Rankscale fact checkRankscale is an AI visibility tool from Vienna: it checks whether and how ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude and other AI engines mention your brand. It suits marketing, SEO and content teams as well as agencies that want to measure exactly this question. According to the pricing page, Rankscale does not monitor social media, news or the press. According to the pricing page, the entry plan costs USD 17 per month with annual payment, and you can test the Pro plan free for 7 days (as of October 2026). According to the privacy policy, the data is in the USA.
What is Rankscale?
Rankscale is an AI visibility tool, also called Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), that analyses answers from AI engines for brand mentions, sentiment and cited sources. According to the pricing page, Rankscale queries ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, AI Overviews, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, DeepSeek and Mistral, among others.
Rankscale is run by an Austrian company. According to the legal notice, the vendor is Rankscale GmbH, based in Vienna. It was entered in the company register on 22 July 2025 (FN 658253w), so the company is young.
Billing is by credits: according to the pricing page, each query to an AI engine usually uses 0.25 credits, and the number of search terms is unlimited. That makes Rankscale a GEO tool that monitors answers from language models rather than posts that people publish online.
What can Rankscale do?
Rankscale measures how AI engines talk about your brand and your competitors and shows which sources they cite. According to the pricing page, you cannot use it to plan posts, answer comments or monitor traditional media.
| Area | What the sources document |
|---|---|
| AI engines | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, AI Overviews, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, DeepSeek, Mistral and others, full selection from Pro |
| Analysis | visibility tracking, competitor benchmarking, sentiment in AI answers from Pro |
| Frequency | tracking selectable from hourly to monthly |
| Dashboards | 10 to 100 brand dashboards per plan, shareable links, white label links from Growth |
| Analysis tools | Rankscale Scout with AI summaries and recommendations, page audits per plan |
| Technology | MCP in all plans (beta), REST API from Pro+, Google Looker Studio and Google Sheets |
The plan determines the scope of features. According to the pricing page, Essentials comes without sentiment, team workspaces and API. Team workspaces with permission management come from Pro, five prompt research runs per month from Pro+.
The principle differs from traditional monitoring. Rankscale does not collect mentions that people publish. The tool repeatedly asks AI engines questions you define and analyses the answers: is your brand mentioned, how is it presented, which pages does the AI cite as a source? According to the pricing page, Rankscale Scout derives recommendations from these sources, and the page audits check individual pages of your website.
The pricing page lists notifications in all plans, but does not say whether they are emails or how often they arrive. A mobile app and historical data are not documented.
Who is Rankscale for, and who is it not for?
Rankscale suits teams that want to know whether their brand appears in answers from ChatGPT, Gemini or Perplexity and which pages the AI draws on for this. That mainly concerns SEO and content leads who tailor their content to AI search.
According to the pricing page, agencies get several brand dashboards, plus white label links and agency benefits from Growth. Small teams can start with Essentials at a low annual price, but do without sentiment, team workspaces and API there. If you want to pull data into your own reports, you can get the figures via Google Looker Studio and Google Sheets without needing the REST API from Pro+ straight away. Larger organisations that need SSO end up in the Custom plan on request.
Rankscale is a weaker fit if you want to monitor mentions in social networks, news sites or forums. Social media monitoring tools are meant for that. If you must keep data in the EU or expect a German interface, you will not find evidence for either at Rankscale.
How much does Rankscale cost?
Rankscale publishes its prices in US dollars and bills by credits. According to the pricing page, Essentials costs USD 17 per month, with annual payment only (USD 204 per year). Pro costs USD 99 per month with 1,200 credits, which according to the vendor is enough for up to 4,800 AI answers. The page does not say whether prices are net or gross.
According to the pricing page, paying annually saves 15 %. Unused credits roll over up to two or three times the amount, and you can top up at any time. Larger plans bring more credits, dashboards and audits; SSO is only available in the Custom plan on request.
The pricing page does not mention a free plan. You can test the Pro plan free of charge for 7 days. All plans are in the price overview, as of October 2026.
Data protection and DACH: servers, DPA, language
According to the privacy policy, Rankscale’s data is in the USA. The service runs entirely on Google Cloud Platform, and the primary data centre is in Iowa (us-central1).
That is notable because the vendor itself is based in Vienna. We did not find a data processing agreement or certifications such as ISO 27001 or SOC 2 documented in the sources. Ask the vendor about both before signing if you process personal data.
A German interface and German-language support are not documented in our sources. That does not mean they do not exist; with a Viennese vendor, asking directly is worthwhile. The page shows prices in US dollars, and the structured data also lists the same amounts in euros. In which currency customers in Austria are billed is open.
Our assessment
By our methodology, Rankscale is a specialised GEO tool with open prices, broad engine coverage and a cheap entry point. In the monitoring score, such tools nevertheless score lower than traditional listening tools, and there is a factual reason for that.
The score measures monitoring as a whole. Source coverage, alerts, search and reporting count there, and AI visibility is only one checkpoint. According to the pricing page, Rankscale analyses only answers from AI engines; social media, news and blogs are not included. Then there are the US data location and the missing evidence of a DPA.
For comparison with other GEO tools, different points count: which engines are queried, the entry price, the data location and connectivity via MCP or API. Here Rankscale is well documented. According to the product page, however, the MCP connection is still in beta, and the REST API requires at least the Pro+ plan.
Our assessment: if you want to measure AI visibility specifically, Rankscale is quick to check via the 7-day trial. You will find a comparison of similar vendors under AI visibility tools.
How the score is calculated
The score is not a hands-on test verdict. It counts which checkpoints of methodology v1.4 are documented with a source for Rankscale. “Not documented” means we found no evidence, not necessarily that the feature is missing. Read the methodology
| Criterion | Weight | Value | Documented / checkpoints |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source coverage | 20% | 0.0 / 10 | 0 / 7 |
| Analysis & sentiment | 15% | 3.8 / 10 | 2 / 6 |
| Alerts & search | 15% | 2.0 / 10 | 1 / 3 |
| Reporting & export | 10% | 5.0 / 10 | 1 / 3 |
| Data protection & GDPR | 15% | 2.5 / 10 | 2 / 4 |
| German language | 5% | 0.0 / 10 | 0 / 2 |
| Price transparency | 5% | 10.0 / 10 | 2 / 2 |
| AI connectivity & integrations | 15% | 10.0 / 10 | 3 / 3 |
Show all 30 checkpoints
| Criterion / checkpoint | Weight / points | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Source coverage | 20% | 0.0 / 10 |
| Social listening (mentions on social networks) | 0 of 3 | ? not documented |
| Online news | 0 of 2 | ? not documented |
| Blogs and forums | 0 of 2 | ? not documented |
| Print media | 0 of 1 | ? not documented |
| TV and radio | 0 of 1 | ? not documented |
| Podcasts | 0 of 1 | ? not documented |
| Review sites | 0 of 1 | ? not documented |
| Analysis & sentiment | 15% | 3.8 / 10 |
| Sentiment detection | 2 of 2 | + yes |
| Sentiment for German-language text | 0 of 2 | ? not documented |
| Image and logo recognition | 0 of 1 | ? not documented |
| Influencer identification | 0 of 1 | ? not documented |
| Historical data | 0 of 1 | ? not documented |
| AI summaries | 1 of 1 | + yes |
| Alerts & search | 15% | 2.0 / 10 |
| Real-time alerts | 0 of 2 | ? not documented |
| Boolean search queries | 0 of 2 | ? not documented |
| Monitoring of AI answers (ChatGPT & co.) | 1 of 1 | + yes |
| Reporting & export | 10% | 5.0 / 10 |
| Analytics and reports | 2 of 2 | + yes |
| PDF export | 0 of 1 | ? not documented |
| Scheduled reports | 0 of 1 | ? not documented |
| Data protection & GDPR | 15% | 2.5 / 10 |
| Data stored in the EU (mixed = half points) | 0 of 3 | − no |
| Data processing agreement (DPA) available | 0 of 2 | ? not documented |
| Provider based in the EU/EEA (country with EU adequacy decision = half points) | 2 of 2 | + yes |
| Security certification (e.g. ISO 27001, SOC 2) | 0 of 1 | ? not documented |
| German language | 5% | 0.0 / 10 |
| German-language interface | 0 of 2 | ? not documented |
| German-language support | 0 of 1 | ? not documented |
| Price transparency | 5% | 10.0 / 10 |
| Public pricing | 1 of 1 | + yes |
| Free to try (trial or free plan) | 1 of 1 | + yes |
| AI connectivity & integrations | 15% | 10.0 / 10 |
| MCP server by the vendor (connects AI assistants) | 2 of 2 | + yes |
| API access | 1 of 1 | + yes |
| Native integrations documented | 1 of 1 | + yes |
Rankscale pricing and costs
| Plan | Price per month | Billing | Scope according to the vendor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essentials | $ 17 | annual | Annual only (204 per year); without sentiment, team workspaces and API |
| Pro | $ 99 | monthly | 1,200 credits/month (up to 4,800 AI answers), 10 brand dashboards, 50 page audits, all regions, sentiment, team workspaces, MCP |
| Pro+ | $ 229 | monthly | 3,000 credits, 25 dashboards, 100 audits, REST API, 5 prompt research runs/month |
| Growth | $ 385 | monthly | 5,500 credits, 50 dashboards, 200 audits, white label dashboard links, API, agency benefits |
| Enterprise | $ 780 | monthly | 12,000 credits, 100 dashboards, 200 audits, API, white label |
| Custom | on request | on request | Individual credits, SSO, training, custom API, SLA |
Shown in $ (the page's structured data also lists the same amounts in EUR); net/gross not stated. Annual payment saves 15 % (e.g. Pro 1,009.80 per year). Credits drive the monitoring (a query usually 0.25 credits), top-ups at any time.. As of 16 October 2026, source: vendor pricing page. Prices can change; the vendor’s page is authoritative.
Strengths and limitations
Strengths
- Austrian vendor (Rankscale GmbH, Vienna). [Source]
- Broad engine coverage from Pro: ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, AI Overviews, Gemini, DeepSeek, Mistral, Claude, Copilot. [Source]
- Tracking frequency selectable from hourly to monthly. [Source]
- MCP connection (beta) in all plans according to the plan comparison. [Source]
- Unlimited search terms, billing by credits used; unused credits roll over up to 2×/3×. [Source]
Who is Rankscale for?
According to the disclosed fit rules, Rankscale suits:
- Getting started & small teams
- Enterprise
Rankscale alternatives
Brand24
Social listening and media monitoring tool that collects mentions from over 25 million online sources (social media, news, blogs, forums, videos, podcasts, reviews) and evaluates them with AI sentiment, topic and event analysis.
from $ 199/month
Hootsuite
Social media platform ("Hootsuite Social OS") with modules for planning and publishing (Perch), inbox and customer service (Nest), social listening (Lumen), AI assistant (Wisdom) and employee advocacy (Parliament).
from € 99/month
Sprinklr
Enterprise platform for unified customer experience management with the suites Sprinklr Social (publishing, engagement, advocacy), Sprinklr Insights (social listening, benchmarking, Visual and LLM Insights), Sprinklr Service and Sprinklr Marketing.
Price on request
Talkwalker
Platform for social listening, media monitoring, social benchmarking and customer feedback analytics; marketed as "Lumen by Talkwalker" since its acquisition by Hootsuite (2024).
Price on request
Questions about Rankscale
What is Rankscale and what is it used for?
Rankscale is an AI visibility tool you use to check whether AI engines such as ChatGPT, Perplexity or Gemini mention your brand. According to the pricing page, it analyses brand mentions, sentiment and cited sources in AI answers and compares you with competitors. It is used for Generative Engine Optimization (GEO), meaning aligning content with AI search.
How much does Rankscale cost?
According to the pricing page, Rankscale costs from USD 17 per month in the Essentials plan, which can only be booked annually (as of October 2026). The Pro plan costs USD 99 per month with 1,200 credits. According to the vendor, you save 15 % with annual payment. The page does not say whether prices are net or gross. All plans are in the price overview.
Is Rankscale free?
No, the Rankscale pricing page does not mention a free plan. According to the pricing page, however, you can test the Pro plan free of charge for 7 days (as of October 2026). The cheapest plan, Essentials, costs USD 17 per month with annual payment and does without sentiment, team workspaces and API. For a test with the full feature set, Pro is therefore the better starting point.
Which AI engines does Rankscale query?
According to the pricing page, Rankscale queries ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, AI Overviews, Gemini, Claude, Copilot, DeepSeek, Mistral and other AI engines. The full selection is available from the Pro plan. You decide how often Rankscale queries, from hourly to monthly. Each query uses credits from your plan.
How do credits work at Rankscale?
Credits are Rankscale's billing unit: according to the pricing page, each query to an AI engine usually costs 0.25 credits. The Pro plan includes 1,200 credits per month, enough for up to 4,800 AI answers. Unused credits roll over up to two or three times the amount, and you can top up at any time. The number of search terms is unlimited.
Where is the vendor of Rankscale based?
According to the legal notice, the vendor of Rankscale is Rankscale GmbH, based in Vienna, Austria. It was entered in the company register on 22 July 2025 under FN 658253w. For you, that means a contractual partner in the DACH region. According to the privacy policy, the data location is nevertheless in the USA, on Google Cloud Platform in Iowa.
Where is Rankscale data stored?
According to the privacy policy, Rankscale's data is in the USA. The service is hosted entirely on Google Cloud Platform, and the primary data centre is in Iowa (us-central1). A data location in the EU is not documented in our sources. If you process personal data, clarify the transfer in writing with the vendor before signing.
Is Rankscale GDPR compliant?
We do not give a legal assessment; only individual points are documented. According to the legal notice, the vendor is based in Vienna, and according to the privacy policy the data is in the USA on Google Cloud Platform. We did not find a data processing agreement or certifications such as ISO 27001 or SOC 2 in the sources. Ask the vendor about both directly.
Is Rankscale available in German?
A German Rankscale interface is not documented in our sources. The same applies to German-language support. Because, according to the legal notice, Rankscale GmbH is based in Vienna, asking the vendor directly is worthwhile. The pricing page does not describe in detail which languages the AI queries cover; it lists all regions from Pro.
Does Rankscale have an API?
Yes, according to the pricing page Rankscale has a REST API from the Pro+ plan, which costs USD 229 per month (as of October 2026). It is not included in Essentials and Pro. The Custom plan on request mentions a custom API. According to the vendor, there are ready-made integrations for Google Looker Studio and Google Sheets; a mobile app is not documented.
Does Rankscale have an MCP server?
Yes, according to the plan comparison an MCP connection is included in all Rankscale plans. The product page, however, labels Rankscale MCP as beta. Via MCP, AI assistants can access data from Rankscale. If you want to build the connection firmly into your workflows, check how stable it runs during the trial and ask about the planned status.
Does Rankscale detect sentiment in AI answers?
Yes, according to the pricing page Rankscale has sentiment analysis for AI answers from the Pro plan. It is missing in the cheapest plan, Essentials. Rankscale thus shows the tone in which AI engines talk about your brand. Whether the analysis handles German-language answers equally well is not documented in our sources; that is best checked in the 7-day trial.
Does Rankscale also monitor social media and news?
No, according to the pricing page Rankscale analyses only answers from AI engines. Social networks, news, blogs, forums, print or broadcast are not documented as sources. If you want to monitor mentions in these channels, you also need a traditional monitoring or listening tool. You will find a selection under social media monitoring tools.
What alternatives to Rankscale are there?
Which Rankscale alternative fits depends on what you need. For pure AI visibility, compare other GEO tools by engines, entry price, data location and MCP or API; there is an overview under AI visibility tools. Three alternatives by our methodology are listed further down, and you can filter more tools in the tool finder.
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