Frase vs Clearscope: SEO Research vs Content Optimization in 2026

AI content tools have come a long way from glorified text editors. Today's platforms are more specialized than ever, with tools targeting specific stages of the content workflow, from research and ideation to optimization and performance tracking.

But as the market segments, it becomes harder to understand how platforms differentiate from each other and where they overlap. Some integrate seamlessly into a streamlined workflow. Others compete head-to-head within specific categories.

We're deep diving into the major AI-driven marketing platforms to understand how each one excels, where it falls short, and how it might fit into your tech stack. Today, we're comparing Frase and Clearscope: two tools that appear similar on the surface but serve meaningfully different purposes.

TL;DR

Frase is an SEO content assistant that uses AI to research and produce SEO-friendly content. It analyzes your site, identifies content gaps, and helps you create content designed to rank in both traditional and AI-powered search.

3 things we rate:

• Excellent SERP research and topic identification (with strong dashboards and monitoring)
• Useful content briefing templates, including question-based outlining
• Solid all-rounder that balances research, content production, and SEO/GEO optimization

3 limitations:

• Requires significant manual input and editing for quality outputs (and generation can glitch)
• Designed for smaller SEO projects, lacks automation for scale
• Not built for topical authority or content clusters

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Clearscope is a content optimization tool that helps you produce relevant, search-aligned content for competitive SERP placement. It's more of a monitoring and optimization platform than a content creation tool.

3 things we rate:

• Exceptional content scoring and keyword relevance analysis
• Clean, intuitive UX that users consistently praise
• Trusted by editorial and enterprise teams

3 limitations:

• AI writing is a recent addition; core strength remains optimization
• Premium pricing that's expensive for independents and small teams
• Narrower scope compared to all-in-one platforms

Understanding Frase vs Clearscope

The key distinction: although both are marketed as SEO tools, they solve different problems.

Frase

Frase is research-led and focused on content creation. It helps users:

• Analyze SERP requirements for any target keyword
• Extract key elements (headings, questions, topics) needed to rank
• Build SEO-primed content briefs automatically
• Draft and optimize content in a single workspace (with length options up to 5,000 words, outline editing, brand voice, and SERP-based research)
• Optimize existing content by importing URLs, analyzing against SERPs, and providing SEO + GEO dual scoring

The platform handles the earlier stages of content production and consolidates them into one tool.

Paid add-ons include: AI search tracking, keyword monitoring, and share of voice analysis.

Additional features: 100+ AI tools, internal linking with domain upload, and a Chrome extension.

Tagline: "Create content that ranks #1 on Google 10x faster"

Clearscope

Clearscope built its reputation on content optimization and relevance, though it has recently added AI writing capabilities:

• Its core strength remains analyzing top-ranking SERPs to identify recommended terms, importance scores, and a content grade (A+ to F)
• It now offers AI drafts to help with content creation, though optimization remains the primary focus
• You give it a keyword, and it ensures your content fully covers relevant terms and topics for that query

The objective: help your content match or exceed the topical depth of the highest-ranking pages for your target query.

Clearscope is popular with agencies working on high-value content, SEO teams, and publishers. While it now offers AI writing, many users still create content off-platform and use Clearscope primarily to optimize it.

Frase vs Clearscope: Key Differences at a Glance

What Is Frase?

Think of Frase as an AI-powered research and content platform that takes you from a keyword to a draft, faster.

It analyzes the highest-ranking SERP results for any query and identifies associated topics, optimal headers, FAQs, and semantic terms to help you structure a high-ranking article.

Frase then uses this data to create article briefs and guide your content creation. Note that its content is designed to be co-created with a human writer and won't be reliably publication-ready without editing.

Target Audience

Frase works well for:

• SEO professionals
• Content marketers
• Freelancers writing to SEO-led briefs
• In-house marketing teams and brand owners

Key Features

• SERP analysis: Shows top-ranking pages for your query
• AI content briefs: Automatically generates outlines from SERP data
• Question discovery: Helps build ranking FAQs
• In-editor suggestions: Recommends topics and keywords as you write
• Basic AI writing: Includes rewrites, though this isn't the platform's primary focus

What Is Clearscope?

Clearscope is a premium SEO content optimization tool. You provide a keyword, and it analyzes top-ranking SERPs to identify:

• Recommended terms to include
• Importance scores for each term
• A content grade from A+ to F

The goal: ensure your content matches or exceeds the topical depth of competing pages.

Target Audience

Clearscope serves:

• Enterprise SEO teams
• Agencies focused on high-competition keywords
• Media firms and publishers
• Editorial teams optimizing existing workflows

Key Features

• Keyword identification: Finds relevant terms from top-ranking content
• Content grading: Scores your content A+ through F
• Term importance ranking: Prioritizes which terms matter most
• AI writing: Recently added AI drafts for content creation
• Integrations: CMS and Google Docs
• Clean UI: Highly rated for usability

Clearscope is deep, focused, and reliable. While it has expanded into AI writing, its core strength remains optimization.

Feature-by-Feature Comparison

Use Case Focus

Frase is geared toward:

• Guiding users toward better SEO content creation
• Helping writers understand what to cover to meet search intent
• Reducing research time

Clearscope focuses on:

• Refining and improving existing content
• Maximizing topical relevance
• Competing in challenging SERPs

Content Quality

Both tools support better content, but through different mechanisms.

• Frase guides you during the research phase so you can deliver quality output
• Clearscope ensures your resulting content is comprehensive relative to competitors, but doesn't improve tone, narrative, or originality

Both essentially co-pilot with human writers and editors to produce better, targeted content.

Our Testing: Frase Content Generation

We tested Frase by generating a 2,000-word pillar page with an "authoritative brand voice" brief:

Our assessment: Once we extracted the content, it was decent: well-structured, included research, and was readable. However, citations were light compared to competitors, and the UX issues during generation were frustrating.

Note: Clearscope has recently added AI writing capabilities, though its core focus remains optimization and scoring rather than end-to-end content generation.

Content Speed

• Frase speeds up outlines and drafts, but you still need time to write each piece
• Clearscope now offers AI drafts, though most users still create content off-platform and use it for optimization

Neither tool is designed for single-click, large-scale publishing.

Automation and Scalability

This is a significant consideration for teams in 2026, and notably, neither platform focuses heavily on automation.

Frase offers basic automations but isn't designed for scale. It won't handle content clusters, large libraries, or programmatic SEO workflows.

Clearscope has even less automation focus. It's designed for targeted, high-value pages and selective optimization, not scale.

Why You Might NOT Choose These Platforms

Both tools excel at what they do, but they have limitations.

Frase Limitations

• Requires significant manual input; don't expect to sit back and let the AI take over
• AI writing quality is variable
• May struggle with advanced SEO architecture

Clearscope Limitations

• AI writing is a newer feature; optimization remains the core strength
• Premium pricing
• Less suited for research-heavy workflows

Alternatives for Different Needs

If Frase and Clearscope don't match your requirements:

• Writesonic: A capable content assistant for varied formats
• GravityWrite: Content creation with conversion optimization features
• Machined: End-to-end SEO system focused on topical authority and content clusters at scale, with granular control

Looking for more options? See our Frase alternatives guide.

Pricing Comparison

Most platforms offer limited free trials to test the interface and basic features. Frase notably does not offer a free trial, though it does have a $1 for 5-day trial option.

Frase Pricing

AI Tracking Add-on: $50–150/month extra on Solo and Professional plans.

Clearscope Pricing

Prices as of January 2026. Always verify current pricing on official websites.

Note: Clearscope now includes AI writing capabilities, though its pricing reflects its premium positioning in the optimization space.

Integrations and Usability

Clearscope offers smooth CMS and Google Docs integrations: tight but focused.

Frase offers more built-in functionality, but the interface is more complex and requires a longer learning curve.

What Do Users Say?

A note on Frase reviews: The significant gap between Frase's Trustpilot and G2 scores warrants attention. While G2 reviews focus on product features and are generally positive, Trustpilot reviews reveal a pattern of complaints about customer support, refunds, and billing issues. Common concerns include difficulty reaching support, challenges obtaining refunds, and unexpected charges. The product itself receives mixed feedback, but the majority of negative reviews center on support experiences rather than the tool's capabilities.

If you're considering Frase, it's worth reviewing their refund policy carefully before committing and testing thoroughly during any trial period.

Both platforms claim strong customer bases: Frase cites 50,000+ customers; Clearscope focuses on enterprise case studies.

When to Choose Frase

Choose Frase when:

• Budget efficiency matters
• You want an end-to-end process for content (research to optimization)
• You want AI-driven content drafts for speed and convenience
• You need an all-in-one solution to build drafts from scratch

When to Choose Clearscope

Choose Clearscope when:

• Content optimization and scoring is your primary need
• You have high-ROI pages that need careful optimization
• You need specialized, high-precision content scoring
• You're willing to pay premium pricing for focused excellence

When to Consider Machined

Choose Machined when:

• Your strategy prioritizes scale and automation
• You need content clusters for topical authority
• You want high-quality content generation (rated "high" in testing vs. "good" for most competitors)
• You need automated internal linking and keyword research
• You want pricing that scales without article caps

Can You Use Frase and Clearscope Together?

Yes, and it makes sense for certain workflows:

1. Use Frase for SERP research and initial content drafting
2. Use Clearscope to score and optimize the final content for keyword coverage
3. Add human editing for tone, narrative, and brand voice

Adding a Third Tool

For teams focused on scale, adding Machined to the stack covers what Frase and Clearscope don't: full-scale SEO with content clusters, automated internal linking, and bulk generation for topical authority.

Final Thoughts

Frase and Clearscope might appear to occupy the same competitive space, but they serve different purposes:

As marketing becomes increasingly tech-driven, teams are building workflows that integrate multiple specialized tools rather than searching for one platform that does everything.

The effective approach for 2026: combine the best tools for each element of your workflow, whether that's Frase for research, Clearscope for optimization, or Machined for content clusters and scale.

Get this right, and you'll see results in both efficiency and performance.