To find the competitors of a company, search for its category the way a buyer would, read the “alternatives” and category pages on review sites, ask an AI assistant for alternatives, and check which names come up in your own lost deals. Then sort each name into direct, adjacent or emerging, so you know which rivals to watch closely and which to check once a quarter.
The fastest start is our free competitor finder. Enter one website and it returns 8 to 10 rivals, closest first, each typed as direct, adjacent or emerging, with a line on the buyer it shares with you. Only rivals whose website answered on the day of the search appear. You need no account.
This guide covers ten ways to find competitors, a test to classify them, and how to keep the list current. It is written for B2B companies. For a local business, map listings and local directories matter more.
10 ways to find a company’s competitors
1. Search the category like a buyer
Search for the problem and the category in the words a buyer uses: “competitor monitoring software”, “tool to track competitor pricing”. Note every vendor on page one, in the ads and in the “People also ask” box. Ads matter, because a company that pays for your category term wants your buyers.
2. Read review site categories and “alternatives” pages
G2, Capterra and similar sites group products by category. Open your category and the “alternatives to” page of each known rival. A review site lists the products that buyers compare in the same shortlist, which is close to a list of direct competitors.
3. Ask AI assistants
Buyers now ask ChatGPT, Claude, Perplexity and Google’s AI answers for “alternatives to” a product. Ask the same question for your company and for your best-known rival. Note every name in the answers and the sources the assistant cites. A name that appears here and not in your list is a rival your buyers already see.
4. Read your lost deals and sales calls
Your CRM and call notes name the competitors you actually meet. Pull the “lost to” field for the last two quarters. Search call transcripts for “we’re also looking at” and “we use”. This source is the most reliable, because it shows who wins deals against you.
5. Ask customers what they replaced
Ask new customers what they used before and what else they evaluated. The tool they replaced is often an adjacent competitor: a spreadsheet, an agency, or a suite with one part that does the job.
6. Read job posts
A company hiring for the role your product serves, or building a team in your category, is entering your market. Read the careers pages of the suites around you. Our free hiring tracker shows a company’s open roles by team and the skills the posts name.
7. Check ad libraries
The Google Ads Transparency Center, the Meta Ad Library and the LinkedIn Ad Library show the ads a company runs. Search them for your category terms and your own brand name. A company that bids on your name is a competitor, even if it calls itself something else.
8. Watch launch sites and funding news
New entrants launch on Product Hunt and announce seed rounds in startup news. Search both for your category terms each month. These are your emerging competitors: young products, betas, waitlists and recent launches.
9. Read integration marketplaces
The app marketplaces of the platforms your buyers use (Salesforce AppExchange, HubSpot, Slack, Shopify) list the apps in each category. A new listing in your category is a new rival in the place your buyers look.
10. Read the competitor pages of your competitors
Your rivals publish “X vs Y” and “alternatives” pages. Read them. They name the rivals each competitor fights, and they often name one you missed.
How to sort competitors: direct, adjacent or emerging
Our competitor finder uses three types. You can apply the same test by hand.
| Type | The test | Example question |
|---|---|---|
| Direct | It sells the same kind of product to the same buyer. | Would the buyer put it on the same shortlist as you? |
| Adjacent | It solves the same buyer problem with another kind of product, or it is a suite with one part that competes. | Could the buyer solve the problem with it and never buy a tool like yours? |
| Emerging | It is a newer rival in the category: a beta, a waitlist, early access or a recent launch. | Is it young enough that its product and price can still change fast? |
Watch direct competitors closely: their pricing page, changelog and hiring. Check adjacent competitors each quarter for a feature that moves into your space. Check emerging competitors each month, because a funding round can turn one into a direct rival in a year.
Many teams also use the two-way split of direct and indirect competitors. In that split, our adjacent type is an indirect competitor. For how to map all of them on one page, read what a competitive landscape is and how to map it.
How many competitors should you track?
Watch a short list closely and keep a longer list for a quarterly check. Fill the short list with the rivals that appear in your lost deals. A rival that never shows up in a deal can wait, however loud its marketing is.
How to keep the list current
A competitor list goes stale in a quarter. Three habits keep it current:
- Review the list each quarter. Rerun methods 1, 2, 3 and 8. Add new names, and move rivals between types.
- Record the source of each name. “Lost deal, March” or “G2 alternatives page” tells the next person why a rival is on the list.
- Watch the top rivals on a schedule. Read their pricing page, changelog and careers page monthly, or let a tool do it.
Debriefing watches the competitors you pick. It reads their pricing, changelog, careers, homepage and integrations pages, plus job boards, release notes, news and app store listings, and records each change as a signal with its source. It does not choose your competitors for you: the finder suggests rivals and you pick the ones to watch. Starter is $80 a month for 3 competitors, Growth is $160 for 5 and Portfolio is $320 for 8. Every plan starts with a 3-day free trial with a card and has a 14-day money-back guarantee (pricing, checked November 12, 2026). For other tools that do this job, see our list of competitor monitoring tools.
FAQs
How do I find my direct competitors?
Look for companies that sell the same kind of product to the same buyer. Your lost deals and the review site category and “alternatives” pages give the most reliable list. The free competitor finder marks each rival it finds as direct, adjacent or emerging.
How do I find emerging competitors?
Search Product Hunt, startup funding news and integration marketplaces for your category terms each month. Read the job posts of the suites around you. An emerging competitor is a young product: a beta, a waitlist, early access or a recent launch.
Is there a free tool to find competitors?
Yes. The competitor finder takes one website and returns 8 to 10 rivals with a type and a line on the shared buyer, with no account. SEO tools also list the domains that rank for the same keywords, which shows your search competitors. Those are not always the companies that compete for your buyers.
What is the difference between a competitor list and a competitor analysis?
A competitor list names the rivals. A competitor analysis compares them on price, product, positioning and strategy. Start with the list, then read our competitor analysis guide for the comparison.