Frase lists a Starter plan at $49 a month, or $39 a month billed yearly, with 10 articles a month and a 7-day free trial (frase.io/pricing, checked October 23, 2026). Alternatives include Surfer, Koala, RankYak and Paperboy, which writes, fact-checks and publishes articles from $49 a month.
Paperboy is an AI SEO article writer and publisher by Hive Asset Group, LLC that researches, writes, fact-checks and publishes articles to your own website. Paperboy wrote this comparison, and Paperboy is one of the options.
Frase alternatives at a glance
Every competitor fact below is linked to that company's own page and was checked October 23, 2026. "Not listed" means we did not find it on the pages we read. It is not proof the feature is missing.
| Tool | Best for | Price | Publishes to | Sources or fact check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frase | Research, drafting, optimization and monitoring in one platform | Starter $49 a month, or $39 a month billed yearly, for 1 site and 10 articles a month (source) | WordPress, Webflow, Sanity, Wix, or FraseCMS hosting (source) | Not listed on the pricing page (source) |
| Paperboy (ours) | Sites that want each number tied to a source | Starter $49 a month for 3 articles a week (source) | WordPress, Ghost, hosted blog on your domain, webhook (source) | Listed: every number must appear in the linked source, cited sentences compared with the source's words (source) |
| Surfer | Optimizing content, with page tracking | Discovery $49 a month billed yearly, 120 documents (source) | WordPress, Google Docs, Contentful, Zapier (source) | Not listed on the pricing page. A plagiarism check and AI detector are listed (source) |
| Koala | An SEO agent, writer and one-click publishing | See koala.sh/pricing | WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Ghost, plus webhooks for Zapier and Make (source) | Deep Research gathers sources and can add citations on Professional plans and above (source) |
| RankYak | A daily article in a flat plan | $99 a month per site, $82.50 a month on yearly billing (source) | WordPress, Wix, Shopify, WordPress.com, Webflow, Zapier, Make, RSS, REST API, webhooks (source) | Page says "Facts are verified and backed with citations to their sources" (source) |
Paperboy's plans are per site: Starter is $49 a month ($490 a year) for 3 articles a week, Growth is $99 a month for 7 a week and Pro is $179 a month for 14 a week. Extra sites are 20 percent off, and yearly billing gives two months free (paperboyseo.com).
Frase: pick it when it fits better
Frase describes itself as a "Content Operating System for AI Search." Its homepage lists site audits, AI drafting in your brand voice, SEO and GEO scoring, schema, and a Content Guard that tracks rankings and AI mentions (frase.io). It lists a 7-day free trial with no credit card.
The pricing page lists Starter at $49 a month ($39 a month billed yearly) for 1 seat, 1 site, 10 articles and 50 audit pages a month. Professional is $129 a month ($103 billed yearly) for 3 seats, 5 sites and 40 articles. Scale is $299 a month ($239 billed yearly) for 5 seats, up to 10 domains and 100 articles. Enterprise is custom. FraseCMS hosting add-ons are listed from free up to $99 a month by page views. The page also lists writing natively in 70+ languages and AI Visibility tracking across engines such as ChatGPT, Google AI and Perplexity (frase.io/pricing).
Pick it if you want audits, optimization scores and monitoring of existing pages along with new drafts, and you publish to WordPress, Webflow, Sanity or Wix.
Limit: a fact check step, cited sources and human review of articles are not listed on the pricing page. Starter covers 1 site and 10 articles a month.
Paperboy
Paperboy "researches, writes, fact-checks and publishes SEO articles to your own website." Your first article is free with no credit card. You can approve the first articles before anything goes live, and you can cancel with one button (paperboyseo.com).
Pick it if you want finished posts on a schedule, with every number checked against a linked source and held when it fails, from $49 a month (paperboyseo.com).
Limit: it writes SEO blog articles. Page audits, optimization scores, monitoring of existing pages and an AI search tracker are not listed. Shopify, Wix and Webflow publishing are coming soon. Search Console is an optional connection that helps pick topics.
Surfer
Surfer's pricing page lists Discovery at $49 a month billed yearly (120 documents, 10 tracked pages), Standard at $99 a month billed yearly (360 documents, 50 tracked pages), Pro at $182 a month billed yearly (360 documents, 200 tracked pages) and Peace of Mind at $299 a month billed yearly (unlimited documents under a fair usage policy). Publishing options listed are WordPress, Google Docs, Contentful and Zapier. A plagiarism check and AI detector are listed (surfer.ai/pricing). Trial length and monthly-billing prices are not listed on that page.
Pick it if you want to optimize and track pages you already have. Limit: a fact check step is not listed on the pricing page.
Koala
Koala lists a free start: "Every new account gets 5,000 free words and 25 credits, no credit card required." Publishing is listed as "WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Ghost and more, plus webhooks for Zapier and Make." Deep Research is described as "Sources gathered for your topic and outline before the article is written, with citations when you want them," on Professional plans and above (koala.sh/pricing). We do not quote a Koala price here. See the pricing page for current plans, and our SEO.AI alternatives page.
Pick it if you want an SEO agent and writer under one login. Limit: a step that compares claims with the cited sources is not listed on its pricing page.
RankYak
RankYak lists $99 a month per site, or $82.50 a month on yearly billing, with a "Full access 3-day free trial." It lists 40+ languages and says "Facts are verified and backed with citations to their sources." A Site Guard add-on is listed at $99 a month (rankyak.com/pricing).
Pick it if you want a daily publishing rhythm in one flat plan. Limit: the page does not describe how facts are verified, so ask what is compared.
What a fact check compares
"Fact-checked" can mean different things, so ask each tool what it compares.
Paperboy's check works like this (paperboyseo.com):
- Every number in the article must appear in the source it links to.
- Every cited sentence is compared with that source's own words.
- If anything fails, the article gets one rewrite.
- If it still fails, it is held for you instead of being published.
That is a check against the source text. It does not tell you whether the source itself is right. Koala describes gathering sources and adding citations, and RankYak says facts are verified and cited, which are claims about what goes into an article rather than a described comparison step (koala.sh, rankyak.com). Whatever you choose, check names and numbers yourself. No tool can promise rankings, traffic or AI citations.
How to choose
- Want audits, scores and monitoring of existing pages with new drafts: Frase.
- Want to optimize and track pages you already have: Surfer.
- Want an SEO agent and writer with a free start: Koala.
- Want a daily article in a flat plan: RankYak.
- Want a check that states what it compares, from $49 a month: Paperboy.
- Want to test first: Frase lists a 7-day trial with no credit card, RankYak a 3-day trial, and Paperboy's first article is free with no credit card.
Read the first three articles before you let any tool run. For a wider view, see our AI blog writer comparison. If you are comparing another agent-style tool, our SEO.AI alternatives page covers that. For all eleven tools on one page, see AI blog writer alternatives.
How we checked
We read frase.io, frase.io/pricing, surfer.ai/pricing, koala.sh/pricing and rankyak.com/pricing on October 23, 2026, plus paperboyseo.com. Each competitor fact links the page it came from. Vendors change prices and run promotions, so confirm on the vendor's page before you buy. Paperboy is made by Hive Asset Group, LLC.
Sources
Checked October 23, 2026:
- https://www.frase.io/
- https://www.frase.io/pricing
- https://surfer.ai/pricing
- https://koala.sh/pricing
- https://rankyak.com/pricing
- https://paperboyseo.com
Frequently asked questions
How much does Frase cost?
Frase lists Starter at $49 a month or $39 a month billed yearly, Professional at $129 a month or $103 billed yearly, and Scale at $299 a month or $239 billed yearly, as checked October 23, 2026. Enterprise is custom (frase.io/pricing).
Does Frase have a free trial?
Yes. Frase lists a free 7-day trial with no credit card (frase.io/pricing). Paperboy writes your first article free, with no credit card (paperboyseo.com).
Can Frase publish to WordPress?
Yes. Frase lists publishing to WordPress, Webflow, Sanity or Wix, or hosting on FraseCMS (frase.io/pricing). Paperboy publishes to WordPress, Ghost, a hosted blog on your domain and webhook. Shopify, Wix and Webflow are coming soon (paperboyseo.com).
Frase vs Paperboy: what is the difference?
Frase lists audits, drafting, optimization scores and monitoring, with plans from $49 a month for 1 site (frase.io/pricing). Paperboy researches, writes, fact-checks and publishes SEO blog articles, with plans from $49 a month per site (paperboyseo.com). Paperboy wrote this comparison.
Does Frase fact-check or cite sources?
A fact check step and cited sources are not listed on the Frase pricing page we read (frase.io/pricing). Paperboy states what it compares: every number must appear in the linked source, and cited sentences are compared with the source's words (paperboyseo.com).