Playbook by MediaBistro | Tools & Software for Creative Professionals
Writer and Frase serve distinctly different content creation needs. Writer targets enterprise teams requiring brand compliance, legal guardrails, and custom AI models with centralized controls. Frase focuses on SEO content workflows, combining keyword research, SERP analysis, and AI writing to help marketers rank higher in search results.
Writer positions itself as the enterprise-grade AI writing solution for organizations that can't afford brand or compliance risks. The platform enforces style guides automatically, checks content against legal and regulatory requirements, and allows companies to train custom AI models on their own data and voice. This makes it particularly valuable for regulated industries like finance, healthcare, and legal services where every piece of content must meet strict standards.
Beyond compliance, Writer offers team collaboration features, centralized brand asset management, and integrations with enterprise tools like Figma, Chrome, and various CMS platforms. The custom pricing model reflects its enterprise focus—this isn't a tool for solopreneurs or small teams, but rather for organizations with substantial content operations that need governance, security, and scalability. Writer's AI can be fine-tuned to understand industry-specific terminology and maintain consistency across hundreds or thousands of content creators.
Frase takes a fundamentally different approach, built specifically for SEO content creators and agencies who need to compete in search rankings. The platform's core workflow starts with SERP research—analyzing what's already ranking for target keywords—then generates content briefs based on that competitive intelligence. This data-driven approach helps writers understand topic gaps, optimal content length, and which questions to answer before they start writing.
The AI writing component integrates directly with this research, allowing users to generate content that's informed by actual search data rather than generic prompts. Frase also includes optimization scoring that compares your draft against top-ranking competitors in real-time. At $45/month for the entry tier, it's accessible to freelance writers, small marketing teams, and agencies managing client content. The platform is laser-focused on one outcome: creating content that ranks. If your primary metric is organic traffic rather than brand compliance, Frase speaks your language.
Automated style guide enforcement, legal/compliance checks, custom terminology databases
Basic brand voice settings, no compliance features
Not a core feature; focuses on brand consistency over search rankings
SERP analysis, keyword research, content briefs, real-time optimization scoring
Train models on company data, terminology, and voice; full customization
Uses standard AI models with basic tone adjustments
Limited research features; assumes teams have existing research processes
Automated competitor content analysis, topic clustering, question extraction from SERPs
Enterprise-grade permissions, approval workflows, centralized asset management
Basic team features on higher plans; primarily individual-focused
Custom enterprise pricing; significant investment required
Starts at $45/month; accessible to freelancers and small teams
The pricing gap reflects fundamentally different target markets. Writer's custom pricing indicates a sales-assisted enterprise model where ROI is measured in risk mitigation and brand consistency across large teams. Frase's transparent monthly pricing targets the SEO professional who measures ROI in ranking improvements and organic traffic growth, making purchasing decisions independently.
These tools operate in different worlds despite both carrying the 'AI writing' label. Writer is enterprise infrastructure—the kind of investment you make when inconsistent messaging or compliance failures could cost millions in brand damage or regulatory penalties. It's overkill for most small teams, but essential for organizations where content governance isn't optional. The custom AI models and compliance features represent genuine enterprise needs that justify the premium positioning.
Frase is a performance tool for the SEO economy. If your content's success is measured by where it ranks on Google, Frase provides the competitive intelligence and optimization tools that actually move the needle. The transparent pricing and focused feature set make it immediately actionable for the working SEO professional. Choose Writer if you're managing content risk and brand consistency at scale. Choose Frase if you're competing for search visibility and need data-driven content intelligence. There's surprisingly little overlap in their ideal customers.
