AirOps vs Scalenut: Buying Guide When IT Runs a Security Review

For a security review, AirOps is the one that gives IT something to read: it documents SOC 2 Type II, SSO and an API, while Scalenut documents none of its security, compliance or contract terms and has no public API. AirOps keeps its self-serve prices off the page, though. DeepSmith is SOC 2, GDPR and ISO certified and also sells on public monthly plans with no long-term contracts, so the procurement terms are visible from the start.

When IT runs the review, the question in AirOps vs Scalenut for enterprise teams stops being about which tool writes better drafts. It becomes what each vendor will put in writing: certifications, sign-on, data handling and the terms of the contract. AirOps and Scalenut differ a lot on that. DeepSmith sits in the same decision as a third option, with security certifications and public plan prices both on the page. This page covers the security and procurement job only, and the full side-by-side is in AirOps vs Scalenut: Full Review for Non-English Markets.

AirOps vs Scalenut: the short answer

• Choose DeepSmith if you want certified security (SOC 2, GDPR and ISO), public plans from $99 a month with no long-term contracts, and one platform that tracks AI answers and produces the articles.
• Choose AirOps if your review needs SOC 2 Type II evidence, SSO and an API, and you are fine getting plan prices through sales.
• Choose Scalenut if the review is light, you want a low published price from $59 a month, and nobody needs security paperwork, SSO or an API.

Pricing and features as of September 2026, from each vendor's site and public reviews.

AirOps

AirOps is an AI search growth platform that tracks brand visibility in AI answers and runs agent workflows to research, write, refresh, review and publish content. It is built for marketing, SEO and content teams at mid-market and enterprise brands that are willing to build workflows, or have AirOps build them.

For this reader, the standout is documentation. AirOps says it has been SOC 2 Type II compliant since January 2023, with the report available under NDA. It also describes control monitoring through Drata, annual third-party penetration tests, a data processing agreement with Standard Contractual Clauses and deletion of customer data 30 days after account closure. SSO covers Okta, Azure AD and Google Workspace, with SCIM on Enterprise plans.

The limits are on the commercial side. The pricing page shows Solo and Pro limits but no monthly or annual prices, and SSO is an Enterprise feature. Reviewers on G2 (4.7/5 from about 133 reviews, checked September 2026) mention a learning curve and the need to fact-check generated content.

Scalenut

Scalenut started as an AI SEO writer and now markets itself as a GEO platform. Its self-serve plans (Starter $59, Plus $89, Professional $199 per month) cover keyword clusters, the Cruise Mode article writer, a content optimizer, internal linking, WordPress and Shopify publishing and weekly AI visibility tracking. It suits small teams that want SEO writing and scoring in one subscription.

Its strength is a visible price and a low one. The weakness, for a security review, is that very little else is visible. The pages we reviewed name no SOC 2, ISO 27001 or SSO, the enterprise page says only "enterprise grade security", and the privacy policy was last updated in 2020. Its help center states that Scalenut does not currently offer an API.

Reviews are mixed. G2 shows 4.7/5 from 315 reviews and Capterra 4.8/5 from 397, while Trustpilot displays 3.2/5 from 159. Some reviewers there allege renewal, refund and cancellation problems. Those are reviewer accounts and not established findings, but they are worth a question to the vendor.

DeepSmith: the alternative with certified security on public terms

AirOps leaves IT with evidence and procurement with a quote request. Scalenut leaves both with gaps. For an enterprise team, the useful middle is a vendor that shows certifications and the commercial terms together, which is what DeepSmith does. It is SOC 2, GDPR and ISO certified, and it sells four plans on a public page: Pro at $99 a month, Grow at $199, Scale at $399 and a custom Enterprise plan. Annual billing brings the first three to $80, $160 and $299 a month. There is a 7-day free trial, and there are no long-term contracts and no cancellation fees, so finance can see the cost before anyone talks to sales.

The platform covers the work as well as the paperwork. DeepSmith tracks how AI engines answer questions about your brand, finds the gaps through the Content Map and Opportunity Agents, and produces publish-ready articles in the Writer, grounded in Deep IQ brand context. Autowrite can run that on a schedule, and Produced Content is where your team reviews before anything goes live.

For the technical side of the review, DeepSmith has a read-only REST API with scoped keys, a 120 requests per minute limit per workspace and a published OpenAPI spec. It also has a read-only MCP server with 23 tools, and signed webhooks. Multi-Workspace keeps each brand or client isolated, and Enterprise adds 1:1 expert onboarding and a dedicated account manager.

Security documentation

AirOps wins this by a wide margin, because it is the only one of the two that documents anything. The evidence is specific: SOC 2 Type II with a report under NDA, annual penetration tests, a DPA with Standard Contractual Clauses and a 30-day deletion commitment. AirOps also says Enterprise customers get OpenAI Enterprise Zero Data Retention for applicable data, which is a scoped claim and not a blanket guarantee, so ask which integrations it covers.

With Scalenut, the absence is the finding. No certification is named, and SSO, data residency and an up to date security audit could not be verified. That does not prove the controls are missing. It means you would be asking Scalenut to produce evidence that AirOps already publishes, and a review can stall on that.

What DeepSmith does: DeepSmith states SOC 2, GDPR and ISO certification as part of the product, so the security questionnaire starts from a documented position. Ask for the specific reports during procurement, the same way you would with AirOps.

SSO and API access

AirOps wins here as well. It offers SSO for Okta, Azure AD and Google Workspace, though only on Enterprise, and an Insights API that uses a workspace API key and needs a Brand Kit with AEO enabled. It also has an MCP server. The plan gating for the API is not stated, so confirm it before you count on it.

Scalenut has no public API, and its record shows no MCP server and no named SSO. If your IT team needs to pull data into a warehouse or connect an identity provider, that closes the question for most reviews.

What DeepSmith does: DeepSmith gives your team a read-only API and a read-only MCP server, both on workspace-level keys, so reporting and AI assistants can read visibility, Content Map and content data without changing anything in the workspace.

Pricing and contract terms

This one is split. Scalenut wins on price visibility, with $59, $89 and $199 plans on the page and a 7-day trial. AirOps shows plan limits but no Solo or Pro prices, and its trial FAQ still refers to a retired plan name, so the quote you get is the one you will have to work from.

Neither vendor makes the contract easy to read. Scalenut's help page says there are no refunds after the trial, and its cancellation and renewal mechanics are not on the pages we reviewed. For AirOps, get renewal terms and a plan-specific quote in writing.

What DeepSmith does: DeepSmith publishes every self-serve price, offers a 7-day trial and has no long-term contracts or cancellation fees. A procurement team can model the cost from the pricing page and leave with the option to cancel.

Questions to put to each vendor

A short list works better than a long questionnaire. For AirOps, ask for the SOC 2 Type II report under NDA, the plan that includes SSO and the API, and the renewal terms for Solo and Pro. For Scalenut, ask for any SOC 2 or ISO evidence, SSO and data residency terms, current data processing terms, and the refund and cancellation policy for standard plans. For DeepSmith, ask for the certification documents and the Enterprise plan terms.

Which should you choose

• DeepSmith: teams that need certified security and public terms in the same place, and want tracking, production and read-only developer access on one plan. Start on a self-serve plan and move to Enterprise when the review asks for it.
• AirOps: enterprise teams whose review depends on SOC 2 Type II evidence, SSO and an API, and who can work through a sales quote. This is the better pick of the two for AirOps vs Scalenut for enterprise.
• Scalenut: small teams with a light review who want a low published price and SEO writing, and who can accept that no security documentation is available.

Start a DeepSmith free trial and run your own review against the plan you would actually buy.