The short version:
- Adacity is a pay-per-report alternative to Otterly.ai: one report, from $5, no subscription and no account. The $39 full report covers ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude.
- Otterly.ai is the cheapest credible monitoring subscription. $29 a month buys daily tracking of 15 prompts across ChatGPT, AI Overviews, Perplexity, and Copilot. Gemini, Claude, and AI Mode cost extra.
- If you check monthly or quarterly, a report fits better. If your team acts on the data weekly or daily, Otterly's subscription is the better buy.
New to AEO (Answer Engine Optimization)? Start with what is AEO.
What is Otterly.ai?
Otterly.ai is an AI search monitoring subscription. The $29 Lite plan tracks 15 prompts daily across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, and Microsoft Copilot. Standard at $189 raises that to 100 prompts and adds API access; Premium at $489 covers 400. Google Gemini, Google AI Mode, and Claude are paid add-ons on every plan. You write the prompts yourself, with a keyword-based research tool to help. The reviews are strong: 4.8 out of 5 on G2.
How Adacity compares to Otterly.ai
| Adacity | Otterly.ai | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $5 to $39 per report | $29 to $489 per month |
| Billing | Per report | Subscription |
| Account required | No | Yes, free trial |
| Prompts | 100+ discovered for you | 15 to 400, you write them |
| ChatGPT | Yes, in the $39 report | Yes |
| Gemini | Yes, every tier | Paid add-on |
| Claude | Yes, in the $39 report | Paid add-on |
| Perplexity and Copilot | No | Yes |
| AI Overviews and AI Mode | No | AI Overviews yes, AI Mode add-on |
| Visibility by buying stage | Yes | Limited, you tag stages yourself |
| Competitor comparison | Yes, discovered from AI answers | Yes, ones you pick |
| Continuous monitoring | No | Yes, daily |
| Trends over time | Snapshot only | Yes |
| Best for | Founders, small businesses | Teams tracking weekly or daily |
Otterly pricing and features checked on August 4, 2026 against Otterly's pricing page. Check their site for the latest.
What is different about Adacity
You pay per report, not per month
Otterly bills monthly whether anything changed or not. Adacity charges per report. Run one now, run another in three months to see if the work moved anything. Nothing recurring, and nothing to cancel.
We figure out the questions
Otterly asks you to write the prompts and tag their funnel stage yourself. Adacity does the opposite. We look at your site, what communities say about you, and what authoritative sources publish in your category, then run 100+ real buyer questions for you and break the results out by buying stage.
No engine add-ons
On Otterly, the base plans cover ChatGPT, AI Overviews, Perplexity, and Copilot; Gemini and Claude each cost extra, every month. Adacity runs ChatGPT, Gemini, and Claude in the $39 full report, and each one answers differently, which is why checking one engine is a partial read.
When Otterly.ai is the better choice
We are honest about the fit. Otterly is the stronger pick when:
- You want a trend line. Otterly tracks daily and charts change over time; an Adacity report is a snapshot.
- You need Perplexity, Copilot, AI Overviews, or AI Mode. Adacity does not cover them at any price.
- Your whole team needs access. Every Otterly plan includes unlimited team members.
If instead you want one clear answer about where you stand and what to fix, without a subscription, that is what Adacity is for. For the whole field, see the best AEO tools in 2026, compared. To see live rankings built from our report data, browse the free AEO industry leaderboards.
Common questions
- Is there a cheaper alternative to Otterly.ai?
- For ongoing monitoring, no. Otterly's $29 Lite plan is the cheapest credible subscription. If you don't need monitoring, Adacity's free check costs nothing and the $5 report costs less than one month of any plan.
- Does Otterly.ai track Claude and Gemini?
- As paid add-ons. On top of the base plan, Gemini costs $9 to $149 a month and Claude $29 to $439, depending on the plan. Adacity includes both, plus ChatGPT, in the $39 full report.
- Do I need a monitoring subscription at all?
- Only if your team acts on the data weekly or daily. AI answers change over weeks and months, so if you check monthly or quarterly, a periodic report covers it.
- When is Otterly.ai the better choice?
- When you need daily tracking with a trend line, coverage of Perplexity, Copilot, or Google's AI surfaces, or a tool your whole team logs into. Adacity covers none of those. It gives you one clear answer per report.