PAA Box vs AnswerThePublic is not a contest between two versions of the same product. PAA Box is our own tool, a free Chrome extension that does one job: it opens the People Also Ask questions on a Google results page and exports them. AnswerThePublic calls itself “a search listening and keyword research platform” (AnswerThePublic), and it covers far more ground. We make one of these, so read this with that in mind. Everything about AnswerThePublic below comes from its own site and help center, checked on 5 November 2026. For the wider field, see our list of AnswerThePublic alternatives.
PAA Box vs AnswerThePublic at a glance
The PAA Box column describes the free extension. All AnswerThePublic details are as of 5 November 2026 and can change.
| PAA Box | AnswerThePublic | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Chrome extension | Web platform |
| Where the work happens | In your own Chrome | On AnswerThePublic’s servers |
| Free option | Yes, no account needed | Free plan with up to 3 searches a day |
| Usage limits | No credits; one search at a time | 100, 200 or 300 searches a month on paid plans |
| Sources | Google’s People Also Ask box only | Google, Bing, ChatGPT, Gemini, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Amazon and more |
| People Also Ask | Opens up to four depth levels (D0 to D3) | One section of the report |
| Search volume and CPC | No | Yes, from Google, limited on the free plan |
| Exports | CSV with each question’s depth and parent | XLSX, CSV and PNG |
| Alerts | No | Weekly email alerts on paid plans |
| Teams | One browser | 1, 3 or 10 users by plan |
| API or AI assistants | AI assistant access: see our MCP page for what it needs | Public API in Alpha, on paid plans |
| AI article writing | No | Yes, in Content Studio, using credits |
How PAA Box works
Search Google as usual. PAA Box adds a panel to that results page and opens the People Also Ask box for you, one layer at a time. Our how it works page sets out the depth levels:
- D0: the first four questions Google shows, in about 5 seconds.
- D1: adds the follow-ups for each of those, in about 10 seconds.
- D2: adds one more layer, in about 30 seconds.
- D3: adds another layer, in about 1 to 2 minutes.
A run can return at most 4, 16, 52 or 160 questions, depending on depth, because each question adds up to three new ones and repeats are skipped. Then you export a CSV with one row per question, showing its depth and the parent question that led to it.
The limits are plain. It works in Chrome only, runs one search at a time, and shows no search volume. It reads the People Also Ask block and nothing else, so it does not read the AI Overview, AI Mode, ChatGPT, Perplexity, related searches or autocomplete. If Google shows no People Also Ask box for a search, there is nothing for it to open.
How AnswerThePublic works
You type a topic into the web app and AnswerThePublic builds a report on its servers, not in your browser (AnswerThePublic Help Center). The report groups results into Keyword Wheels, AI Models, Organic Searches, Shopping, Social Media, Search Modifiers and People Also Ask (AnswerThePublic Help Center). Search Modifiers cover Questions, Prepositions, Comparisons, Alphabeticals and Numbers (AnswerThePublic Help Center).
Its sources run well past Google: Bing, ChatGPT, Gemini, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Amazon suggestions, Google Shopping rankings and Google Trends (AnswerThePublic Help Center). Search volume and CPC always come from Google and reflect the previous month, so they tell you about Google demand, not TikTok demand.
Its own guidance is to search broadly. “AnswerThePublic works best when you start with short, broad topics,” the help center says, and “Very long phrases often return limited results” (AnswerThePublic Help Center). It describes itself as an exploratory research tool, which fits how the report feels: wide first, then narrow.
On top of research it adds Content Studio, which writes articles with AI using monthly credits and can schedule and publish them. Paid plans also include Search Listening Alerts, a weekly email of new suggestions for a keyword you follow (AnswerThePublic Help Center).
Are they looking at the same questions?
Partly, and this is the difference that matters most for question research. Both show People Also Ask. But in AnswerThePublic it is one section among many, and the help pages we read don’t say how many levels of it the report opens. The rest of its questions come from other sources and modifiers.
PAA Box gives you only that one Google feature, opened level by level, with a record of which question led to which. That parent column is the reason to use it. You can see how Google’s questions branch, then choose sections for a page or plan a content plan around them. If you want to know how the box works, start with what People Also Ask is.
So if your question is “what does Google itself link to this topic?”, PAA Box answers it directly. If your question is “what are people typing about this topic across the web?”, AnswerThePublic answers that, and PAA Box doesn’t try to.
Where AnswerThePublic is the better pick
For most keyword research, it is. We’d point you to AnswerThePublic over PAA Box in these cases:
- You need numbers. PAA Box has no search volume or CPC. AnswerThePublic has both, with the free plan limited to two branches per report (AnswerThePublic Help Center).
- Your audience isn’t only on Google. YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Amazon, Bing, ChatGPT and Gemini are all outside what PAA Box reads.
- You work in a team. Paid plans cover 1, 3 or 10 users, and invited users share the plan’s limits (AnswerThePublic Help Center).
- You want to watch a topic. Search Listening Alerts show new suggestions by email, and Compare (on Growth and Business) shows what changed between two reports. PAA Box has neither.
- You present to clients. Keyword Wheels and People Also Ask can be downloaded as PNG images (AnswerThePublic Help Center).
- You want questions in your own software. AnswerThePublic has a public API on active paid plans, though it says the API is in Alpha (AnswerThePublic Help Center).
- You want to avoid captchas. Collection runs on its servers, and it says this means no “unusual traffic” errors from Google (AnswerThePublic Help Center). PAA Box runs in your own Chrome, so after heavy use Google may show you a captcha.
Where PAA Box is the better pick
The list is shorter, because the tool is narrower.
- You only want People Also Ask. You get that one feature opened up to four levels, without paying for a platform you won’t use.
- You want it free with no account. There are no credits to count and no sign-up. AnswerThePublic’s free plan is capped at 3 searches a day.
- You want the question tree as data. Each row of the CSV carries its depth and parent question, ready for a spreadsheet.
- You research inside Google anyway. The panel opens on the results page you already have.
- Your search is long and specific. PAA Box works on any search where Google shows the box, so it doesn’t need a broad seed term.
What you actually pay
This comparison uses the free PAA Box extension, which costs nothing. For anything beyond it, see our pricing page.
AnswerThePublic lists Starter at US$20 a month, Growth at US$99 and Business at US$199, as of 5 November 2026 (AnswerThePublic pricing). Yearly billing costs less, so see their pricing page for current figures. Prices can vary by region. Monthly plans come with a one-time 7-day free trial. The free plan’s limits have their own page: is AnswerThePublic free.
So the cost question is really a scope question. If you would use volume data, alerts and several sources every week, US$20 a month buys a lot more than PAA Box does. If you only need People Also Ask, a subscription is more tool than the job needs.
Which one to choose
Choose PAA Box if you:
- Want People Also Ask questions and nothing else
- Want them free, with no account
- Need to see which question led to which
- Already keep your research in a spreadsheet
Choose AnswerThePublic if you:
- Need search volume or CPC in the same report
- Research YouTube, TikTok, Amazon or AI platforms as well as Google
- Share research across a team or with clients
- Want alerts, an API or AI article writing
Common questions
Is PAA Box a free alternative to AnswerThePublic?
Only for one part of it. PAA Box is free and covers People Also Ask. It doesn’t replace AnswerThePublic’s volume data, other sources, alerts or Content Studio.
Does AnswerThePublic show People Also Ask questions?
Yes. Its help center lists People Also Ask from Google as a part of its reports, and you can download it as a PNG image.
Can you use both?
Yes, and they fit together. Use AnswerThePublic’s free searches to get a broad view of a topic, then run the searches that matter through PAA Box to see how Google’s questions branch. Check volume in whichever keyword tool you already use.
Does PAA Box track ChatGPT or AI Overviews?
No. PAA Box reads only the People Also Ask block. If you want to follow AI answers, see how AI Overview tracking works.
How does this compare with other PAA tools?
We have the same kind of page for PAA Box vs AlsoAsked and PAA Box vs Answer Socrates, and the best People Also Ask tools covers the rest.