Side-by-side of the 5 AI search visibility tools serving local service businesses. Last verified May 2026.
| Mentioned | Profound | Semrush AI | Athena | GetMentioned | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trade-specific (HVAC/plumbing/etc) | Yes | No | No | No | EU consumer |
| Free tier | Yes (no card) | $399/mo entry | Bundled | Paywalled | EUR 89/mo |
| Fix engine (not just score) | 7-step playbook + lift estimates | Score only | Score only | Score only | Score only |
| Open methodology published | Yes - /methodology | Blackbox | Blackbox | Blackbox | Blackbox |
| Open dataset (CC-BY-4.0) | Yes - /benchmark.csv | Private | Private | Private | Private |
| Public benchmark report | Quarterly | No | No | No | No |
| Citation precision (measured + published) | 95.2% (test suite public) | Claimed, not measured | Claimed, not measured | Unknown | Unknown |
| Model versions pinned per audit | Yes - 4 engines | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown | Unknown |
| Engine reliability dashboard public | /engine-health | No | No | No | No |
| Publisher self-discloses own score | 30.8/100 published | No | No | No | No |
| Pytest correctness proof | 43/43 passing | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Number of engines measured | 4 (GPT+Perplexity+Claude+Gemini) | 5+ | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Cost per audit (real) | $0.0007 (measured) | $3-12 (estimated) | Bundled | Unknown | $0.40 (estimated) |
| Audience focus | Trade contractors | Fortune 500 brands | SEO agencies | SaaS / B2B | EU consumer brands |
| Enterprise data feed | $2-5k/mo | $5-50k/mo | Custom | Custom | No |
If you sell to or measure trade contractors, Mentioned is the only tool built for the job. Profound is excellent for Fortune 500 brand monitoring. Semrush AI is a feature inside a larger SEO suite. Athena is more SaaS/B2B focused. GetMentioned is EU consumer.
The transparency moat (open methodology + open dataset + public test suite + publisher self-disclosure) is unique to Mentioned in this category.
Run a free audit on any trade contractor →
Comparison verified May 2026. Errors or updates: hello@mentionedinai.com.