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Which plan to choose?
Updated over a week ago

When starting your subscription to Surfer, you need to make two important decisions:

  • Selecting the right plan that will suit your needs best.

  • Deciding whether you want to be billed monthly or annually.

This article will break down the decision-making process for you to hopefully make it smoother!

💡 Before reading this article, we recommend getting to know the tools first. This overview is the perfect place to start!

Decision 1: Plan Choice

Selecting the right subscription plan is crucial when it comes to maximizing the benefits of a service. You do not want to go too big, not to waste resources, but you also do not want to go too small - to make sure you will be able to get all the work done. This is why we prepared 3 core plans and an option to go custom if our regular offer is not enough!

Essential Plan: Ideal for Smaller Teams, Solo Creators, Beginners

Monthly billing: 89$ per month

Annual billing: 828$ per year (69$ per month - 240$ saved)

Features:

  • Content Editor: The Essential plan allows you to create 30 new articles (Content Editors) per month. If you choose an annual plan, you get 360 Content Editor credits upfront. Content Editor provides you with real-time SEO guidelines and a live Content Score, which tells you how much work you still have to do to rank your article high.

  • Topic Explorer: The tool offers 100 queries per day and will help you:

    • create a topical map of your domain to spot content gaps between you and your competitors quickly;

    • identify the right keywords to target for your specific audience, search intent, and use case.

  • Auto-Optimize: The Essential plan offers 20 Auto-Optimize credits for a monthly subscription, but you can opt for annual billing if you would prefer to have 240 Auto-Optimize runs upfront. Auto-Optimize is a Content Editor's feature for a 1-click auto-optimization of your content (ideal for quickly getting any article ready to publish and reoptimizing old content to keep it fresh and ranking)

  • Content Audit (Beta): Content Audit is included in all plans. You can create audits of your domains and get the best opportunities for each.

  • Humanizer: Each plan includes 50,000 words/month. You can always purchase more words through our Sales team.

  • Add-ons: Depending on your month-to-month needs, you can also purchase access to additional tools (Audit and SERP Analyzer).

  • Pay-as-you-go AI: If you need AI credits, you can purchase them additionally.

  • Seats: Our Essential plan allows you to invite up to 2 members to use the same plan together under one subscription.

Best Suited For:

  • Solo Creators: If you're a solo creator looking for a simple and cost-effective solution, the Essential plan covers your basic needs: you can fill up your content calendar for weeks ahead with Keyword Research and write better with smart SEO guidelines provided within the Content Editor.

  • Small Teams: Smaller teams with limited collaboration requirements will find the Essential plan to be a practical and budget-friendly choice.

  • Beginners: If you're just beginning your Surfer journey or your page is rather new, Essential is the right plan to start. It has the lowest price point, and it will allow you to focus fully on research and new content creation without distractions. 

Considerations:

  • No Audit Included: Unlike Scale and Scale AI, the Essential plan does not include the Audit feature. Audit is a go-to tool for optimizing your existing content. If this is your main focus, you can choose Scale or purchase the Audit add-on on top of your Essential plan for USD49 per month. 

  • Seat Limit: It may be worth considering a bigger plan if you're working in a team bigger than three members.

  • No AI Included: This plan excludes AI credits in the base subscription. AI credits can be purchased separately.

  • No Personalized Onboarding: Only plans Scale AI and Enterprise include personalized onboarding with a Surfer expert.

  • Limited Content Editor and Auto-Optimize Credits: If you're publishing more than 30 articles per month or want to have more than 20 Auto-Optimize credits (be it for new or existing articles), it may be worth considering a bigger plan.

Scale Plan: Tailored for Bigger Teams

Monthly billing: 129$ per month

Annual billing: 1188$ per year (99$ per month - 360$ saved)

Features:

  • Content Editor: The Scale plan allows you to create 100 new articles (Content Editors) per month. If you choose an annual plan, you get 1200 Content Editor credits upfront. Content Editor provides you with real-time SEO guidelines and a live Content Score which tells you how much work you still have to do for your article to rank high.

  • Topic Explorer: The tool offers 100 queries per day and will help you:

    • create a topical map of your domain to quickly spot content gaps between you and your competitors;

    • identify the right keywords to target for your specific audience, search intent, and use case.

  • Auto-Optimize: The Essential plan offers 40 Auto-Optimize credits, but you can opt for annual billing if you would prefer to have 480 Auto-Optimize runs upfront. Auto-Optimize is a Content Editor's feature for a 1-click auto optimization of your content (ideal for quickly getting any article ready to publish and re-optimizing old content to keep it fresh and ranking)

  • Content Audit (Beta): Content Audit is unlimited during the Beta and included in all plans. You can create audits of as many domains as you want and get best opportunities for each.

  • Humanizer: Each plan includes 50,000 words/month. You can always purchase more words through our Sales team.

  • Audit: Audit is a go-to tool for optimizing your existing content. It's included in the base Scale subscription and does not have to be purchased separately. The limit is 100 queries per month.

  • Add-on: Depending on your month-to-month needs, you can also purchase access to SERP Analyzer for $29/month.

  • Pay-as-you-go AI: If you need AI credits, you can purchase them additionally.

  • Seats: Our Scale plan allows you to invite up to 5 members to use the same plan together under one subscription.

Best Suited For:

  • Medium to Large Teams: If you lead or belong to a medium to large-sized team, the Scale plan is designed to meet the increased collaboration needs without needing to share credentials with multiple people.

  • Small Teams with Higher Workload: If you belong to a smaller team but you are aiming to create more than 30 new articles per month, or you're focused on existing content optimization, this may be a great plan for you.

  • Agencies and SEO Experts: if you're managing several domains and want to quickly audit, optimize and find new content ideas for each, this plan will be optimal for you.

Considerations:

  • No AI Included: This plan does not include any AI credits in the base subscription. AI credits can be purchased separately.

  • No Personalized Onboarding: Only plans Scale AI and Enterprise include personalized onboarding with a Surfer expert.

  • Limited Auto-Optimize Credits: If you want to have more than 40 Auto-Optimize credits per month (for auto-optimizing new or existing articles), it may be worth considering a bigger plan.

Scale AI Plan: With AI Included for Advanced Teams

Monthly billing: 219$ per month

Annual billing: 2148$ per year (179$ per month - 480$ saved)

Features:

  • Everything from Scale Plan

  • AI Access Included: The Scale AI plan encompasses all the features of the Scale plan, with an added advantage – 10 AI credits are included in the base subscription at a better price per article (in comparison to Pay-as-you-go AI).

  • More Auto-Optimize Credits: The Scale AI plan includes twice as much Auto-Optimize credits than plan Scale (80 Auto-Optimize runs per month instead of 40, 960 runs if you choose annual billing).

  • Personalized Onboarding: The Scale AI plan includes a personalized call with a Surfer expert. It's the best way to get you and your team up and running with Surfer.

Best Suited For:

  • Advanced Teams Leveraging AI: If your team is involved in projects that benefit from artificial intelligence, the Scale AI plan is a game-changer. It gives you access to AI credits for a much better price than in standalone packages while still providing you with all the benefits of the Scale plan.

  • Teams, Agencies, SEO Experts Looking to Scale: If you're looking to scale your marketing output without overwhelming your team or increasing the spending tenfold, this plan will be ideal for you - regardless if you're managing a single domain or a portfolio of multiple customers.

Considerations:

  • Expiring AI credits: Unlike AI credits purchased in separate packages, the credits included in your AI plan do not roll over from one month/year to another - so you will need to make sure to use them all before your next reset!

Custom Plans: For Business Customers

Custom plans are, as the name suggests, plans that are customized to meet YOUR specific needs. If our regular plans are simply too small in terms of organization seats, tool access, or credit limits, we can set up a special plan for you.

Custom Plans are available in yearly contracts only. If you're interested in a customized plan, please reach out to our Sales team directly at [email protected].

Decision 2: Billing Type Choice

Now that you know what each one of our plans has to offer, it's time to decide if you want to pay monthly or pay for a full year upfront.

There are a few factors to consider when selecting the right billing type:

Commitment vs cost-effectiveness:

  • Monthly Billing: Monthly billing provides less commitment, allowing you to reassess your needs regularly. However, it comes with a higher cost on a month-to-month basis.

  • Annual Billing: Choosing an annual plan involves a bigger commitment, but it comes with a cost-saving discount. This is beneficial if you're confident in your long-term usage and want to save money.

Flexibility:

  • Monthly Billing: On monthly plans, you will receive your credits in monthly batches, and any unused credits will not roll over from one month to another. This gives you less flexibility than an annual plan, and to make the most of your resources, you may need to make sure your workload is very similar month-to-month.

  • Annual Billing: While annual plan credits also do not roll over from one year to another, yearly billing gives you more flexibility as you will receive all of your credits in one big batch - you can then plan your monthly usage depending on your or your customers' needs, active projects, trends or other factors that may be difficult to predict.

Long-Term Planning:

  • Monthly Billing: Ideal for those who are uncertain about their long-term needs or want the freedom to switch services more frequently.

  • Annual Billing: Suited for individuals or businesses with a clear, long-term plan for utilizing the service and who are looking to maximize cost efficiency.

Still not sure which plan will be the best for you and your team? You can reach out to us at [email protected] for assistance!

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