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LLMrefs vs Scrunch AI: an honest comparison

LLMrefs vs Scrunch AI compared for 2026: entry price, AI engines, Claude and Grok coverage, Search Console and MCP, every figure dated and linked to the vend…

By Rahul AUpdated September 4, 20266 min read

See which of these you are already failing.

On this page
  1. The short verdict
  2. Side-by-side matrix
  3. Reading the difference
  4. Which to choose
  5. FAQ

Side-by-side matrix

LLMrefs and Scrunch AI compared at entry pricing
What you getCitunaThat’s usLLMrefsScrunch AI
Entry price / month$39$79$300
Pricing modelFlat tiersFlat monthlyFlat tiers
AI engines at entry6115 reported
Claude tracked
Grok tracked Enterprise
Microsoft Copilot
Google AI OverviewsNot publishedNot published
Refresh cadenceDaily WeeklyNot published
Search Console integration
MCP access at entry
Generated fixes Free tools 5 page audits
Free trial3 days (card)3 days + free tier3 days (no card)

Compiled from each vendor’s public pricing page: LLMrefs figures from llmrefs.com/pricing, checked July 16, 2026; Scrunch AI figures from www.scrunch.com/pricing, checked July 16, 2026. Scrunch AI: $250 billed annually; 3 seats, 350 prompts, 5 page audits. “Not published” marks a row the vendor does not state publicly; it is not a “no”. Cituna checks all six engines daily and does not track Microsoft Copilot. MCP read tools are included from $39, write tools from Pro ($119); MCP is not exclusive to us. Prices change often: verify before buying. Spot an error? Tell us and we will correct it.

Reading the difference

On cost per engine at entry, the crudest useful way to normalise these two, LLMrefs works out at about $7.18 per engine per month ($79 across 11) and Scrunch AI at about $60.00 ($300 across 5 reported). LLMrefs is the better ratio, by roughly $52.82 per engine. Treat that as a sanity check rather than a verdict: an engine you do not care about is not worth anything, and Scrunch AI’s number improves immediately if its engine mix happens to be the one you need.

On every capability both vendors publish, LLMrefs and Scrunch AI match. That is a genuinely unusual result in this category and it changes the decision: with no feature to separate them, the choice comes down to price, refresh cadence, and whether the output is a dashboard or a change you can ship.

Worth knowing before you shortlist either: neither LLMrefs nor Scrunch AI offers Search Console integration and an MCP server. If any of those is a requirement, this comparison is the wrong shortlist and you should widen it rather than pick the better of two tools that both miss what you need.

The tier ladders are worth reading side by side, because the entry price means something different on each. LLMrefs: Free single-keyword tier · paid from $79. Scrunch AI: Starter $300 ($250 annual) · extra seats $25/mo. That is where most of the apparent price gap between these two either disappears or widens sharply, depending on which engines you actually need.

They also genuinely overlap on Claude, Grok, Microsoft Copilot and generated fixes, so those rows should not carry weight in the decision even though both vendors market them.

One practical difference that does not appear in any feature list: LLMrefs bills as flat monthly and Scrunch AI as flat tiers. A credit-metered plan and a flat plan are hard to compare over a year because only one of them has a predictable ceiling, so run your expected prompt volume through both before treating the entry prices as comparable at all.

Which to choose

Choose LLMrefs if…

LLMrefs is the longest engine list in the category, refreshed weekly. Against Scrunch AI specifically, it is the cheaper entry by $221 a month, it covers more engines at entry (11 against 5 reported) and and it bills as flat monthly where Scrunch AI bills as flat tiers.

  • eleven engines, the longest published list of any tool here, including Claude, Grok and Copilot
  • a genuinely free single-keyword tier that keeps working rather than expiring
  • a set of free standalone tools alongside the tracker

What you give up:

  • a weekly refresh rather than daily, so a change made on Monday may not be visible until the following week
  • no Search Console integration and no MCP server
  • the free tier is limited to one keyword, which is a snapshot rather than a monitor

Choose Scrunch AI if…

Scrunch AI is the mid-market platform, sold to teams rather than to individuals. Against LLMrefs specifically, you are paying $221 a month more than LLMrefs for it, it covers fewer engines at entry (5 reported against 11) and and it bills as flat tiers where LLMrefs bills as flat monthly.

  • a no-card 3-day trial, so the product can be evaluated before any payment details change hands
  • three seats included at entry rather than one, with additional seats at a published $25/mo
  • Claude and Microsoft Copilot both covered, a combination few tools here manage

What you give up:

  • a $300 floor with no smaller plan beneath it, which rules it out for solo operators and early-stage teams
  • its engine list is reviewer-reported rather than published, and the Grok tier mapping is unverified
  • no Search Console integration and no MCP server

Drafted with AI assistance from our own research and Search Console data, and reviewed by Rahul A before publishing. Rules and prices change; check the linked official source before you act.

Frequently asked questions

LLMrefs vs Scrunch AI: which should I choose?

LLMrefs is the cheaper way in at $79 a month against $300 for Scrunch AI, a difference of about $221 a month, or $2652 a year. On the capabilities both vendors publish, the two overlap almost exactly, which makes price, refresh cadence and the quality of the output the deciding factors rather than the feature list. If you want all six major engines, ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Claude, Grok and Google AI Overviews, checked daily, the generated fixes to close the gaps and a Search Console integration to prove the result, Cituna covers that from $39/mo. Cituna does not track Microsoft Copilot; if that is a requirement, weigh the tools here that do.

Is LLMrefs or Scrunch AI cheaper?

LLMrefs, on published entry pricing: $79 a month against $300 for Scrunch AI (LLMrefs figures from llmrefs.com/pricing, checked July 16, 2026; Scrunch AI from www.scrunch.com/pricing, checked July 16, 2026). Read past the sticker, though: LLMrefs publishes a flat entry fee. Cituna is $39/mo flat for all six engines with no engine held back for a higher tier.

Does LLMrefs or Scrunch AI cover more AI engines?

LLMrefs, on published entry-tier counts: 11 against 5 reported for Scrunch AI. Engine counts are the most misread number in this category, so check what the entry tier actually includes rather than the total the site advertises. Cituna publishes one number for this: six engines, all of them on the $39 tier, all checked daily.

Do LLMrefs and Scrunch AI track Claude and Grok?

LLMrefs tracks Claude and tracks Grok (as of July 16, 2026). Scrunch AI tracks Claude and tracks Grok (enterprise) (as of July 16, 2026). Both engines are included in Cituna’s $39 Starter and checked daily, which is the gap this comparison most often turns on, Grok in particular is a blind spot across much of this category.

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