Wellows vs AthenaHQ (2026)
Wellows is a $29/mo citation tracker with outreach targets. AthenaHQ is an action-queue GEO platform from $295/mo on credits. Pricing, engines and fit compared, plus the layer both skip.
Wellows and AthenaHQ both promise to move you from data to action, but they define action differently. Wellows reads citations and hands you outreach targets and drafts. AthenaHQ, built by former Google Search and DeepMind engineers, rolls visibility into a GEO score and pushes tasks into an Action Center with a content optimization agent behind it.
Wellows facts come from wellows.com/pricing and llms.txt (updated 23 September 2026). AthenaHQ pricing was read on 24 October 2026. Both are recorded in our catalog.
The short answer
Wellows is the better buy for small budgets, agencies with many projects, and teams whose job is earning citations on third-party pages. AthenaHQ is the better buy for a team that will work an optimization queue every day and needs more than five engines. Neither publishes AI crawler logs or conversion tracking, and that matters more than the gap between them.
Side by side
| Wellows | AthenaHQ | |
|---|---|---|
| Free option | None; 7-day trial on every plan | Essential, free, 300 credits |
| Entry paid plan | Basic, $29/mo, 1,800 AI answers | Starter, $295/mo, 3,600 credits |
| Unit | One answer = one prompt, one engine, one day | One credit = one AI response |
| Engines | 5: ChatGPT, AI Overviews, AI Mode, Perplexity, Gemini | 11 models on Starter |
| Prompts and projects | Unlimited projects, prompts and seats | Unlimited topics, prompts and competitors |
| Geography | Regions tracked separately | Country-level on Starter; multi-region on Enterprise |
| Core metric | AI Visibility Score and Citation Score | GEO score with sentiment |
| Turning gaps into work | Outreach targets, KIVA drafts, Quick Wins | Action Center, content optimization agent |
| Integrations | Search Console, WordPress plugin, reporting API | Shopify, Webflow, Google Analytics, Search Console |
| API | Limited reporting API on every plan | Paid add-on on Starter |
Where Wellows is ahead
Cost per answer is the obvious one. Wellows Standard is $97/mo for 6,500 answers, and Growth is $249/mo for 18,000. AthenaHQ Starter is $295/mo for 3,600 credits. Both meter one prompt on one engine, so on raw volume Wellows gives you far more for less. When the Wellows balance runs out, collection pauses until the billing date instead of charging overage, which makes the bill predictable.
The citation model is the second. Wellows splits explicit citations (your page) from implicit ones (a third-party page that mentions you), and turns cited pages that leave you out into an outreach list with contacts. That's a PR workflow AthenaHQ's listing doesn't describe.
And every Wellows plan includes white-label dashboards and unlimited seats.
Where AthenaHQ is ahead
Engine coverage. AthenaHQ lists 11 models on Starter. Wellows covers five and states that it doesn't track Claude or Copilot.
The execution layer is the other. The Action Center turns findings into assignable on-page and off-page tasks, and the content optimization agent works on the pages themselves. Shopify and Webflow integrations sit on the pricing page, which suits commerce and Webflow teams. Wellows has Content Optimization and Content Scoring too, but both are in beta.
There is also a free tier. Essential gives you 300 credits to see a baseline before paying anything, while Wellows has a trial but no free plan.
Where AthenaHQ gets expensive
API access and extra credits are paid add-ons on Starter, with prices on request. The Athena Citation Engine, SSO, audit log, multi-region and multi-language support, and persona targeting are all on custom Enterprise. A multi-market brand should price Enterprise, not Starter.
What neither publishes
Neither tool's listing documents AI crawler logs with a crawl-to-citation path, so you can't see whether ChatGPTBot or ClaudeBot actually fetched the page you're trying to get cited. Neither publishes first-party visitor analytics that tie AI-referred sessions to conversions; AthenaHQ connects Google Analytics, which is a different thing. And neither runs an agent that publishes approved pages to your CMS on a schedule.
Promptwatch covers all three. Agent Analytics ingests crawler logs from Cloudflare, CloudFront, Fastly, Vercel, Netlify, Akamai, Google Cloud CDN or custom HTTP, from Professional ($245/mo) and on every agency plan. Visitor analytics records AI-referred conversions through a script or GTM template. The Content Agent on Business ($579/mo) publishes to Webflow, Framer or WordPress through a review inbox. Paid plans monitor ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Grok, Llama, DeepSeek, Mistral, Copilot, AI Overviews and AI Mode.
Who should pick which
Pick Wellows if your budget is under $100 a month, you manage lots of small projects, or outreach to cited third-party pages is your main lever. Pick AthenaHQ if a team will work a task queue daily, you need Claude and Copilot, and $295/mo plus add-ons fits.
Verdict
Wellows wins on price and on the citation-to-outreach loop. AthenaHQ wins on engines and on the task workflow. If you're comparing the two because you need to act on AI visibility, though, check how you'll prove it worked. That is where both run out, and where Promptwatch is worth trialling before you commit to either. Its Essential plan is $95/mo with a 7-day trial; Explore is free.
FAQ
Which is cheaper?
Wellows, from $29/mo. AthenaHQ has a free tier, but its paid plan starts at $295/mo.
Which tracks more engines?
AthenaHQ, with 11 models on Starter. Wellows tracks five.
Does either have crawler logs?
Neither publishes them. Promptwatch does, from Professional.