TL;DR
| Approach | Cost | Time | What you get | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIY with free tools | $0 | 4-8 hrs/month | Checklist score, manual spot-checks | Founders with time, not budget |
| LLMRadar one-time audit | $197 | 20 min reading | 4-LLM audit, PDF report, numbered fix list | Solo founders and small teams who want a concrete fix fast |
| Consultant or agency | $1,500-5,000+ | 2-4 weeks | Custom strategy, implementation roadmap | $500K+ ARR companies needing ongoing management |
Most SaaS founders at the $0-1M ARR stage think they need the consultant. They actually need the audit.
The decision you are actually making
You found out that your product does not appear when someone asks ChatGPT or Claude for tools in your category. You want to fix it.
The question is not "how important is this?" You already know it matters. The real question is: what is the most efficient path from "I know something is broken" to "here is the numbered list of fixes, prioritized by impact"?
That is a different question. And the answer depends on where you are.
DIY with free tools ($0)
What you actually get:
The free AI Visibility Self-Audit gives you a 0-100 score and a prioritized fix list in 5 minutes. It checks the five most common gaps: schema markup, JSON-LD structure, llms.txt placement, SAIO page structure, and citation signals.
Beyond that, you can run manual LLM spot-checks yourself: ask ChatGPT "what tools exist for [your category]?" and see whether your brand appears. Google Search Console (free) shows which pages Google currently ranks, and you can compare that to where LLMs cite you.
The honest downside:
Free tools tell you WHAT is broken. They do not give you a prioritized implementation order, and they do not verify whether a fix actually worked across 4 LLMs. You will spend 4-8 hours per month on manual checking that a one-time audit automates in two hours of delivery time you never have to think about again.
Right for you if: You are pre-revenue, have time, and want to validate the problem exists before spending anything. Or your free checklist score is already above 70, meaning the DIY path is working and you just need to monitor.
LLMRadar one-time audit ($197)
What you actually get:
The LLMRadar audit runs your brand through 4 LLMs (ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Perplexity) with 10 queries per LLM. That is 40 total queries, covering the range of ways buyers in your category describe the problem your tool solves. It surfaces:
- Brand mention rate across the full query set
- Which competitors are mentioned instead of you
- Which pages get cited when your category is discussed
- Specific structural gaps, ranked by expected lift if fixed
You get a PDF report with a numbered fix list delivered to your inbox within 2 hours of purchase. No call, no kickoff, no back-and-forth.
The math:
A GEO consultant charges $1,500-5,000 for a strategy engagement that includes similar analysis plus a kickoff call. The call costs you half a day. The audit costs 20 minutes of reading time at 10% of the price. For founders who know their way around a codebase or have a developer, the audit gives you the same fix list without the engagement overhead.
Right for you if: Your free checklist score is below 60. You have a developer who can implement schema and structural changes. You want a concrete deliverable, not a month-long engagement.
Not right for you if: You need someone to implement the fixes for you. In that case, the Concierge service at $1,997 includes the audit plus custom implementation support delivered within 7 days.
Hiring a consultant or agency ($1,500-5,000+)
What you actually get:
A full GEO (Generative Engine Optimization) strategy engagement with a consultant typically includes a custom brand audit, an implementation roadmap with priorities, and often ongoing monitoring as the LLM landscape changes. Some agencies include hands-on implementation.
This makes sense when: you do not have a developer to implement fixes yourself; you need someone to manage the ongoing work as AI models update; or you are at the stage where the opportunity cost of your own time exceeds what you would pay for the engagement.
The honest downside:
GEO as a discipline is under two years old. The consultants who are genuinely good are booked and billing at $200-400/hour. The ones taking discovery calls for $2,000 flat engagements are often running a generic playbook that a one-time audit would have given you for $197.
The audit tells you whether you actually need a consultant. If your fix list has 2-3 structural changes a developer can ship in a day, a $2,000 engagement adds cost without adding leverage. If your fix list requires re-architecting how you describe your product across 50 pages and you need someone to manage that project, that is a consultant-scale problem.
Which one should you choose?
Start with the free self-audit. It takes 5 minutes and costs nothing.
The audit is the right next step when your score is below 70 and you want the specific fix list without a consulting retainer.