Compare · AI SEO tools
Surfer vs Frase
Surfer and Frase both help you write content that ranks, from different starting points. Surfer is known for its content editor and scoring against the pages already ranking. Frase has moved towards a research-to-publish AI agent, with site audits, its own CMS and monitoring.
Both now include AI-visibility features. At the time of writing (September 2026), Surfer sells AI Search Analytics as a standalone $82/mo plan (billed annually) and in some plans; Frase includes SEO and GEO scores with AI visibility on every plan, from $49/mo on monthly billing.
Surfer vs Frase side by side
From each product’s own site or our research, at the time of writing (September 2026). Prices and terms change, so check before you decide.
| Feature | Surfer | Frase |
|---|---|---|
| Core job | Content editor and scoring against ranking pages | AI agent for research, writing and publishing; audits |
| Price | Discovery $49, Standard $99, Pro $182, Peace of Mind $299 per month (annual billing) | Starter $49, Professional $129, Scale $299 per month (monthly); $39 / $103 / $239 yearly |
| Articles included | Not stated in our research | 10 / 40 / 100 per month |
| Sites and seats | Not in our research | 1 site, 1 seat / 5 sites, 3 seats / 10 domains, 5 seats |
| AI visibility | AI Search Analytics $82/mo standalone (ChatGPT, Gemini, AI Overviews, others); in some plans | SEO and GEO scores with AI visibility on all plans; more engines on Scale |
| Publishing | Not in our research | WordPress, Webflow, Sanity, Wix; FraseCMS; the agent can publish on its own |
| Monitoring | Not in our research | Content Guard (10 / 75 / 300 pages); AI crawler monitoring from Professional |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom, with white-label reports and SSO |
Which should you pick?
Pick Surfer if…
- Your writers want a scoring editor that tells them what to add.
- You want AI Search Analytics on its own, without a content plan.
- Your team already has a Surfer-based workflow.
Pick Frase if…
- You want research, writing and publishing in one place.
- You manage several sites and want seats and domains included.
- You want monitoring of existing content (Content Guard) and AI crawler activity.
Where LaunchRanked fits
Disclosure: LaunchRanked is our product. Where we list it, we say so, and we place it under the use case it fits rather than at the top by default. Everything else here is from the vendors’ own sites or our research, and we say where they’re better.
Both are tools you drive. LaunchRanked Autopilot ($49/mo, founding price, early access) is meant to run for you: 30 articles a month, a Search Console optimizer that proposes new titles and snippets for pages already ranking, and 25 tracked prompts across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Claude.
If you like writing and want control over every word, Surfer or Frase is the better fit. Many teams would use one of them to edit what an autopilot drafts.
Frequently asked questions
Is Surfer or Frase cheaper?
Both start at $49/mo, at the time of writing (September 2026), but Surfer's figure is on annual billing and Frase's is monthly (Frase is $39/mo billed yearly). Compare the plan you'd actually need.
Which tracks AI search visibility?
Both. Surfer offers AI Search Analytics as a standalone plan and in some plans. Frase includes SEO and GEO scores with AI visibility on all plans, with more engines on Scale.
Can Frase publish to WordPress?
Yes. Frase's pricing page lists publishing to WordPress, Webflow, Sanity and Wix, plus its own FraseCMS.
Sources we checked
Checked on their own sites on 23 September 2026. Prices and terms change, so check before you buy. Domain ratings are approximate third-party estimates.