SpyFu vs Keyword Insights: Competitor Research or Keyword Clustering?
SpyFu and Keyword Insights both promise better keyword research, but they answer different questions. SpyFu shows what your competitors rank for and buy on Google Ads, with years of history. Keyword Insights takes a keyword list and tells you which pages to write, by grouping keywords that share the same Google results and adding search intent, content briefs and AI writing. We checked both on their official websites and pricing pages in October 2026, and removed the claims from the older version of this article that the vendors' own pages don't support.
Quick answer: pick SpyFu if you want to copy what already works for competitors in SEO and Google Ads; it starts at $39 a month, or $29 a month billed yearly, and has a free version with limited results. Pick Keyword Insights if you already have keywords and need a content plan: clusters, intent, briefs and AI drafts, from $58 a month, or $46 a month billed yearly, on a credit system. Many content teams use both: SpyFu to collect the keywords, Keyword Insights to organise them into pages.
Are you getting customers from ChatGPT yet?
More and more traffic is coming from Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.
👉 Rank on ChatGPT
SpyFu vs Keyword Insights at a Glance
Sources: spyfu.com pricing and help centre, keywordinsights.ai pricing and feature pages, checked 26 October 2026.
What Is SpyFu?
SpyFu is a competitor research tool for Google search. Type in a competitor's domain and it shows the keywords that site ranks for, the keywords it has bought on Google Ads, its ad copy and ad tests, and how its rankings changed over time. SpyFu says its keyword metrics come from Google Keyword Planner and that it covers 38 countries. Newer features include an AI-powered site audit, a ChatGPT integration and AI brand monitoring.
- Competitor keywords and ads: download a competitor's SEO and PPC keywords, see every ad variation they tested, and find the keywords they buy that you don't.
- History: the pricing page lists 10+ years of historical data on every plan (the homepage mentions 18+ years), useful for spotting when a competitor rose or fell.
- Rank tracking and reports: 5,000 weekly tracked keywords on Basic, 15,000 on Pro + AI and 50,000 on Team, plus automated and white-labelled reports.
- Site audit: 50k crawled pages a month on Basic, with AI-generated fixes you can review and publish to a connected site.
- Pricing: Basic $39 a month or $29 billed yearly (10k rows per search and export); Pro + AI $59 for the first month, then $119, or $89 billed yearly (unlimited rows); Team $249 or $187 billed yearly with 5 users. Every plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Free version: SpyFu's help centre says there is no time-limited trial; instead the free version shows limited results for as long as you like.
Best for: founders and marketers who want to learn from competitors before spending money: which keywords bring them traffic, which ads they keep running, and which keywords they tried and dropped.
For more head-to-head comparisons, see Semrush vs SpyFu, Ubersuggest vs SpyFu and SpyFu vs Long Tail Pro.
What Is Keyword Insights?
Keyword Insights is a UK tool (trading under Snippet Digital Ltd) built around topical authority. Its core feature is keyword clustering: it groups keywords whose Google results overlap, so each cluster becomes one page you should write. On top of that it adds search intent, content briefs, two AI writing tools and, newer, a Mentions feature for AI search visibility.
- Keyword Discovery: keyword ideas from Google Autocomplete, Reddit, Quora and People Also Ask, with search volume, keyword difficulty and CPC.
- Keyword clustering: groups keywords by SERP similarity, clusters the clusters into topics, flags clusters your domain doesn't rank for, and spots cannibalisation.
- Search intent: shows how many of the top 10 Google results are informational, commercial, transactional or other, so you choose the right page type.
- Content briefs and AI writing: AI briefs built from live search results, Reddit and Quora; an AI Writer Assistant (200 credits an article) and an AI Writer Agent (1,200 credits an article).
- Mentions: finds Reddit, Quora and YouTube threads where your brand could contribute, aimed at being cited in AI answers.
- Pricing: Basic $58 a month with 10,000 credits and Professional $99 with 20,000 credits; yearly billing saves 20% ($552 and $948 a year). Clustering costs 1 credit per keyword and a brief 100 credits. Unused credits reset at the end of each billing period. A $1 trial gives 7 days and 5,000 credits (a card is required). Pay-as-you-go credits work for clustering only and expire after 30 days.
Best for: startups that publish content regularly and need to turn a long keyword list into a clear site structure, without guessing which keywords belong on the same page.
Comparing content-optimisation tools as well? Our Frase vs Clearscope comparison covers two brief and grading tools.
Boost Your SEO by Getting Featured in Our Blogs and get a backlink.
We publish content about startups, education, tech, funding, etc. that ranks well not only in Google but also in Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.
👉 Get featured now!
Which One Should a Startup Choose?
- You run or plan Google Ads: SpyFu. Competitor ad history and the keywords they stopped buying show what not to pay for; Keyword Insights doesn't offer PPC competitor research.
- You have no keyword list yet: SpyFu, to pull the keywords your competitors already rank for. Its free version is enough for a first look.
- You have hundreds of keywords and no content plan: Keyword Insights, to cluster them into pages and see the intent behind each one.
- You want briefs and AI drafts in the same tool: Keyword Insights.
- You want to watch competitors over time: SpyFu, for 10+ years of rankings and ads and weekly rank tracking.
- Your budget is tight: SpyFu Basic billed yearly ($29 a month) is the cheaper entry; Keyword Insights' $1 trial is the cheapest way to test clustering on one real project.
Still deciding on a wider SEO suite? See our guides to Ahrefs alternatives, free Ahrefs alternatives, Ahrefs vs Long Tail Pro, Ahrefs vs Wincher and Moz vs Long Tail Pro.
How Founders Use SpyFu and Keyword Insights Together
- Find your real search competitors. They are often not the companies you pitch against, but the sites that rank for your customers' questions. Our guide to checking competitor keywords explains the method.
- Export their keywords and ads. SpyFu's competitor keyword lists and ad history show what already brings them traffic and what they gave up on.
- Cluster the list. Upload the keywords to Keyword Insights; each cluster with its intent becomes one page on your site.
- Brief and write. Use a content brief for each cluster, then write it yourself, with Keyword Insights' AI writer, or with the F/MS AI SEO Tool.
- Track and refine. Follow rankings and Google Search Console, then update the pages that get impressions but few clicks.
If you are at an earlier stage, start free: our guide to keyword research on a $0 budget and our comparison of Keyword Tool vs Google Keyword Planner cover the free options. And if nobody searches for the problem you solve, that is a reason to validate your startup idea before you build more.
Boost Your SEO by Publishing Your Startup Press Release with us.
We publish content about startups, education, tech, funding, etc. that ranks well not only in Google but also in Perplexity, ChatGPT, Grok and other AI tools.
👉 Publish Press Release
FAQ: SpyFu vs Keyword Insights
What is the main difference between SpyFu and Keyword Insights?
SpyFu is a competitor research tool: it shows the keywords and Google Ads of any domain, with years of history. Keyword Insights is a content-planning tool: it clusters keywords by shared Google results and adds intent, briefs and AI writing.
How much does SpyFu cost?
Basic costs $39 a month or $29 a month billed yearly. Pro + AI costs $59 for the first month and $119 after that, or $89 a month billed yearly. Team costs $249 a month or $187 billed yearly. All plans have a 30-day money-back guarantee.
How much does Keyword Insights cost?
Basic costs $58 a month with 10,000 credits and Professional $99 a month with 20,000 credits; yearly billing saves 20%. Enterprise pricing is custom, and a 7-day trial costs $1.
Is there a free version of SpyFu?
Yes. SpyFu's help centre says there is no time-limited trial but a free version with limited results that you can use for as long as you like.
How do Keyword Insights credits work?
Every feature uses credits: clustering costs 1 credit per keyword, a content brief 100 credits, the Writer Assistant 200 credits and the AI Writer Agent 1,200 credits an article. Subscription credits reset at the end of each billing period.
Which tool is better for Google Ads research?
SpyFu. It shows the keywords competitors buy, their ad copy and ad tests over time. Keyword Insights doesn't offer PPC competitor research.
Which tool is better for planning blog content?
Keyword Insights, because its clustering tells you which keywords belong on one page and what type of page Google wants for each cluster.
Where can I submit a guest post about my startup?
You can publish a guest post in one of the Fe/male Switch startup blogs, which rank in Google and in AI tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity. Get a quality backlink.
How much historical data does SpyFu have?
Its pricing page lists 10+ years of historical ranking and ad data on every plan, and its homepage mentions 18+ years.
Can I use AI to write SEO articles from my keyword clusters?
Yes. Keyword Insights has its own AI writer, and the F/MS AI SEO Tool turns a keyword into a full article written to rank on Google and to be cited by AI assistants, with human editors reviewing it.
About the Author
Violetta Bonenkamp, also known as MeanCEO, is an experienced startup founder with an impressive educational background including an MBA and four other higher education degrees. She has over 20 years of work experience across multiple countries, including 5 years as a solopreneur and serial entrepreneur. Throughout her startup experience she has applied for multiple startup grants at the EU level, in the Netherlands and Malta, and her startups received quite a few of those. She’s been living, studying and working in many countries around the globe and her extensive multicultural experience has influenced her immensely.
