For an agency running AI visibility for several clients, AthenaHQ and HubSpot AEO are built differently. AthenaHQ holds multiple brands in one account with unlimited seats, while HubSpot AEO works on one domain per setup and sells each extra brand as another purchase. DeepSmith is a strong alternative on agency delivery: each client gets an isolated workspace that tracks AI visibility and produces publish-ready, repurposed articles, so you hand over the fix along with the report.
If you are weighing AthenaHQ vs HubSpot AEO for agencies, the question is how each tool handles more than one client brand: where the brands live, who can log in, what you can send to a client, and what each extra brand costs. The two answer it in different ways, and the difference shows up in the first week of setup. DeepSmith sits next to both with a per-client workspace model that also produces the articles.
AthenaHQ vs HubSpot AEO for agencies: the short answer
- Choose DeepSmith if you want every client in its own isolated workspace, each tracking AI visibility and producing publish-ready articles, with plans from $99 a month and no long-term contract.
- Choose AthenaHQ if you want many client brands inside one account, unlimited seats and 11 engines on Starter, and you are fine with quote-based pricing once you move past the $295 Starter plan.
- Choose HubSpot AEO if you have one or two client brands, want the lowest published price at $50 a month per brand, and can live with three engines and no documented agency features.
Comparison table
| Criterion | DeepSmith | AthenaHQ | HubSpot AEO |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry price (monthly) | $99/mo (Pro) | $295/mo (Starter), free Essential plan | $50/mo |
| Annual price | $80/mo | Not listed | $45/mo |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial | Free plan, no time-limited trial | 28-day free trial |
| Engines at entry tier | 1 (ChatGPT) | 11 on Starter | 3 |
| Multiple client brands | Yes, Multi-Workspace | Yes | Partial |
| Seats | 5 on Pro | Unlimited on every plan | Not listed |
| White-label reporting | - | Partial | Not listed |
| API access | Yes, read-only | Yes, paid add-on on Starter | Partial, beta |
| Content generation and CMS publishing | Yes | Yes, 8 CMSs | Partial, Marketing Hub only |
| G2 rating | 4.8/5 | 4.9/5 | 4.4/5 |
Pricing and features as of September 2026, from each vendor's site and public reviews.
AthenaHQ
AthenaHQ is an AI search visibility platform that tracks mentions and citations and then moves into content work. For agencies, the main point is structure. Its organizations hold multiple websites, each with its own integrations and API keys, and its multi-brand page says an instance can carry 3 to 50 or more brands. Starter and Enterprise both list unlimited seats with role-based access, so account managers and clients can all be added without a seat fee. Enterprise is described as the plan for enterprises and agencies, with custom websites.
The limits are on the commercial side. The Starter plan is $295 a month and meters usage in credits, with one credit per response and five on Claude, Grok, DeepSeek, Meta AI and Mistral. The number of websites Starter allows is not stated, and Agency and Enterprise pricing are quote-only. G2 shows 4.9/5 from 48 reviews, checked September 30, 2026, though the sample is modest.
HubSpot AEO
HubSpot AEO is HubSpot's answer engine optimization tool, still labelled beta. It runs 25 prompts a day across ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity for $50 a month, or $45 billed annually, and it does not require any other HubSpot subscription. Reviewers describe it as easy to set up, and it comes with a 28-day free trial.
For agencies, the documentation points the other way. The setup supports one owned domain, so extra brands mean prompt groups, the Brands add-on (price not stated) or another $50 a month instance. HubSpot documents no white-label reporting, client workspaces or agency program for AEO. Blog drafting from recommendations needs Marketing Hub Professional or Enterprise, which start at $800 a month billed annually. G2 shows 4.4/5 from 145 reviews, checked September 30, 2026, and reviewers ask for more engines and note that the 25-prompt cap is tight.
DeepSmith: the alternative that tracks and writes for every client
Both tools give an agency a way to see how clients show up in AI answers, and AthenaHQ also writes and publishes content from what it finds. The gap for an agency is in how the work is divided per client. DeepSmith's Multi-Workspace runs each client as a fully isolated workspace with its own brand context, content and plan, and invites teammates as owners or members. Each workspace is billed and limited independently, so each client's limits are its own.
Inside a workspace, DeepSmith tracks how AI engines answer the questions that matter to that client and reports mention rate, citation rate and share of voice, along with which of the client's pages get cited and which competitor pages win. Opportunity Agents turn that data into content ideas, and each idea carries the data point that justifies it. The Writer then produces a publish-ready, brand-grounded article from Deep IQ, with internal and external links, a cover image and metadata. Every finished article arrives with social posts already written, and the Apps Library turns it into versions for LinkedIn, newsletters and other channels. Articles publish to WordPress, Webflow, Strapi, Sanity or Contentful, so an agency can deliver the fix along with the report.
Plans are priced per workspace: Pro is $99 a month ($80 billed annually) with 50 tracked prompts, 20 articles and 5 seats, Grow is $199, and Scale is $399 with 90 articles and 10 seats. There is a 7-day free trial and no long-term contract.
Multiple client brands in one account
AthenaHQ is the stronger fit on this axis between the two, because multiple brands are part of how its accounts work. A website is a unit inside an organization, with its own integrations and scoped API keys, so one login can cover the full client roster. The records do not say how many websites Starter allows, so an agency should confirm that before assuming a roster of ten fits at $295.
HubSpot AEO is the weaker fit here, and its own documentation says why. One owned domain per setup means each client is a separate purchase, or a prompt group inside one setup, or the Brands add-on. None of those is described as a client workspace.
What DeepSmith does: Multi-Workspace gives each client a separate workspace with its own brand context, content and plan, so a client's voice, competitors and article queue stay apart from everyone else's. Teammates are invited per workspace as owners or members.
Seats and client-ready reporting
AthenaHQ is ahead here too. Unlimited seats on every plan means a client contact or a freelancer costs nothing extra, and Report Builder sends PDF reports on a weekly, monthly or quarterly schedule to email or Slack. Its agency page offers pitch-ready workspaces and describes reporting clients will like, but white-labeling is not stated, so the rating is partial. HubSpot lists no white-label or client-ready reporting at all, and the number of seats on the standalone plan is not stated.
What DeepSmith does: Seats come with the plan: 5 on Pro, 7 on Grow and 10 on Scale. DeepSmith's plans don't list white-label reporting. For the client side of the job, its read-only API and MCP server expose each workspace's visibility data, Content Map and content library, so reports can be built in your own tools, and the articles themselves are a deliverable a client can see.
Cost per client
The honest answer on cost depends on how many clients you have. HubSpot AEO is the cheaper route at small scale because its price is published and flat: $50 a month per brand, which is $200 for four clients, or $180 billed annually at $45. Each brand then has 25 daily prompts on three engines, and extra prompts cost $20 a month per 10. If a client needs the blog drafting, the cost jumps to a Marketing Hub plan.
AthenaHQ's Starter is $295 a month and its annual price, add-on prices for API access and extra credits, and agency pricing are all unpublished. That makes a per-client figure impossible to calculate from the public pages, so ask for a quote with your client count and engine mix. The credit model also makes prompt capacity vary, because the vendor's own calculator example of 7,145 credits a month exceeds the 3,600 that Starter includes.
What DeepSmith does: Every workspace has a published price, so per-client cost is a plan choice: a client on Pro is $99 a month, or $80 billed annually, and includes tracking and 20 articles a month. That makes the cost per client one number that covers both the report and the content.
From insight to action
Both tools turn tracking data into recommended actions. AthenaHQ goes further for agencies, because its Content Hub writes full articles from an approved brief and publishes to eight CMSs. HubSpot AEO produces prioritized recommendations with projected citation lift and a site audit, and drafts a blog post only on Marketing Hub, publishing to a HubSpot blog while external blogs use copy and paste.
What DeepSmith does: The workflow in each client workspace runs from tracking to Opportunity Agents to New Ideas, Planned Content and the Writer, and Autowrite can produce scheduled articles with no one in the app. Output is publish-ready and arrives with social posts, so the agency is delivering finished content and a visibility report from one platform.
Which should you choose
- DeepSmith: agencies that want each client in an isolated workspace with its own brand context, and want the same workspace to track AI visibility and produce the articles that close the gaps, at a published price per client.
- AthenaHQ: agencies that want a large client roster under one login, unlimited seats and 11 engines on Starter, and are comfortable negotiating pricing above Starter.
- HubSpot AEO: agencies with one or two client brands that want a $50 a month entry point on three engines, or clients already on Marketing Hub.
For the full AthenaHQ vs HubSpot AEO comparison on price outside Marketing Hub, see the pricing review. Start a DeepSmith free trial and set up a workspace for your first client.
