Analyze Competitors

Analyze Competitors

Before you build or pitch your product, you need to know who else is already solving the same problem. Competitor analysis helps you avoid building something redundant and helps you position your solution in a way that actually stands out. The goal here is not to obsess over others but to find where your opportunity lies in the market. Let’s break it down step by step using easy, practical methods.

Step 1: Identify Direct and Indirect Competitors

Start with a simple list of your competitors. Use Google, App Stores, Product Hunt, and communities like Reddit or Hacker News to find:

  • Direct competitors who offer the same solution to the same customer (e.g., Zoom vs. Google Meet)
  • Indirect competitors who solve the same problem in a different way (e.g., Zoom vs. travel for in-person meetings)

How to do it:

  • Google keywords your users might search (e.g., “team collaboration tool”)
  • Search on Product Hunt or G2 for “top tools for [your problem]”
  • Ask people in your target audience what they use today

Use a spreadsheet to log your findings. Include columns like: Name, Website, Core Features, Pricing, Target Audience, and Notes.

Step 2: Analyze Their Product and Features

Visit each competitor’s website and actually try their product if possible. Focus on:

  • Core features: What do they offer? Which features are always front and center?
  • User journey: How easy is it to get started?
  • Design and UX: Is it clean, fast, outdated?
  • Unique selling points: What are they emphasizing most?

If it’s a SaaS product, sign up for the free trial. Take screenshots. Note which features are free vs paid.

Tools to help:

  • Use BuiltWith to see their tech stack
  • Use Wappalyzer to detect analytics, support tools, and backend
  • Use Wayback Machine to check how their product and messaging has changed over time

Step 3: Study Pricing and Business Model

Pricing pages reveal a lot about who the product is for and how the company plans to scale. Look for:

  • Number of tiers
  • Free plan vs free trial
  • Add-ons or custom plans
  • Price points and usage caps

What to note:

  • Who are they pricing for: individuals, teams, enterprises?
  • Are they focused on usage (per seat, per project) or outcomes (per conversion, per result)?
  • How does their pricing compare to what your customer might expect or be paying now?

Pro Tip: Use a private browser window or VPN to see if pricing changes by location. Some companies test localized pricing or display different content based on geography.

Step 4: Read Reviews and User Feedback

The best source of competitor weaknesses is their own users. Dig into:

  • G2, Capterra, Trustpilot
  • Reddit threads, YouTube comments
  • App Store / Google Play reviews
  • Twitter/X mentions and customer support threads

What to extract:

  • Common complaints (slow, expensive, confusing UI, poor support)
  • Features users love
  • Suggestions users keep repeating
  • Words and phrases users use to describe the product or their problem

Tool Tip:
Use Surfer AI’s G2 Extractor Chrome extension to pull structured G2 review data quickly.

You can also paste reviews into a free AI summarizer like Claude or ChatGPT and ask for common pain points and praise themes.

Step 5: Identify Your Edge and Market Gaps

After reviewing 5 to 10 competitors, you’ll start seeing patterns. Your goal now is to:

  • Spot what’s missing
  • Find areas where you can do better or different
  • Identify how you want to position your brand and product

Ask yourself:

  • Are there underserved segments? (e.g., remote freelancers, emerging markets)
  • Is anyone offering transparent pricing?
  • Can onboarding or UX be dramatically simpler?
  • Is a feature buried or locked away that should be front and center?

Example Insight:
If every tool is designed for enterprise clients but has bad UX, you could build the “Notion for small marketing teams” with a focus on speed and simplicity.

Step 6: Summarize in a Competitive Matrix

Create a table that visually compares your product to competitors. This helps with investor decks, internal clarity, and team alignment.

Columns might include:

  • Company name
  • Core features
  • Strengths
  • Weaknesses
  • Pricing
  • Target customer
  • Your edge

Use Figma, Google Sheets, or Miro to build this.

Final Thought

Don’t get stuck chasing every competitor’s move. This research is meant to help you make sharper choices, not to paralyze you. Most successful startups learn from their competitors but don’t copy them. They find an angle, an audience, or a style that makes them different enough to matter.

Start small, learn fast, and use this knowledge to speak clearly to the customer segment that is still waiting for the right solution.