The best HubSpot AEO Grader alternatives depend on what you need next. For another free one-time check, try the Ahrefs AI Visibility Checker or the Semrush AI Search Visibility Checker (Ahrefs checker, Semrush checker, checked 8 Oct 2026). For tracking that repeats on a schedule, pick a paid tracker: Depra AI for buyers in India, HubSpot AEO or Otterly.
HubSpot's free grader gives one score out of 100 for how three AI models describe your brand. It is a snapshot of one day (HubSpot AI Search Grader, checked 8 Oct 2026). AEO means answer engine optimisation, the work of getting your brand named in AI answers.
Depra AI publishes this page and is on the list. Every fact about another tool links to that vendor's own page, read on 8 Oct 2026.
| Tool | Type | Engines | Entry price | Free option |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HubSpot AEO Grader (baseline) | Free one-time grade | OpenAI (GPT-5.4 mini), Perplexity, Gemini | Free | No account. Full results need a short form |
| Ahrefs AI Visibility Checker | Free one-time check | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Google AI Overviews; its FAQ adds Google AI Mode | Free | No signup, no card. Top 5 results per section |
| Semrush AI Search Visibility Checker | Free one-time check | ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overviews | Free | 3 checks a day with no account |
| Pallix AI Search Audit | Free one-time audit | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI | Free | No signup, no card. Asks for a work email |
| GeoIQ AI Visibility Checker | Free audit with technical checks | 6 AI systems; names ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Grok | Free | 2 audits a day with no signup, card or email |
| Depra AI | Paid tracker | ChatGPT with web search, Gemini, AI Overviews daily; Perplexity weekly | ₹1,999/mo Starter, excl. GST | No free plan. First scan free with no card; then 3 days free, card required |
| HubSpot AEO (beta) | Paid tracker with recommendations | ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity | $50/mo, or $45 billed yearly | Trial tracks 25 prompts, no credit card |
| Otterly | Paid tracker | ChatGPT, AI Overviews, Perplexity, Copilot; Gemini, AI Mode, Claude as add-ons | $29/mo Lite | Pages disagree: 7 or 14 days, no card |
What is the HubSpot AEO Grader?
The HubSpot AEO Grader is a free tool that scores how AI models describe your brand, once, on the day you run it. HubSpot now titles its page AI Search Grader, and hubspot.com/aeo-grader redirects there (HubSpot AI Search Grader, checked 8 Oct 2026).
You enter your company name, location, industry, and product or service. Any brand name works, so you can grade a competitor too. No account is needed. A short form opens the full results, and HubSpot says they are ready in under two minutes (HubSpot AI Search Grader, checked 8 Oct 2026).
It asks three models: GPT-5.4 mini from OpenAI, Perplexity and Gemini. HubSpot pages disagree on where the answers come from. The grader page says all three models answer from their training data. The AEO product page says ChatGPT and Gemini use training data and Perplexity uses live search (HubSpot AEO, checked 8 Oct 2026). Training data is the text a model learned from before its release.
The score is out of 100 and comes with a written reading of the result. The grader page lists its five parts:
- Sentiment results, 40 points: the tone the models use about your brand.
- Presence quality, 20 points: how much detail they give, and how strong the sources are.
- Brand recognition, 20 points: how widely the models know your brand.
- Share of voice, 10 points: your rank against competitors at the time of the check.
- Market competition, 10 points: your role, such as leader, challenger or niche player.
Does the HubSpot AEO Grader track your brand over time?
No. HubSpot calls the grader a free one-time diagnostic and a snapshot. For checks that repeat, it points to HubSpot AEO, its paid product (HubSpot AI Search Grader, checked 8 Oct 2026).
A one-time grade tells you how AI models describe your brand today. Tracking asks the same buying questions, called prompts, on a schedule. It keeps every answer and shows what moved after you changed a page or earned a mention.
The grader also runs pre-set queries, so it does not ask the buying questions you choose (HubSpot AEO, checked 8 Oct 2026). Its three models do not include Google AI Overviews, the AI summary Google shows above normal results.
AI answers change from one run to the next, so a single reading has limits. To repeat a check by hand, use the method on the AI visibility checker page.
Two runs of the same question in the same language shared on average 54.7% of their named brands on ChatGPT, 51.2% on Gemini and 68.3% on Perplexity. (Depra AI Hinglish vs English study, 480 answers asked from inside India, 14 Aug 2026)
Which free checkers are alternatives to the HubSpot AEO Grader?
Four free tools run a similar check. They are the Ahrefs AI Visibility Checker, the Semrush AI Search Visibility Checker, the Pallix AI Search Audit and the GeoIQ AI Visibility Checker. Their inputs and engines differ. Each is a one-time snapshot, and the vendors keep ongoing tracking for their paid products.
Ahrefs AI Visibility Checker: a brand name and no signup
You type a brand name. Ahrefs checks ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot and Google AI Overviews. Its FAQ adds Google AI Mode, Google's chat-style search mode. The free report is a limited preview: total mentions, mentions by platform, and the top 5 topics, cited domains and cited pages. It needs no signup or credit card (Ahrefs AI Visibility Checker, checked 8 Oct 2026).
History sits in the paid product, covered in Ahrefs Brand Radar alternatives.
- Best for: seeing which domains and pages AI cites next to your brand.
Semrush AI Search Visibility Checker: a 0 to 100 score for a domain
You enter a domain. The tool checks ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Mode and Google AI Overviews. The report shows an AI Visibility Score from 0 to 100, mentions, citations (links to your site) and a competitor comparison. You can use it three times a day without an account (Semrush AI Search Visibility Checker, checked 8 Oct 2026).
The paid Semrush toolkit is compared in Depra AI vs Semrush AI Visibility Toolkit.
- Best for: a free check that includes Google AI Mode and AI Overviews. It does not list Perplexity.
Pallix AI Search Audit: 20 buyer prompts for your market
Pallix is an India-based AI visibility tool. Its free audit runs 20 buyer prompts on 3 AI surfaces, which makes 60 live checks. The page names ChatGPT, Perplexity and Google AI. You give a brand name, website, market and work email. It needs no signup or credit card, and is usually ready in about 10 minutes (Pallix AI Search Audit, checked 8 Oct 2026).
The paid Pallix tracker is compared in Depra AI vs Pallix.
- Best for: brands that sell in India, since the audit runs in the market you pick.
GeoIQ AI Visibility Checker: a score with technical checks
You enter a domain. GeoIQ says it runs 6 AI systems, and its page names ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude and Grok. The audit also checks technical signals such as robots.txt, the file that tells bots which pages they may read. It ends with a fix roadmap. You get 2 free audits a day with no signup, credit card or email (GeoIQ AI Visibility Checker, checked 8 Oct 2026).
- Best for: a technical check and a list of fixes with your score.
Which paid trackers check AI answers on a schedule?
Depra AI, HubSpot AEO and Otterly do, and each publishes a monthly price (HubSpot AEO, Otterly pricing, checked 8 Oct 2026). A tracker asks the questions you choose on a schedule and records the answers over time. For longer lists, see the best AI visibility tools and the best AEO tools.
Depra AI: a free first scan, then daily tracking (Perplexity weekly)
Depra AI asks your buyers' questions to four AI engines from inside the country you sell in, and stores every full answer. Signing up gives a first free scan of ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity before the trial, with no card required. Full tracking, including Google AI Overviews, starts once setup is complete and the trial begins.
ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews are then checked daily, and Perplexity weekly. Starter costs ₹1,999 a month plus 18% GST for 16 prompt slots. Starter, Growth and Scale start with 3 days free, card required. There is no free plan. See Depra AI pricing.
- Pick it if your buyers are in India and you want the same questions asked again on a schedule.
- Skip it if you want a result without signing up. The first free scan comes after you sign up. Depra AI also does not track Google AI Mode, Claude or Copilot.
HubSpot AEO (beta): the paid tracker from HubSpot
HubSpot AEO is marked Beta on its product page. It tracks how often ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity mention your brand, your share of voice (your mentions against competitors), and which pages and domains the answers cite.
Price: $50 a month on its own, or $45 a month paid yearly, with 25 prompts. No other HubSpot subscription is required. The trial tracks 25 prompts with no credit card (HubSpot AEO, checked 8 Oct 2026). HubSpot's knowledge base says AEO runs tracked prompts daily (HubSpot knowledge base, checked 8 Oct 2026).
- Pick it if your marketing already runs on HubSpot and you want AI visibility next to it.
- Skip it if you need Google AI Overviews tracked or answers asked from India, which the product page does not mention.
Otterly: the lowest US dollar entry price
Otterly tracks brand mentions and cited links in AI answers. Its plans include ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity and Microsoft Copilot. Lite lists daily tracking and unlimited team members.
Price: Lite $29 a month for 15 prompts (Otterly pricing, checked 8 Oct 2026). Otterly pages disagree on the length of the free, no-card trial: the help centre and the homepage FAQ say 7 days, while the signup section of the homepage says 14 days. Sources: Otterly free trial page and Otterly homepage, checked 8 Oct 2026. Full comparison: Depra AI vs Otterly, or see Otterly alternatives.
- Pick it if you want the lowest US dollar price on this list, or need Copilot tracked.
- Skip it if 15 prompts is too few for your categories.
What does Depra AI not do?
Depra AI has no free plan, and you sign up to get its first free scan. The HubSpot grader and the four free checkers above run without an account.
Depra AI does not track Google AI Mode, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Grok, DeepSeek or Meta AI. The Ahrefs and Semrush checkers list Google AI Mode, and Otterly includes Copilot. Perplexity runs weekly on Depra AI. HubSpot's knowledge base says HubSpot AEO runs tracked prompts daily on ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity (HubSpot knowledge base, checked 8 Oct 2026).
Depra AI sends no alerts by email, WhatsApp or Slack and no scheduled or emailed reports. It has no general REST API, which developers use to pull data into other software. It does not write content. It has no full site audit of schema, headings or internal links. Schema is code on a page that tells search engines and AI what the page is about. The GeoIQ free audit checks schema markup among its technical signals (GeoIQ AI Visibility Checker, checked 8 Oct 2026).
How do you choose a HubSpot AEO Grader alternative?
Start from the question you need answered. Then check engines, country and cost. The comparison table of AI visibility tools sets more trackers side by side.
- You want a second opinion today: run one more free checker. Ahrefs takes a brand name, Semrush a domain.
- Your buyers are in India: the Pallix audit runs in the market you pick, and Depra AI asks from inside India.
- You changed something and want to see the effect: you need a tracker. One grade cannot show movement.
- You need Google AI Overviews: the Ahrefs and Semrush checkers, Otterly and Depra AI list it. The HubSpot grader and HubSpot AEO do not.
- You budget in rupees: Depra AI starts at ₹1,999 a month plus GST.
How we checked these tools
We read each vendor's own page on 7 Oct 2026 and again on 8 Oct 2026, and linked it next to the fact. Prices are in the vendor's currency, before tax. We did not test the other tools hands-on, so this page compares what each vendor publishes. Free checkers come first and paid trackers second. The order is not a ranking.