Competitor Analysis
Research competitive landscape and produce actionable comparisons.
Product stream vs market stream
Split investigation to mirror parallel research patterns; merge before strategic recommendations.
| Stream | Focus | Typical sources |
|---|---|---|
| Product | Feature matrix, specs, APIs, pricing tables, integrations, release cadence | Official docs, changelogs, pricing pages, registries |
| Market | Positioning, messaging, ICP, reviews, sentiment, analyst takes, share/narrative | G2/Capterra, HN/Reddit, landing copy, news, reports |
Execution: Run both streams in parallel (batched searches/fetches per stream) when possible. If using subagents, assign one stream per worker with a fixed handoff schema (bullets + URLs); one synthesis pass produces Steps 3–6 below.
Process
Step 1 — Define Scope
markdown**Subject:** [What product/feature we're analyzing] **Competitors to evaluate:** [Specific names, or "discover competitors"] **Purpose:** [What decision this informs] **Dimensions:** [Features, pricing, UX, performance, target audience]
Step 2 — Discover Competitors
Assign discovery to both streams: product-side (direct substitutes, OSS alternatives) and market-side (who buyers compare you to in reviews and “vs” articles).
If competitors aren't specified:
- Search for "[category] alternatives"
- Check comparison sites (G2, AlternativeTo, Product Hunt)
- Search GitHub for open-source alternatives
- Check Hacker News and Reddit for community recommendations
- Review industry reports and analyst coverage
Step 3 — Feature Matrix (product stream)
markdown## Feature Comparison | Feature | Our Product | Competitor A | Competitor B | Competitor C | |---|---|---|---|---| | [Feature 1] | Yes | Yes | No | Partial | | [Feature 2] | Planned | Yes | Yes | Yes | | [Feature 3] | No | No | Yes | No | | **Pricing** | [model] | [model] | [model] | [model] | | **Target audience** | [who] | [who] | [who] | [who] | | **Open source** | Yes/No | Yes/No | Yes/No | Yes/No |
Step 4 — Positioning Analysis (market stream)
For each competitor:
markdown### [Competitor Name] **Positioning:** [How they describe themselves] **Target audience:** [Who they serve] **Key differentiator:** [What makes them unique] **Strengths:** [Where they excel] **Weaknesses:** [Where they fall short] **Pricing:** [Model and price points] **Community/adoption:** [Size, activity, notable users] **Threat level:** [High / Medium / Low — to our product]
Step 5 — Strategic Insights (merge)
Reconcile product facts with market narrative (e.g. a feature exists but messaging downplays it).
markdown## Market Insights ### Gaps in the Market - [Opportunity that no competitor addresses well] ### Table Stakes - [Features every competitor has — we need these too] ### Differentiators Available - [Areas where we can uniquely differentiate] ### Risks - [Competitive risks to monitor]
Step 6 — Recommendation
markdown## Recommendation Based on the competitive landscape: 1. [Product strategy recommendation] 2. [Feature priority recommendation] 3. [Positioning recommendation]
Source Quality
For competitor analysis, prioritize:
- Official product pages and documentation
- Independent reviews (G2, Capterra)
- Community discussions (Reddit, HN, forums)
- Blog posts and comparisons (check for bias/sponsorship)
Scout skill — Competitor analysis and market research · P1 product/market streams: 2026-04-10
