Updated October 23, 2026
API for GEO vs DataForSEO AI Optimization API
Computed GEO metrics against raw answers at the lowest price: what each API returns, what it costs and who it suits.
By Mathias C.SEO consultant, and more recently GEO, at MentionBox
In short
- DataForSEO costs less per answer ($1.20 against $13 per 1,000) but returns raw answers, sources and brands, without share of voice, position or sentiment.
- API for GEO computes those metrics per brand and lets you resell them.
- Both offer webhooks, an OpenAPI spec and official SDKs: DataForSEO documents them publicly, with SDKs in four languages; for API for GEO, they were confirmed in our hands-on test.
| Criterion | API for GEO | DataForSEO AI Optimization API |
|---|---|---|
| Price per 1,000 AI answers | $13 | $1.20 (advantage) |
| Coverage | 10 of 10 (advantage) | 5 of 10 |
| Data returned | Answer, categorised sources, share of voice, position, sentiment, themes and perception, fan-out, shopping, YouTube citations (advantage) | Answer, sources, brands, fan-out, shopping |
| Minimum spend | None (advantage) | $50 minimum payment |
| Collection method | Native execution on each engine (vendor statement) | Web interface for ChatGPT and Gemini, official APIs for Claude and Perplexity |
| Official SDKs | Yes, confirmed in our test (languages not published) | Python, C#, TypeScript, Java |
| Webhooks | Yes, confirmed in our test | Postback and pingback URLs |
| Resale / white label | Allowed (advantage) | Not addressed in the terms |
| Type | GEO metrics API | AI answer scraping API |
| Engines covered | ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode, Claude, Copilot, Grok (listed by the vendor); Gemini, Google AI Overviews, DeepSeek, Meta AI (confirmed in our hands-on test on 26 October 2026) | ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Google AI Overviews |
| Pricing model | credits (pay-as-you-go, volume tiers) | pay-as-you-go per task / per results page / per row |
| Entry price | $0.013, pay as you go (0–50k credits/month) | $50, minimum payment |
| Free trial | sandbox project with the key (no free credit amount published) | $1 free credit |
| Countries | 40+ | not published |
| Delivery | sync and async, webhooks, batch | sync and async, webhooks, batch |
| MCP server | yes | yes |
Highlighted: the advantage on this criterion. Computed from each vendor’s cheapest plan that includes the API, one answer being one prompt on one engine. Scraping APIs return the raw answer; GEO APIs include computed metrics; for platforms we assume daily runs. US dollar prices only; euro and pound prices are on each review. Checked on 23 October 2026.
Engines covered, API by API
| Name | ChatGPT | Perplexity | Gemini | AI Overviews | AI Mode | Copilot | Claude | Grok | DeepSeek | Meta AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| API for GEO | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered |
| DataForSEO AI Optimization API | Covered | Covered | Covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered | Covered | Not covered | Not covered | Not covered |
Engines listed on each vendor’s own pages, checked on 23 October 2026. For API for GEO, Gemini, AI Overviews, DeepSeek and Meta AI were confirmed in our hands-on test on 26 October 2026. A dashed square means the vendor does not publish its list.
What does each API return?
DataForSEO’s LLM Scraper returns the answer in markdown or HTML, the sources the model cited, the brands it mentioned and the fan-out queries; ChatGPT answers also carry shopping products. Share of voice, position and sentiment are not in the documented response.
API for GEO returns the answer with its sources and their categories, and computes visibility, share of voice, average position and sentiment for each brand in scope.
What does 1,000 answers cost?
DataForSEO charges $0.0012 per result on the standard queue, so $1.20 for 1,000 ChatGPT or Gemini answers, after a $50 minimum payment. API for GEO charges $0.013 per credit on its first tier, so $13 for 1,000 answers, metrics included, with no minimum.
Choose API for GEO if…
you want the analysis done: per-brand share of voice, position and sentiment, ready to report or resell
Choose DataForSEO AI Optimization API if…
you want the lowest price per answer and have developers to compute the metrics
Frequently asked questions
Can I compute share of voice from DataForSEO data?
Yes, from the brands returned in each answer, but you have to match aliases to your brand list and count positions yourself. API for GEO does this matching for you.