Doily vs Surfer.

Content optimization Checked against public vendor pages on Oct 11, 2026

On this page

Explore with AI

Ask ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity or Copilot about this page

Short answer

Surfer is a content optimization platform: you write and score articles against live SEO data, and track a set of AI prompts. Doily does not write content. It tracks Google rankings daily and 9 AI engines, audits your site and turns the data into tasks, and it opens soon. Choose Surfer to produce pages, and Doily to track and fix.

At a glance

Tracks Google rankings and visibility in 9 AI engines, audits your site, and turns the data into tasks and reports. Doily opens soon.

Best for You need to track rankings and AI answers, not produce articles.

Surfer is a content optimization and AI search platform. Its plans center on a Content Editor with live guidelines, an AI writing assistant, a content audit and an AI Tracker for brand visibility, with team collaboration and API access on higher tiers.

Best for Your goal is writing and optimizing content pages with live guidelines.

Content creation and optimization

This is Surfer's main job and not Doily's. Doily recommends what to fix and which pages to build, and Surfer helps you write them.

Content creation and optimization: Doily and Surfer
Feature
Writing and scoring	Doily does not draft or score articles.	Content Editor with live guidelines and a Content Score, plus Surfy, an AI writing assistant.
Document allowance	Not applicable.	Discovery: 120 documents. Standard and Pro: 360. Peace of Mind: unlimited, subject to fair use.
Internal links and gaps	Fixes from audits become ranked tasks.	1-click internal linking, content ideas, coverage gaps and a cannibalization report on Pro.
Content upkeep	Rankings and audits show which pages are slipping.	Content Audit monitors content performance and notifies you about ranking drops.

AI visibility

Both tools track brand mentions in AI answers. Surfer limits the prompt count by plan, and Doily meters checks with credits.

AI visibility: Doily and Surfer
Feature
Engines tracked	9 engines: ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, Google AI Mode, Gemini, Perplexity, Claude, Copilot, Grok and DeepSeek.	Gemini, ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, AI Mode and Perplexity, per its AI Tracker page.
Prompt allowance	Starter: 30 prompts daily across 5 engines. Team: 40 daily on 5 engines.	AI Search Analytics: 50 prompts. Standard: 25. Pro: 50. Peace of Mind: 100.
Refresh	Daily on paid plans, with the cadence shown beside each engine.	Daily on most plans; Standard refreshes weekly.
Gaps and sentiment	Mentions, citations, share of voice, sentiment and cited sources per engine and prompt.	Visibility Score, mention gaps, brand sentiment and competitor share of voice.

Rankings, teams and reporting

Surfer includes rank drop detection for content, while Doily tracks keyword positions across the whole site.

Rankings, teams and reporting: Doily and Surfer
Feature
Rank tracking	Daily Google positions on desktop and mobile, by country, state or city, with a local map pack grid.	Rank Drop Detection on Standard and above, tied to content.
Site audits	Crawl, health score, Core Web Vitals and ranked fixes.	Content-level checks; the plan list shows no site crawl.
Seats	Starter: 3 seats. Team: 5 seats. Extra staff seats are $15 per month.	Team collaboration on Standard and above.
Agency features	Full white label, client portal and workspaces on Agency.	White label and custom limits on Enterprise; API access on Peace of Mind.

Pricing

Doily Starter is $99 per month and Team is $249, with AI visibility and rank tracking in each. Agency starts at $499. Free is $0. Annual billing is 2 months free.

See Doily plans

Surfer lists prices billed yearly: Discovery at $49 per month, AI Search Analytics at $82, Standard at $99, Pro at $182 and Peace of Mind at $299. Enterprise is custom. Every plan has a Start for Free button, though the page does not state the trial terms. The FAQ says annual plans save up to 17% against monthly payments.

Listed on the vendor's public pages as of Oct 11, 2026.

Which to choose

Choose Doily if

You need to track rankings and AI answers, not produce articles.
You want site audits and a task list built from your data.
You want more AI engines, and 30 or more prompts on a daily schedule.

Choose Surfer if

Your goal is writing and optimizing content pages with live guidelines.
You want a Content Score and an AI writing assistant in the same tool.
You manage many documents and want internal linking and cannibalization reports.

Switching from Surfer

Keep Surfer for drafting and optimizing content if you rely on it.
Recreate your Surfer AI Tracker prompts in Doily and choose the engines to check.
Add the keywords from your Content Audit to Doily rank tracking.
Run a first Doily audit and read the ranked fix list.
Set up a report template in Doily and schedule it for your team or clients.

Questions

Can I use Surfer and Doily together?

Yes, and they fit together. Surfer helps you write and optimize pages, and Doily tracks how they rank and appear in AI answers.

Does Doily write content?

No. Doily tracks, audits and recommends, and Surfer or another editor is the place to write.

How does pricing compare?

Surfer's plans run from $49 to $299 per month billed yearly. Doily Starter is $99 per month. The tools do different jobs, so compare what you need to do first.

Does Surfer have a free trial?

Each plan has a Start for Free button, but its pricing page does not give the terms. Check Surfer before you sign up. Doily has a Free plan and a 7-day trial on Agency.

Sources and method

Checked on Oct 11, 2026 against these public pages.

Doily is not affiliated with Surfer. Product names are trademarks of their owners. Information comes from the public pages listed above as of Oct 11, 2026. Pricing and features change; check the vendor before you buy.