VisiScan vs HubSpot AI Search Grader 2026
We might run both free scans on a local lead. We still measure on Promptwatch. HubSpot is three engines. VisiScan is four plus a $49 PDF.
A local lead shows up with a HubSpot AEO Grader screenshot. Another shows up with a VisiScan score. We already run Promptwatch. We will look at both free artifacts, because a free mirror is useful when a client walks in with one. We will not replace the scoreboard with either of them, because a free grade is a conversation starter, not a measurement program.
HubSpot's grader, AEO Grader in 2026 with Xfunnel in the background, is ChatGPT, Perplexity, and Gemini. No Claude. Unpublished method. Scores are not guaranteed, per the disclaimer on our listing. Sentiment can eat 40 points of the score. The $50 a month AEO add-on is about 25 prompts. One test we keep on file showed 0% for a domain other tools still saw. We will not put that upsell in a proposal, and the reason is the 0%, not the brand. A 0% on a domain that is still visible elsewhere is a measurement error, and a measurement error inside a known brand is still a measurement error.
VisiScan is four engines, 5 questions, 2 samples, up to 40 answers, one free scan per URL. $49 for up to 144 with schema to paste. $29 a month weekly. Mike Holp. pricing.md dated 24 August 2026. Harborlight is illustrative, not a cited client. The methodology is public, and the question counts are on the page, which is the part that lets us read the score as a score.
Deck table
| VisiScan | HubSpot grader | Promptwatch | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | 4 engines, counted samples | 3 engines, no sample recipe | Explore 10 ChatGPT prompts |
| Paid | $49 or $29/mo | AEO ~$50/mo | Essential $95 |
| We use as | Local appendix | Slide only | KPI source |
| Logs | No | No | Professional |
The free row is the entry point for both graders. VisiScan gives 4 engines and counted samples. HubSpot gives 3 engines and no sample recipe. Promptwatch gives Explore, 10 ChatGPT prompts. A free grade is a mirror, not a tracker. It tells us what the page looks like now. It does not tell us what it looked like last month, and it does not move the page.
The paid row is where the two $50-ish options confuse people. VisiScan is $49 once or $29 a month. HubSpot AEO is about $50 a month for about 25 prompts. Promptwatch is Essential at $95. The $49 and the $50 look like the same decision. They are not. The $49 is a document once. The $50 is a monthly subscription in a closed loop. The $95 is a program with response and event caps behind it.
The use row is the one we put in the deck. VisiScan is a local appendix. HubSpot is a slide only. Promptwatch is the KPI source. An appendix and a slide are both real roles, but neither is the scoreboard, and we say that on the slide so the client does not confuse a free artifact with the line we report on.
The logs row is the one that keeps Promptwatch in the deck. VisiScan has no logs. HubSpot has no logs. Promptwatch has Professional, which is the crawler log layer. Neither free grader sells the receipt that says which bot came and what it fetched. For a client paying us to show movement, the log is the evidence, and the evidence is the thing the two graders do not have.
We would run VisiScan free on a plumber URL because Claude is on the pass. Claude on a free scan is rare for a checker, and for a local business that is the one engine that matters more than the other three. We would run HubSpot if the client already lives in HubSpot and wants a familiar badge. A known brand on a slide is a real thing for a finance or ops buyer, and we will not pretend it is not. We measure on Promptwatch either way, because the scoreboard is the platform with the logs and the publish loop.
Essential is $95, Professional is $245 with crawler logs. VisiScan $29 is not our Promptwatch seat, and we keep saying that because $29 a month sounds like a Promptwatch tier to someone who has not read the fact sheet. Promptwatch has no $29 plan. The Promptwatch floor is Essential at $95, and that is the line we quote when the budget opens up.
Paste-in llms.txt from VisiScan is fine if the owner will add it. We still publish and measure elsewhere, because a pasted file is a one-time handoff, not a program. The file helps the page. It does not run the program. HubSpot grade is not a content task, and we do not treat it as one. A grade tells you where you stand. It does not write, publish, or log anything, and the closed-loop upsell does not change that.
If they only have budget for one paid tool after the free mirrors, it is Promptwatch, not HubSpot AEO and not VisiScan Monitor. Essential at $95 carries 50 prompts, 6,000 responses, 200K visitor events, and 5 AEO articles, and that is the floor of a program. The two graders are free mirrors we look at and set down. The program is the line we keep.