# Best generative engine optimization tools under $20 a month

> GEO and AI visibility tools you can actually use for under $20 a month: free plans, free trials and low-cost paid plans, compared honestly. Updated October 2026.

Most AI visibility tools start at $29 to $99 a month, which is a lot when you have one site and no revenue yet. Here's what you can actually get for under $20, from free checks to cheap paid plans. Disclosure: I make GotCited, which is on this list.

By Nathan Johnson, founder of GotCited. Updated October 25, 2026.

## The short list

| Option | Cost | What you get | Catch |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| GotCited | Free scan, then $9/mo | Score, competitors, cited sources, every fix written (titles, meta, JSON-LD, llms.txt, robots.txt, FAQ and comparison pages), 10 articles a month, weekly re-check | Claude only today; one site per plan |
| Rank Prompt free plan | $0 | One full visibility report across ChatGPT, Claude and Google AI Mode | One report; paid plans start at $49/mo |
| Ahrefs free AI visibility checker | $0 | A quick look at how a brand shows up in AI answers | A preview; Brand Radar itself starts at $199/mo |
| Otterly.AI trial | $0 for 7 days | Monitoring across several engines | Then $29/mo |
| By hand | $0 | Ask ChatGPT, Perplexity and Claude your buyers' questions yourself and note who gets named | Slow, and you write every fix yourself |

_Prices from each vendor's public pricing page, checked October 2026 (monthly billing unless noted). Plans change; check their sites before you buy._

## If you only have $9

That's what I built GotCited for: a founder with one site who wants to know where they stand and get the fixes written, not a dashboard to stare at. Start with the [free scan](https://gotcited.app/free-ai-visibility-checker); you only pay if you want every fix and the weekly re-check.

## If you have $0

Use one free report (Rank Prompt or the GotCited free scan), then work through [this checklist](https://gotcited.app/guides/get-recommended-by-chatgpt-and-perplexity) yourself. Add an [llms.txt](https://gotcited.app/guides/what-is-llms-txt) while you're at it.

## When it's worth paying more

If you track many prompts across many engines for a team or clients, the $29 to $99 tools ([Otterly.AI](https://gotcited.app/vs/otterlyai), [Peec AI](https://gotcited.app/vs/peec-ai), [Semrush](https://gotcited.app/vs/semrush-ai-visibility-toolkit)) earn their price. See the [full comparison](https://gotcited.app/best/ai-visibility-tracker-for-small-saas).

## FAQ

### Is there a generative engine optimization tool under $20 a month with content writing?

Yes. GotCited is $9/month for one website and writes the on-page fixes plus 10 articles a month. It checks Claude with live web search today, with more engines coming.

### Can I do GEO for free?

Partly. Free reports from GotCited or Rank Prompt show where you stand, and the fixes themselves (crawler access, clear titles, JSON-LD, FAQ and comparison pages, llms.txt) cost nothing but time.

## Keep reading

- [Best AI visibility tracker for a small SaaS](https://gotcited.app/best/ai-visibility-tracker-for-small-saas)
- [Otterly.AI alternatives that write the fixes](https://gotcited.app/alternatives/otterly-ai)

[Check your site free](https://gotcited.app/free-ai-visibility-checker)

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GotCited · https://gotcited.app · mail@gotcited.app · Built by Nathan Johnson (@nathanjhsn)