How to find your real competitors

Most founders either believe they have no competitors or list every company with a similar feature. Neither helps. Your real competitors are the options a buyer seriously considers when they have the problem you solve, including doing nothing. This guide shows a simple way to find them and keep the list short.

1. Start from the job, not the feature

Write one sentence describing the job a customer hires your product for, in their words: “send invoices without an accountant”, not “AI-powered billing engine”. Every competitor you look for should be another way to get that job done. If a product shares your feature but serves a different job, it is probably not a real competitor.

2. Know the three kinds of competitors

• Direct competitors: products built for the same job and the same buyer. These are the ones prospects compare you with side by side.
• Alternatives: different kinds of solutions for the same job, such as a spreadsheet, a general tool used for this purpose, or a freelancer.
• Doing nothing: living with the problem. For many small SaaS products this is the biggest competitor, and it costs the buyer nothing.

3. Search the way your buyers search

• Search for the problem phrase from step 1, plus variants like “tool”, “software” and “app”. Note who ranks and who runs ads.
• Search “<known competitor> alternative” and “<known competitor> vs”. The products that show up there are the ones buyers already compare.
• Check software directories and review sites in your category, and the “alternatives” or “compared with” sections they show.
• Look at communities where your buyers ask for recommendations and write down which names people actually suggest.

4. Ask the people who almost bought

The most reliable source is your own prospects and customers. Ask new customers what they used before and what else they looked at. Ask lost prospects what they chose instead. Record the answers word for word; after ten or twenty conversations, a pattern usually appears. If you have no customers yet, ask the people you interview what they do today to solve the problem.

5. Keep the list short

For a solo founder, three to five competitors are enough: the two or three direct rivals that come up most often, the main alternative, and the do-nothing option. Rank them by how often they come up in real conversations, not by how big they are. A large company that your buyers never mention is less relevant than a small one they mention every week.

6. Write down one line per competitor

For each one, note who they serve, how they price, what they claim to do best, and the link to the page where you found it. Keep facts you can point to separate from your interpretation, and label interpretations as hypotheses. Then go deeper only on the competitors at the top of your list.

7. Revisit the list every quarter

New tools appear, others move up-market or shut down. A quick review each quarter, plus a note whenever a prospect names someone new, keeps the list honest.

Going deeper with RivalBrief

RivalBrief does not find competitors for you; you choose them. Once you have your short list, paste a competitor's URL and RivalBrief writes a structured brief from its public pages: positioning, an ICP hypothesis, pricing signals, features, strengths and gaps, and sources. See the beehiiv or Tally sample briefs, use the free competitor analysis template, or turn your findings into a competitor SWOT and a battlecard.

Last reviewed: 4 November 2026. Product names belong to their owners; RivalBrief is not affiliated with them. Details about other products are based on their public websites and may change — check their sites for current information.