SpyFu vs SE Ranking: Competitor Research Tool or All-in-One SEO Platform?
SpyFu and SE Ranking both show you what your competitors rank for, but they are built for different jobs. SpyFu is a competitor research tool for Google: it shows the keywords any domain ranks for and buys on Google Ads, every ad it has tested and how that changed over many years. SE Ranking is an all-in-one SEO platform: competitor research sits next to daily rank tracking, site audits, backlinks, local SEO and AI search tracking in one plan. We checked both tools' official pricing, product and help pages in October 2026, and this comparison focuses on what founders usually need first: learning from competitors before spending money.
Quick answer: choose SpyFu if you want to study competitors' SEO and Google Ads, with a free version that has no time limit and paid plans from $29 a month billed yearly ($39 monthly). Choose SE Ranking if you want one tool to run your whole SEO, with competitor research included, daily rank tracking and local SEO, from €87.20 a month billed yearly (€109 monthly) after a 14-day free trial without a credit card. If PPC is a big part of your plan, start with SpyFu; if SEO is your main channel, start with SE Ranking.
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SpyFu vs SE Ranking at a Glance
Sources: spyfu.com pricing page and help centre, seranking.com pricing, competitor analysis and data pages, checked 27 October 2026. SE Ranking showed euro prices to our European visitor; it may show other currencies in other countries.
SpyFu and SE Ranking in 2027: What Each Tool Does
SpyFu: competitor SEO and Google Ads research
SpyFu is built around one question: what is working for my competitors on Google? Type in a domain and it shows the SEO keywords that site ranks for, the keywords it buys on Google Ads, every ad variation it has tested and how its rankings moved over time. SpyFu says it covers 38 countries, with 13.1 billion keywords and 152 million websites in its database, and lists 18+ years of historical data on its homepage (10+ years on the pricing page). For PPC it adds a Google Ads Advisor that recommends keywords your competitors buy and you don't, monitoring of every domain that bids on your keywords, negative-keyword suggestions and pre-built Google Ads campaigns. Newer additions are an AI-powered site audit that writes fixes you can publish to a connected site, a ChatGPT integration that brings SpyFu data into ChatGPT, and AI Brand Monitoring.
- Basic: $39 a month or $29 a month billed yearly, with 10k rows per search and per export, 1 site project, 5,000 weekly tracked keywords, 10 automated reports, a site audit of 50k pages a month with 1,000 AI fixes, and 1 user (extra users $15).
- Pro + AI: $59 for the first month, then $119, or $89 a month billed yearly. Unlimited search results and exports, 10 site projects, 15,000 tracked keywords, 500k audit pages, RivalFlow page improvements for 1 site and $40 of API credits.
- Team/Agency: $249 a month or $187 billed yearly, with 5 users, unlimited projects and reports, 50,000 tracked keywords, 2M audit pages and $100 of API credits.
- Free version: SpyFu's help centre says there is no time-limited trial; the free version shows limited results for as long as you like.
- Money-back: every plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee, and you can cancel by email, live chat or phone.
Best for: founders who plan to run Google Ads, marketers who want to copy what already works for rivals, and anyone who wants long competitor history at a low entry price.
We compare SpyFu with other tools in SpyFu vs Keyword Insights (competitor research vs keyword clustering), Semrush vs SpyFu and Ubersuggest vs SpyFu.
SE Ranking: an all-in-one SEO platform with competitor research built in
SE Ranking is built around rank tracking and now covers the whole of SEO and AI search. Its competitor analysis tool shows any rival's organic and paid traffic, top keywords and pages, traffic cost, the keywords and ads they run on Google with monthly ad history, keyword overlaps with your site and data back to February 2020. It also shows how competitors appear in AI Overviews, AI Mode, ChatGPT and Gemini. On its data page, SE Ranking says it covers 5.4 billion keywords in 188 locations and 2.7 trillion backlinks across 420 million domains; like SpyFu's figures, these are the company's own numbers.
- Core: €109 a month or €87.20 billed yearly, with 10 projects, 1 manager seat, 2,000 keywords tracked daily, 25 AI prompts a day, unlimited keyword, competitor and backlink research, 250k audited pages a month, 25K API credits and MCP access.
- Growth: €235 a month or €188 billed yearly, with 30 projects, 3 seats, 5,000 daily keywords, 25 prompts a day, 2M audit pages and history for the whole project lifetime (Core keeps 6 months, according to the plan comparison).
- Local SEO on every plan: 3 locations, a local and map rank tracker for 1,500 keywords and listing management in 100+ directories.
- Add-ons: Agency Pack with white-label reports (+€59 a month, yearly billing only) and a larger AI Search toolkit (+€79 a month, or €63.20 billed yearly).
- Free trial: 14 days without a credit card, with starter limits (10 projects, 750 tracked keywords and 20 AI prompts a day). Payments are generally non-refundable, so decide during the trial.
Best for: founders and small teams who want competitor research, rank tracking, audits, backlinks, local SEO and AI visibility in one subscription.
See how SE Ranking compares on other jobs in Moz vs SE Ranking (prices, free tools and authority metrics), SE Ranking vs AccuRanker (rank tracking) and Semrush vs SE Ranking.
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Competitor Research: SpyFu vs SE Ranking Head to Head
Competitors' organic keywords
Both tools show which keywords a domain ranks for, with search volume, difficulty and the ranking page, plus the keywords two sites share and the ones only your rival has. SpyFu calls its domain-vs-domain comparison Kombat; SE Ranking shows keyword overlaps and flags competitors that jumped into the top 10. The practical difference is limits: SpyFu Basic caps each search and export at 10k rows, while SE Ranking Core includes unlimited competitor research (exports up to 50k rows). For a startup checking a few rivals, either is enough. Our guide on how to check competitor keywords explains the method step by step.
Google Ads (PPC) research
This is SpyFu's home ground. It shows every keyword a competitor has bought, every ad test it has run, the keywords it tried and dropped, and which domains started bidding on your keywords, going back 10+ years. SE Ranking also covers paid search, with competitors' paid keywords, ads and monthly ad history, but as one part of a wider SEO tool. If you will spend real money on Google Ads, SpyFu's ad history is the stronger reason to pay.
History and trends
SpyFu lists 10+ years of ranking and ad history on every plan, which helps you see when a rival grew, which pages drove it and which campaigns ran for years (a sign they make money). SE Ranking's competitor data goes back to February 2020, which covers most startups' markets, and its own rank tracking history is 6 months on Core and the full project lifetime on Growth.
Backlinks
Both tools include backlink research on their entry plans: SpyFu Basic allows 10k rows per backlink search, and SE Ranking Core includes unlimited backlink research and monitoring. If link building is your main channel, compare authority metrics too; our Ahrefs alternatives guide covers the bigger link databases.
Competitors in AI search
SE Ranking tracks how often your brand and your competitors appear in ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, Perplexity and Gemini, with 25 prompts a day on Core. SpyFu approaches AI from the other side: a ChatGPT integration (limited to 3 chats on Basic, unlimited on Pro + AI and Team) lets you ask ChatGPT questions answered with SpyFu data, and AI Brand Monitoring is limited on Basic. If you want to know whether AI assistants recommend your rivals instead of you, SE Ranking is the better fit today.
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Try Both for Free First
You can test both tools without paying. SpyFu's free version runs searches on any domain or keyword with limited results; if you share an email address, you can search as often as you want. SE Ranking offers free daily checks of its Google rank checker (organic and paid results), website traffic checker and keyword research tool with no account, and its 14-day trial unlocks the full platform without a card. A good test: run the same three competitors through both and see which data matches what you know about your market.
What Is New Since the Older Version of This Comparison
- SpyFu's middle plan is Pro + AI: $59 for the first month and $119 after that, with an AI site audit, RivalFlow page improvements and API credits. Basic costs $39 a month, the same as in the older version.
- SpyFu added AI tools: an AI-powered site audit with fixes you can publish, a ChatGPT integration and AI Brand Monitoring.
- SE Ranking's current plans are Core and Growth, with AI search tracking (prompts across 5 AI engines) and MCP access built in, and white-label reports come with the Agency Pack add-on.
- Removed: links to third-party review sites and claims we could not confirm on the vendors' own pages.
Which One Should You Choose?
- You plan to run Google Ads: SpyFu, for competitors' ad history, the keywords they stopped buying and the Google Ads Advisor.
- You want one tool for all of your SEO: SE Ranking Core, which adds daily rank tracking, audits, local SEO and AI visibility to competitor research.
- You have no budget yet: SpyFu's free version and SE Ranking's free daily checks, plus Google Search Console.
- You want to test the full product before paying: SE Ranking's 14-day trial without a card; SpyFu has a 30-day money-back guarantee instead.
- You are a local business: SE Ranking, because local SEO is included on every plan.
- You care about AI answers: SE Ranking, for prompt tracking across 5 AI engines.
- You need lots of history on a small budget: SpyFu Basic, with 10+ years of data from $29 a month billed yearly.
Comparing more SEO tools? See Similarweb vs Google Keyword Planner for traffic estimates vs keyword data, Keyword Tool vs Keyword Planner, Ahrefs vs Wincher, Ahrefs vs Long Tail Pro, Semrush vs Long Tail Pro and our list of free Ahrefs alternatives.
How Founders Use SpyFu or SE Ranking for Competitor Research
- List your real search competitors. They are the sites that rank and bid for your customers' questions, not only the companies you pitch against. Our guide to competitor keyword research shows how to find them.
- Find the keyword gaps. Export the keywords they rank for or buy that you don't, and keep the ones that match what you sell.
- Read their ad history. Ads and keywords a competitor has paid for over many months usually convert; the ones they dropped tell you what not to pay for.
- Plan pages and small test campaigns. Turn each gap into a page, written yourself or with the F/MS AI SEO Tool, and test the best paid keywords with a small budget.
- Track and repeat. Follow your rankings with one of these rank trackers and re-check your competitors every quarter.
On a $0 budget, start with our guide to keyword research for startups with no budget and the free Fe/male Switch marketing tools. And if your competitors get almost no search traffic either, validate your startup idea before you build an SEO plan around it.
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FAQ: SpyFu vs SE Ranking
What is the main difference between SpyFu and SE Ranking?
SpyFu is a competitor research tool focused on Google SEO and Google Ads, with long ranking and ad history. SE Ranking is an all-in-one SEO platform where competitor research is one module next to daily rank tracking, site audits, backlinks, local SEO and AI search tracking.
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/Agency costs $249 a month or $187 billed yearly. Every plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee.
How much does SE Ranking cost?
When we checked in October 2026, Core cost €109 a month or €87.20 billed yearly and Growth €235 or €188 billed yearly, shown in euros for a European visitor. Enterprise pricing is on request.
Is there a free version of SpyFu or SE Ranking?
SpyFu has a free version with limited results and no time limit. SE Ranking has a 14-day free trial without a credit card and free daily checks of its rank checker, traffic checker and keyword tool without an account.
Which tool is better for Google Ads competitor research?
SpyFu. It shows every keyword a competitor has bought and every ad test it has run, with 10+ years of history. SE Ranking covers competitors' paid keywords and monthly ad history, but PPC is not its main focus.
Which tool is better for an all-in-one SEO setup?
SE Ranking, because its Core plan includes rank tracking for 2,000 keywords a day, site audits, unlimited keyword, competitor and backlink research, local SEO and AI search tracking.
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.
Can I get a refund from SpyFu or SE Ranking?
SpyFu offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. SE Ranking says payments are non-refundable except when the service wasn't delivered as promised, so use its 14-day trial to decide.
Do SpyFu and SE Ranking track AI search?
SE Ranking tracks prompts across ChatGPT, Google AI Overviews, AI Mode, Perplexity and Gemini (25 a day on Core). SpyFu offers a ChatGPT integration and AI Brand Monitoring, which are limited on its Basic plan.
Which tool is better for agencies?
Both work. SpyFu Team/Agency includes 5 users, unlimited projects and 50,000 tracked keywords. SE Ranking Growth includes 30 projects and 3 seats, and its Agency Pack add-on adds white-label reports and client seats.
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.
