Skip to content
effecthub

Frase vs Surfer

Two fact sheets from our own research, side by side — pricing, platforms, API access and status re-checked by us rather than quoted from the vendors.

The short answer

Cheaper
Frase — $39/mo vs $49/mo for Surfer
Free plan
Neither — Frase has paid plans only, Surfer has paid plans only
Public API
Both have one
Higher Trust score
Surfer — 96 vs 87 for Frase
Best fit
Frase: Writers and small agencies who want a research-backed outline before drafting · Surfer: Content teams and agencies producing dozens of briefed articles a month

From our own records as of each tool's last check. Anything we have not confirmed is left out rather than guessed. How we verify

FraseBuilds content briefs from live SERPs, now scoring AI answers tooSurferContent editor and AI-search visibility tracker that scores drafts against the pages ranking today

Side by side

FactFraseSurfer
CategorySEO ToolsSEO Tools
Pricing modelPaidPaid
Starts at$39/mo$49/mo
Public APIYesYes
Trust score87 / 10096 / 100
PlatformsWeb, APIWeb, Chrome extension, API
CompanyFraseSurfer Sp. z o.o.
Launched20162017
Last verifiedSep 6, 2026Sep 6, 2026

What our research says

Frase

The brief builder is still the reason to buy it — pulling competitor headings and questions into a usable outline in a minute — but the article and audit caps are tight enough that the entry tier suits one writer, not a content team.

Pros

  • SERP extraction into a structured brief remains fast and genuinely useful
  • API and MCP access are included on every plan rather than being an upsell
  • Direct publishing to WordPress, Webflow, Sanity and Wix removes the copy-paste step
  • Now scores against AI answer engines, not just Google rankings

Cons

  • No free tier and a short 7-day trial
  • Monthly billing costs about 25% more than the advertised annual rate
  • Article, audit-page and Content Guard caps are all separate meters to track
  • Extra seats at $29/month add up quickly on a 3-seat plan

Surfer

Surfer is the editor to buy when a team writes for Google in volume and wants a number on every draft before it ships; the term-coverage score is a proxy, but a disciplined one, and the Google Docs and WordPress routes keep writers out of yet another tab. Solo bloggers on a budget and teams who already run Clearscope will find the yearly-first pricing and the document quotas harder to love. The 2025 pivot to AI-search tracking is real but priced as a second product.

Pros

  • Live score in the editor turns a ranking-page analysis into concrete edits
  • WordPress plugin, Google Docs and Contentful integrations put the score where writing happens
  • Audit and ranking-drop alerts catch decay on pages that were once fine
  • AI-search visibility tracking across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and AI Overviews under the same login

Cons

  • Headline prices are billed yearly; monthly plans cost about 20% more
  • Documents and tracked pages are metered, and unused credits reset rather than roll over
  • API access is reserved for the Peace of Mind tier or an add-on
  • Owned by Positive Group since October 2025, so roadmap and pricing may follow the group's packaging

Which one fits

Choose Frase if you need

  • Writers and small agencies who want a research-backed outline before drafting
  • Teams tracking whether published pages are decaying in both Google and AI answers
  • Anyone who wants brief, draft and publish in one tool

Choose Surfer if you need

  • Content teams and agencies producing dozens of briefed articles a month
  • SEO leads who want a repeatable brief-and-score workflow writers can follow without training
  • Brands that want one place for Google rankings and ChatGPT or Perplexity mentions

Frase vs Surfer: the questions people ask

Is Frase cheaper than Surfer?

On published entry prices, Frase starts lower — $39/mo against $49/mo for Surfer. Entry price is the lowest paid plan as we last verified it; what each plan includes differs.

Which has a public API, Frase or Surfer?

Both ship a public API, so either can be built on; the fact table above shows the platforms each one runs on.

More comparisons

All Frase alternatives →All Surfer alternatives →Browse all SEO Tools →