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10 Best Shopify Spy Tools For Competitor Research

Last updated: December 19 2024

Written and researched by experts at Avada Learn more about our methodology

Running a successful Shopify store isn’t just about creating a great product; it’s about staying ahead of the competition. Knowing what your competitors are selling, how they’re pricing them, and which marketing strategies they’re using can make all the difference.

In this article, I’ll introduce you to the 10 best Shopify spy tools that make competitor research quick, effective, and actionable. Let’s dive in and see how you can use them to elevate your Shopify store!

What is a Shopify Spy Tool?

A Shopify Spy Tool is a software or online service designed to analyze and provide insights into the performance and strategies of Shopify stores, particularly your competitors, in a few clicks. These tools gather publicly available data to help you understand competitor trends, uncover winning products, and optimize your own store strategies.

What is a Shopify Spy Tool?

Why Use Tools To Spy On Your Competitors?

Here are the key reasons to use competitor spying tools:

  • Identify market trends: Spy tools allow you to track shifts in consumer demand and spot emerging product trends, helping you adapt your offerings to stay relevant.
  • Understand pricing strategies: Monitoring your competitors' pricing gives you the base to adjust your own strategy, ensuring you're competitive while maximizing profitability.
  • Optimize product selection: Discover what products are top sellers for competitors and learn from their success to enhance your product range.
  • Analyze marketing tactics: Understand the marketing strategies and channels your competitors use, allowing you to refine your own campaigns.
  • Benchmark performance: Compare key metrics to gauge how well you're performing relative to competitors and identify areas for improvement.
  • Spy on promotions & offers: Stay ahead of promotions and discounts offered by competitors so you can plan your own offers more strategically and maintain customer loyalty.

Top 10 Shopify Spy Tools For Competitor Research

ToolMain FeaturesPricingWho is it for?Download
SEMrush- Keyword & competitor analysis
- Backlink & SEO audits
- Advertising & Traffic Analytics
From $139.95/month to custom pricingE-commerce businesses, digital marketers, SEO specialists Get tool
Ahrefs- Keyword Explorer
- Backlink & Rank Tracking
- Site Audit & Content Explorer
From $129/month to $14,990/yearDropshippers, e-commerce store owners, SEO professionals Get tool
SimilarWeb- Website traffic insights
- Audience analysis
- Industry trends & top-performing pages
From $125/month to custom pricing
7-day free trial.
Marketers, analysts, and e-commerce businesses Get tool
BuiltWith- Technology profile & competitor tracking
- Lead generation & market analysis
- Cyber risk auditing
From $295 to $995/month
Free plan available
Sales teams, marketers, and developers Get tool
Sell The Trend- Product Explorer & AI-driven product recommendations
- Store Intelligence
- Supplier database
- Marketing tools
From $39.98 to $79.98/month 
7-day free trial
E-commerce store owners, dropshippers.Get tool
BigSpy- Ad intelligence (Google, Facebook, TikTok)
- Domain & landing page analysis
- Trending ads & charts
From $9 to $2000+/month,
3-day free trial for $1
Marketers, dropshippers, and e-commerce ownersGet tool
Koala Inspector- Shopify app & theme detector
- Skip to Checkout app
- Competitor store & product analysis
From $0 to $55/monthSmall e-commerce store owners & dropshippers Get tool
PricingBot- Competitor price monitoring
- Automated price extraction
- Pricing alerts & comparison dashboard
From $26.95/month to custom pricing
30-day free trial 
Shopify users, e-commerce retailers Get tool
Zopi (AliHunter)- AliExpress product research
- Supplier analytics
- Competitor store analysis
From $0 to $149.9/monthShopify store owners, dropshippers, and online retailers Get tool
Feedly- Content aggregation
- AI-powered newsfeed 
- Market & threat intelligence 
$1600 - $2400/month
Requested free trial 
Content marketers, business owners, and e-commerce entrepreneurs.Get tool

SEMrush

SEMrush

SEMrush is currently one of the top powerhouse tools for e-commerce businesses and marketers, offering more than just basic insights. What sets it apart is the ability to not only monitor competitor activity but also provide actionable data across SEO, PPC, content, and backlinking—all in one place. 

Main features

  • Keyword research
  • Competitor analysis
  • SEO audits
  • Backlink analysis
  • Advertising research
  • Traffic analytics
  • Product listing ads

Pricing: 3 main pricing plans (save up to 17% with annual billing)

  • Pro Plan: $139.95/month 
  • Guru Plan: $249.95/month 
  • Enterprise Solutions: Custom pricing

How to use SEMrush for competitor spy

  • Start with the Domain Overview to get a snapshot of their overall traffic, including organic and paid sources. 
  • Use Organic Research to analyze the keywords your competitor ranks for, including their search volume and traffic estimates. 
  • For paid campaigns, head to Advertising Research, where you can see the paid keywords, ad copy, and budget details your competitor is using. 
  • To dive deeper into backlinks, use Backlink Analytics to uncover the referring domains and authority of the links pointing to your competitor's site.
  • The Content Analyzer lets you explore your competitor’s most popular content, helping you understand what drives traffic and engagement. 
  • For social media insights, go to Social Media Tracker to monitor their performance across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn.

Ahrefs

Ahrefs

Ahrefs is an all-in-one SEO powerhouse, ideal for dropshipping e-commerce stores looking to outpace the competition. It combines detailed backlink analysis, keyword tracking, and content insights to give you a full picture of your competitors’ strategies. If you're serious about staying ahead, this tool is a game-changer.

Main features

  • Site Explorer
  • Keywords and Content Explorer
  • Backlink Check
  • Rank Tracker
  • Site Audit
  • SEO Toolbar

Pricing plan: 4 main plans; get 2 months free when paying annually

  • Lite Plan: $129/month 
  • Standard Plan: $249/month
  • Advanced Plan: $449/month 
  • Enterprise Plan: Custom quoted, starts at $14,990 /year

How to use Ahrefs for competitor research

  • Use Keywords Explorer to discover which keywords your competitors are ranking for, including both organic and paid search terms. 
  • Analyze your competitor’s top-performing pages using Site Explorer to see which products, blog posts, or categories generate the most traffic.
  • Use Content Explorer to analyze top-performing content in your niche. This allows you to understand which types of content attract the most traffic so you can tailor your own content strategy to match popular trends.
  • Rank Tracker: keep an eye on how your competitors' keyword rankings evolve over time. 
  • Use Site Audit to automatically identify SEO opportunities and potential issues on competitor sites.

SimilarWeb

SimilarWeb

SimilarWeb, a powerful digital intelligence tool, comes with detailed insights into website traffic, user behavior, and industry trends with a range of free tools for beginners. It’s popular among marketers, e-commerce merchants, and analysts who offer a comprehensive view of website performance across a variety of channels, including search, social, and referral traffic. 

Main Features

  • Website Traffic Insights
  • Competitor Analysis
  • Audience Insights
  • Digital Research Analysis
  • Top Performing Pages
  • Sales and Stock Intelligence
  • Industry Trends
  • Mobile & Desktop Traffic

Pricing: 4 main pricing plans, separated into individuals and businesses

  • Starter (individuals): $125/month
  • Professional (individuals): $333/month
  • Team (businesses): Custom pricing
  • Enterprise (businesses): Custom pricing

How to use SimilarWeb for competitor research

  • Enter any website or app to gauge Website Traffic Insights, which analyzes your competitors’ overall traffic volume, trends, and sources, fine-tuning your traffic generation strategies.
  • With Top Performing Pages, you can see which product pages or content pieces generate the most traffic for competitors. 
  • Use Audience Analysis to uncover the demographics, interests, and behaviors of your competitors’ audiences, as well as better understand who your competitors are targeting.
  • Use Industry Trends to benchmark your performance against competitors and track growth within your industry.
  • The UTM Builder function allows you to create custom URLs for tracking marketing campaigns and monitoring the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.
  • SimilarWeb shows which top search engines (Google, Bing, etc.) are driving the most traffic to competitor sites. 

BuiltWith

BuiltWith

BuiltWith is a unique tool primarily focused on providing in-depth insights into the technology stack of websites. It is popular among marketers, sales teams, and developers who want to know which technologies their competitors are using, including Shopify or WordPress. BuiltWith excels at defining digital infrastructure.

Main Features

  • Technology Profile
  • Competitor Tracking
  • Lead Generation
  • Market Analysis
  • Technology Trends
  • Cyber Risk Auditing
  • Integration Tracking.

Pricing: 3 main pricing plans, saving up to 20% with annual bill

  • Basic: $295/month
  • Pro: $495/month 
  • Team: $995/month

How to Use BuiltWith for Competitor Spy 

  • Go to Sales Intelligence and enter the technologies your competitors might be using. 
  • Use the Technology Usage Filter to narrow down your results by industry, technology, or location. 
  • Navigate to a competitor's profile and check their technology history. You can view what technologies they’ve been using for the past 24 years.
  • Use Market Analysis Tools to track competitor growth, customer acquisition, and market share. 
  • In the Lead Generation section, search for websites using specific technologies that align with your products or services.

Sell The Trend

Sell The Trend

Sell The Trend so far has been a top product research and trend analysis tool designed specifically for dropshippers, especially those running Shopify or WooCommerce shops. It's highly popular among dropshipping businesses looking to discover trending products, analyze competitors, and track real-time market shifts. 

Main Features

  • Product Research Tool
  • Store Automation
  • Supplier Database
  • AI Product Recommendation Engine
  • Trendy Product Alerts
  • Market Analysis
  • Custom Reports

Pricing: 2 main plans with 2 months free if paying annually

  • Essential: $39.98/month
  • Pro: $79.98/month

How to use Sell The Trend for competitor spy

  • Use the Product Explorer to find top-selling products in your competitors’ niches by analyzing market trends and sales data, helping you choose winning products for your own store.
  • With 1-Click Push to Store, quickly replicate high-converting product pages from competitors.
  • Leverage The Nexus AI to evaluate competitor products 
  • Analyze competitors’ supplier choices through the Supplier Database, allowing you to source quality products and competitive prices.
  • Use Marketing Tools like the Facebook audience builder and influencer engagement calculator to understand your competitors' marketing strategies and replicate their successful tactics.

BigSpy

BigSpy

BigSpy is a well-known and cost-effective ad intelligence tool used by marketers, dropshippers, and business owners to analyze and monitor competitor ads across multiple platforms. With its massive database of over 10 million ads, BigSpy helps users uncover profitable ad strategies, monitor trends, and optimize their own ad campaigns.

Main Features

  • Ad Intelligence
  • Google, Facebook, and TikTok Page Analysis
  • Domain Analysis
  • Landing Page Insights
  • Ad Ideas
  • New Trending Ads
  • Top Chart

Pricing: 4 plans with up to 30% savings off with annual pay

  • Basic: $9/month
  • Pro: $99/month
  • Group: $249/month
  • VIP Enterprise: From $2000/ month

How to use BigSpy for Competitor Spy 

  • In the Ad Intelligence section, enter your competitor's brand name, product name, or a relevant keyword into the search bar. Use the filter options to refine the search.
  • Click on the New Trending tab to find real-time trending ads across various niches. 
  • Go to the Top Chart section to see the most successful ads by category (e.g., eCommerce, SaaS, Fashion, etc.).
  • Click on Domain Analysis to enter your competitor’s website URL and receive a comprehensive view of your competitor's website traffic, referring domains, audience engagement, and other metrics.

Koala Inspector

Koala Inspector

Koala Inspector is a specialized Shopify spy tool designed to help eCommerce entrepreneurs analyze their competitors' stores, uncover their best-performing products, and gain insights into their Shopify store setup. It is popular among small dropshippers and eCommerce store owners.

Main Features

  • Shopify App Detector
  • Shopify Theme Detector
  • Skip to Checkout App
  • Competitor Store Analysis
  • Product Insights
  • Competitor Alerts

Pricing: 2 plans

  • Free: $0
  • Professional: $17/month
  • Unlimited: $55/month

How to Use Koala Inspector for Competitor Spy 

  • Start by adding the Koala Inspector extension to your browser 
  • Click on the Koala Inspector icon whenever you’re browsing a Shopify store to analyze its data. It will automatically detect and display all the apps installed on that store with the theme used and product listing
  • Check if there are any special offers, discounts, or upsells integrated into the checkout process.

PricingBot

PricingBot

PricingBot is a pricing intelligence and competitor monitoring tool designed for eCommerce retailers, particularly those using Shopify. It automates the process of tracking and comparing competitor prices, offering insights that help you stay competitive in the marketplace. 

Main Features

  • Competitor Price Monitoring
  • Automated Price Extraction
  • Pricing Alerts
  • Price Comparison Dashboard
  • Competitor Insights
  • Integrations with eCommerce Platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce)

Pricing: 3 main pricing plans

  • Basic: $26.69/month
  • Premium: $67.95/month
  • Enterprise Plan: Custom pricing 

How to Use PricingBot for Competitor Spy 

  • Upload your product list in Excel or link your existing eCommerce store to PricingBot.
  • Input your competitor store URLs into PricingBot or send them in an Excel sheet for automated matching to be extracted.
  • Use the Price Comparison Dashboard to analyze your competitors' price trends and identify opportunities for better positioning or discounting.
  • Leverage the insights gained from competitor price data to adjust your own pricing strategy, promotions, or product offerings.
  • Use the automated alerts to stay on top of pricing shifts and respond quickly to changes.

Zopi - AliHunter

Zopi - AliHunter

AliHunter is another prominent spy extension designed to help eCommerce entrepreneurs monitor and analyze products listed on AliExpress. It's particularly popular among Shopify store owners, dropshippers, and online retailers who want to gain insights into their competitors' product strategies, pricing, and performance. 

Main Features

  • AliExpress Product Research
  • Supplier Analytics
  • Product Filtering
  • Sales and Trend Insights
  • Competitor Store Analysis

Pricing: 

  • Omni Dropshipping: From $9.9 to $49.9
  • Product Researcher: From $29.9 to $149.9

How to Use AliHunter - AliExpress Dropship Spy (Zopi) for Competitor Spy 

  • Download and install the Zopi Chrome extension from the official store.
  • Visit any Shopify store you want to research or spy on. Simply click on the Zopi icon in your browser to activate the extension.
  • Use the gathered data to identify best-selling products, pricing strategies, and supplier information.
  • Leverage the insights to adjust your own product selection, optimize your pricing, and choose reliable suppliers.

Feedly

Feedly

Feedly, a premium AI-driven content aggregator and news reader tool, helps users stay updated on industry news, market trends, and competitor activities from multiple sources in one place. It is widely used by professionals, large marketers, and business owners across various niches, including tech, eCommerce, and marketing.

Main Features

  • Content Aggregation
  • AI-Powered Newsfeed
  • Market Intelligence
  • Threat Intelligence
  • Customizable Alerts
  • Collaborative Features
  • Mobile and Web Apps

Pricing: 2 main plans

  • Standard: $1600/month
  • Advanced: $2400/month

How to Use Feedly for Competitor Spy 

  • Either import an RSS feed from websites you follow or use the search function to find and subscribe to competitors' blogs, news, or other content sources.
  • Search for your competitors' websites and blogs in Feedly and add them to your feeds to stay updated on their latest products, launches, and strategies.
  • Use Feedly’s “Leo” AI to filter out irrelevant content and focus only on high-priority competitor news.
  • Use the market intelligence features to identify emerging trends or shifts in consumer behavior that could affect your business.
  • Use the board and note-taking features to keep a record of your findings, track competitor moves, and plan your next strategy.

FAQs: Shopify Spy Tools

1. How can you spy on competitors on Shopify?

To spy on competitors on Shopify, you can start by using tools, such as Chrome extensions, which provide detailed insights into your competitors' metrics, including best-selling products, revenue, traffic sources, and even the apps they use.

Additionally, some specialized  platforms with the information input will help you uncover the technology and plugins powering their stores, giving you a deeper understanding of their operations

2. How do you check someone's Shopify sales for free?

Unfortunately, there is no direct way to check someone’s Shopify sales for free, as sales data is proprietary and private to the store owner. 

However, some tools like SimilarWeb and SEMrush provide estimated traffic analytics, which can give you an idea of how much traffic a competitor is receiving. You can also analyze AliHunter or Sell The Trend for insights into trending products and their sales performance. 

Yes, using Shopify spy tools is generally legal as long as they do not involve unethical activities like hacking or scraping proprietary data. 

However, it’s important to ensure that you are using these tools within the legal framework of your region and respecting any privacy laws.

Bottom lines

Our given lists of 10 Shopify spy tools give you a competitive edge by helping you track competitor strategies, optimize your own pricing, and identify trends before they hit the market. Choose the tool that aligns with your business goals and start implementing insights to grow smarter and faster. 

Sam
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Sam Nguyen is the CEO and founder of Avada Commerce, an e-commerce solution provider headquartered in Singapore. He is an expert on the Shopify e-commerce platform for online stores and retail point-of-sale systems. Sam loves talking about e-commerce and he aims to help over a million online businesses grow and thrive.