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aeotime vs LLMrefs: Pricing, Engines and Features (2026)

aeotime vs LLMrefs as of September 2026: pricing, prompts, engines, tracking method and features, plus where each tool is stronger. A comparison by aeotime.

Share of voice, you vs. competitors · illustrative
Alex HoldAI search research, aeotime
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aeotime and LLMrefs are both affordable, self-serve AI visibility trackers with unlimited projects and seats. The differences are price per prompt, engine count and method. LLMrefs costs $79/month for 500 prompts, lists 11 engines, and tracks keywords by generating fan-out prompts, with a free account to start. aeotime costs $99/month (or $79/month yearly) for 250 prompts on eight engines, builds prompts from a scan of your site and your Search Console data, and adds an AI-readiness audit and an Agency plan with white-label reporting. If you want the most prompts and engines per dollar, LLMrefs wins. If you want prompts tied to your own search data, site audits and client-ready reports, aeotime fits better.

Disclosure: aeotime is our product. LLMrefs facts come from its pricing page and homepage as of September 2026.

Who is each tool for?

LLMrefs fits SEO teams and consultants who think in keywords and want broad, low-cost coverage: many engines, many prompts, geo-targeting in 50+ countries and 20+ languages, CSV export and API access. Its keyword model means you don't have to write prompts yourself.

aeotime fits in-house marketers and agencies who want the tool to set itself up from their site and data, check site AI-readiness alongside visibility, and send clients finished reports. It is prompt-first: you see and control the exact questions being asked.

Pricing compared

aeotime LLMrefs
Free option 7-day free trial (card required); free tools with no signup Free account; free AI SEO tools
Main plan $99/mo, or $79/mo billed yearly All in One: $79/mo
Prompts 250 500
Engines included 8 11 listed
Projects and seats Unlimited Unlimited
Agency plan $349/mo or $279/mo yearly: 500 prompts, white-label Same plan; organize projects by client
Trial 7 days (aeotime plan) 7 days

On price per prompt, LLMrefs is roughly 2.5 times cheaper at monthly rates ($0.16 vs $0.40 per prompt per month). On yearly billing aeotime's price drops to $79/month, the same headline price, but for half the prompts.

Engines

Engine aeotime LLMrefs
ChatGPT ✓ ✓ (ChatGPT and ChatGPT Search listed separately)
Google AI Overviews ✓ ✓
Google AI Mode ✓ ✓
Gemini ✓ ✓
Perplexity ✓ ✓
Claude ✓ ✓
Grok ✓ ✓
DeepSeek ✓ ✓
Microsoft Copilot — ✓
Meta AI — ✓

LLMrefs covers everything aeotime covers plus Copilot and Meta AI.

On method: aeotime collects answers through each engine's official API with web search on, and Google AI Overviews and AI Mode through SERP data. API answers can differ slightly from what a logged-in user sees in the consumer apps. Whichever tool you use, ask how answers are collected, because it affects what you are measuring.

Tracking method: keywords vs prompts

This is the biggest practical difference.

LLMrefs starts from keywords. You add a keyword such as "AI SEO"; LLMrefs generates the conversational prompts behind it, runs them across engines, and aggregates brand rankings per keyword. Its FAQ says it checks results continuously to reach statistically significant rankings and updates every keyword at least once a week. It also shows monthly AI prompt volume estimates for your topics.

aeotime starts from prompts. On signup it scans your site, builds a brand profile, and suggests competitors and prompts. If you connect Google Search Console, it turns the real queries people use to find your site into prompts. You see the exact prompts being tracked.

Which is better depends on how you work. Keyword-first is faster to set up if you already have a keyword list and like aggregate trends. Prompt-first gives you exact control and ties tracking to demand you can see in your own GSC data. aeotime has no prompt volume data set; LLMrefs has volume estimates.

Feature comparison

Feature aeotime LLMrefs
Brand mention and position tracking ✓ ✓
Share of voice ✓ ✓
Citation and source tracking ✓ ✓
Competitor analysis ✓ gap analysis ✓
Sentiment ✓ Not listed on pricing page
Prompt volume estimates — ✓ monthly
Keyword-to-prompt fan-out — (our free query fan-out tool shows sub-queries) ✓
Automatic onboarding from a site scan ✓ Not listed on pricing page
Google Search Console → prompts ✓ Not listed on pricing page
GA4 integration ✓ Not listed on pricing page
Site AI-readiness audit ✓ AI crawlability checker (free tool)
White-label PDF reports ✓ Agency plan Not listed on pricing page
Client view-only access ✓ Agency plan Client dashboards
Pitch workspaces ✓ Agency plan Not listed
Reports and alerts ✓ Weekly visibility reports
API and CSV export ✓ read-only REST API + CSV ✓
MCP server ✓ Not listed
AI shopping / marketplace audits Coming soon Not listed
Free SEO tools ✓ llms.txt, schema, crawler, AEO checkers and more ✓ crawlability checker, Reddit thread finder, llms.txt generator and more

Where LLMrefs is stronger

  • A free account. You can start without paying. aeotime has no free plan — only a 7-day trial of the aeotime plan.
  • More prompts for the money. 500 prompts at $79/month versus aeotime's 250 at $99/month.
  • More engines. Eleven listed, including Microsoft Copilot and Meta AI, which aeotime doesn't track.
  • Prompt volume estimates. Useful for deciding which topics to prioritize. aeotime has none.
  • Geo-targeting at scale. 50+ countries and 20+ languages.
  • Keyword-based setup. If your team already works from keyword lists, there is almost nothing to set up.

Where aeotime is stronger

  • Agency plan. 500 prompts, white-label PDF reports, view-only client access and pitch workspaces for prospects, at $349/month or $279/month yearly. Built for client work rather than adapted to it. See aeotime for agencies.
  • Prompts from your own search data. Connecting Google Search Console turns real queries into prompts, so you track questions tied to actual demand for your site.
  • Setup from a site scan. The brand profile, competitor list and prompt suggestions come from your site, which helps teams that don't have a keyword list ready.
  • AI-readiness audit included. aeotime checks the site-side causes of low visibility (crawler access, structure, markup) next to the tracking data. Try the free AEO checker for a smaller version.
  • Sentiment. aeotime records whether engines recommend you, mention you with caveats or steer people elsewhere.
  • GA4 integration to connect AI visibility with traffic.
  • Exact prompts. You see each tracked prompt and its answers, not an aggregate per keyword.

Which should you choose?

Choose LLMrefs if:

  • you want the lowest cost per prompt and the most engines,
  • you need Copilot or Meta AI,
  • you work from keyword lists and want prompt volume estimates,
  • you need API access or CSV exports now.

Choose aeotime if:

  • you run an agency and need white-label reports and client access,
  • you want prompts generated from your site and Search Console data,
  • you want a site AI-readiness audit alongside tracking,
  • you want sentiment tracking on what engines say about you.

For more options, see our best AI visibility tools roundup, or compare aeotime vs Otterly and aeotime vs Profound.

Try it

Run a free one-time check with the AI visibility checker, or start a 7-day trial from the pricing page.

Frequently asked questions

Is LLMrefs cheaper than aeotime?

Per prompt, yes. As of September 2026, LLMrefs All in One is $79/month for 500 prompts, while aeotime is $99/month, or $79/month billed yearly, for 250 prompts. LLMrefs also offers a free account. aeotime has no free plan: the aeotime plan starts with a 7-day free trial, and the free tools need no signup.

How many engines do aeotime and LLMrefs track?

LLMrefs lists 11: ChatGPT, ChatGPT Search, Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Grok, Copilot, Meta AI and DeepSeek. aeotime tracks eight: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Grok and DeepSeek.

What is the difference in how they track?

LLMrefs is keyword-first: you enter keywords and it generates fan-out prompts, then reports visibility per keyword, with dashboards updated at least weekly. aeotime is prompt-first: it scans your site and suggests prompts and competitors, and with Google Search Console connected turns your real search queries into prompts.

Which is better for agencies?

Both allow unlimited projects and seats. aeotime has a dedicated Agency plan with 500 prompts, white-label PDF reports, view-only client access and pitch workspaces. LLMrefs lets you organize projects by client under one subscription and offers CSV export and an API. aeotime is our product.

Written by

Alex Hold

AI search research, aeotime

Alex writes about AI search visibility at aeotime — how ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude and Google AI Overviews choose which brands to mention, which sources they cite, and what site owners can change.

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