Profound vs Riff Analytics in 2026: Nine engines and crawler logs versus seven engines and citation tracking
Enterprise depth and AEO content generation, or wider mid-market coverage with no API and no white-label?
Profound
Riff Analytics- Profound tracks 9 AI engines including ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Meta AI, Grok, DeepSeek, Claude, and Google AI Overviews. Riff Analytics tracks 7: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, and Llama. Profound has wider top-tier coverage; Riff is competitive at mid-market.
- Riff Analytics Starter is $49/month and covers the full 7-engine list. Profound Starter is $99/month and tracks ChatGPT only. For budget-conscious teams that want broader coverage today, Riff Analytics is the lower-cost option.
- Profound is the only tool in this comparison that exposes AI crawler log access. Riff Analytics does not expose crawler logs. If correlating crawl timing with citation changes is core to your programme, Profound is the only answer.
- Profound includes a built-in AEO content generation layer (Marketing Agents) for closing brand accuracy gaps. Riff Analytics is monitoring and citation source tracking only, with no native content production tooling.
- Riff Analytics does not offer API access on any plan, limiting integration with BI tools or external dashboards. Profound locks API access to Enterprise contracts, which is a higher tier but available. For programmatic data delivery on a standard plan, both tools are weak.
- Neither tool offers white-label delivery. Both are built for in-house teams rather than agencies managing multiple client brands under one account.
- For Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) workflows that need crawler log data and content execution in one platform, Profound wins. For GEO workflows that need broader mid-market coverage and citation source tracking at $49/month, Riff Analytics is a credible option.
If you are weighing Profound against Riff Analytics, you are really choosing between the deepest enterprise AI visibility tool comparison entry and a broader mid-market monitoring tool. Profound tracks 9 engines, exposes AI crawler log access, and includes a built-in AEO content generation layer (Marketing Agents), but requires a demo call, costs $99/month for ChatGPT only, and locks the API to Enterprise contracts. Riff Analytics tracks 7 engines (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Llama) at $49/month Starter, with citation source tracking and competitor benchmarking built in, but offers no API access on any plan and no white-label delivery. The right pick depends on whether your priority is the deepest possible analysis and crawler-level insight, or broader engine coverage with citation tracking on a self-serve plan.
The tools at a glance
Profound
Enterprise AI visibility with crawler log analysis and AEO content generation
Profound is the most feature-rich AI visibility platform available, tracking up to 9 engines across the tier stack: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Microsoft Copilot, Meta AI, Grok, DeepSeek, Claude, and Google AI Overviews. The Starter plan covers ChatGPT only at $99/month, Growth expands to 3 engines at $399/month, and Enterprise covers up to 10 engines with custom pricing. No other tool in this comparison matches this breadth at the top of the market.
Two capabilities are unique to Profound. First, the crawler log layer shows when GPTBot, ClaudeBot, and other AI crawlers last visited specific pages on your site, letting teams correlate crawl timing with citation changes. Second, the Marketing Agents feature generates AEO-optimised content designed to close accuracy gaps surfaced by the analysis. For in-house content teams that want insight and execution in the same platform, those two layers together are the deciding capability.
The buying process is the trade-off. Profound requires a demo call before purchase, with structured onboarding and a Customer Success Manager once you are in. The API is locked to Enterprise custom contracts, there is no white-label delivery, and the platform is not designed for agencies managing multiple client brands under one account. For internal Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) programmes with budget, the depth justifies the friction.
| Feature | Starter $99/mo | Growth $399/mo | Enterprise Custom |
|---|---|---|---|
| Answer engines tracked | ChatGPT only | 3 engines | Up to 10 |
| Unique prompts tracked | 50 | 100 | Custom |
| Monthly responses analyzed | 1,500 | 9,000 | Custom |
| Team seats | 1 | 3 | Custom |
| CSV / JSON exports | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| API access | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Agent credits/mo | 100 | 400 | Custom |
| SSO / SAML | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
| Dedicated Slack support | ✗ | ✗ | ✓ |
Riff Analytics
AI brand visibility tracking across 7 LLM engines with citation source analysis, sentiment monitoring, and competitor benchmarking
Riff Analytics monitors brand mentions across a wider set of AI engines than most competitors, including Grok, DeepSeek, and Llama on top of the main 4. The platform monitors not just whether your brand appears in AI answers, but which sources those AI engines are citing when they mention you, which informs where to invest in content and PR to improve AI visibility over time.
The citation source tracking tells you whether AI models are pulling from your blog, your Wikipedia page, review sites like G2 or Capterra, or competitor-adjacent content. Understanding the citation pattern is the starting point for an AEO content strategy, because it reveals which content types and domains carry the most weight with each AI engine. The competitor benchmarking and AI readiness audit round out the workflow.
The platform is positioned as a self-serve in-house tool. There is no API on any plan, no white-label delivery, and no client portal, so it is not designed for agencies managing multiple brands. The Starter plan at $49/month is accessible for small teams, though the jump to $199/month Pro is steep for what is publicly documented as the next tier. For internal Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) tracking with broader engine coverage and no API requirements, Riff Analytics is functional.
| Feature | Starter $49/mo | Pro $199/mo |
|---|---|---|
| AI models tracked | 7 | 7 |
| Citation source tracking | ✓ | ✓ |
| Competitor benchmarking | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI readiness audit | ✓ | ✓ |
| API access | ✗ | ✗ |
| White-label delivery | ✗ | ✗ |
| Looker Studio connector | ✗ | ✗ |
Head-to-head feature comparison
| Feature | Profound | Riff Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| AI engines tracked | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Meta AI, Grok, DeepSeek, Claude, Google AI Overviews | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, Llama |
| Competitive share-of-voice | Yes | Yes |
| Prompt-level citation data | Yes | Yes |
| Answer / content gap analysis | Yes (brand accuracy gap analysis) | Yes (AI readiness audit) |
| Category intelligence | Partial (prompt volume intelligence) | No |
| AEO content generation | Yes (Marketing Agents) | No |
| Crawler / AI bot log access | Yes | No |
| Page content audits | No | No |
| API access | Enterprise only | No |
| Looker Studio / BI connector | No | No |
| White-label delivery | No | No |
| Pay-per-prompt pricing | No | No |
| Agency multi-brand support | Limited | No |
| Starting price | $99/mo | $49/mo |
Considering AI Peekaboo alongside Profound and Riff Analytics?
Both Profound and Riff Analytics lock API access away from standard plans and offer no white-label delivery, which makes both difficult to fit into an agency workflow. AI Peekaboo is a self-serve AEO monitoring tool with a read/write API, white-label delivery with guest access links, and multi-brand agency support from $50/month. Built for SEO agencies and in-house marketing teams running multiple brands.
Read the AI Peekaboo review →Which should you choose?
ProfoundRiff AnalyticsProfoundRiff AnalyticsProfoundProfoundRiff AnalyticsProfound and Riff Analytics solve different problems at different price points. Profound is the deeper enterprise platform with crawler logs, gap analysis, and content generation in one stack, gated by demo-call sales and Enterprise contracts. Riff Analytics is the broader mid-market monitoring tool with 7 engines and citation source tracking at $49/month, with no API and no white-label. The trade-off is depth of analysis versus accessible coverage on a self-serve plan.
Bottom line
Profound answers how deeply you can map the relationship between AI models, crawlers, content, and citations once you have committed to a serious AI search programme. Riff Analytics answers how broadly you can monitor brand presence across 7 AI engines at $49/month without a sales call. If you need crawler logs and content execution in one platform, Profound. If you need broad mid-market coverage with citation source tracking on a budget, Riff Analytics.
Frequently asked questions
How does Profound compare to Riff Analytics on AI engine coverage?
Profound tracks up to 9 engines: ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Meta AI, Grok, DeepSeek, Claude, and Google AI Overviews. Riff Analytics tracks 7: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, Grok, DeepSeek, and Llama. For teams that need Copilot, Meta AI, or Google AI Overviews coverage, Profound is the only option in this AI visibility tool comparison.
Is Riff Analytics worth the cost compared to Profound?
For in-house teams wanting broader engine coverage at $49/month, Riff Analytics is worth the cost. Profound Starter costs $99/month for ChatGPT only; Growth is $399/month for 3 engines; Enterprise is custom. Riff Analytics delivers broader coverage at a lower price, though it lacks crawler logs, content generation, and API access.
Which tool tracks crawler logs, Profound or Riff Analytics?
Profound is the only tool in this AI visibility tool comparison that exposes crawler log data showing when GPTBot, ClaudeBot, and other AI crawlers last visited specific pages on your site. Riff Analytics does not expose crawler logs. If correlating AI crawler activity with citation outcomes is central to your programme, Profound is the answer.
Which is best for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) workflows, Profound or Riff Analytics?
For GEO workflows that need crawler log visibility, brand accuracy gap analysis, and content execution in one platform, Profound is the right choice. For GEO workflows that prioritise citation source tracking and broader engine coverage on a self-serve plan, Riff Analytics is the right choice. Both tools lack API access on standard plans.
How much does Profound cost compared to Riff Analytics?
Profound Starter is $99/month for ChatGPT only; Growth is $399/month for 3 engines; Enterprise is custom. Riff Analytics Starter is $49/month with the full 7-engine list; Pro is $199/month. Riff Analytics is cheaper at every comparable tier and includes more engines on the entry plan.
Can I use Profound or Riff Analytics for agency client reporting?
Neither tool is designed for agency multi-client workflows. Profound does not offer white-label delivery. Riff Analytics does not offer white-label delivery, guest access, or an API. For agencies delivering AI visibility reports to clients, look at platforms built around agency workflows.