AI SEO Pricing and Cost per Month and per Article
Autonomous AI SEO agents and SEO software are priced differently, and the sticker price hides what you are truly buying. Agents like Rankable run your website's SEO on autopilot, including article publishing, and meter by website and changes. Other tools meter by article, page, or prompt. Divide the plan price by what it actually produces, and the comparison changes significantly.
Every price below was read from the vendor's own pricing page on 10 September 2026, except Semrush and Ahrefs which were re-read on 9 September 2026.
Run a free site audit
Enter your website address, and Rankable will crawl it to show you the plan of changes it will make.
See pricing starting at $99/mo
$2.65
Lowest cost per article, Scalenut Professional
$24.75
Highest entry cost per article, Rankable Starter
$49
Cheapest entry plan of the six vendors compared
6
Vendors with prices read from source this week
Autonomous AI SEO agent pricing, compared by included output
Most pricing comparisons for AI SEO focus only on monthly plan prices. This approach is often misleading because different solutions offer different value. Some charge for articles, others for pages optimized, and some for prompts tracked. A plan that optimizes 50 pages and another that publishes 40 articles are distinct offerings, and a direct price comparison without considering output is unhelpful.
So the table below does something narrower and more useful. Where a vendor publishes an article allowance, we divide the plan price by that allowance and show the cost per article. That number is arithmetic on published figures, not an estimate, and you can check every one of them against the vendor's own pricing page. Where a vendor does not meter by article, the table says so rather than inventing a number.
Before reviewing the numbers, it is important to understand what Rankable provides. Rankable is an autonomous AI SEO agent that runs the entire SEO of a website on autopilot, including publishing articles. It is not a backlink index, a keyword database, or a rank tracker. If your primary need is competitor research rather than an agent that manages and improves your site's SEO, then a different comparison might be more relevant, such as SEO API pricing. For a broader overview, consider how much AI SEO software costs.
Autonomous AI SEO agent and tool pricing table, September 2026
Plan prices read from each vendor's own pricing page. Cost per article is the plan price divided by the published article allowance, rounded to the cent.
Swipe to see all columns →
| Tool and tier | Monthly price | Included output | Cost per article |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rankable Starter | $99 | 4 articles | $24.75 |
| Rankable Growth | $249 | 12 articles | $20.75 |
| Rankable Agency | $599 | 40 articles | $14.98 |
| Frase Starter | $49 | 10 articles | $4.90 |
| Frase Professional | $129 | 40 articles | $3.23 |
| Frase Scale | $299 | 100 articles | $2.99 |
| Scalenut Starter | $59 | 5 articles | $11.80 |
| Scalenut Plus | $89 | 30 articles | $2.97 |
| Scalenut Professional | $199 | 75 articles | $2.65 |
| Clearscope Essentials | $129 | 20 drafts | $6.45 |
| Clearscope Business | $399 | 20 drafts | $19.95 |
| Rankability | Quoted on a demo call | Not metered by article | Not comparable |
Clearscope includes the same 20 drafts on both tiers, so its per draft figure rises with price; it is priced for pages optimized, not posts written.
Understanding the pricing models
Different metering models influence these prices. Align the model with your specific SEO needs before comparing costs.
Metered by article
Frase and Scalenut publish how many articles each plan includes. Rankable, as an autonomous agent, includes a set number of articles as part of its comprehensive SEO management, allowing for a clear cost per article calculation.
Metered by page optimized
Clearscope charges for pages you optimize, not posts you publish. Both its tiers include the same 20 drafts a month, so the extra money buys coverage, not output.
Metered by tracked prompt
Rankability prices based on active prompts tracked across various AI platforms. This is for AI visibility tracking, distinct from an autonomous agent that manages and produces SEO content.
Annual billing changes the ranking
Scalenut advertises annual plans at $24, $36 and $80 a month with doubled limits. Rankable annual plans are $594, $1,494, and $3,594 per year. Always compare annual pricing directly.
Seats are a hidden line
Frase includes 1 seat at $49 and charges $29 a month for extras on higher tiers. Clearscope includes unlimited users on every plan. Price the team, not the login.
Trials differ by a week
Clearscope offers a 14-day trial. Frase, Scalenut, and Rankability all offer 7-day trials. Rankable offers a free site audit, but the autopilot runs on a paid plan.
How to evaluate AI SEO solutions in four steps
The sequence of evaluation is important. Focusing solely on budget before understanding output often leads to overspending.
Count the articles you actually need
Start with output, not budget. Four posts a month and forty posts a month sit on completely different tiers at every vendor, and guessing high is the most common way teams overpay in this category.
Divide the plan price by that number
Take the tier that covers your volume and divide. At 100 articles a month the spread in the table is $1.49 against $2.99, which is $150 a month, or $1,800 a year, for the same nominal output.
Add the seats and the overage
Check what an extra user costs and what happens when you exceed the allowance. Frase sells pay as you go capacity above the plan limit; others simply stop. The overage rule decides your real bill in a busy month.
Check it publishes, not just drafts
A draft in a dashboard is not a published page. Confirm the solution can directly publish to your CMS before comparing it with an autonomous agent like Rankable, which handles publishing automatically.
Matching the solution to your team's needs
One site, a few posts a month
For one site needing a few articles a month, consider the cost per article. Rankable Starter includes 4 articles at $24.75 per article, while Scalenut Starter includes 5 articles at $11.80 per article.
An agency running client sites
For agencies managing client sites, the number of websites or domains is a primary factor. Rankable Agency covers 15 websites, while Frase Scale covers up to 10 domains. Prioritize your client list, then compare the included output.
A team that already has writers
If people are writing and you only need briefs and grading, an optimization tool priced per page is the right shape, and Clearscope Essentials at $129 for 50 pages is a fair comparison point.
A brand chasing AI citations
If the goal is being cited by ChatGPT or Perplexity, tracking that is a separate product. Rankable does not track AI visibility and will not pretend to; see the honest round-up linked below.
At 40 articles a month, side by side
The two plans that publish a 40 article allowance, compared line by line at their published monthly prices.
Swipe to see all columns →
| Rankable Agency, $599 | Frase Professional, $129 | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price at 40 articles | $599 | $129 |
| Cost per article | $14.98 | $3.23 |
| Sites or domains covered | 15 websites | 1 domain |
| Seats | No published cap | 1 seat, extras $29 a month |
| Free trial | Free site audit | 7 days |
| Capacity above the plan | Not sold as overage | $4 per extra article |
| Publishing to your CMS | Wired up during onboarding | Ships its own agent |
AI SEO pricing questions
How much does AI SEO software cost?
AI SEO software costs between $49 and $599 a month at the published self-serve tiers of the six vendors compared here. Entry plans cluster between $49 and $129. The figure that matters more than the plan price is the cost per article, which runs from $2.65 to $24.75 depending on tier and vendor.
How much does AI SEO cost?
AI SEO costs $49 to $599 a month for the tools on this page, read from each vendor's own pricing page. Frase starts at $49 for 10 articles, Scalenut at $59, Clearscope at $129, and Rankable at $99 for one site with 4 published articles and 60 on-site fixes a month. Per published article that is roughly $3 to $25, depending on whether the plan also applies the fixes to your site.
How much is an AI SEO membership?
An AI SEO membership is a monthly subscription, usually $49 to $599 a month. Frase starts at $49 for 10 articles, Writesonic at $79 billed yearly, and Rankable at $99 a month for one site with 60 fixes and 4 published articles, or $49.50 a month billed yearly. Most plans cancel anytime; see the Frase pricing and Writesonic pricing breakdowns.
How much does an LLM SEO tool cost per month?
Tools built around AI search visibility price higher than writing tools. Clearscope bundles tracked prompts into its $129 and $399 tiers, SE Ranking sells AI Search as an $89 a month add-on, and Ahrefs Brand Radar AI starts at $199 a month. Rankability no longer publishes prices; it quotes them on a demo call.
What is the cheapest AI SEO tool?
Of the vendors compared here, Frase Starter at $49 a month is the cheapest entry plan, covering 10 articles and 1 domain. Scalenut Starter is $59 for 5 articles. Rankable Starter is $99 for 4 articles and 1 website. The cheapest by plan price and cheapest per article are not always the same tier, so check both.
Do AI SEO tools charge per article or per month?
Most charge a monthly subscription that includes a capped number of articles, which is a per month price with a per article limit rather than true usage billing. Frase additionally sells capacity above the cap at $5 and $4 per article. Clearscope and Rankability do not meter by article at all.
Is AI SEO software cheaper than hiring a writer?
On unit cost, yes, and by a wide margin. Published per article prices here run $2.65 to $24.75, while a commissioned 2,000 word post from a freelancer costs an order of magnitude more. The honest caveat is that software output needs review, so the saving is real but it is not the whole editorial budget. Per article SEO content costs covers the human side.
Does a more expensive plan mean better rankings?
No. Higher tiers buy volume, seats and coverage, not ranking quality. The output on a $399 plan is produced by the same models as the output on a $99 plan at most vendors. Buy the tier that matches the number of pages you intend to publish, and spend the difference on editing.
Run a free site audit to see your plan
Rankable is an autonomous AI SEO agent that crawls your website, identifies opportunities, and creates a plan of changes. Autopilot runs on a paid plan. Starter is $99 a month for 1 website and 4 articles, Growth is $249 for 3 websites and 12 articles, Agency is $599 for 15 websites and 40 articles. Every new account gets a free site audit.
Run a free site auditFree site audit and action plan · Cancel anytime