SpyFu is a powerful tool for uncovering your competitors’ strategies. It’s been around since 2006, so it has a massive database of SEO and PPC data.
The problem?
It lacks a lot of the features that other SEO tools offer. Depending on your specific SEO goals and strategy, it might not provide everything you need.
That’s why I’ve put together this list of the best SpyFu alternatives on the market today.
I selected these tools based on a few factors:
- Cost-effectiveness: I considered how each tool’s pricing options stacked up against the value they offer
- Feature set: I looked at the main features and how they compare to SpyFu’s offering
- User experience: I included options for both new marketers and seasoned pros
- Data availability and accuracy: I considered the range of data each tool offers and how reliable it is
Let’s get into the list.
1. Semrush
Semrush is an all-in-one marketing platform that provides solutions across SEO, competitive analysis, content marketing, social media marketing, PPC, and more. It offers an extensive set of features, such as organic and paid search analysis, site audits, and keyword research tools.
There is some crossover between Semrush and SpyFu’s offerings, but overall, Semrush has a much broader and more feature-rich toolkit.
Semrush Pricing
Semrush’s pricing tiers start with the Pro plan at $139.95/month. This is more expensive than SpyFu’s plans, but this is due to the much wider feature set on offer. (For comparison, SpyFu’s cheapest but most limited plan starts at $39/month.)
Semrush’s Guru and Business plans include extensive content marketing and paid advertising tools, along with historical data that goes back as far as 2012.
In contrast, SpyFu includes historical data insights on its entry-level plan.
Further reading: If you want a more detailed breakdown of each plan’s offerings, I’ve got it all covered in my in-depth Semrush review.
Semrush vs. SpyFu
- Feature set: Semrush covers SEO, PPC, social media, and content marketing in one dashboard under one subscription
- Data on offer: Semrush’s keyword database is the largest in the industry at 26.5 billion keywords, and it offers far more extensive backlink data and tools as well
- PPC insights: For PPC competitive research, both tools offer a wealth of data to help you run effective paid ad campaigns, like volume and CPC, and even competitor ad budgets
- Pricing: Semrush’s plans do cost more, but you get way more tools and features (Semrush’s App Center also has lots of extra advertising apps)
If you’re an agency or in-house marketer who needs a robust suite of marketing tools under one subscription, Semrush is likely the better choice. If your needs are more limited and you’re on a budget, consider SpyFu.
Pro tip: If you’re looking for a free Spyfu alternative, Semrush offers a limited plan that lets you analyze up to 10 competitor domains and/or keywords per day without spending a dime. Rather try Semrush’s full competitive intelligence and SEO tools? Sign up for a free 14-day Semrush trial.
2. SE Ranking
SE Ranking is a platform with a straightforward interface and decent set of SEO features. Much like SpyFu, it provides the usual SEO tools, like keyword tracking and competitor analysis.
And while SE Ranking is a platform built specifically for SEO, it does offer some PPC analysis tools as well. For example, you can monitor competitors’ paid keywords and ad copies, and see how their paid traffic has changed over time.
SE Ranking Pricing
SE Ranking offers three different subscription tiers:
- Essential: $65/month
- Pro: $119/month
- Business: $259/month
Higher pricing tiers offer more tracked keywords, additional user seats, and access to historical data. You’ll also get content and local marketing tools as well.
SpyFu vs. SE Ranking
- Ease of use: SE Ranking’s interface is very beginner-friendly, and easier to navigate than SpyFu’s (although a lot of this will be subjective)
- Price: SE Ranking’s plans are more expensive than SpyFu, but you do get more features
- Data depth: SpyFu provides more detailed competitor insights, especially around PPC. SE Ranking has minimal PPC data, while SpyFu provides everything from a site’s PPC budget to clicks.
- Feature range: SE Ranking offers features that aren’t available in SpyFu, like integration with social media, but SpyFu offers more extensive PPC tools
I’d recommend SE Ranking to anyone who needs a straightforward approach to SEO rank tracking. If you’re looking for something that offers advanced tools for both PPC and SEO, or you just want more historical data, SpyFu has the edge here.
3. Ahrefs
Ahrefs is another all-in-one SEO platform. One of Ahrefs’ main selling points is its extensive backlink database and analysis tools.
SpyFu also tracks backlinks, but it focuses more on new and lost links and providing easy access to link-building prospects. This is one of the main separators between these two tools.
Ahrefs Pricing
The most basic Ahrefs plan is $29/month, but it doesn’t give you access to the entire feature set, and it’s really meant for complete beginners, not SEO professionals.
If you need competitive research tools or tracked keywords, you’ll need to go for at least the Lite plan, which is $129/month.
The more expensive plans do come with more features and tools. But if you’re not going to get full use out of them, it could be overkill for many website owners.
SpyFu vs. Ahrefs
- Learning curve: Ahrefs has a steeper learning curve than SpyFu
- Rank tracking: Ahrefs is better for targeting multiple geographies. SpyFu includes rank tracking but doesn’t track local or mobile specifically.
- Competitor research: Ahrefs will give you some competitor insights with its Site Explorer and Content Gap tools. But if you want to see ad budgets or the landing pages tied to each PPC campaign, SpyFu is the better option.
- Site audits: SpyFu doesn’t offer a site audit tool, but it does use rank history to highlight improvement or decline in specific pages. For technical SEO, Ahrefs is the better choice.
If your focus is on backlink analysis, technical SEO, or broad competitor analysis, I’d go for Ahrefs over SpyFu. But for detailed competitor or PPC analysis, I’d sway toward SpyFu.
Further reading: The Best Ahrefs Alternatives
4. Moz Pro
Moz Pro is one of the oldest SEO tools in the industry, and it bundles features for rank tracking, site audits, and on-page optimization.
Moz Pro Pricing
In terms of pricing, Moz Pro’s tiers tend to sit between the affordability of SpyFu and the higher costs of all-in-one tools like Semrush or Ahrefs.
The Basic plan is fairly budget-friendly at $49/month. But this plan doesn’t include backlink analysis, and it only includes one tracked site with just 50 tracked keywords. If you want to use the full range of features, you’ll need to opt for at least the Standard plan, which is $99/month.
Another thing to note is that Moz Pro’s keyword database is smaller than other competitors. You also have to research keywords one by one, which can be time-consuming and tedious.
SpyFu vs. Moz Pro
- On-page SEO: Moz excels at on-page SEO basics and identifying opportunities within your existing content
- PPC analysis: SpyFu is much better for analyzing competitor paid campaign strategies. Like SE Ranking, Moz doesn’t really offer any PPC insights beyond basics like keyword CPCs.
- Community and support: Moz has a strong educational platform and active forum, largely due to the tool’s longevity
Moz Pro fits well for those who want a solid blend of on-page and off-page metrics in an easy-to-navigate interface. If you rely heavily on PPC insights, you’ll likely want to use SpyFu.
Further reading: The Best Moz Alternatives for Every Budget
5. Similarweb
Similarweb has a suite of tools that let you dig into industry data, benchmarks, and audience overlaps. It’s a handy tool for getting an overview of a domain, category, or market.
But Similarweb’s focus is largely on broad data aggregation and it doesn’t come with a lot of the research and analysis tools that SpyFu offers.
Similarweb Pricing
Similarweb’s pricing starts at $199/month for the Starter plan. It offers plenty of features for competitive intel and audience research, but it lacks any site audit or backlink features.
These are only available on the higher plans, which get very expensive very quickly. In fact, the Team plan costs $14,000 per year, meaning it’s only really practical for bigger businesses that absolutely need the kinds of competitive insights Similarweb offers.
SpyFu vs. Similarweb
- Broad market intelligence: If you want an in-depth, top-down view of traffic sources, audience demographics, and engagement data, Similarweb will do the job well
- Budget and ROI: Similarweb’s higher price points may be hard to justify, especially if you don’t plan to use its extensive social or market-level analysis features
- Site audits and backlinks: Neither platform is your best option for technical audits and backlink analysis. However, SpyFu does show backlink data (like the number of keywords linking pages rank for), and it lets you find sites linking to competitors but not to you through the Backlink Kombat tool.
Similarweb is ideal for getting broad audience insights and multi-channel data, or for accessing extensive audience behavior data on its pricier plans. But if you just need competitor PPC analysis and historical keyword trends, and particularly if you’re on a budget, SpyFu likely makes more sense.
6. Serpstat
Serpstat offers site audits, backlink analysis, and competitor data. I’ve found its interface to be pretty straightforward, and similar in spirit to SE Ranking.
The tool’s features cover areas like technical SEO, paid ads, and content marketing.
Serpstat Pricing
Serpstat offers three pricing plans:
- Individual: $69/month
- Team: $129/month
- Agency: $499/month
The individual plan has some strict limits, like being stuck with just five projects. But for beginners, you’ll likely not hit the keyword or link limits, or the rank tracking and auditing ones either.
But if you run a big site or multiple websites, you’ll definitely want at least the team plan. This still has limits, so you could argue that SpyFu wins out there. But I imagine most users would struggle to exhaust all of these every month.
SpyFu vs. Serpstat
- Pricing: SpyFu is cheaper, and it doesn’t have as many limits on its pro plan
- Keyword and rank tracking: Both tools offer this, but SpyFu provides deeper PPC data with its Kombat comparison tool, ad history, and Google Ads Advisor
- Interface: Serpstat’s dashboard is user-friendly, and I’d argue much cleaner than SpyFu’s
Serpstat is a good Spyfu alternative if you want a cost-effective solution that covers the SEO essentials along with some basic PPC insights. But as is the case with a few of the tools on this list, if your focus is PPC, SpyFu may be better.
7. SEO PowerSuite
SEO PowerSuite is a desktop-based SEO solution that bundles four different tools together: Rank Tracker, WebSite Auditor, SEO SpyGlass, and LinkAssistant.
I like how it lets me keep everything in one local program, which is helpful if you prefer offline work or if your agency has strict data policies.
SEO PowerSuite Pricing
SEO PowerSuite offers two pricing options, with both being cheaper than SpyFu’s equivalents. The Professional plan is best suited for small businesses and is equivalent to $29.10/month, but it’s billed annually.
The Enterprise solution is $49.95/month (again billed annually), and it lets you create unlimited projects, track unlimited keywords, and analyze unlimited backlinks.
SEO PowerSuite’s competitor analysis (SEO SpyGlass) is more tailored to backlinks and ranking data. In general, the PPC capabilities are minimal, so SpyFu can be the better choice once again if PPC is your focus.
SpyFu vs. SEO PowerSuite
- Delivery model: SEO PowerSuite is desktop-based, which might suit some businesses more than SpyFu’s cloud-based option
- PPC insights: SpyFu wins here, offering far more data and features on the PPC side (SEO PowerSuite doesn’t really go beyond CPC data)
- Backlink research: SEO PowerSuite’s SEO SpyGlass is pretty good and provides more detail than you’ll get with SpyFu. You’ll see anchor text clouds and historical backlink profile data, and you can audit backlinks in bulk too.
If you like having offline access and prefer a desktop-based tool, SEO PowerSuite is worth exploring. For PPC intelligence, SpyFu remains the better choice.
Which SpyFu Alternative Is Best for You?
The best SpyFu alternative for you will likely be different from the best one for me or for someone else. It’ll depend on your budget, goals, and focus.
Knowing how to get the most out of any tool can make it much easier to understand which one is right for your SEO needs.
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