Surfer SEO vs Frase.io
Surfer SEO and Frase.io side by side: what each one is, what it costs to start, and whether you can try it free. Everything below comes from the vendors' own sites and other public sources, not from hands-on testing.
Neither tool is ranked above the other here. These are research-based profiles, not hands-on tests. Starting price is the lowest listed paid plan per month (annual-billing equivalent where the vendor lists one), as shown on the vendor's own site when we last checked. Prices change, so confirm on the vendor's site. How this site works.
At a glance
| Surfer SEO | Frase.io | |
|---|---|---|
| Category | Marketing & SEO | Marketing & SEO |
| Starting price | $49/mo (checked October 2026) | $39/mo (checked October 2026) |
| Free tier | Not listed | Not listed |
| Profile | Read profile | Read profile |
Prices are in US dollars unless shown otherwise. Confirm the current price on the vendor's site before you buy.
Key differences
Neither lists a free tier, so expect to pay to use either one.
Frase.io has the lower starting price ($39/mo against $49/mo for Surfer SEO). The cheapest plan rarely has the same limits or features, so compare plans before choosing on price.
Both are in our Marketing & SEO category.
About each tool
S
Surfer SEO
Content optimization and AI-search visibility tool for SEO writers and teams. Plans start at $49 a month billed annually; 7-day Pro trial, no ongoing free plan.
Strengths
- Surfer lists integrations by plan: WordPress and Google Docs on Standard, Contentful added on Pro, and Zapier plus API access on Peace of Mind.
- Surfer lists AI Tracker prompt caps of 25 (weekly refresh) on Standard, 50 (daily) on Pro and 100 (daily) on Peace of Mind; Discovery has none.
- Surfer lists feature steps by tier: AI SEO guidelines and the Surfy assistant with Humanizer on Discovery, a plagiarism checker and rank drop detection on Standard, and 1-click internal linking, a cannibalization report and templates with custom voices on Pro.
- AI Search Analytics is a standalone tracker plan: 50, 100 or 200 prompts refreshed daily, 5 brand workspaces, 5 seats, CSV export, shareable links, Surfer MCP access and a 1,000-word monthly humanizer allowance, per Surfer's docs.
- Surfer says annual plans grant all limit pools upfront for the year, upgrades are prorated and take effect immediately, and after cancelling the plan stays active until the paid period ends. Billing is offered in USD and EUR.
Limitations
- No ongoing free plan was found. New accounts get a 7-day trial of Pro that needs a card at checkout and, per Surfer's trial page, starts the chosen paid plan unless you cancel. The pricing page shows 'Start for Free' buttons without stating trial terms.
- Limits are per plan and unused monthly limits do not roll over; unused annual pools do not roll over to the next year. On an upgrade, old limits are dropped and the billing date resets; downgrades take effect at the next billing date. Discovery has 120 documents, 10 tracked pages, 1 seat and no AI Tracker.
- Peace of Mind 'unlimited' documents and workspaces are subject to a Fair Usage Policy, which lists guideline figures such as 500 documents a month (6,000 a year), 50,000 humanizer words a month and 100 audits a month. API access is limited to Peace of Mind and higher, and Rank Tracker remains a separate purchase after the May 18, 2026 plan migration.
- Surfer's customer privacy policy does not say whether customer data is used to train AI models, and it does not address refunds. It states customer data is kept up to 30 days after a contract ends. The Standard plan's AI prompts are listed as weekly in one place and 'Across ChatGPT' in the comparison table, which disagree. UK and EU invoices have VAT added.
F
Frase.io
SEO and AI-search content platform for research, writing, auditing and publishing, with a 7-day free trial. Starts at $39 a month billed annually ($49 monthly).
Strengths
- Frase's docs describe a loop of research, brief, article, publish, monitor and fix, with SEO, GEO and Google EEAT scoring and the option to import existing content.
- The docs list Google Search Console as a data source and CMS publishing to WordPress, Webflow, Sanity, Wix and Frase CMS; Frase says WordPress publishing can fill Yoast or RankMath fields.
- Frase says Content Guard watches published articles for ranking drops and drafts updates, and that republishing happens after your approval.
- The pricing page lists AI Visibility tracking on every paid plan: 50, 200 and 500 prompts on Starter, Professional and Scale, with more AI engines tracked on higher tiers.
- The docs list an MCP server, an npm package and a public API/CLI; the pricing page lists 5,000, 20,000 and 50,000 API/MCP/CLI requests a month on Starter, Professional and Scale.
- Frase says yearly billing saves 20% versus monthly, and upgrades are prorated immediately while downgrades start at the next billing cycle.
Limitations
- Each paid plan has monthly caps: Starter 10 articles, 50 audit pages and 25 AI generations; Professional 40, 250 and 100; Scale 100, 1,000 and 350. Starter holds at its limits and has no overage option.
- Pay-as-you-go overages on Professional and Scale are off by default, for example $5 per extra article on Professional and $4 on Scale. Extra seats cost $29 a month each.
- The 7-day free trial needs no credit card but is capped at 5 articles, 50 audit pages, 25 AI prompts and 3 seats. There is no permanent free plan for the main product.
- Frase's terms say all fees paid are final with no refunds, and that plans renew automatically for the same term unless notice is given at least 30 days before the term ends. The pricing page does not describe refund or cancellation terms.
