Competitive Analysis Prompt

What it does

Builds a structured competitive analysis framework from the information you provide about your product and your competitors. The output compares each competitor across dimensions relevant to your market (features, pricing, positioning, target customer, distribution, weaknesses), identifies where gaps exist, and calls out the strategic implications — where you can win and where you're at risk.

Build a competitive analysis.

My product/service: [what it does, who it's for, key features or differentiators]
My pricing model: [subscription / project-based / freemium / etc., rough price point]
My target customer: [specific description]

Competitors to analyze (list 2–5):
1. [Competitor name] — [what you know about them: pricing, positioning, main features, who they target]
2. [Competitor name] — [same]
3. [Add more if needed]

What I'm trying to figure out with this analysis:
[ ] Where to differentiate my positioning
[ ] Which competitor is my biggest threat and why
[ ] Gaps in the market none of us is fully serving
[ ] How to price competitively
[ ] What messaging to emphasize vs. de-emphasize

Format the output as:
1. Comparison table (rows: competitors including me; columns: key dimensions)
2. Where I'm stronger than each competitor
3. Where each competitor is stronger than me
4. Gaps / underserved customer needs
5. Strategic implications (3–5 bullet points)

How to use it

You need to provide the competitor data — the AI can't scrape their websites in real time. The more specific you are about each competitor's pricing, positioning language, and target customer, the more useful the analysis. If you only know a competitor by name, the output will be generic.

Run this before writing positioning copy, setting pricing, or making a go-to-market decision. Update it quarterly, not annually — competitive landscapes shift faster than most teams update their analysis.

Example output

Comparison table:

Where I'm stronger: Lower price than Competitor A at comparable core functionality; faster onboarding than both.

Where they're stronger: Competitor A has 3x the integrations; Competitor B has better mobile app.

Gap identified: Neither competitor offers [specific underserved feature] for [specific customer type].

Variations

Unknown competitors: Add "I don't know much about my competitors yet. List the most likely competitor archetypes for a [type of product] targeting [type of customer], and I'll fill in the specifics."

Enterprise vs. SMB positioning: Add "Help me analyze how each competitor positions differently for enterprise buyers vs. SMB. That's the segmentation I'm deciding between."

New market entry: Add "I'm entering a new market and doing this analysis to decide where to position. There are no 'my product' data points yet — I'm designing the positioning based on the gap."

Common pitfalls

Using old information. A competitive analysis based on a competitor's website from 18 months ago may be completely wrong. Check pricing pages and feature lists yourself before finalizing.

Too many competitors. Analyzing 10 competitors at once produces a table nobody reads. Identify the 3–4 that matter most and go deep.

No implications. A comparison table with no "so what" is data, not analysis. Push the AI to generate strategic implications — what should change in your messaging, pricing, or roadmap based on this comparison.

Who uses this prompt

Founders deciding on positioning before launch. Marketing teams updating their competitive battlecards. Product managers preparing for a roadmap review. Consultants doing market entry analysis for a client.