Comparisons · No. 09 / 13
How should you compare prices and total cost?
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Normalise the measurement workload before comparing subscription prices. Prompt capacity, answer executions, models and countries are not interchangeable billing units.
Ahrefs defines one custom-prompt check as one prompt execution on one model in one location. Its documentation lists packages of 2,500 checks for $50, 7,000 for $100 and 25,000 for $250 per month, with separate overage terms. (help.ahrefs.com)
What does a common workload look like?
Our illustrative workload calculation is:
Monthly executions = prompts × surfaces × locations × runs per collection day × collection days
| Illustrative design | Calculation | Monthly executions |
|---|---|---|
| Daily monitoring | 60 prompts × 3 surfaces × 1 location × 1 run × 30 days | 5,400 |
| Three daily repetitions | 60 × 3 × 1 × 3 × 30 | 16,200 |
| Same repeated design in two locations | 60 × 3 × 2 × 3 × 30 | 32,400 |
These are arithmetic examples, not recommended universal sample sizes. A supplier may package or charge for them differently. Ask whether retries, failed collections, additional languages and historical exports consume credits.
What belongs in a 90-day pilot budget?
Use this cost model rather than a generic “GEO costs” range:
| Cost line | What to put in the model | What to verify |
|---|---|---|
| Software | Exact package, duration and required additions | Billing commitment, surfaces, repetitions and usage caps |
| Setup | Prompt research, taxonomy and baseline work | Whether onboarding includes meaningful analysis |
| Implementation | Approved technical, editorial or outreach deliverables | Who publishes and who signs off |
| Internal time | Actual staff hours × your internal cost assumption | Product, engineering, analytics and legal involvement |
| Validation | Raw-data review and comparable follow-up collection | Independence and evidence access |
| Exit | Export, migration and termination work | Retention, deletion and access after cancellation |
Do not equate a displayed monthly equivalent with a cancellable monthly commitment. For example, the Semrush display retrieved for this research explicitly labels its $99 monthly figure as billed annually. (semrush.com)
Our recommendation: compare three written totals—cash committed at signature, expected 90-day cash expenditure, and total cost including internal work. This exposes differences that headline monthly rates conceal.
Sources cited on this page
- help.ahrefs.com help.ahrefs.com/en/articles/13192745-how-to-set-up-custom-prompts-to-track-brand
- semrush.com www.semrush.com/pricing/ai/