At a glance
| Profound | AthenaHQ | |
|---|---|---|
| Known for | Enterprise analytics | Enterprise analytics |
| Starting price | Custom pricing (Enterprise) | $295 a month (Starter, 3,600 credits) |
| Trial | Free trial: 50 set prompts for 7 days on 3 engines | Free plan with limited credits |
| AI engines | Up to 9 on Enterprise | Up to 11 on Starter, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI |
| API access | Enterprise | Paid add-on |
| Countries and languages | Custom on Enterprise | One language on Starter, more on Enterprise |
| Last checked | October 2026 | November 2026 |
From each vendor's public pricing and plan pages. Prices change, so confirm on their sites before you buy.
Who should choose Profound
Large enterprises that prefer a sales led setup with a custom contract.
Worth knowing: Pricing is custom, and the trial uses a fixed set of prompts on a limited number of engines.
Who should choose AthenaHQ
Teams that prefer credit based enterprise analytics across many engines.
Worth knowing: Plans start higher than most, and usage is counted in credits rather than prompts.
The key differences
- Price: Profound uses custom pricing, while AthenaHQ starts at $295 a month (Starter, 3,600 credits).
- Trial: Profound: free trial: 50 set prompts for 7 days on 3 engines. AthenaHQ: free plan with limited credits.
- AI engines: Profound lists up to 9 on Enterprise. AthenaHQ lists up to 11 on Starter, including ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity and Google AI.
- API: Profound: Enterprise. AthenaHQ: Paid add-on.
- Markets: Profound: Custom on Enterprise. AthenaHQ: One language on Starter, more on Enterprise.
How to decide
- 1Write down the AI engines your buyers actually use, and check each tool covers them on the plan you can afford.
- 2Count the prompts, brands and countries you need now and in a year, and price both tools at that size.
- 3Check whether you need an API or exports for your own reports.
- 4Run a trial with 20 to 50 of your own buyer questions, and compare what each tool shows with what you see when you ask the same questions yourself.
- 5Pick the one that shows you something you can act on fastest.
A third option to consider
If neither fits, Variask is another option. It starts at $99 a month (75 prompts), has a trial of 7 days for $1, tracks 9 engines: ChatGPT, ChatGPT app, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Grok, DeepSeek, Copilot, Google AI Overviews and AI Mode, and includes API access and multiple countries on every plan. Compare it on the same checklist above.