Elmo
Open-source AI visibility tracking for ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini & more.
If you're a technical marketer or agency that wants full control over AI visibility data without per-seat fees, Elmo is the clear pick. Self-hosting is free and covers all major models. Cloud is new but reasonably priced for managed convenience. Skip it if you need a plug-and-play SaaS with zero setup.
Verified 4d ago · liveness 80/100 · cite: rightaichoice.com/tools/elmo
- Marketing teams tracking brand mentions across AI answer engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity
- SEO professionals focused on Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) with self-hosted data control
- Agencies wanting to white-label AI visibility tracking for multiple clients
- Privacy-conscious organizations requiring on-premises deployment with no vendor lock-in
- Organizations wanting a zero-infrastructure, cloud-only tool — cloud hosting is new and limited (e.g., Starter is
- Teams that need CRM integrations or advertising workflow automation (no ad platform connectors)
- Users looking for built-in content generation or automated outreach beyond citation recommendations
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Skip Elmo if you want a zero-setup, plug-and-play SaaS and are unwilling to manage Docker/CLI for self-hosting or accept the ChatGPT-only Starter tier on cloud — you'll need $99+/mo for multi-platform coverage.
Going past the included prompt/model pairings on Pro or Business adds $5/mo per extra pairing — at 150 prompts on Pro that's a real line-item on top of the $299/mo base.
Elmo's pricing fits technical marketing teams and agencies who want to avoid per-seat fees and data lock-in. Self-hosting is $0 — only infra and API keys. Cloud starts at $29/mo but is limited to ChatGPT; for multi-platform you need $99/mo Basic. Compared to Profound (which is pricier per Elmo's testimonial), Elmo's $299/mo Pro covers 2 brands, 150 prompts, and premium models like GPT-5 Search. For a budget-conscious solo marketer, self-hosted Elmo is far cheaper than any closed SaaS — you just
In short
Elmo — Open-source AI visibility tracking for ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini & more. Best for Marketing teams tracking brand mentions across AI answer engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity, SEO professionals focused on Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) with self-hosted data control, Agencies wanting to white-label AI visibility tracking for multiple clients. Free to start; paid plans from $29290/mo.
What's new in Elmo
Checked 4 days agoAcross the latest 2 updates: 2 changelog entries.
Elmo v0.2.19: Postgres 18, Oxylabs handling, bulk prompt add, brand analysis URL
New deployments run Postgres 18; Oxylabs busy-queue handling improved; prompts can be added in bulk; brand analysis can use a full URL; prompts page gets a save bar; per-request spend caps added on direct API providers.
Elmo v0.2.18: Oxylabs async API, Cloro provider, DataForSEO switch, encryption key required
Oxylabs async API; new Cloro provider; DataForSEO now scrapes real ChatGPT/Gemini interfaces (costlier); ELMO_ENCRYPTION_KEY now required; Google AI Overviews tracked via BrightData/DataForSEO/Oxylabs; Grok only via OpenRouter.
What people actually say about Elmo — is it worth it?
We ran a structured research pass across product reviews, community discussions, and post-purchase forum threads to surface the patterns vendors won't publish themselves. Below: the recurring strengths, the hidden costs people mention most, and the cohort that consistently regrets adopting this tool.
97 mentions across 8 sources (Hacker News, YouTube, Product Hunt, App Store, Bluesky, Stack Overflow, GitHub, Lemmy) · researched Jul 28, 2026.
- +Fully open-source with MIT license, no vendor lock-in.
- +Self-hosted on your own infrastructure — data stays private.
- +Tracks brand mentions across 10+ AI models simultaneously.
- +Per-prompt visibility scores and competitor comparisons available.
- +Includes citation analysis and Share of Voice leaderboards.
- −Self-hosting requires Docker knowledge and infrastructure management.
- −Very few real user reviews — hard to validate claims.
- −Name confusion with other products pollutes community chatter.
- −Cloud hosting is still coming soon, limiting non-technical adoption.
- −Dependency on paid scrapers adds ongoing costs.
- • Paid scrapers (BrightData, DataForSEO) for AI model data
- • API costs for evaluating prompts against models like OpenAI
Viability Score
How well maintained and how widely used is Elmo? Built from what the vendor actually publishes (docs, changelog, tutorials, integrations, pricing), whether the site is live, and how much real users discuss it. How we calculate this
Last calculated: August 2026
How we score →Key Features
- AI visibility tracking for ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot, Grok, Claude, DeepSeek, Mistral, Qwen
- Dashboard with visibility trends, share of voice, and 30-day metrics
- Per-prompt visibility scores with trend lines and competitor comparison
- Share of Voice leaderboard ranking brand mentions against competitors
- Citation analysis by domain/URL with new/dropped source tracking
- Google Shopping breakdown in citations
- Query Fan-Out showing searches AI engines run for your prompts
- AI-generated opportunities ranked by impact (content, pages, sources)
- Prompt management with full-text search and tagging
- Deep dive view of individual AI responses with brand mentions and sources
- Trend analysis over months with YoY comparisons
- Multi-brand support for cloud tiers
- Self-hosted via Docker Compose with CLI (elmo init, elmo upgrade)
- Open source (MIT license) with no vendor lock-in
- Bring your own API keys for LLM APIs or OpenRouter
About Elmo
Elmo is an open-source AI visibility tracking platform for Answer Engine Optimization (AEO). It monitors how AI answer engines like ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Perplexity, Gemini, and Grok mention your brand, who appears alongside you, and which sources they cite. Built for marketing teams, SEO professionals, and agencies, Elmo runs your prompts across 10+ models and provides dashboards, share-of-voice leaderboards, citation analysis, and query fan-out so you can see the exact searches behind every AI answer. Unlike closed SaaS tools, Elmo is fully open source (MIT) and free to self-host via Docker Compose. You retain complete control over your data and infrastructure — no vendor lock-in, no per-seat fees, just unlimited prompts. The platform tracks visibility trends, per-prompt scores with trend lines, and competitor comparisons. Share of voice leaderboards rank who AI engines mention most. Citation analysis breaks down sources by domain and category, tracking new and dropped sources over time. Query fan-out reveals how AI engines expand a single prompt into dozens of web searches. AI-generated opportunities turn raw data into actionable steps like content to create, pages to refresh, and third-party sources to pitch. Recent updates (v0.2.19) add Postgres 18 support, Oxylabs async handling, bulk prompt adding, and per-request spend caps. Google AI Overviews tracking works via BrightData, DataForSEO, or Oxylabs, with a Google Shopping breakdown in citations. Grok is now available only through OpenRouter. In v0.2.18, a new Cloro provider was added, and an ELMO_ENCRYPTION_KEY is now required. Elmo positions itself as a cost-effective, transparent alternative to Profound, Peec, and Otterly. Whether you self-host for free or adopt managed cloud from $29/mo, you get the same open-core product with no data lock-in. It's the only serious open-source option for AEO tracking today.
Behind the Verdict
Elmo is unique in the AEO tracking space because it's genuinely open source. The MIT license means you can inspect, modify, and deploy the code yourself, and you never lose access to your data. This is a strong contrast to closed tools like Profound, Peec, and Otterly, where you're renting visibility into a black box. For teams that care about data ownership and long-term vendor independence, that alone is a compelling reason to try Elmo. The self-hosted product is free forever — you only pay for your own infrastructure (Docker Compose) and the API keys for the AI models you want to track. That's a very cost-effective path, especially if you're already running infrastructure. The tradeoff is that self-hosting requires comfort with Docker, a CLI, and environment variables. It's not a zero-touch SaaS. If you'd rather avoid that, the managed cloud plans start at $29/mo, but the Starter tier is ChatGPT-only with just 1 brand and 50 prompts — you'll likely need the $99/mo Basic plan for meaningful multi-platform coverage. The cloud pricing is reasonable compared to Profound, and annual billing saves two months. One thing to watch: the per-prompt/model pairing overage on Pro and Business ($5/mo extra per pairing) can add up if you scale — 150 pairings on Pro means you're already paying $299 + $5×(number over 20). The DataForSEO note in v0.2.18 is important: scraping the real ChatGPT/Gemini interfaces is more accurate but roughly 6-7× more expensive per run ($0.004 vs $0.0006). If you're on a tight budget, you can pin the older LLM-Response-API behavior in SCRAPE_TARGETS. The team is responsive — testimonials mention how quickly they added integrations. The feature set is genuinely useful: query fan-out shows you the searches behind answers, citation analysis tracks new and dropped sources, and the AI-generated opportunities are specific (content to create, pages to refresh, third-party sources to pitch). For agencies, the white-label option with custom branding and multi-org support is a strong fit. The main limitation is that Elmo tracks visibility — it doesn't generate content or automate outreach. It's a measurement and recommendations tool, not an execution engine. Also, there are no CRM or ad-platform integrations, so if you need to pipe this into your broader marketing stack automatically, you'll be doing that yourself. Overall, if you're a technical marketer, an SEO professional, or an agency that wants full control and low ongoing costs, Elmo is an excellent choice. If you want a plug-and-play SaaS and don't want to touch Docker or manage cloud tier constraints, you might be happier with a closed hosted tool despite the lock-in.
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Real-world workflow fit
Concrete scenarios for the personas Elmo actually fits — and what changes day-one when you adopt it.
You want to track how ChatGPT and Perplexity mention your brand for 10 key buyer-intent prompts, and see which competitors appear alongside you.
Outcome: You self-host Elmo in Docker, add your brand and competitors, and set up the prompts. Within minutes, Elmo starts running them across ChatGPT and Perplexity daily, showing visibility scores, share-of-voice, and citations. You spot that a competitor is cited in 60% of answers and identify a source you can pitch to
You need to give each client a branded dashboard showing their AI visibility across Google AI Overviews, ChatGPT, and Gemini.
Outcome: You deploy Elmo white-labeled with your own branding and domain, create a multi-org setup, and onboard each client with their own brand and prompts. Each client gets a custom dashboard with visibility trends, share-of-voice, and citation reports, and you can add new clients without per-seat costs — just your infra.
You've heard Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT are driving some traffic, and you want to measure which product pages get cited and by which AI engines.
Outcome: You sign up for the Cloud Basic plan ($99/mo), set up your brand, and track 50 prompts around your key product keywords across ChatGPT, Google AI Overview, and Gemini. You see the Google Shopping breakdown in citations and learn that your product pages are cited in ChatGPT but not in AI Overviews — so you refresh
Use Cases
- Monitor your brand's visibility across 10+ AI models automatically on a recurring schedule
- Analyze which sources AI models cite when mentioning your brand and identify new citation opportunities
- Compare your brand's AI mention rate against competitors for specific prompts over time
- Drill into individual AI responses to see exactly what each model said and which brands were referenced
- Track the impact of content changes on AI visibility using trend lines over months
- Generate white-label visibility dashboards for agency clients with custom branding and multi-tenancy
Models Under the Hood
as of 2026-08-17
Limitations
- Elmo offers self-hosted, cloud, and white-label deployment options.
- The self-hosted version is free and open source, but requires Docker and CLI familiarity, and you must provide your own AI API keys and infrastructure.
- Cloud plans start at $29/month with varying prompt limits and model coverage.
- The Starter tier is ChatGPT-only, so multi-platform tracking requires at least the $99/mo Basic plan.
- The DataForSEO provider's real-interface scraping is more accurate but costs roughly $0.004 per run vs $0.0006 for the older API approach.
- On Pro and Business tiers, going beyond included prompt/model pairings costs $5/mo per extra pairing.
- White-label is custom-priced.
- Elmo tracks visibility and provides recommendations, but does not generate content or automate outreach.
- There are no CRM or ad-platform integrations.
as of 2026-08-19
Verification history
We have re-verified Elmo 5 times since . Each pass re-reads the vendor's own pages and re-checks every listed field against that evidence; passes where nothing had changed are marked as such.
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
- — re-verified summary, description, our verdict, our analysis, pricing model, pricing tiers, features, integrations, who it suits, who should skip it
Free to cite with attribution — this page re-verifies continuously.
12-month cost
Project the real annual outlay, including the implied monthly cost when only an annual tier is published.
Vendor list price only. Add-on usage, seat overages, and contract minimums are surfaced under Hidden costs & gotchas.
Plans compared
For each published Elmo tier: who it actually fits, and what it adds vs. the previous tier. Cross-reference the cost calculator above for projected annual outlay.
Self-Hosted
$0/mo
Ideal for
Technical marketers and agencies who want unlimited prompts, all AI models, and full data control without per-seat fees — and are comfortable with Docker and CLI.
What this tier adds
Free forever with full MIT source code access; you run it on your own infra and bring your own API keys — the starting tier with no prompt limits.
Cloud Starter
$29/mo ($290/yr)
Ideal for
Small teams or individuals who want a managed cloud option but only need to track ChatGPT visibility for a single brand with up to 50 prompts — just dipping a toe into AEO.
What this tier adds
First managed tier at $29/mo; adds cloud hosting and automatic updates but is ChatGPT-only with 1×/day scraping — a big constraint on model coverage and frequency.
Cloud Basic
$99/mo ($990/yr)
Ideal for
Marketing teams that need multi-platform tracking (ChatGPT, Google AI Mode, Google AI Overview, Copilot, Perplexity, Gemini) but only for one brand and 50 prompts — the most affordable way to get cross-platform visibility.
What this tier adds
Jumps to $99/mo and unlocks choosing any 4 platforms with 4×/day scraping plus 4×/day LLM API calls (Qwen, DeepSeek, Mistral, Claude) — the key step up from ChatGPT-only Starter.
Cloud Pro
$299/mo ($2990/yr)
Ideal for
Growing brands or smaller agencies that manage 2 brands and up to 150 prompts, want premium grounded models like GPT-5 Search and Grok daily, and can plan around a $5/mo per-extra-pairing fee.
What this tier adds
At $299/mo adds a 2nd brand, 150 prompts, and 1×/day premium LLM API calls (Claude Sonnet 5, GPT-5 Search, Grok) with 20 pairings included — versus Basic's 50 prompts and no premium models.
Cloud Business
$649/mo ($6490/yr)
Ideal for
Larger agencies or enterprises tracking up to 5 brands and 350 prompts with heavy sampling needs and daily premium model answers — the highest self-serve tier before custom.
What this tier adds
Scales to 5 brands and 350 prompts at $649/mo with 30 included prompt/model pairings (vs 20 on Pro) — designed for multi-client or multi-brand workflows.
Cloud Custom
Custom
Ideal for
Enterprise teams with contract billing needs, higher daily sampling rates, custom prompt limits, multiple brands, white-label SSO, and the flexibility to use any models.
What this tier adds
Custom-priced tier beyond Business that allows fully customized limits, any models, contract billing, and white-label SSO — for orgs that outgrow self-serve limits.
White Label
Custom
Ideal for
Agencies that want to offer AEO tracking as their own branded product to multiple clients with custom branding, custom domain, SSO, and a shared Slack channel.
What this tier adds
Adds custom branding, custom domain, SSO, shared Slack channel, and prioritized features on top of everything in Cloud — the full turnkey agency reseller tier.
Where the pricing makes sense
The company stage and team size where Elmo's pricing actually pencils out — and where peers do it cheaper.
Elmo's pricing fits technical marketing teams and agencies who want to avoid per-seat fees and data lock-in. Self-hosting is $0 — only infra and API keys. Cloud starts at $29/mo but is limited to ChatGPT; for multi-platform you need $99/mo Basic. Compared to Profound (which is pricier per Elmo's testimonial), Elmo's $299/mo Pro covers 2 brands, 150 prompts, and premium models like GPT-5 Search. For a budget-conscious solo marketer, self-hosted Elmo is far cheaper than any closed SaaS — you just
Setup time & first value
How long it actually takes to get something useful out of Elmo — broken out by persona, not the marketing-page minute.
Self-hosting: 10-30 minutes using the CLI (npm install -g @elmohq/cli; elmo init) and Docker Compose, assuming you have Docker and API keys ready. Cloud: 5-10 minutes to sign up, add your brand, and set up prompts; first data arrives within a day at the lowest sampling rate. White-label: a few days to a week, as it's custom-priced and involves custom branding, domain, and SSO setup with the Elmo
Switching to or from Elmo
How to bring data in from common predecessors and how to get it back out — written for the switcher, not the buyer.
- →From Profound or Peec: Export your brand list and prompts (CSV/export), then use Elmo's CLI init to set up Docker, add your brand via the admin API or UI, and paste your prompts. Elmo's bulk prompt adding and full-text
- ↗To Profound or Peec: Elmo lets you export your prompt/visibility data via its API; recreate your brands and prompts in the new tool and map your citation sources manually. You keep your data since Elmo is self-hosted
Integrations
Resources & Guides
- Documentationelmohq.com
Docs · Elmo
Full product docs from elmohq.com
- Documentationelmohq.com
User Guide · Elmo
Full product docs from elmohq.com
- Documentationelmohq.com
Developer Guide · Elmo
Full product docs from elmohq.com
- API Referenceelmohq.com
Api · Elmo
Methods, params, types from elmohq.com
- Resourceelmohq.com
Blog · Elmo
Helpful link from elmohq.com
- Resourceelmohq.com
Changelog · Elmo
Helpful link from elmohq.com
Tutorials & Learning
Official links
Tools that pair well with Elmo
Common stack mates teams adopt alongside Elmo, with the specific reason each pairing earns its keep.
Peec AI
AI search analytics to track and improve brand visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and more.
SearchInsight AI
Track brand visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, and more.
OranGEO
Track and improve brand visibility in AI answer engines like ChatGPT and Perplexity with OranGEO.
Featured Head-to-Head Comparisons
Elmo vs Chili Piper
Elmo and Chili Piper serve entirely different needs but both are best-in-class in their niches. Elmo is the go-to for monitoring brand visibility across AI answer engines — essential for any AEO strategy — while Chili Piper is a heavyweight for converting inbound B2B traffic into meetings instantly. Choose Elmo if your priority is understanding how AI models cite your brand; choose Chili Piper if you need to book more meetings from website visitors with zero form friction.
Elmo vs Weglot
Elmo and Weglot serve entirely different needs. Choose Elmo if you want to monitor how AI answer engines mention your brand — it's open-source, self-hosted, and packed with AEO features like Share of Voice and citation analysis. Choose Weglot if you need to launch a multilingual website fast with AI translation that keeps your brand tone, especially if you use a popular CMS like WordPress or Shopify. There is no direct overlap; the decision depends on whether your priority is AI visibility tracking or website translation.
Elmo vs Screenplayiq
ScreenplayIQ and Elmo serve entirely different use cases — one predicts box office returns from screenplays, the other tracks brand visibility across AI answer engines. Choose ScreenplayIQ if you're a screenwriter or producer who wants data-driven script feedback and financial forecasts. Choose Elmo if you're a marketer or SEO specialist needing open-source, self-hosted monitoring of how your brand appears across ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other LLMs. There's no overlap, so your decision hinges on whether you're in film or SEO.
Alternatives to Elmo
View allPeec AI
AI search analytics to track and improve brand visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and more.
SearchInsight AI
Track brand visibility across ChatGPT, Perplexity, Claude, Gemini, and more.
Frequently Asked Questions
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