Launched 2017 · Verified Oct 16, 2026

Surfer

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SEO Tools7Write a reviewPolandEffect71/ 100

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Content editor and AI-search visibility tracker that scores drafts against the pages ranking today

content optimizationkeyword research content briefson page seoPaid · from $49/mo

Listed on EffectHub · Aug 16, 2026

Web · Chrome extension · API

Screenshot of the Surfer website — surferseo.com as we captured it — our own screenshot, not the vendor’s press image.

Pricing

Pricing model: Paid
Paid options from: $49/mo
Billing: Monthly

Discovery $49/month billed yearly ($59 month to month) buys 120 documents and 1 seat; Standard $99 ($119 monthly), Pro $182 ($219), Peace of Mind $299 ($359) with API access; a separate AI Search Analytics plan is $82 billed yearly ($95 monthly). No free plan; the page shows the same figures labelled EUR to European visitors.

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Overview

About Surfer

Surfer reads the pages that rank for a keyword and turns them into a brief: terms to cover, headings, length and structure. Its Content Editor scores a draft live as those terms appear, and a 1-click optimizer, humanizer and plagiarism check sit beside it; an audit flags existing URLs that have slipped. Since 2025 the same workspace tracks how a brand shows up in ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Google AI Overviews, sold as its own plan or bundled into the content tiers. Documents push to WordPress, Google Docs and Contentful; an MCP server and an API exist, the API only on the top tier or as an add-on.

Platforms: Web · Chrome extension · API
API: Yes
Last verified: Oct 16, 2026

Verified sources

Pricing page markup lists Discovery 49, Standard 99, Pro 182 and Peace of Mind 299 per month billed yearly, with monthly prices 59, 119, 219 and 359, in USD by default (EUR for European visitors); Peace of Mind includes API access; no free plan, each plan has a free start (15 October 2026)surferseo.com ↗
AI Search Analytics plan at 82 per month billed yearly (95 monthly) tracks 50 prompts daily across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, AI Overviews and Gemini with MCP access (15 October 2026)surferseo.com ↗
Home page describes the Content Editor, Surfer AI writer, content audit, AI-search visibility tracker, Chrome extension, Google Docs and WordPress integrations and an official API available to users with the API add-on or on Enterprise; footer names Surfer Sp. z o.o., Plac Solny 14/3, 50-062 Wrocław, Poland, part of Positive (15 October 2026)surferseo.com ↗
Surfer founded 2017 in Wrocław, Poland; acquired by Positive Group (formerly Sarbacane) on 21 October 2025, founders staying on (15 October 2026)searchenginejournal.com ↗

Fact check

Is Surfer legit?

We don’t label tools safe or unsafe. Below are the records we checked ourselves, each with the date we read it.

Domain registered: Oct 3, 2017 (9 years ago)Registry record (RDAP), registrar Cloudflare, Inc., looked up Sep 6, 2026
TLS certificate: Issued by Google Trust Services, valid until Nov 24, 2026Seen in our own connection to the site on Oct 16, 2026
Last checked: Oct 16, 2026The site answered
On the market since: 2017The vendor's own material, read by us
Operated by: Surfer Sp. z o.o., PolandOur research, card verified Oct 15, 2026

How we collect these records

Editorial verdict

Pros & cons of Surfer

high confidence

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

Best for

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

Not for

Occasional writers — a 120-document quota and a yearly bill are a lot for a few posts
Developers who need the API: it sits on the $299 tier or an add-on, not the entry plans

Watch out: Each plan's 'Start for free' button opens a trial, not a free plan, and the yearly plans are charged upfront for twelve months; pick monthly billing for the first cycle if you are only testing.

#19inSEO Tools· of 59 tools, ranked by rating and popularity

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