How to get suggestions for who you compete with

Q: Are rival suggestions free?

The Free plan includes no competitor report runs. Paid tiers allow four to one hundred twenty runs per month. For any other option, ask the provider what its fee covers before you commit.

A plain guide to getting suggestions for who your small business competes with, step by step, and the tools that can do it.

By Uncommon Comforts · 2026-10-13

Uncommon Comforts is published by the team behind Connections, whose products are compared here alongside other tools.

To get suggestions for who you compete with, start with a clean list of the websites you already treat as yours, add the closest rivals you can name, then use a tool that suggests matches from one of your sites and lets you keep the ones that matter. One such tool, Connections Rivals, is made by the team that publishes this page.

Option	Own monthly fee	Competitor report runs per month	Card fee
Connections Rivals (made by the team that publishes this site)	not published	Free 0, Pro 4, Business 30, Business Plus 60, Enterprise 120 ^[1]	not published
Hired competitor research service	not published	not published	not published
Manual review by the owner	not published	not published	not published

What you need before you start

Getting suggestions for who you compete with works best when a few things are ready first, and most of them are already in your head or your files. Have a clear answer to which website is yours. Small business owners and founders often run more than one site, so decide which one you want matched against potential rivals, since suggestions come from the site you choose. Keep the URLs of the closest competitors you can already name. Even a rough list helps, because a tool can start from your own picks and add to them. If you keep any spreadsheet or list of possible rivals, such as businesses you have noticed in search results, in local directories, or at events you attend, gather it. A saved list or CSV of candidate websites saves retyping. Know the market you compete in, so you can judge whether a suggestion truly competes. Have a simple review habit in mind: you will look at each suggestion and decide to keep or drop it. The job is mostly about having your own sites and your own short list in one place.

Step by step

Choose the one website you treat as yours. The suggestions will come from that site, so pick the one that best represents what the business sells.

Write down the exact web addresses of the closest rivals you already know. Even three or four URLs give a tool somewhere to start.

Pull together any list of possible rivals you keep. If it is a spreadsheet or CSV, keep it as a file you can paste in when asked. If you do not keep one, skip this step.

Pick a tool that accepts a website and returns rival suggestions. Several kinds of tools do this: a dedicated rival list tool, a paid research service, or your own manual search. Choose the one that matches how much time you want to spend.

Give the tool your chosen site, and where the tool allows it, add the rival URLs you named. Let it suggest who you compete with, then review each suggestion and keep the ones that matter to you.

Remove the suggestions that do not truly compete, and keep the short list handy. If the tool lets you, save the list so you can return to it.

Revisit the list from time to time, since rivals change, new ones start advertising, and old ones fall away.

When you want more detail on a kept rival, look at what they are changing or advertising. Check whether the tool can compare a rival's pages or show you ads they have started running, and use that when you need it.

Tools that can do it

Connections Rivals is made by the team that publishes this site. You choose one of your own websites, the same ones you have in Connections Analytics, and see the rivals for that site. ^[1] It suggests who you compete with, and you keep the ones that matter. ^[1] You can paste a list or CSV of websites and preview the status of every row before applying. ^[1] You can bring a removed rival back from Trash. ^[1] It compares a rival's own pages with the last saved snapshot. ^[1] You can ask for a check of a rival's pages now. ^[1] It adds the new Google ads a rival has started running, taken from Google's Ads Transparency Center. ^[1] For each ad, it shows the headline, body text, call to action, the page the ad links to, and any offer. ^[1] It gives links to a rival's Meta, LinkedIn and TikTok ads. ^[1] Rivals uses the same Connections login as the other Connections apps. ^[1] The Free plan includes no competitor report runs. ^[1] Rivals is a web app in the browser. ^[1] The Rivals front door has a 'Watch a rival' button. ^[1]

A hired competitor research service is an option for owners who would rather pay someone to gather and present a rival list. Ask the service what it will compare, how often it updates, and what you get at the end, and check whether it lets you review and keep the list before you pay.

Asking peers and industry groups is a free option. A business advisor, an accountant, or a trade association can name who they see you competing with, which is useful for a first list even though it is not updated on its own.

Manual review is always available. Search for the phrases your buyers use, note the sites that keep appearing, and keep that list yourself. It takes the most time and updating, but it needs no new tool.

Common mistakes to avoid

A common mistake is skipping a clean starting list and letting a tool suggest from an empty base. Start with your own site and the rivals you can name, so the suggestions have somewhere to anchor. Another mistake is keeping every suggestion the tool returns. Review each one and drop the ones that do not truly compete, or the list grows useless. A list can also go stale as new rivals start and old ones stop advertising, so make revisiting it a habit. Do not judge a rival only by their homepage either; their pages change and their ads shift, so look at what they are running now rather than what they once did. A further error is expecting a single snapshot to answer everything. Suggestions are a starting point, so pair them with your own knowledge of the market you compete in. Finally, do not pay for more than you will use. Check what each run or update includes before you commit, since the plans differ in how many competitor report runs they allow per month.

Things to check before you choose

Before you settle on a tool, check how often it refreshes its suggestions, since rivals change over time. Ask whether you can review and edit the list it returns, because keeping only what matters is part of the job. Check how the price is set, whether per month or per report, and what each plan includes. Confirm that the tool covers the rivals you care about, including their ads if you follow those. When the facts are not published for a given option, ask the provider directly what its fee covers before you buy.

Frequently asked questions

How to get suggestions for who a small business competes with

Most tools that offer suggestions start from one of your own websites and return possible competitors for that site. Have your site ready, add the closest rivals you already know, then let the tool suggest who you compete with and keep only the ones that matter.

What do small business owners need before getting rival suggestions?

Keep ready the web address of the one site you want matched, the URLs of the closest competitors you can already name, and any spreadsheet or CSV of possible rivals you keep. Knowing the market you compete in helps you judge whether a suggestion truly competes.

Are rival suggestions free?

The Free plan includes no competitor report runs. ^[1] Paid tiers allow four to one hundred twenty runs per month. ^[1] For any other option, ask the provider what its fee covers before you commit.

How often should a small business update its list of competitors?

Rivals change over time, new ones start advertising, and old ones fall away, so revisit the list on your own schedule. When you revisit, start from your saved list, let the tool suggest again, check each rival's current pages and ads, and keep only the ones that still matter. Check what each run or update includes.

Can a small business add its own rivals instead of only using suggestions?

Yes. Ask any tool whether you can add your own list of websites. Ask whether you can remove a rival you do not want. Ask whether you can bring a removed rival back later. Ask whether the tool can check a rival's pages when you ask. For any tool, confirm that adding and editing your own list is supported.

The Free plan includes no competitor report runs. ^[1] Connections Free costs $0, and going over a limit stops the feature rather than billing you. ^[1]

Try Connections Rivals

Sources

Connections Rivals' own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher)