7 Best Alternatives to Frase in 2026
By Noahlast updated pricing verified
From our data: Only 1 of the 7 Frase alternatives listed here (Byword, with 5 free article credits) has a free tier and only 1 (Koala AI at $25/month) starts below Frase's $49/month; four of the seven start at exactly $99/month, which is also the median starting price.
Surfer
Writesonic
Koala AI
Outrank
BywordHow we picked
- Each alternative was measured against Frase's loop of research, drafting, scoring, publishing and refreshing, and against Frase Starter: $49/month billed monthly ($39 billed yearly) for 1 seat, 1 site, 10 articles a month and 50 AI Visibility prompts on ChatGPT and Google AI. Surfer scores drafts out of 100, Koala AI (from Professional) and Byword attach SEO scores to generated articles, Semrush adds content optimization from Pro+, and Writesonic, Outrank and RankPill list no draft score.
- Monthly output was set side by side: 10 articles on Frase Starter, about 10 documents a month on Surfer Discovery (120 a year on annual billing), 15 articles on Writesonic Starter, 25 on Byword Starter and 30 on Outrank and RankPill, while Koala AI meters 45,000 words on Starter.
- Prices for Frase, Surfer, Writesonic, Koala AI, Outrank, RankPill and Byword were verified on their pricing pages on 23 October 2026; Semrush's were verified on 23 September 2026.
- Review evidence is the Trustpilot figures quoted in the listings: Writesonic 4.6/5 from 5,763 reviews, Surfer 4.2/5 from 223, Outrank 3.8/5 from 96, Frase 3.7/5 from 66 (Frase itself cites 4.8/5 from 307+ G2 reviews), Koala AI 3.2/5 from 22 and RankPill 2.8/5 from 29. Byword and Semrush have no rating on record here.
- Free access was compared with Frase's 7-day trial, which needs no card: Byword gives 5 free article credits with no card, Koala AI a one-time 5,000 free words, Writesonic a 7-day trial without a card, Surfer a 7-day Pro trial that needs a card, Outrank a 3-day trial with watermarked articles, Semrush a time-limited trial, and RankPill lists no trial at all.
Paid placement never alters editorial rank — read the full methodology.
Frase alternatives at a glance
| Alternative | Best for | Learning curve | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frasereference | Publishing new SEO blog posts and refreshing decaying ones on WordPress, Webflow, Sanity or Wix from a single queue, with every draft and fix waiting for human approval. | Moderate | From $49/mo |
| Surfer | Briefing and optimizing blog articles so in-house or freelance writers hit SERP-based targets inside a shared, scored editor in the browser, Google Docs or WordPress. | Moderate | From $59/mo |
| Writesonic | Finding the buyer prompts where ChatGPT, Gemini or Google AI Overviews recommend competitors instead of your brand, then producing the articles and site fixes to close those gaps. | Moderate | From $99/mo |
| Koala AI | Niche and affiliate site owners generating long-form SEO articles in bulk, including Amazon product roundups, and publishing them straight to WordPress. | Low | From $25/mo |
| Outrank | Filling an empty or neglected company blog with one keyword-targeted article a day, published automatically to WordPress, Webflow, Shopify or Framer, plus starter backlinks, with no writer or outreach. | Low | From $99/mo |
| RankPill | Keeping a small business website publishing one long-form, keyword-targeted article every day on WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Wix or Framer without an in-house writer. | Low | From $99/mo |
| Byword | Generating dozens to thousands of long-form SEO articles or programmatic pages in batches and publishing them straight to WordPress, Webflow or HubSpot. | Moderate | Free tier · paid from $99/mo |
| Semrush | Agencies and in-house marketers who need one dashboard to track both Google rankings and brand mentions inside AI answers like ChatGPT and Perplexity. | Steep | From $117.33/mo |
Frase
RankPill
Semrush1Surfer — best Frase alternative for briefing and optimizing blog articles so in-house or freelance writers hit SERP-based targets inside a shared, scored editor in the browser, Google Docs or WordPress.
Surfer is the best Frase alternative for a team whose writers, in-house or freelance, need a live target while they write rather than an agent that drafts for them. Surfer's Content Editor grades each draft out of 100 against the pages ranking for its keyword and updates as writers type, and it runs in the browser, inside Google Docs, in WordPress through a free plugin and in Contentful, while shareable editor links let outside writers work without a Surfer login. Frase lists CMS publishing but no Google Docs or Contentful editor. Surfer also has the stronger Trustpilot record, 4.2/5 from 223 reviews against Frase's 3.7/5 from 66, and its tracking-only AI Search Analytics plan at $95/month covers 50 prompts a day across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Mode and AI Overviews, where Frase Starter tracks ChatGPT and Google AI and adds Gemini only on Scale at $299/month. Frase is still the better choice for teams that want the agent to do the work end to end. Frase Starter costs $49/month billed monthly against Surfer Discovery's $59, Frase puts MCP, CLI and API access on every plan where Surfer keeps its API for Peace of Mind at $359/month, Frase's 7-day trial needs no card while Surfer's requires one, and Content Guard drafts and republishes fixes for decaying pages.
Compared to Frase: a live Content Score out of 100 inside Google Docs, WordPress and Contentful, 4.2/5 from 223 Trustpilot reviews vs Frase's 3.7/5 from 66, and Discovery at $59/month billed monthly vs Frase Starter's $49
Wins:Content Editor scores drafts out of 100 against ranking pages and runs inside Google Docs, WordPress (free plugin) and Contentful, with shareable links for writers who have no Surfer login · Trustpilot score of 4.2/5 from 223 reviews, against Frase's 3.7/5 from 66 · AI Search Analytics at $95/month tracks 50 prompts daily on ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Google AI Mode and AI Overviews, where Frase Starter covers ChatGPT and Google AI and adds Claude and Gemini only on Scale at $299/month · Standard at $119/month billed monthly includes 3 seats, $10 less than Frase Professional's 3 seats at $129
Loses:Discovery costs $59/month billed monthly ($49 yearly) against Frase Starter's $49 ($39 yearly) · Discovery includes no AI prompt tracking, where Frase Starter includes 50 AI Visibility prompts · API access only on Peace of Mind at $359/month billed monthly, where Frase includes MCP, CLI and API access on every plan · 7-day Pro trial requires a card on file, where Frase's 7-day trial does not, and Surfer's unused documents never roll over
Pros
- Content Score and live guidelines give writers a concrete target for terms, structure and length on every draft.
- Works inside Google Docs and WordPress (free plugin), and shareable editor links let external writers work without a Surfer login.
- One subscription covers briefs, AI drafting (Surfer AI and Surfy), plagiarism checks, internal linking and content audits.
- AI Tracker reports mention gaps, sentiment and cited sources for tracked prompts across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI answers.
- Annual billing saves up to 17% (up to $720 a year), with the full year's limits granted upfront.
Cons
- No free plan; the 7-day Pro trial needs a card and converts to the plan chosen at checkout unless cancelled.
- Unused documents and limits never roll over, and annual plans are charged upfront for the whole year.
- No backlink analysis, so link research still needs a separate tool such as Ahrefs or Semrush.
- Trustpilot reviewers (4.2/5 from 223 reviews) report price increases, expired credits and charges after cancellation.
Pricing: From $59/mo — $59/month billed monthly for Surfer Discovery ($49 yearly) vs $49/month for Frase Starter ($39 yearly); $119 vs $129/month at 3 seats (Surfer Standard vs Frase Professional) (verified )
2Writesonic — best Frase alternative for finding the buyer prompts where ChatGPT, Gemini or Google AI Overviews recommend competitors instead of your brand, then producing the articles and site fixes to close those gaps.
Writesonic is the best Frase alternative for a marketing team whose first question is how ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews describe the brand, and whose second is what to fix. Writesonic Starter at $99/month billed monthly ($79 annually) tracks 50 prompts every day on all three engines, and the same plan includes 15 AI articles and 10 site audits a month that check whether GPTBot and ClaudeBot can crawl your pages. Frase Starter also tracks 50 prompts, but only on ChatGPT and Google AI, and Frase adds Gemini only on Scale at $299/month. Writesonic also points to the Reddit threads, YouTube videos and listicles that cite competitors, and it has by far the larger review base: 4.6/5 from 5,763 Trustpilot reviews against Frase's 3.7/5 from 66. Frase is still the better choice for producing and maintaining content. Frase Starter costs half as much at $49/month, every Frase draft gets separate SEO and GEO scores, Content Guard rewrites pages that slip, and Frase publishes to WordPress, Webflow, Sanity, Wix or FraseCMS, where Writesonic lists WordPress as its only CMS connection. At the next tier, Frase Professional ($129/month) gives 40 articles, 200 prompts and 3 seats, while Writesonic Basic ($249/month) gives 25 articles, 100 prompts and 2 users, and Writesonic keeps Perplexity and Claude tracking for Enterprise.
Compared to Frase: daily tracking of 50 prompts on ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews from $99/month, 4.6/5 from 5,763 Trustpilot reviews vs Frase's 3.7/5 from 66, and no SEO or GEO draft score listed
Wins:Starter tracks 50 prompts daily on ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews, where Frase Starter covers ChatGPT and Google AI and adds Gemini only on Scale at $299/month · Site audits check AI-crawler access (robots.txt, schema, errors served to GPTBot or ClaudeBot), and Writesonic surfaces Reddit threads, YouTube videos and listicles that cite competitors · 15 AI articles a month on Starter, against 10 on Frase Starter · 4.6/5 from 5,763 Trustpilot reviews against Frase's 3.7/5 from 66, plus a 7-day no-questions refund on paid plans
Loses:Starter costs $99/month billed monthly against Frase Starter's $49 · No SEO or GEO score per draft and no decay monitoring like Frase's Content Guard listed · WordPress is the only CMS connection listed, where Frase publishes to WordPress, Webflow, Sanity, Wix and FraseCMS · Basic at $249/month gives 25 articles, 100 prompts and 2 users, where Frase Professional at $129/month gives 40 articles, 200 prompts and 3 seats; Perplexity and Claude tracking are Enterprise-only
Pros
- Daily tracking of brand mentions, citations and competitors in ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews on every plan.
- Pairs tracking with execution: AI Article Writer, site audits and AI-crawler checks come in the same subscription.
- 7-day free trial with no credit card, plus a 7-day no-questions-asked refund on paid plans.
- Annual billing saves 20%, and Enterprise covers SOC 2 Type II, HIPAA, GDPR and SSO/SAML.
- Large review base: 4.6/5 from 5,763 Trustpilot reviews.
Cons
- Perplexity, Claude, Microsoft Copilot, Grok and Google AI Mode tracking are Enterprise-only.
- Small article allowances for the price: 15 a month on Starter and 25 on Basic, and only Growth can buy more ($100 per 20).
- Self-serve plans top out at five users, at $50/month per extra user.
- Trustpilot reviewers report renewals charged after cancellation and slow replies to refund requests.
Pricing: From $99/mo — $99/month billed monthly for Writesonic Starter ($79 annually) vs $49/month for Frase Starter ($39 yearly); $249 vs $129/month at the next tier (Writesonic Basic vs Frase Professional) (verified )
3Koala AI — best Frase alternative for niche and affiliate site owners generating long-form SEO articles in bulk, including Amazon product roundups, and publishing them straight to WordPress.
Koala AI is the best Frase alternative for niche and affiliate site owners who measure output in words per dollar. Koala Starter costs $25/month for 45,000 words and 500 credits, with bulk writing, an Amazon mode that builds roundups and reviews from live product data, API and MCP access, and one-click publishing to WordPress, Shopify, Webflow or Ghost. Koala Professional costs the same $49/month as Frase Starter and meters 100,000 words a month, where Frase Starter caps output at 10 articles. Koala's monthly plans bank unused words and credits for up to three months of allowance, new accounts get a one-time 5,000 free words with no card, and Koala's learning curve is rated low against Frase's moderate. Frase is still the better choice for teams that care about how content performs after it ships. Frase gives every draft a GEO score as well as an SEO score, tracks citations in ChatGPT and Google AI, and runs Content Guard to rewrite decaying pages; Koala lists none of those three. Koala also counts words at 2x for GPT-6.1 Sol and Claude Sonnet 5 and 3x for Claude Opus 5.5, its SEO-scored editor starts at Professional, full Brand DNA needs Boost at $99/month, and its Trustpilot score is 3.2/5 from 22 reviews against Frase's 3.7/5 from 66.
Compared to Frase: Starter at $25/month for 45,000 words vs Frase Starter's $49 for 10 articles, Shopify, Ghost and Amazon affiliate publishing, and no GEO score, AI citation tracking or decay monitoring listed
Wins:Starter costs $25/month for 45,000 words, and Professional at Frase Starter's $49 price meters 100,000 words, where Frase Starter caps output at 10 articles a month · Publishes to Shopify and Ghost as well as WordPress and Webflow, with an Amazon mode that writes roundups and reviews from live product data · Unused words and credits on monthly plans roll into a bank worth up to three months of allowance · One-time 5,000 free words with no card and a low learning curve, against Frase's 7-day trial and moderate learning curve
Loses:No GEO score, AI citation tracking or decay monitoring like Frase's Content Guard listed · Premium models count words at 2x (GPT-6.1 Sol, Claude Sonnet 5) or 3x (Claude Opus 5.5), and the SEO-scored article editor starts at Professional · Full Brand DNA and the uncapped SEO agent need Boost at $99/month · Trustpilot score of 3.2/5 from 22 reviews against Frase's 3.7/5 from 66, and refunds only within 15 days and under 15,000 words of usage
Pros
- Low entry price: $25/month for 45,000 words, with API and MCP access on every paid plan.
- One-click publishing to WordPress, Shopify, Webflow and Ghost, plus webhooks for Zapier and Make.
- Articles come with AI images and internal links; Koala reports 25M+ internal links placed to date.
- Unused words and credits on monthly plans go into a rollover bank worth up to three months of allowance.
- Amazon affiliate mode builds roundups and reviews from live Amazon product data.
Cons
- Premium models consume the word allowance two to three times faster than the default GPT-6 Luna.
- The full SEO agent and Brand DNA require Boost ($99/month); Starter and Professional get capped agent messages or a preview.
- Refunds only within 15 days and only if usage stays under 15,000 words and 100 credits.
- Trustpilot reviewers (3.2/5 from 22 reviews) report fast credit depletion, cancellation problems and slow support.
Pricing: From $25/mo — $25/month for Koala Starter (45,000 words) vs $49/month billed monthly for Frase Starter (10 articles); $49 buys 100,000 words on Koala Professional (verified )
4Outrank — best Frase alternative for filling an empty or neglected company blog with one keyword-targeted article a day, published automatically to WordPress, Webflow, Shopify or Framer, plus starter backlinks, with no writer or outreach.
Outrank is the best Frase alternative for a founder who wants the blog filled without approving each draft or building links by hand. Outrank's single Organic Growth plan costs $99/month ($999/year) and researches keywords, writes one article a day, 30 a month, and publishes each to WordPress, Webflow, Shopify, Wix, Framer, Notion, Ghost or a webhook. The plan includes a backlink exchange whose placements a scheduled job re-checks, unlimited users and AI images, and Outrank writes in more than 150 languages. Frase lists no backlink feature, charges $29/month per extra seat on Professional, and writes in 70+ languages. Like Frase's Content Guard, Outrank drafts rewrites for pages that slip in Search Console, and those wait for approval by default. Frase is still the better choice when quality and visibility measurement matter. Frase scores every draft for SEO and GEO and tracks citations in ChatGPT and Google AI, where Outrank checks only that links load and dates are current, sells fact-checking as a $1,399/month add-on, and does not monitor AI assistants. Frase Professional also gives 40 articles and 5 sites for $129/month against Outrank's 30 articles for one site, Frase's 7-day trial needs no card, and Outrank's exchange makes your articles host other customers' links, a pattern Google's spam policies warn about.
Compared to Frase: 30 auto-published articles a month plus a backlink exchange for $99/month, unlimited users vs Frase's 1 to 5 seats, and no draft scoring, fact-checking or AI-answer tracking
Wins:One $99/month plan ($999/year) writes and auto-publishes 30 articles a month to WordPress, Webflow, Shopify, Wix, Framer, Notion, Ghost or a webhook · Includes a backlink exchange with placements re-checked by a scheduled job, where Frase lists no backlink feature · Unlimited users on the one plan, where Frase includes 1 seat on Starter, 3 on Professional and 5 on Scale, with extra Professional seats at $29/month · Writes in more than 150 languages against Frase's 70+, and holds 3.8/5 from 96 Trustpilot reviews against Frase's 3.7/5 from 66
Loses:No SEO or GEO draft score; Outrank checks only that links load and dates are current, and human fact-checking costs $1,399/month · Does not monitor brand mentions in AI assistants, where Frase tracks ChatGPT and Google AI from Starter · One website per plan, where Frase Professional covers 5 sites and 40 articles for $129/month · Included backlinks require your articles to host other customers' links, and Trustpilot reviewers report trouble cancelling the 3-day trial before the $99 charge
Pros
- One $99/month plan covers 30 articles, unlimited keyword research, unlimited users and every CMS integration, with 10-20% off across 2 to 25 sites.
- Publishes directly to WordPress, WordPress.com, Webflow, Shopify, Wix, Framer, Notion, Ghost, a Next.js blog or any webhook, as live posts or drafts.
- Backlink placements are re-checked by a scheduled job and tracked as created, not verified or lost.
- Uses Search Console data to find pages losing Google visibility and drafts rewrites, which wait for your approval by default.
- REST API, MCP server and outrank-cli let AI agents manage keywords, articles and publishing.
Cons
- Outrank checks links and dates but not facts; human fact-checking is a $1,399/month add-on.
- Included backlinks depend on hosting other customers' links in your own articles, which cautious SEOs avoid under Google's link-exchange rules.
- Outrank does not monitor brand mentions inside AI assistants and does not add structured data to articles, so both need other tools.
- Trustpilot reviewers (3.8/5 from 96 reviews) report trouble cancelling the 3-day trial before being billed $99.
Pricing: From $99/mo — $99/month or $999/year for Outrank (30 articles, one site) vs $129/month billed monthly for Frase Professional (40 articles, 5 sites) or $49 for Frase Starter (10 articles) (verified )
5RankPill — best Frase alternative for keeping a small business website publishing one long-form, keyword-targeted article every day on WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Wix or Framer without an in-house writer.
RankPill is the best Frase alternative for a small business that wants one long article published every day and has no one to approve drafts. RankPill's Business plan costs $99/month per website, $267 a quarter or $990 a year, and includes 30 articles of 3,000+ words, auto-publishing to WordPress, Webflow, Shopify, Wix or Framer, 30 backlink credits, a monthly site audit, Reddit thread suggestions and unlimited team members. That is 30 articles for $99 against Frase Starter's 10 for $49 and Frase Professional's 40 for $129, and yearly billing brings RankPill to $82.50 a month. Frase lists no backlink feature, while RankPill's exchange places a dofollow partner link inside a full article and lets you set the minimum Domain Rating of linking sites. Frase is still the better choice for most buyers, because RankPill's terms are the strictest on this page. RankPill lists no free plan or trial, every payment outside a conditional 90-day growth guarantee is final, and its Trustpilot score is 2.8/5 from 29 reviews citing refused refunds and generic articles, against Frase's 3.7/5 from 66 and Frase's 7-day trial with no card. RankPill also lists no draft scoring or AI-answer tracking, each earned link requires hosting a partner's link, and RankPill writes in 40+ languages against Frase's 70+.
Compared to Frase: 30 auto-published 3,000+ word articles and 30 backlink credits for $99/month, unlimited team members, and no trial, final payments and 2.8/5 from 29 Trustpilot reviews
Wins:30 articles of 3,000+ words a month for $99 per website, against 10 articles on Frase Starter ($49) and 40 on Frase Professional ($129) · 30 backlink credits a month from an exchange filtered by a minimum Domain Rating you set, where Frase lists no backlink feature · Unlimited team members, where Frase includes 1 to 5 seats and charges $29/month per extra seat on Professional · Yearly billing at $990 brings the effective price to $82.50 a month
Loses:No free plan or trial listed, and every payment is final outside a conditional 90-day growth guarantee, where Frase offers a 7-day trial with no card · Trustpilot score of 2.8/5 from 29 reviews, citing refused refunds and generic articles, against Frase's 3.7/5 from 66 · No draft scoring, AI-answer tracking or decay monitoring like Frase's Content Guard listed · Each earned backlink requires your article to carry a partner link, a reciprocal pattern Google's spam policies scrutinize
Pros
- One $99/month plan includes 30 articles, 30 backlink credits, a monthly site audit and unlimited team members, with no seat fees.
- Articles target 3,000+ words with images, internal and external links and mentions of your own offerings.
- Exchange links sit inside full articles, are checked live as dofollow, and are filtered by a minimum Domain Rating you set.
- Writes in 40+ languages and publishes to WordPress, Webflow, Shopify, Wix and Framer, or anywhere through webhooks and Zapier.
- Quarterly ($267) and yearly ($990) billing bring the effective price to about $89 or $82.50 a month.
Cons
- All payments are final except under the 90-day growth guarantee, which requires 90 days of uninterrupted paid publishing and a verified Search Console property.
- Trustpilot shows 2.8/5 from 29 reviews, with complaints about refunds, billing and generic content.
- Each earned backlink requires your own article to carry a partner link, a reciprocal pattern Google's spam policies scrutinize.
- No free plan or free trial is listed on the pricing page; access starts with a paid month.
Pricing: From $99/mo — $99/month per website for RankPill Business ($990/year) vs $49/month billed monthly for Frase Starter or $129/month for Frase Professional (verified )
6Byword — best Frase alternative for generating dozens to thousands of long-form SEO articles or programmatic pages in batches and publishing them straight to WordPress, Webflow or HubSpot.
Byword is the best Frase alternative for teams that need volume, especially programmatic pages built from data. Byword's bulk mode runs 1,000+ articles in one batch, and its programmatic SEO feature turns a template plus a CSV, API feed or manual dataset into thousands of researched pages, with a choice of GPT-5.4, Claude Opus 4.6 or Gemini 3.1 Pro per article or batch. Byword Starter costs $99/month for 25 articles across 5 domains, extra articles cost $3.50, unused credits never expire, and paid plans publish to WordPress, Webflow, Ghost, Shopify, HubSpot, Notion, Google Docs and more, with Google indexing requests. Byword also gives 5 free article credits with no card and no time limit, where Frase has no free plan. Frase is still the better choice for maintaining a site rather than mass-producing pages. Byword's own documentation says it generates new articles and points to Surfer SEO or Clearscope for optimizing existing ones, while Frase's Content Guard rewrites decaying pages. Frase Starter at $49/month includes MCP, CLI and API access and tracks citations in ChatGPT and Google AI; Byword reserves its REST API for Standard at $299/month, which is also its first tier with 3 seats, against Frase Professional's 3 seats at $129/month, and Byword lists no AI-answer tracking and has no rating on record here.
Compared to Frase: batches of 1,000+ articles and programmatic pages from CSV or API data, 5 free article credits with no card, and no tool for refreshing existing articles
Wins:Bulk mode runs 1,000+ articles per batch, and programmatic SEO builds thousands of pages from a template plus CSV, API or manual data · 5 free article credits with no card and no time limit, where Frase has no free plan · Starter covers 5 domains and 25 articles for $99/month, with extra articles at $3.50 and credits that never expire, where Frase Starter covers 1 site and 10 articles · Publishes to Ghost, Shopify, HubSpot, Notion, Medium, Airtable, Google Docs and Google Sheets as well as WordPress and Webflow, and can request Google indexing
Loses:Generates new articles only; Byword's own documentation points to Surfer SEO or Clearscope for optimizing existing pages, the job Frase's Content Guard does · REST API and 3 seats start at Standard for $299/month, where Frase includes API access on every plan and 3 seats on Professional at $129/month · No AI-answer citation tracking listed, where Frase tracks ChatGPT and Google AI from Starter · Starter costs $99/month against Frase Starter's $49, and Byword has no rating on record here
Pros
- Choose GPT-5.4, Claude Opus 4.6 or Gemini 3.1 Pro per article or per batch.
- Bulk mode runs 1,000+ articles in one batch, and programmatic SEO builds pages from CSV, API or manual datasets.
- Unused article credits roll over indefinitely, and extra credits cost $2.50-$3.50 each depending on plan.
- Publishes directly to WordPress, Webflow, Ghost, Shopify, HubSpot, Notion, Medium, Airtable, Google Docs, Google Sheets and webhooks, and can request Google indexing.
- MCP server and a REST API (Standard plan and up) connect Byword to AI clients and content pipelines.
Cons
- Credit pricing scales steeply: 25 articles for $99/month, 80 for $299/month, 300 for $999/month.
- No backlink building, so link acquisition needs a separate tool or agency.
- Free credits cannot publish to a CMS, request indexing or use the API; those need a paid plan.
- Byword's own documentation says it generates new articles rather than optimizing existing ones, and points to Surfer SEO or Clearscope for refreshes.
Pricing: Free tier · paid from $99/mo — $99/month for Byword Starter (25 articles) vs $49/month billed monthly for Frase Starter (10 articles); $299 vs $129/month at 3 seats (Byword Standard vs Frase Professional) (verified )
7Semrush — best Frase alternative for agencies and in-house marketers who need one dashboard to track both Google rankings and brand mentions inside AI answers like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
Semrush is the best Frase alternative for marketers who want the research layer, meaning keywords, backlinks, rankings and audits, in the same subscription as AI-answer tracking. Semrush cites 28 billion keywords and 43 trillion backlinks across 142 geo databases, includes Site Audit and Position Tracking on every plan, and tracks brand mentions in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews: Starter at $165.17/month billed annually ($199 monthly) covers 50 prompts a day. Frase builds its opportunity list from your site, Search Console and competitors but lists no backlink index or rank tracker, and Frase Starter's 50 prompts cover only ChatGPT and Google AI. Semrush Pro+ at $248.17/month billed annually ($299 monthly) adds content optimization, cannibalization analysis and 100 prompts a day. Frase is still the better choice for producing content. Frase drafts, scores, publishes and refreshes articles from $49/month billed monthly, while Semrush's listing describes no article writing or CMS publishing and its cheapest plan is $139/month billed monthly. Semrush's learning curve is rated steep against Frase's moderate, extra Semrush users cost from $45/month against Frase's $29 extra seat on Professional, and Semrush's API data integration sits on Advanced at $455.67/month billed annually, where Frase includes API access on every plan.
Compared to Frase: keyword, backlink, audit and rank-tracking data in one plan, AI tracking on ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and AI Overviews from $199/month billed monthly, and no article drafting or CMS publishing listed
Wins:Backlink data from an index of 43 trillion backlinks and keyword data across 28 billion keywords, neither of which Frase lists · Site Audit and Position Tracking on every plan, from 5 sites and 500 tracked keywords · Starter tracks 50 AI prompts a day across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews, where Frase Starter covers ChatGPT and Google AI and adds Perplexity on Professional
Loses:No article drafting or CMS publishing described, and content optimization starts at Pro+ for $248.17/month billed annually ($299 monthly) · Cheapest plan is $139/month billed monthly ($117.33 annually) against Frase Starter's $49 ($39 yearly) · Steep learning curve against Frase's moderate one, and extra users cost from $45/month · API data integration only on Advanced at $455.67/month billed annually, where Frase includes MCP, CLI and API access on every plan
Pros
- Single platform covers keyword research, backlink analysis, site audits, rank tracking, and AI-answer visibility
- Large underlying dataset: 28 billion keywords and 43 trillion backlinks across 142 geo databases per the vendor's own stats page
- Native AI Visibility Index and prompt tracking are ahead of most legacy SEO tools on AI-search reporting
- Add-ons (extra users, white-labeled reports) let agencies scale a single account instead of buying multiple seats
Cons
- Cheapest plan is $117.33/mo billed annually ($139/mo monthly) — no permanent free tier, only a time-limited free trial
- Adding team members costs extra starting at $45/mo per user on top of the base plan
- Keyword and site-monitoring limits (e.g., 500 keywords, 5 sites on entry plans) are restrictive for agencies with many clients and force upgrades to Pro+ or Advanced
- Steep learning curve given the number of separate toolkits (SEO, Content, Local, Advertising, Social, AI PR) bundled into one interface
Pricing: From $117.33/mo — $199/month billed monthly for Semrush Starter ($165.17 annually) vs $49/month for Frase Starter ($39 yearly), each with 50 AI prompts tracked (verified )
Which one is right for you?
- Your writers draft in Google Docs or WordPress, some are freelancers without a login, and you want each draft scored before it shipsSurfer
- Your boss wants to know why ChatGPT and Gemini recommend a competitor, and you need articles and site fixes to change thatWritesonic
- You run affiliate or niche sites and want complete articles, including Amazon roundups, for about $25 a monthKoala AI
- You have no writer and no time to approve drafts, and you want a post a day published automatically plus some backlinksOutrank
- You run a small business site and want 3,000-word posts every day on a yearly plan near $82.50 a monthRankPill
- You need hundreds of programmatic pages built from a spreadsheet of locations or productsByword
- You want keyword, backlink and rank-tracking data in the same tool that tracks your AI-answer visibilitySemrush
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free alternative to Frase?
- Not a full one: Byword gives 5 free article credits with no card and no time limit, and Koala AI a one-time 5,000 free words, but neither includes Frase's SEO and GEO scoring or Content Guard. Writesonic offers a 7-day trial without a card like Frase's, while Surfer's 7-day Pro trial needs a card and RankPill lists no trial.
What is the closest alternative to Frase?
- Surfer is the closest: like Frase, Surfer analyzes the pages that rank for a keyword, scores drafts, writes with AI, tracks AI answers and audits decaying content. Surfer Discovery costs $59/month billed monthly against Frase Starter's $49, and Surfer works inside Google Docs, WordPress and Contentful.
Can Surfer replace Frase?
- Yes for teams that want writers scoring their own drafts, since Surfer's Content Editor grades each draft out of 100 inside Google Docs, WordPress or the browser. Teams that rely on Frase's agent to publish to Webflow, Sanity, Wix or FraseCMS and to rewrite decaying pages through Content Guard will lose that loop, and Surfer's API needs Peace of Mind at $359/month billed monthly.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Frase?
- Only Koala AI: Koala Starter costs $25/month for 45,000 words, below Frase Starter's $49/month billed monthly. Surfer starts at $59/month billed monthly, Writesonic, Outrank, RankPill and Byword at $99/month, and Semrush at $139/month billed monthly.
Which Frase alternative tracks brand mentions in AI answers?
- Writesonic, Surfer and Semrush all do: Writesonic Starter tracks 50 prompts daily on ChatGPT, Gemini and Google AI Overviews for $99/month billed monthly, Surfer's AI Search Analytics plan tracks 50 daily prompts across five AI engines for $95/month, and Semrush Starter tracks 50 a day for $199/month billed monthly. Frase Starter tracks 50 prompts on ChatGPT and Google AI for $49/month.
Which Frase alternative builds backlinks?
- Outrank and RankPill both include a backlink exchange in their $99/month plans, in which your articles host other customers' links in return for links to your site. Semrush analyzes backlinks from an index of 43 trillion rather than building them, and Frase lists no backlink feature.