Frase
Content briefs from SERP analysis — a workflow that is now one prompt long.
why this verdict
Cancel it — switch to ChatGPT
ChatGPT and Perplexity now cover the same core job on a free tier, so the $45/mo is optional.
- A named launch, not a vibe named, unlinked
- ChatGPT Search + deep research turned SERP briefs into a single prompt. OpenAI, February 2, 2025 — no announcement link recorded yet.
- How much of the job it covers all of it editorial call
- The whole core job — the thing the subscription was actually for.
- Is there a free way to do it? yes
- 2 of 3 listed replacements have a usable free tier: ChatGPT and Perplexity.
- What the call is worth $540/yr
- $45/mo at the entry paid tier — $540 a year per seat.
- Threatened by
- OpenAI
- Since
- February 2, 2025
- List price
- $45/mo
- Per year
- $540
The backstory
Frase built a tidy pipeline: pull the top ten results for a keyword, extract the headings people actually cover, and hand a writer a brief. That pipeline was the product. Once ChatGPT could search the live web and reason over what it found, "read the top ten results and outline what I need to cover" stopped being a $45/mo SaaS. Frase still ships a usable editor and topic-score UI, but the moat was the scraping plumbing, and the plumbing is now free.
Escape hatches
switching could free up $540/yrThe free tier already does the core job.
chatgpt.com open_in_newCited live-web research on a free tier.
perplexity.ai open_in_newStill the better on-page scorer if you want a paid one.
surferseo.com open_in_new2 of 3 replacements have a usable free tier.