Pick
OnCrawl
OnCrawl is the right pick if your team prefers their approach and pricing fits.
Head-to-head review · Updated June 2026
OnCrawl vs Searchlight: which one wins in 2026?
OnCrawl and Searchlight 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. Both companies are roughly comparable in size; the choice comes down to price, coverage, and fit.
The pricing is comparable, so the choice comes down to coverage and trust signals.
The verdict
Pick
Searchlight
Pick Searchlight if 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 OnCrawl
Founded by Francois Goube, Tanguy Moal, based in Bordeaux, France. On their site they list 10 named customers including Adidas, L'Oreal, Ticketmaster, Harrods.
Enterprise SEO data platform combining crawl, logs, and AI insights.
What people praise
- JavaScript-capable crawler scales to 300M+ URLs per project, putting it in the same league as Botify and DeepCrawl for enterprise sites.
- Log file analyzer processes 500M+ log lines per day, surfacing how Googlebot, Bingbot, and AI crawlers actually behave on the site.
- Cross-references crawl data, server logs, GSC, GA4, Adobe Analytics, and Majestic backlinks in one analysis - few competitors integrate all five sources.
- 100% unsampled data analysis appeals to enterprise SEOs frustrated with GA4 sampling and Search Console limits.
Where it falls short
- No public pricing - book-a-demo gating means SMBs and indie consultants are filtered out before evaluation.
- Capterra rating of 3.8 is the lowest among major technical SEO crawlers, with reviewers citing UI complexity and pricing opacity.
- Steep learning curve - the platform assumes data-science fluency, which leaves marketers needing a technical SEO specialist to extract value.
- Self-serve onboarding is limited; complex multi-source setups (logs plus crawl plus analytics) typically need OnCrawl's customer success team.
The case for Searchlight
Founded by Seth Besmertnik, Jeremy Duboys. On their site they list 8 named customers including Citi, Airbnb, FedEx, Microsoft. Pricing starts at $500/mo.
SEO + AI visibility intelligence platform that ranks brands across organic and generative search.
What people praise
- Searchlight (now Conductor) is consistently named a Leader in the Forrester Wave for SEO platforms, lending it strong enterprise credibility.
- Content brief workflow inside Creator is praised on G2 for tying keyword research directly to writer guidance and topical authority maps.
- AI search visibility tracking covers ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, and Claude alongside traditional Google rankings in one dashboard.
- 24/7 Conductor Monitoring catches site issues like indexability changes and core web vitals regressions in real time.
Where it falls short
- Pricing is opaque and enterprise-only, with deals starting around $27K/yr making it a non-starter for mid-market budgets.
- Searchmetrics integration is described in recent G2 reviews as a work-in-progress rather than a unified platform.
- Long onboarding period (weeks to months) is needed before the platform pays off, per multiple Gartner Peer Insights reviewers.
- Speed on large datasets is a recurring complaint, with reports taking minutes to load.
Pricing, tier by tier
Tier 1
OnCrawl
—
—
Searchlight
Annual License
Custom (Median ~$48,950/yr)
- Unlimited user seats
- Custom keyword and page limits
- All 3 product modules: Intelligence, Creator, Monitoring
- 3-week free trial
Tier 2
OnCrawl
—
—
Searchlight
Mid-Market
Custom
- Smaller keyword and page footprints
- Standard analytics integrations
- Email and chat support
Tier 3
OnCrawl
—
—
Searchlight
Enterprise
Custom (up to $500K+/yr)
- AgentStack agentic AEO workflows
- LLM integrations and MCP Server
- Multiple sites and brands
- Dedicated CSM and SLAs
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 OnCrawl
- SEO Crawler. JavaScript-capable cloud crawler that audits 300M+ URLs, mapping site architecture, internal linking, and orphan pages.
- Log File Analyzer. Processes 500M+ log lines daily to show how Googlebot, Bingbot, and AI bots interact with the site.
- Data3 Cross-Analysis. Combines crawl, logs, GSC, GA4, Adobe Analytics, and Majestic data in unified reports with custom segmentation.
- SEO Impact Report. Connects technical SEO metrics to business outcomes like organic revenue and conversions.
- REST API. Full developer API with automated crawl scheduling and log ingestion for enterprise SEO automation.
Only on Searchlight
- Conductor Intelligence. Tracks brand visibility across ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, Claude and Google with share-of-voice and rank reporting.
- Conductor Creator. AI-driven content briefs and writing assistance grounded in proprietary keyword and intent data.
- Conductor Monitoring. 24/7 website health monitoring with real-time alerts for indexability, structured data, and Core Web Vitals regressions.
- AI Topic Map. Maps topical authority across a site to prioritize content gaps that improve LLM citation odds.
- AgentStack. Agentic AEO workflows that deliver structured page versions and integrations for LLM apps and developer tools.
- Workflow Integrations. Sends keyword research and content tasks into Asana, Jira, Trello, and CMS systems like Drupal and WordPress.
When each one wins
When OnCrawl wins
- JavaScript-capable crawler scales to 300M+ URLs per project, putting it in the same league as Botify and DeepCrawl for enterprise sites.
When Searchlight wins
- Budget is the constraint. Searchlight starts at $500/mo vs OnCrawl's $∞/mo, so on a per-seat basis it's the cheaper way in.
- Procurement requires SOC 2 Type 2. Searchlight has it; OnCrawl doesn't yet.
- Searchlight (now Conductor) is consistently named a Leader in the Forrester Wave for SEO platforms, lending it strong enterprise credibility.
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 OnCrawl 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 OnCrawl over Searchlight
- Faster product velocity. OnCrawl has shipped 5 public launches in the last year vs Searchlight's 0.
- More mature platform. OnCrawl (founded 2013) has had more time to harden the product than Searchlight (2023).
- What users praise most. JavaScript-capable crawler scales to 300M+ URLs per project, putting it in the same league as Botify and DeepCrawl for enterprise sites.
Reasons to pick Searchlight over OnCrawl
- Lower entry price. Searchlight publishes a clear entry tier at $500/mo; OnCrawl gates pricing.
- Public pricing. Searchlight publishes 3 tiers on its website; OnCrawl requires a sales conversation.
- SOC 2 Type 2. Searchlight carries SOC 2 Type 2; OnCrawl does not yet, which can hold up procurement.
- More verified reviews. Searchlight has 460 G2 reviews vs OnCrawl's none on file, so the average rating carries more weight.
- Built for the LLM era. Searchlight was founded in 2023, built around AI search from day one; OnCrawl dates back to 2013 and is retrofitting.
- What users praise most. Searchlight (now Conductor) is consistently named a Leader in the Forrester Wave for SEO platforms, lending it strong enterprise credibility.
Switching from one to the other
From OnCrawl to Searchlight
Export your saved queries and prompt panels from OnCrawl (most tools support CSV export). Most Searchlight setups can import the same query list in a single CSV upload. Expect 1-2 days of parallel running so you can validate Searchlight's data againstOnCrawl's; one to two weeks of full reconciliation before you cancel OnCrawl. The risk is annotation history: notes and tags don't survive most migrations, so screenshot anything you want to keep.
From Searchlight to OnCrawl
Same flow in reverse. Export from Searchlight, import to OnCrawl. 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
| OnCrawl | Searchlight | |
|---|---|---|
| Starts at (USD/mo) | Custom | $500/mo |
| Founded | 2013 | 2023 |
| Headquarters | Bordeaux, France | — |
| Funding raised | — | — |
| AI platforms tracked | — | — |
| G2 rating | 4.4 / 5 | 4.5 / 5 (460 reviews) |
| Named customers | 10 | 8 |
| 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.
OnCrawl — what users praise
- JavaScript-capable crawler scales to 300M+ URLs per project, putting it in the same league as Botify and DeepCrawl for enterprise sites.
- Log file analyzer processes 500M+ log lines per day, surfacing how Googlebot, Bingbot, and AI crawlers actually behave on the site.
- Cross-references crawl data, server logs, GSC, GA4, Adobe Analytics, and Majestic backlinks in one analysis - few competitors integrate all five sources.
- 100% unsampled data analysis appeals to enterprise SEOs frustrated with GA4 sampling and Search Console limits.
- 30-day ROI guarantee gives risk cover for enterprise buyers piloting against incumbent BrightEdge or Conductor deployments.
OnCrawl — what users complain about
- No public pricing - book-a-demo gating means SMBs and indie consultants are filtered out before evaluation.
- Capterra rating of 3.8 is the lowest among major technical SEO crawlers, with reviewers citing UI complexity and pricing opacity.
- Steep learning curve - the platform assumes data-science fluency, which leaves marketers needing a technical SEO specialist to extract value.
- Self-serve onboarding is limited; complex multi-source setups (logs plus crawl plus analytics) typically need OnCrawl's customer success team.
- BrightEdge ownership raises long-term roadmap questions for customers who prefer best-of-breed technical SEO over consolidated suites.
Searchlight — what users praise
- Searchlight (now Conductor) is consistently named a Leader in the Forrester Wave for SEO platforms, lending it strong enterprise credibility.
- Content brief workflow inside Creator is praised on G2 for tying keyword research directly to writer guidance and topical authority maps.
- AI search visibility tracking covers ChatGPT, Gemini, Copilot, and Claude alongside traditional Google rankings in one dashboard.
- 24/7 Conductor Monitoring catches site issues like indexability changes and core web vitals regressions in real time.
- Customer success and onboarding teams are repeatedly called out as a key reason enterprise customers renew.
Searchlight — what users complain about
- Pricing is opaque and enterprise-only, with deals starting around $27K/yr making it a non-starter for mid-market budgets.
- Searchmetrics integration is described in recent G2 reviews as a work-in-progress rather than a unified platform.
- Long onboarding period (weeks to months) is needed before the platform pays off, per multiple Gartner Peer Insights reviewers.
- Speed on large datasets is a recurring complaint, with reports taking minutes to load.
- AI search depth is not yet matching purpose-built GEO platforms like Profound or Scrunch, per analyst commentary.
A third option
Both OnCrawl and Searchlightare 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.
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, OnCrawl or Searchlight?
Honestly: neither one fully solves the problem. OnCrawl and Searchlight 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 OnCrawl 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 OnCrawl and Searchlight cost?
OnCrawl starts at Custom. Searchlight starts at $500/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 OnCrawl and Searchlight actually improve your AI visibility, or just measure it?
Both OnCrawl and Searchlight 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 OnCrawl and Searchlight?
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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Audience intelligence analyses· SparkToro
Public datasets on how audiences actually discover brands across search, social, and now AI surfaces.
- 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.