Surfer vs Frase
Frase is an all-round content tool. Surfer goes deeper on what ranks and gets cited.
Frase combines research, AI drafting, SEO and GEO scoring, a site crawler, publishing and AI visibility tracking. Surfer goes deeper on the guidance: the facts AI engines cite for your topic, a content score backed by our ranking research, and all five major AI engines tracked daily from $82/mo.
why teams choose Surfer
What sets Surfer apart from Frase
Five AI engines from $82/mo
Surfer tracks ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, AI Overviews and AI Mode daily from its AI Search Analytics plan. On Frase, Perplexity starts at Professional and Gemini at Scale ($239/mo, yearly).
The facts AI engines cite
Surfer's AI Search guidelines list the facts and structure AI answers cite for your topic and score your draft against them.
A score backed by research
In our study of 1 million SERP entries, Surfer's Content Score had a 0.28 correlation with Google rankings.
side by side
Surfer vs Frase: features compared
| Feature | FraseFrom $39/mo (yearly) | |
|---|---|---|
| AI search visibilitySee where AI engines mention your brand, who they mention instead and which pages they cite. | ||
| Track brand visibility in AI answers | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, AI Overviews, AI Mode50 to 100 prompts, daily (AI Search Analytics, Pro and up) | ChatGPT, Google AI on StarterPerplexity on Professional; Claude, Gemini on Scale |
| Competitor share of voice and mention gap | Mention gap (AI Search Analytics, Pro and up) | Yes |
| Sources and pages AI engines cite | Yes | Cited URLs and industry citation share |
| Brand sentiment in AI answers | AI Search Analytics, Pro and up | Yes |
| Pages to earn mentions on (outreach list) | Yes | Link prospects with drafted outreach |
| Content creation and optimizationWrite and refresh content that ranks in Google and gets cited in AI answers. | ||
| Content Editor with a live content score | SEO + AI Search score (from Discovery) | SEO + GEO score |
| AI Search guidelines: facts AI engines cite | From Discovery | Not listed |
| AI writing assistant and article generation | Surfy AI writing assistant (from Discovery) | Yes |
| 1-click content optimization | Standard and up | Not listed |
| AI detector, humanizer and plagiarism check | AI detector and humanizer (all plans)Plagiarism check (Standard and up) | Not listed |
| 1-click internal linking | Pro and up | Suggestions (Professional and up) |
| Planning and SEO researchDecide what to write next, what to refresh and who you compete with. | ||
| Keyword research | Standard and up | Not listed |
| Topical Map (content planning) | Pro and up | Topic cluster map |
| SERP and competitor content analysis | Top-ranking pages in the Content EditorSERP Analyzer (Peace of Mind) | Yes |
| Content Audit and refresh suggestions | Content Audit (from Discovery)Cannibalization report (Pro and up) | Content Guard (decay alerts) |
| Rankings and page performance tracking | Page tracking: 10 to 500 pagesRanking-drop alerts (Standard and up) | Search Console clicks and positionsRanking-decay alerts |
| Backlink index and link research | No | Backlink gap and monitoring |
| Technical site audit (crawler) | No | Site crawler (50 to 1,000 pages/mo) |
| Workflow, automation and teamsFit the tool into your team, your CMS and your AI agents. | ||
| Brand Knowledge, custom voices and templates | Brand KnowledgeCustom voices and templates (Pro and up) | Brand Voice profiles |
| Google Docs, WordPress and CMS integrations | Google Docs, WordPress (Standard and up)Contentful (Pro and up), Zapier (Peace of Mind) | WordPress, Webflow, Sanity, Wix, Google Docs, Notion |
| MCP server for Claude, ChatGPT and AI agents | AI Search Analytics, Pro and up | Every plan |
| Workflow automation (Zapier, agents) | AI agents through MCPZapier and API (Peace of Mind) | Frase Agent auto-publishingAPI, webhooks, MCP, CLI |
| API access | Peace of Mind and Enterprise | Yes |
| Team seats and collaboration | 1 to 10 seatsLive collaboration and comments (Standard and up) | 1 to 5 seats; extra $29/moRoles (Professional and up) |
| Several brands or clients in one account | 5 brand workspaces; unlimited on Peace of Mind | 5 sites on Professional, 10 on Scale |
Checked on Frase's website and pricing page on 2026-10-23. “Not listed” means we found no such feature there. Did we get anything wrong? Email support@surferseo.com and we'll check and update this page.
AI answers, fact-checked
What AI answers get wrong about Surfer vs Frase
Surfer tracks what ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI features say about tools like these. These claims came up in their answers (“Surfer vs Frase” and “best Frase alternatives” in ChatGPT, October 2026) and are out of date or wrong.
“AI search visibility is a core Frase feature but only available on some Surfer plans.”
Fact: Surfer's AI Search Analytics plan ($82/mo) tracks five AI engines daily, including Gemini and AI Mode. On Frase, Gemini needs the Scale plan ($239/mo, yearly).
“Frase is the better value for budget-conscious teams.”
Fact: Frase starts lower ($39 vs $49/mo, yearly). Compare like for like: tracking Gemini costs $82/mo on Surfer and $239/mo on Frase.
which is right for you
Surfer or Frase: which fits your team?
Choose Surfer if…
you want the deepest guidance on what ranks and what AI engines cite, and all five major AI engines tracked daily from $82/mo.
AI Search Analytics ($82/mo) tracks five AI engines daily. Pro ($182/mo) puts that tracking together with the Content Editor, Topical Map, keyword research and Content Audit. Billed yearly.
- AI Search guidelines: the facts AI engines cite for your topic
- Five AI engines tracked daily from $82/mo
- A Content Score with a measured link to rankings
- 1-click optimization and an AI humanizer
Where Frase is stronger
Frase may fit better if you're a small team that wants research, drafting, auditing and publishing in one low-cost tool.
- Lower entry price, billed monthly or yearly
- MCP, CLI and API on every plan
- Publishing to WordPress, Webflow, Sanity and Wix
- A crawler-based site audit and backlink research
what teams say
Trusted by 150,000+ content creators, SEOs and agencies
“Surfer has righteously earned its place in our content team’s tool arsenal. We use it daily and can wholeheartedly recommend trying it.”
“Surfer has quickly become essential in our SEO workflow at ClickUp — a key addition to any SEO team's toolbox.”
Case Study
Surfer vs Clearscope
A graded content editor vs. SEO + AI Search scoring and five-engine AI tracking.
Surfer vs Jasper
On-brand AI marketing content vs. content built to rank and get cited.
Surfer vs MarketMuse
Topic-modeling content strategy vs. planning, optimization and AI visibility in one.
Surfer vs NeuronWriter
An affordable content editor vs. a full SEO and AI search platform.
Surfer vs Writesonic
AI writing turned GEO suite vs. scored SEO and AI Search optimization.
Surfer vs AirOps
Agent workflows you build vs. a scored content workflow that also plugs into your agents.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between Surfer and Frase?
Both help you research, write and score content, plan clusters and track AI visibility. Frase adds a site crawler, backlink research and CMS publishing. Surfer adds AI Search guidelines with the facts AI engines cite, five AI engines from its $82/month plan, 1-click optimization and an AI humanizer.
Which AI engines does Frase track?
Per Frase's pricing page: ChatGPT and Google AI on Starter, Perplexity from Professional, and Claude and Gemini on Scale.
How much does Surfer cost compared with Frase?
Surfer: Discovery $49/mo, AI Search Analytics $82/mo, Standard $99/mo, Pro $182/mo, Peace of Mind $299/mo (billed yearly), Enterprise custom. Frase: From $39/mo (yearly). See Surfer's pricing for what each plan includes; prices for Frase were checked on its website on 2026-10-23.
Does Surfer's Content Score actually predict rankings?
Surfer tests it. In our 2025 study of 1 million SERP entries (10,000 queries, top 100 results each), the Content Score had a 0.28 correlation with Google rankings, so teams can treat it as a real signal rather than a checklist.
Can I switch from Frase to Surfer?
Yes. Start with the same prompts and pages you track today: add them to Surfer's AI visibility tracking, connect Google Docs or WordPress, and run both tools side by side for a few weeks before you switch.
How do you keep this comparison accurate?
We check every value against Frase's own website and pricing page (last on 2026-10-23) and list a feature only when we can find it there. Products change quickly, so if something is out of date or wrong, email support@surferseo.com and we'll check and update this page.
See where your brand stands in AI search
Track your visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google's AI features, then write and refresh the content that changes it, in one platform.
Plans from $49/mo, billed yearly