Should you build your own Frase?
SEO/GEO content platform for research, briefs, optimization, and AI writing
A content-brief generator over SERP pages and an LLM is reachable, but Frase's workflow combines SERP retrieval, scoring, editor UX, AI-search tracking, and reporting.
ENOriginal research content in English. Original prompt preserved in English.
Build me a content-brief generator to replace Frase. Requirements:
- A Node CLI: `brief "<keyword>"` writes ./briefs/<keyword-slug>.md.
- Fetch the top 10 results for the keyword from Serper.dev (key in .env).
- Scrape each result with Playwright plus Readability: title, H2/H3 outline,
word count, and any questions found on the page.
- Send the aggregate to an LLM (key in .env) to produce the brief: suggested
title and angle, a target outline, questions to answer, terms competitors
cover, and a word-count range.
- `score <draft.md> "<keyword>"` re-checks my draft against the brief: which
terms and questions are covered or missing, with a plain coverage percentage.
- Cache scraped pages in ./cache/ keyed by URL so re-runs cost nothing.
- Flat files only, no database; no accounts, no telemetry, the only network
calls are the SERP API, page fetches, and the LLM.
- Out of scope: an editor UI, rank tracking, team workflows. Briefs are
Markdown, I write in my own editor.
- README: which keys to get and the rough per-brief cost of the SERP API.The prompt opens pre-filled in your agent. Review it before running. · this prompt is generated from the build plan · improve it via PR
What would building your own look like?
Retrieve top pages, summarize topics/questions/headings, generate a brief, score a draft against terms, and export to a doc.
What you will need
- SERP/search API
- web parser
- LLM API
- document/editor UI
- scoring logic
- hosted backend
They pay because writers need a repeatable research/editor workflow, not a pile of scraped pages.
xSERP data pipeline
xoptimization scoring
xteam workflows
xAI-search tracking
xeditor polish
xreporting
How much does Frase cost?
- Monthly billing
- $49/mo$49/mo
- Per year
- $588/yr$588/yr
- Annual billing
- $468/yr20% cheaper than paying monthly
- On a Brazilian card, with 3.5% IOF
- R$256/moR$2,446/yr
Saved to My list. You will see a notice on this site when the price changes.
You complete the purchase on Frase’s site. Vibe Radar does not handle payments.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (per month) | What is included |
|---|---|---|---|
| starter | $49/workspace≈ $49 | $39/workspace≈ $39 | 1 seat; 1 site; 10 articles/month; 50 page audits/month; 3 Frase Guard pages. |
| professional | $129/workspace≈ $129 | $103/workspace≈ $103 | 3 seats; 5 sites; 40 articles/month; 250 page audits/month; 15 Frase Guard pages. |
| scale | $299/workspace≈ $299 | $239/workspace≈ $239 | 5 seats; 10 domains; 100 articles/month; 1,000 page audits/month; 50 Frase Guard pages. |
| enterprise | custom | - | Custom sites, seats, article volume, audit volume, governance, security, and support. |
Free tierno free tier (7-day trial only)
Billing termsmonthly + annual (about 20% lower on annual billing)
Additional costsExtra seats cost $29/month; optional article/audit overages can add usage charges, but public unit rates are not disclosed. FraseCMS paid hosting starts at $19/month after its free 100,000-pageview/25 GB level.
verified 2026-08-14 · source ↗
Is it cheaper to build or buy Frase?
Adjust the numbers: hours to build, your hourly rate, running costs and the subscription price.
Over 24 months, subscribing is cheaper.
Starting hours estimated from the analysis (multi-day). Does not price what you give up (support, integrations, security).
Can I rebuild Frase?
Kinda. The core of Frase is buildable in a weekend with the prompt on this page, but there are real gaps: SERP data pipeline, optimization scoring. Read the honest list above before committing.
How much does Frase cost?
Frase costs about $49/mo (Starter, checked 10/20/2026), which is $468 per year.
What do I lose by replacing Frase?
Honestly: SERP data pipeline; optimization scoring; team workflows; AI-search tracking; editor polish; reporting. If any of those are load-bearing for you, keep paying.
Is there an open-source alternative to Frase?
Yes: Danswer/Onyx (Open-source enterprise search/answering app; not a Frase clone, but prior art for retrieva). Using prior art is also vibecoding; the prompt is for when you want it exactly your way.