides €79+/month entry plus Google AI Overviews, GEO recommendations, and email alerts on 5 engines. Tools address different needs; pick by whether your priority is free entry plus content depth or paid entry with email-based awareness and Google AI Overviews.
Bottom line
If your priority is starting with a free GEO audit plus content recommendations with Claude coverage on a credit card, Athena HQ at free or $295/month is the practical choice. If your priority is €79+/month entry with Google AI Overviews, GEO recommendations, and email alerts, Visiblie is the more appropriate fit. Match the tool to your engine breadth versus budget preference.
Frequently asked questions
How does Athena HQ compare to Visiblie for AI visibility?
Athena HQ is a self-serve Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) platform with a free Essential plan and a $295/month Starter tier covering 4 engines with content gap analysis. Visiblie starts at €79/month covering 5 engines including Google AI Overviews with GEO recommendations and email alerts. Athena HQ fits teams that want free entry plus content depth. Visiblie fits teams that need Google AI Overviews coverage and email alerts at €79+/month.
Which tool includes Google AI Overviews?
Visiblie includes Google AI Overviews as one of its 5 tracked engines. Athena HQ does not currently include Google AI Overviews or Google AI Mode coverage. If Google AI Overviews tracking matters for your category, Visiblie is the practical choice in this comparison.
Does Athena HQ include email alerts?
No. Athena HQ focuses on citation tracking and content gap analysis through its dashboard. Visiblie includes email alerts for visibility score changes, competitor gains, and new citation sources on every tier. If passive email-based awareness matters for your team, Visiblie is the appropriate choice.
Which tool has cheaper API access?
Athena HQ unlocks API access at the $295/month Starter tier. Visiblie does not expose API access on any tier. For engineering teams that need programmatic access, Athena HQ is the practical choice in this comparison.
Does Visiblie include a free tier?
No. Visiblie does not offer a free tier; pricing starts at €79/month on Starter. Athena HQ has a permanent free Essential plan. For teams that want to evaluate indefinitely on a free plan, Athena HQ is the practical choice.
Which tool is better for editorial teams?
Athena HQ is the practical choice for editorial teams because content gap analysis is its core feature, surfacing topic areas to prioritize for editorial planning. Visiblie's GEO recommendations are more lightweight, pointing to topic areas or content formats that could close citation gaps without performing structured content gap analysis.