Contested
← All comparisons

Contested vs Profound

Facts about Profound checked on 14 October 2026 from its own pages (sources below). Prices and plans change; check theirs before you decide.

The short answer

Pick Profound if you are a large company that needs SOC 2, SSO, up to nine engines, AI crawler analytics and a contract tailored by a sales team. Pick Contested if you want a published price, to start today without a sales call, and tickets that quote what an engine said, point to the probable source page and give the fix, with a check after each audit, honest head-to-head verdicts and a brief for your team.

Side by side

Price
Contested$99 a month for one brand; $399 a month for up to 5 brands; Enterprise priced with you. Billed monthly in US dollars.
ProfoundEnterprise is priced on request (tailored packages). A free trial is listed; its FAQ also mentions a self-serve agency plan without a public price.
AI engines covered
ContestedChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude and Google AI Overviews, on every plan. Asked through each engine's API with its web search on (AI Overviews read from Google's results page).
ProfoundTrial: 3 engines (ChatGPT, Gemini, Google AI Overviews). Enterprise: up to 9, including Perplexity, Copilot, Claude, DeepSeek and Google AI Mode.
How often it checks
Contested8 audits a month per brand on the Brand plan (about two a week). Each audit asks about 12 buyer questions plus 4 about your brand, reviewed by you first (up to 18 in total with your own), on every engine.
ProfoundPrompts run daily (the trial runs 50 prompts daily for 7 days).
Comparing you with competitors
ContestedHead-to-head against each competitor you name, a leaderboard of every brand the engines recommend, and a 2x2 map of where you stand that shows how each brand moved since the last audit. It says plainly when a lead is too close to call.
ProfoundA tracking plan of prompts run daily on each engine, set up with you.
What to fix
ContestedEvery ticket starts from something an engine said: it quotes the answer, points to the page it probably came from and gives the fix, with how strong the evidence is. Ticked tickets are checked after the next audit. Community evidence is limited to Reddit and LinkedIn pages cited by an engine and checked to mention your brand.
ProfoundAn AI Marketer that identifies opportunities (limited on the trial), plus agents for writing content.
Getting work to your team
ContestedSend tickets to Trello, Asana or monday.com; Jira by export (CSV, Markdown or a link).
ProfoundAgent Analytics with Cloudflare, Vercel, Akamai, AWS and others; CSV and JSON exports and API on Enterprise.
Report to share
ContestedAn 8-page PDF brief for your team or client, plus the full report online.
ProfoundDashboards and Profound Sheets.
Getting started
ContestedCreate an account, set up your brand in a few minutes, and choose a plan.
ProfoundA free trial before a demo: 50 prompts, 3 engines, 7 days.
Security and sign-in
ContestedEmail and password or Google sign-in. No SSO or SOC 2 report yet.
ProfoundSSO/SAML and SOC 2 compliance on Enterprise.

Choose Contested if

  • You want a price on the page: $99 a month for one brand, $399 for up to 5, and no sales call to start.
  • You want every ticket to start from something an engine said: the quote, the probable source page and the fix, with a check after each audit.
  • You want a clear verdict on each competitor you name: ahead, behind, or too close to call.
  • You run an agency and want one workspace for up to five client brands, with a brief per client.

Choose Profound if

  • Your security team requires SOC 2 and SSO before you can buy.
  • You want up to nine engines tracked daily, including Copilot and DeepSeek.
  • You want to see how AI crawlers visit your site (Agent Analytics).
  • You want agents that help write content, and an API with CSV and JSON exports (Enterprise).
  • You have budget for a custom enterprise contract.

See a full Contested report

A complete sample audit: scores, competitors, sources, the Action Plan and the PDF brief.

Open the sample reportSee plans

Questions

Is Contested a Profound alternative?

If you are looking for a Profound alternative that gives your team tickets with the fix attached and a published monthly price, yes. If you need SOC 2, SSO, up to nine engines or AI crawler analytics through an enterprise contract, Profound is the better fit.

How much does Profound cost compared with Contested?

Profound's pricing page lists a free trial and custom-priced Enterprise packages. Contested costs $99 a month for one brand and $399 a month for up to 5 brands, billed monthly.

Does Contested have SOC 2 like Profound?

Not yet. If SOC 2 or SSO is a requirement today, Profound lists both on its Enterprise plan.

Sources

Profound is a trademark of its owner. This page is written by Contested; tell us if anything here about Profound is out of date and we will correct it.