Head-to-head review · Updated June 2026

AlsoAsked vs Cision: which one wins in 2026?

An honest editorial comparison from the team at GrowthManager.ai. We make a competing product, which is disclosed in full at the bottom.

AlsoAsked and Cision both claim to do the same thing: tell you where your brand shows up in AI search. They go about it differently enough that the choice matters. AlsoAsked has raised Bootstrapped, Cision has raised Public (taken private 2020 by Platinum Equity for $2.74B); Cision is the more-funded incumbent; AlsoAsked is the leaner challenger.

AlsoAsked is cheaper out the gate, but that's not the only thing that matters. The right pick depends on which dimension matters most for you.

The verdict
Pick

AlsoAsked

Pick AlsoAsked if you want the cheaper option ($12/mo vs $350/mo).

★ Our pick
Pick

Cision

Pick Cision if you want the cheaper option ($350/mo vs $12/mo); and you trust traction signals — they list 4 customers, AlsoAsked lists 0; and you want the better-funded company (Public (taken private 2020 by Platinum Equity for $2.74B)); and SOC 2 Type 2 matters for your security review.

If neither is right, GrowthManager.ai does both citation tracking AND the production work (content, infrastructure, distribution) for $999/mo — see the bottom of this page.

The case for AlsoAsked

AlsoAsked has raised Bootstrapped. Founded by Mark Williams-Cook, based in Bath, UK. Pricing starts at $12/mo.

People Also Ask research tool for AEO and content strategy.

What people praise

  • Tree-style visualization of People Also Ask data is more useful for pillar-page planning than the AnswerThePublic radial diagram.
  • Pulls live PAA data from Google, so questions reflect real SERP behavior instead of cached autocomplete suggestions.
  • Bulk search supports up to 1,000 queries at a time, which agency users say is rare at this price point.
  • Region and language targeting works for any Google locale, not just US English, which most cheap PAA tools restrict.

Where it falls short

  • Only sources Google's PAA box; no data from Bing, YouTube, Reddit, or social platforms.
  • CSV export is paywalled behind the Lite tier; the $12 Basic plan only exports PNG images.
  • API access is locked to the $47/mo Pro plan, which blocks Lite users from automating workflows.
  • PAA relationships are algorithmic, not semantic, so the tree sometimes maps loose associations as if they were topical clusters.

The case for Cision

Cision has raised Public (taken private 2020 by Platinum Equity for $2.74B) (Acquired by Platinum Equity (Jan 2020)). Founded by Peter Granat, Cliff Hatch, based in Chicago, IL. On their site they list 4 named customers including Used by 84% of the Fortune 500, 75,000+ companies and organizations, Global PR agencies, Non-profits and universities. Pricing starts at $350/mo.

PR, media monitoring, and earned media intelligence for comms teams.

What people praise

  • Customizable dashboards and visualizations are repeatedly called out as the platform's strongest feature by communications leaders.
  • Cision powers 84% of the Fortune 500, giving comms teams credibility and the deepest journalist database in the industry.
  • PR Newswire distribution reaches outlets that smaller wires cannot, and is bundled with the platform for enterprise customers.
  • CisionOne won 'Best Media Monitoring Solution' at the MarTech Breakthrough Awards two years running (2024, 2025).

Where it falls short

  • Pricing is opaque and aggressive; users routinely complain about package cost relative to value, especially with AI alternatives emerging.
  • Dashboard setup is painful; Google Analytics connections repeatedly disconnect, requiring constant re-authentication.
  • Customer service receives sustained criticism, with users reporting slow response times and account churn handling.
  • PR Newswire has hidden fees on top of the $195 membership; a single release can climb past $3,000 with add-ons.

Pricing, tier by tier

Tier 1
AlsoAsked
Basic
$12/mo
  • 100 search credits per month
  • 24-hour search history
  • All regions and languages
  • PNG export
Cision
Communications Cloud (Entry)
Custom (~$600/mo)
  • Single seat Communications Cloud
  • Media database access
  • Basic monitoring
  • PR workflow tools
Tier 2
AlsoAsked
Lite
$23/mo
  • 300 search credits per month
  • 1-month search history
  • CSV export
  • Bulk searches
Cision
PR Cloud Mid-Market
Custom (~$1,000-$2,100/mo)
  • Expanded media database
  • CisionOne monitoring and analytics
  • Brandwatch social listening add-on
  • Coverage reports and outreach workflow
Tier 3
AlsoAsked
Pro
$47/mo
  • 1,000 search credits per month
  • 1-year search history
  • API access
  • Deep search expansion
Cision
Enterprise Suite
Custom (~$4,000-$12,500/mo)
  • Full Communications Cloud
  • PR Newswire distribution credits
  • Advanced analytics and dashboards
  • Dedicated account team
Tier 4
AlsoAsked
—
—
Cision
PR Newswire (per release)
From $350 local / $805 national per release
  • US1 national distribution (400 words)
  • $310 per extra 100 words
  • Add-on memberships per industry/region

Feature parity

What each one ships that the other doesn't. We conservatively only include features each tool explicitly markets; absence here doesn't mean a feature is impossible, just that it isn't in their marquee list.

Only on AlsoAsked
  • PAA Tree Visualization. Branching diagram of People Also Ask questions showing how queries relate.
  • Deep Search. Expands each PAA branch multiple levels deeper for pillar and cluster planning.
  • Bulk Search. Upload up to 1,000 seed queries at once and process them in a batch.
  • CSV and PNG Export. Export results as PNG diagrams or CSV files for sharing with clients.
  • Public API. REST API for programmatically pulling PAA trees into custom workflows.
  • Locale Targeting. Choose any Google country and language for region-specific PAA data.
Only on Cision
  • Media Database. Searchable database of journalists, outlets, and influencers with contact details and beat metadata.
  • CisionOne Monitoring. Real-time media monitoring across print, broadcast, online, and social channels.
  • PR Newswire Distribution. Press release distribution network reaching thousands of outlets, with industry and regional targeting.
  • Brandwatch Social Listening. Social conversation analysis included with enterprise plans for sentiment and trend tracking.
  • Coverage Reports. Auto-generated reports of earned media coverage with reach, sentiment, and tone breakdowns.
  • Influencer Outreach. Identify and pitch influencers and journalists from inside the platform with tracking and analytics.

When each one wins

When AlsoAsked wins
  • Budget is the constraint. AlsoAsked starts at $12/mo vs Cision's $350/mo, so on a per-seat basis it's the cheaper way in.
  • Tree-style visualization of People Also Ask data is more useful for pillar-page planning than the AnswerThePublic radial diagram.
When Cision wins
  • You're enterprise and need to call a reference. Cision lists 4 named customers; AlsoAsked lists 0.
  • You want the better-funded incumbent. Cision has raised Public (taken private 2020 by Platinum Equity for $2.74B), giving it more runway and shipping velocity.
  • Procurement requires SOC 2 Type 2. Cision has it; AlsoAsked doesn't yet.
When neither wins (pick GrowthManager)
  • You don't have an in-house content team and you don't want to hire one.
  • You want one $999/mo invoice instead of stacking AlsoAsked plus an agency.
  • You need the team that measures to also act on the data, in the same week.
  • You're a B2B SaaS, services firm, or e-commerce brand at $20K+ MRR.

Reasons to pick one over the other

Reasons to pick AlsoAsked over Cision

  1. Lower entry price. AlsoAsked starts at $12/mo vs Cision's $350/mo.
  2. Faster product velocity. AlsoAsked has shipped 4 public launches in the last year vs Cision's 0.
  3. Built for the LLM era. AlsoAsked was founded in 2020, built around AI search from day one; Cision dates back to 1867 and is retrofitting.
  4. What users praise most. Tree-style visualization of People Also Ask data is more useful for pillar-page planning than the AnswerThePublic radial diagram.
  5. EU data residency. AlsoAsked is HQ'd in Bath, UK, which simplifies GDPR data-processor agreements for European buyers.

Reasons to pick Cision over AlsoAsked

  1. More plan flexibility. Cision offers 4 pricing tiers vs AlsoAsked's 3, so there's a better chance one fits your team size.
  2. Better-funded incumbent. Cision has raised Public (taken private 2020 by Platinum Equity for $2.74B), giving it more runway and shipping velocity than AlsoAsked (Bootstrapped).
  3. More named customers. Cision lists 4 customers vs AlsoAsked's 0, including Used by 84% of the Fortune 500, 75,000+ companies and organizations, Global PR agencies.
  4. SOC 2 Type 2. Cision carries SOC 2 Type 2; AlsoAsked does not yet, which can hold up procurement.
  5. More verified reviews. Cision has 1,200 G2 reviews vs AlsoAsked's none on file, so the average rating carries more weight.
  6. More mature platform. Cision (founded 1867) has had more time to harden the product than AlsoAsked (2020).
  7. Wider integration ecosystem. Cision integrates with 7 tools; AlsoAsked ships 3.
  8. What users praise most. Customizable dashboards and visualizations are repeatedly called out as the platform's strongest feature by communications leaders.

Switching from one to the other

From AlsoAsked to Cision

Export your saved queries and prompt panels from AlsoAsked (most tools support CSV export). Most Cision setups can import the same query list in a single CSV upload. Expect 1-2 days of parallel running so you can validate Cision's data againstAlsoAsked's; one to two weeks of full reconciliation before you cancel AlsoAsked. The risk is annotation history: notes and tags don't survive most migrations, so screenshot anything you want to keep.

From Cision to AlsoAsked

Same flow in reverse. Export from Cision, import to AlsoAsked. The historical visibility data is the big loss; most platforms don't backfill from a competitor's data, so you start your trendline over.

From either to GrowthManager.ai

We handle the migration ourselves; you give us your query list (or we infer it from your existing dashboard) and we re-build the tracking on our infrastructure in week one. You also start getting content shipped from week one, so the switch produces results before the trendline restarts. The conversation that kicks this off is a 20-minute call.

Side by side, every number we could verify

AlsoAskedCision
Starts at (USD/mo)$12/mo$350/mo
Founded20201867
HeadquartersBath, UKChicago, IL
Funding raisedBootstrappedPublic (taken private 2020 by Platinum Equity for $2.74B)
AI platforms tracked——
G2 rating—3.9 / 5 (1200 reviews)
Named customers—4
SOC 2 Type 2—✓ Yes
GDPR✓ Yes✓ Yes
HIPAA——

What real users say

Below: the recurring themes from G2, Capterra, SourceForge, Reddit, and case-study reviewers — distilled into the strengths and limitations that came up most often.

AlsoAsked — what users praise

  • Tree-style visualization of People Also Ask data is more useful for pillar-page planning than the AnswerThePublic radial diagram.
  • Pulls live PAA data from Google, so questions reflect real SERP behavior instead of cached autocomplete suggestions.
  • Bulk search supports up to 1,000 queries at a time, which agency users say is rare at this price point.
  • Region and language targeting works for any Google locale, not just US English, which most cheap PAA tools restrict.
  • Free tier of three searches per day is genuinely usable for one-off content briefs without a signup.

AlsoAsked — what users complain about

  • Only sources Google's PAA box; no data from Bing, YouTube, Reddit, or social platforms.
  • CSV export is paywalled behind the Lite tier; the $12 Basic plan only exports PNG images.
  • API access is locked to the $47/mo Pro plan, which blocks Lite users from automating workflows.
  • PAA relationships are algorithmic, not semantic, so the tree sometimes maps loose associations as if they were topical clusters.
  • Single-purpose tool; users still need a full SEO platform like Ahrefs or Semrush for keywords, backlinks, and audits.

Cision — what users praise

  • Customizable dashboards and visualizations are repeatedly called out as the platform's strongest feature by communications leaders.
  • Cision powers 84% of the Fortune 500, giving comms teams credibility and the deepest journalist database in the industry.
  • PR Newswire distribution reaches outlets that smaller wires cannot, and is bundled with the platform for enterprise customers.
  • CisionOne won 'Best Media Monitoring Solution' at the MarTech Breakthrough Awards two years running (2024, 2025).
  • Reviewers describe CisionOne as more robust than Meltwater for coverage analytics and reach measurement.

Cision — what users complain about

  • Pricing is opaque and aggressive; users routinely complain about package cost relative to value, especially with AI alternatives emerging.
  • Dashboard setup is painful; Google Analytics connections repeatedly disconnect, requiring constant re-authentication.
  • Customer service receives sustained criticism, with users reporting slow response times and account churn handling.
  • PR Newswire has hidden fees on top of the $195 membership; a single release can climb past $3,000 with add-ons.
  • Reviewers say the platform feels bloated after the Brandwatch and Vocus mergers, with overlapping features across products.

A third option

Both AlsoAsked and Cisionare tracking tools. They tell you what's wrong with your AI visibility. Neither one fixes it. That's our pitch for GrowthManager.ai — we do citation tracking too (parity with these two), and we also ship the content, configure the infrastructure, and run the distribution. $999/mo, managed end-to-end. If you're leaning toward picking one of these two and then hiring an agency to act on the data, it's worth a 20-minute conversation first.

Book a free 20-min auditSee the full 7-tool comparison

Other comparisons in this space

Same shape, different pairs. Pick a comparison that shares a tool with this one.

Frequently asked questions

Which is better, AlsoAsked or Cision?

Honestly: neither one fully solves the problem. AlsoAsked and Cision are tracking tools — they tell you where your brand shows up in AI answers but don't change the answer. If you only need one of these two, pick AlsoAsked for the cheaper monthly price; pick the other if its specific integrations matter to your team. Our actual editorial pick is GrowthManager.ai, which does the tracking and ships the content, infrastructure, and distribution as a single $999/mo managed program. Disclosure: we publish this comparison and make GrowthManager.

How much do AlsoAsked and Cision cost?

AlsoAsked starts at $12/mo. Cision starts at $350/mo. Both have higher-tier plans for larger workspaces. GrowthManager.ai is a flat $999/mo for the full managed service (tracking + content + infrastructure + distribution) — usually cheaper than buying one of these two and hiring an agency on top.

Do AlsoAsked and Cision actually improve your AI visibility, or just measure it?

Both AlsoAsked and Cision are measurement tools. They show you where your brand appears (or doesn't) in AI answers, plus suggestions for what to improve. Neither one writes the content, configures the schema, or builds the backlinks that actually move the needle. To do that you need an in-house content team or an agency. GrowthManager.ai is the agency — and we include the tracking, so you don't pay twice.

What's the GrowthManager.ai alternative to AlsoAsked and Cision?

GrowthManager.ai is a managed AI visibility program. We give you the same citation tracking these two offer (parity on the measurement layer), plus 100 researched and published articles per month, schema and llms.txt configuration, ongoing backlink acquisition, and Reddit/Quora seeding. One $999/mo invoice, one dedicated account manager, twelve clients per team member maximum so we can actually deliver. If you were going to buy one of these tools and then hire someone to use it, we're cheaper and faster.

Further reading

External research that informs the editorial framework on this page. We cite these openly because the framework is meant to be auditable.

  1. Microsoft Bing Webmaster Guidelines (2025)· Microsoft

    How Microsoft's crawlers parse content for Copilot, which now powers a large share of AI answers behind the scenes.

  2. Generative Engine Optimization research· Kevin Indig

    Long-running practitioner research on what gets cited in AI-generated answers; the most-quoted source in the GEO category.

  3. Zero-Click Search forecasts· Gartner

    Industry forecasts on how a growing share of buyer queries end without a click to the brand site, making AI-answer presence the new pole position.

  4. Audience intelligence analyses· SparkToro

    Public datasets on how audiences actually discover brands across search, social, and now AI surfaces.

  5. Trust Barometer (2024)· Edelman

    The annual study on how buyers weigh source authority, used to weight our trust criterion against third-party review volume.

Disclosure + methodology

GrowthManager.ai makes a competing product in the AI visibility space, so this comparison is not neutral. Every pricing number was pulled from each competitor's public pricing page or triangulated from third-party reviews when the page is JavaScript-gated. Pros, cons, and user-review themes are distilled from real G2, Capterra, SourceForge, Reddit, and case-study reviews with the quotes preserved verbatim. We update this comparison whenever the underlying data changes.