Semrush brings 15+ years of SEO expertise to AI visibility. Profound raised $20M specifically to build enterprise-grade GEO tools. Both start at $99/month, both are serious tools for serious teams, but they emphasize very different capabilities.
What you get at $99/month
The difference at the entry tier is striking.
Semrush's AI Toolkit gives you 25 prompts across 5 LLMs (ChatGPT, AI Mode, AI Overviews, Perplexity, Gemini). All platforms included at base price. Additional domains cost $99/month each.
Profound's Starter tier gives you 50 prompts but only ChatGPT. One LLM. To get 3 platforms, you need Growth at $399/month. Full coverage across 10 LLMs requires Enterprise at custom pricing.
So Semrush provides broader coverage immediately. Profound provides more prompts but gates LLM access behind higher tiers.
Where Semrush stands out
Semrush's Prompt Research is their differentiator. It works like traditional keyword research, but for AI prompts. You can discover high-opportunity prompts, see AI volume estimates, and understand competitive positioning. Profound doesn't offer discovery tools like this.
If you're already a Semrush user, having AI visibility in the same dashboard as traditional SEO creates useful correlations. Watch how Google rankings and AI mentions interact over time.
Semrush includes all 5 LLMs at the base $99/month price. No tier-gating, no calculating which platforms require upgrades.
Their geographic targeting spans 68,000+ locations for granular regional analysis.
Where Profound stands out
Real-time tracking is Profound's technical differentiator. Visibility updates happen as changes occur, not on a daily or weekly schedule. Some Semrush features update weekly, not daily.
For enterprise procurement, Profound checks the compliance boxes: SOC 2 Type II certification, SSO with SAML/OIDC support, the documentation Fortune 500 companies require.
They've earned G2 Leader status for AEO tools (Winter 2026), providing third-party validation from enterprise users.
At the Enterprise tier, Profound tracks 10 LLMs including newer platforms like DeepSeek and ChatGPT Shopping. That's broader eventual coverage than Semrush's 5, though only available at enterprise pricing.
Profound also offers more prompts at the entry tier (50 vs 25), which matters if you're testing many variations.
Which one fits you?
Semrush makes sense if Prompt Research (discovering opportunities, not just monitoring) is valuable to your strategy, you want 5 LLMs at $99/month without tier restrictions, you're already a Semrush user and want unified dashboards, SEO integration with AI visibility would inform your strategy, and 68,000+ location targeting matters.
Profound makes sense if SOC 2 compliance is a procurement requirement, real-time tracking (not scheduled updates) is essential, SSO/SAML is needed for enterprise identity management, Fortune 500 procurement processes are involved, and you need 10 LLMs at the enterprise tier (including DeepSeek, ChatGPT Shopping).
The bottom line
Semrush is better for discovery and SEO integration. Profound is better for compliance and real-time speed.
If you need to find opportunities and correlate AI visibility with traditional SEO performance, Semrush.
If you need compliance documentation and real-time updates for enterprise requirements, Profound.
Both cost $99/month to start. What you get for that money is very different.
Not ready for $99/month? Mentionable offers a 7-day free trial for AI visibility tracking across 5 LLMs. Test whether monitoring matters to your business before committing.