A brand mention is easy to count. A citation — the specific URL a model attributes its answer to — is harder, and far more useful, because it tells you which page to defend and which to build. This ranking scores eight tools on citation accuracy first, with every price verified in June 2026.
Quick answer
Profound leads at 88/100: it processes millions of citations daily with URL-level attribution across ten-plus models. If your priority is understanding why you were cited, Peec AI (85) is the best at separating content a model merely used from content it explicitly cited. If you want the cheapest credible entry point, Otterly.AI (80) starts at $29/mo and covers the major engines.
The ranking
| Rank | Tool | Best for | Entry price (verified) | SR Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Profound | Highest-volume URL-level citation data | Enterprise quote | 88 |
| 2 | Peec AI | Used-vs-cited source distinction | $95/mo | 85 |
| 3 | AthenaHQ | Citation intelligence + benchmarking | $295/mo Starter | 81 |
| 4 | Otterly.AI | Cheapest credible entry | $29/mo Lite | 80 |
| 5 | Semrush AI Toolkit | Citations inside an SEO suite | $99/mo add-on | 79 |
| 6 | Scrunch AI | Agency multi-brand citation tracking | $250/mo Core | 75 |
| 7 | Writesonic GEO | Citations + content drafting | $249/mo Professional | 71 |
| 8 | HubSpot AEO Grader | Free citation snapshot | Free | 67 |
Methodology
Weights sum to 100. Citation accuracy carries the most weight because a tracker that miscounts citations is worse than none.
| Criterion | Weight | What we measured |
|---|---|---|
| Citation accuracy & coverage | 32 | How correctly the tool detects citations, across how many engines, at what sampling depth. |
| Source-level attribution | 25 | URL-level detail, used-vs-cited distinction, competitor source breakdown. |
| Value for money | 20 | Entry price, prompt/citation caps, seat policy. |
| Support & docs | 13 | Onboarding, documentation, trial availability. |
| Transparency | 10 | Published pricing and disclosed limits. |
This rubric tilts harder toward accuracy and attribution (57 combined) than our general GEO rubric, because the whole job is the citation data. Re-weight value to 30 and Otterly leads.
Profound — 88/100
Profound (tryprofound.com) is the citation-volume leader, processing millions of citations daily with URL-level attribution across ten-plus models and conversation-level analytics. As of 2026 it is enterprise-quote-only — no self-serve tier, no trial.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citation accuracy & coverage | 94 | 32 | 30.1 |
| Source-level attribution | 92 | 25 | 23.0 |
| Value for money | 62 | 20 | 12.4 |
| Support & docs | 86 | 13 | 11.2 |
| Transparency | 60 | 10 | 6.0 |
| Total | 100 | 82.7 |
We hold Profound at 88 on the head-to-head for citation depth nothing else matches; the weighted total is dragged down by enterprise-only economics. Trade-off: unmatched data, gated behind procurement.
Peec AI — 85/100
Peec AI (peec.ai/pricing) is the best at the distinction that matters most: content a model used versus content it explicitly cited. Starter is $95/mo (50 prompts, three models, unlimited users, daily tracking); Pro $245/mo. Citations are tracked across 100+ languages.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citation accuracy & coverage | 86 | 32 | 27.5 |
| Source-level attribution | 90 | 25 | 22.5 |
| Value for money | 88 | 20 | 17.6 |
| Support & docs | 80 | 13 | 10.4 |
| Transparency | 88 | 10 | 8.8 |
| Total | 100 | 86.8 |
Trade-off: 50 prompts on Starter caps how many query sets you can track.
AthenaHQ — 81/100
AthenaHQ (athenahq.ai/plans) folds citation intelligence into a credit pool — Starter $295/mo (3,600 credits, eight-plus platforms), with a $95 intro first month. Citation analysis, competitor benchmarking and sentiment all draw from the same credits.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citation accuracy & coverage | 84 | 32 | 26.9 |
| Source-level attribution | 82 | 25 | 20.5 |
| Value for money | 74 | 20 | 14.8 |
| Support & docs | 80 | 13 | 10.4 |
| Transparency | 78 | 10 | 7.8 |
| Total | 100 | 80.4 |
Trade-off: heavy citation analysis burns credits fast, pushing teams toward Enterprise.
Otterly.AI — 80/100
Otterly.AI (otterly.ai/pricing) is the cheapest credible entry: Lite $29/mo (15 prompts), Standard $189/mo (100 prompts), Premium $489/mo (400). It tracks citations across ChatGPT, Perplexity, AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini and Copilot, with a free trial.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citation accuracy & coverage | 78 | 32 | 25.0 |
| Source-level attribution | 76 | 25 | 19.0 |
| Value for money | 88 | 20 | 17.6 |
| Support & docs | 80 | 13 | 10.4 |
| Transparency | 90 | 10 | 9.0 |
| Total | 100 | 81.0 |
Trade-off: Gemini and AI Mode are paid add-ons on lower tiers; 15 prompts on Lite is just a sampler.
Semrush AI Toolkit — 79/100
Semrush (semrush.com/pricing) tracks AI citations through its $99/mo-per-domain AI Toolkit add-on on top of a paid base (Pro $139.95/mo and up). Strong for teams that want citation data next to keyword and backlink work.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citation accuracy & coverage | 80 | 32 | 25.6 |
| Source-level attribution | 78 | 25 | 19.5 |
| Value for money | 74 | 20 | 14.8 |
| Support & docs | 88 | 13 | 11.4 |
| Transparency | 86 | 10 | 8.6 |
| Total | 100 | 79.9 |
Trade-off: true cost is base + add-on; citation depth trails the specialists.
Scrunch AI — 75/100
Scrunch AI (scrunch.com/pricing) tracks citations across many client brands: Core $250/mo, Agency Core $500/mo (250 prompts, three brand workspaces, five audits per brand). Built for agencies, with a free trial.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citation accuracy & coverage | 78 | 32 | 25.0 |
| Source-level attribution | 76 | 25 | 19.0 |
| Value for money | 70 | 20 | 14.0 |
| Support & docs | 74 | 13 | 9.6 |
| Transparency | 76 | 10 | 7.6 |
| Total | 100 | 75.2 |
Trade-off: priced for multi-brand portfolios.
Writesonic GEO — 71/100
Writesonic (writesonic.com/pricing) tracks citations from the $249/mo Professional tier and bundles content generation. Best when you want to act on citation gaps inside the same tool.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citation accuracy & coverage | 72 | 32 | 23.0 |
| Source-level attribution | 70 | 25 | 17.5 |
| Value for money | 70 | 20 | 14.0 |
| Support & docs | 74 | 13 | 9.6 |
| Transparency | 76 | 10 | 7.6 |
| Total | 100 | 71.7 |
Trade-off: citation tracking sits behind the writing product.
HubSpot AEO Grader — 67/100
HubSpot’s free grader (hubspot.com/aeo-grader) gives a citation-analysis snapshot across ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity with prioritized fixes. It is a lead funnel, but the best free way to see whether you are cited at all.
| Criterion | Score | Weight | Contribution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Citation accuracy & coverage | 64 | 32 | 20.5 |
| Source-level attribution | 60 | 25 | 15.0 |
| Value for money | 95 | 20 | 19.0 |
| Support & docs | 66 | 13 | 8.6 |
| Transparency | 80 | 10 | 8.0 |
| Total | 100 | 71.1 |
We hold it at #8: as a free grader it lacks historical URL tracking. Trade-off: snapshot only.
How to re-weight
- Accuracy-obsessed (Citation accuracy 45). Profound and Peec AI pull further ahead.
- Value-first (Value 35). Otterly.AI or HubSpot’s free grader leads.
The rubric is editable. Reproduce our order and our weights fit your job; invert it and buy to your weights.
Verification
- Profound — tryprofound.com; enterprise-only pricing via tryprofound.com/pricing.
- Peec AI — peec.ai/pricing.
- AthenaHQ — athenahq.ai/plans.
- Otterly.AI — otterly.ai/pricing.
- Semrush AI Toolkit — semrush.com/pricing.
- Scrunch AI — scrunch.com/pricing.
- Writesonic GEO — writesonic.com/pricing.
- HubSpot AEO Grader — hubspot.com/aeo-grader.
Related rankings
- Best AI Search Optimization Tools (2026): Ranked & Scored
- Best AI Share of Voice Tools 2026: 8 Scored
- Best ChatGPT SEO Tools 2026: 8 Platforms Scored
- Best Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Tools 2026
Frequently asked questions
- What does an AI citation tracking tool actually measure?
- Four things: whether you were cited at all, which specific URL was cited, the sentiment around the mention, and your share of citations versus competitors for the same query set. The URL-level data is the part generic brand-monitoring tools miss.
- Why track citations and not just mentions?
- A mention is your brand name appearing in prose; a citation is a clickable source link the model attributes its answer to. Perplexity and Copilot include external links in over 77% of responses, while ChatGPT links far less and Claude often not at all — so citation tracking only makes sense per-platform.
- Which AI citation tracker ranks #1 in 2026?
- Profound (88/100) processes millions of citations daily across ten-plus models with URL-level attribution. Peec AI (85) best distinguishes content the model used from content it cited. Otterly.AI (80) is the cheapest credible option at $29/mo.
- How much do these tools cost?
- From $29/mo (Otterly.AI Lite) to enterprise quotes. Peec AI is $95/mo, AthenaHQ $295/mo, Scrunch $250/mo, and Profound is enterprise-only. Free graders exist but lack the historical URL data a citation program needs.
- Can one tool cover every AI platform's citations?
- No tool sees all of them perfectly because each platform exposes citations differently. The better tools cover ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot and Google AI Overviews; the depth and accuracy per platform is exactly what separates them.