AI-search monitoring tool: tracks brand mentions and links in ChatGPT, AI Overviews and Perplexity
Balzac vs Otterly.ai
Otterly.ai lists Lite, Standard and Premium at $29, $189 and $489 a month for 15, 100 and 400 tracked prompts; Balzac researches, writes and publishes 30 articles a month for $79. Checked against otterly.ai on 9 October 2026.
If you are comparing Otterly.ai alternatives, start by noting it is a different product from Balzac: it measures AI search visibility, it does not write your blog. Everything about Otterly.ai below comes from its public pricing page as of 9 October 2026; tell us if something has changed and we will fix it.
Otterly.ai tracks how your brand and links appear in AI answers. It lists Lite at $29 a month for 15 search prompts across four engines (ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot), Standard at $189 for 100 prompts with API and MCP access, and Premium at $489 for 400 prompts, plus Enterprise from 1,000 prompts on request. Claude, Google AI Mode and Gemini are paid add-ons. Plans include a brand visibility index, link citation analysis, a GEO audit of your pages and weekly recommendations (3 a week on Lite, unlimited on Standard). Annual billing is listed as 15% off. We did not see writing or publishing of articles on the page we read.
Balzac works the other way round: it researches the searches you could win, writes the articles and publishes them on a schedule you set, in a fixed allowance of 30 articles a month per website on the Columnist plan, and refreshes live articles that rank in positions 8 to 20 using your Search Console data. It does not report on AI answers.
On price, Otterly.ai's Lite plan at $29 is cheaper than Balzac's $79, but it tracks 15 prompts and writes nothing. Standard at $189 costs more than Balzac.
On trying it, Otterly.ai says new users get a free trial, without stating its length or whether a card is needed; you can cancel from account settings at any time and subscriptions are monthly. We found no refund policy on the page we read. Balzac writes 3 full articles for free with no card, and paid plans come with a 30-day money-back guarantee on the first payment.
Balzac
- Writes and publishes the articles; Otterly.ai does not
- Cheaper than Standard and Premium: $79 a month against $189 and $489
- Refreshes live articles that rank in positions 8 to 20 using your Search Console data
- A free trial of 3 full articles with no card, and a 30-day money-back guarantee
Where Otterly.ai fits
- Tracking of your brand, links and citations in AI answers, which Balzac does not offer
- A lower entry number: $29 a month on Lite, against $79
- Unlimited team members, and a GEO audit of your pages on every plan
- Claude, Gemini and Google AI Mode tracking as add-ons, and agent analytics
Side by side
Feature comparison
| Feature | Balzac | Otterly.ai |
|---|---|---|
| How you use it | Autopilot: researches, writes and publishes on a schedule | Dashboard: tracks prompts in AI engines and recommends fixes |
| Output per month | 30 published articles per website | 15 / 100 / 400 tracked prompts; no articles |
| Price | $79 a month (30 articles, 1 website) | $29 / $189 / $489 a month; annual 15% off |
| Try before paying | 3 free articles, no card | Free trial; length and card not stated |
| Money-back guarantee | 30 days, first payment | Not stated on the page we read |
| Publishing | WordPress, Webflow, Wix, GoHighLevel, webhook | None seen: it does not publish content |
| Google Search Console | Connection; refreshes articles ranking in positions 8 to 20 | Not seen on the page we read |
| Picks the topics for you | Prompt research and recommendations, no articles | |
| AI-search visibility tracking | – | ChatGPT, AI Overviews, Perplexity, Copilot; more as add-ons |
| CLI, API and MCP server | API and MCP from Standard; CLI not seen |
Why teams switch
Pick Balzac if the job is to get articles written and published. Pick Otterly.ai if the job is to see how your brand shows up in AI answers; many sites would use a monitor like it next to a writer, not instead of one.
FAQ
Balzac vs Otterly.ai, answered.
Is Balzac a good Otterly.ai alternative?
Not as a replacement: they do different jobs. Otterly.ai measures your visibility in AI answers; Balzac researches, writes and publishes about 30 articles a month for one website.
How does Balzac pricing compare to Otterly.ai?
As of October 2026, Otterly.ai lists Lite at $29 a month, Standard at $189 and Premium at $489, with annual billing 15% off. Balzac has one plan, Columnist, at $79 a month per website for 30 articles. Lite is cheaper but writes no articles; Balzac is cheaper than Standard.
Does Otterly.ai have a free trial?
It says new users get a free trial, and we did not find its length or whether a card is needed. Subscriptions are monthly and can be canceled from account settings. We found no refund policy on the page we read. Check otterly.ai for its current terms.
Can I try Balzac before paying?
Yes. Balzac writes 3 full articles for your site for free, with no card. When you subscribe, the first payment is covered by a 30-day money-back guarantee: cancel within 30 days and get it back in full from the cancel page.
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