SpyFu or Audience Intel?
Audience Intel buys SpyFu data for the paid and organic search inputs in its own reports, and lists SpyFu on the trust page. SpyFu supplies the keywords and the ad history. Audience Intel reads the pages they lead to.
A competitor research tool for SEO and Google Ads, showing the organic and paid keywords and ad history of competing domains. spyfu.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
- What it measures
- SpyFu: Competitors' organic and paid keywords, ads tested and ranking history
- Audience Intel: Your website read the way five buyer types would, beside the competitors you name, scored against a fixed rubric.
- History
- SpyFu: 18+ years of historical data (as published). spyfu.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
- Audience Intel: From your first report
- Competitor ads
- SpyFu: Ad history for Google Ads
- Audience Intel: Not today. A competitor ad watch is in build.
Where SpyFu is strong.
SpyFu is focused: competitors' search keywords and ads, with a long history behind them.
- Shows competitors' SEO and PPC keywords and the ads they have tested. spyfu.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
- Publishes figures of 7.2 Trillion search results indexed, 13.1 Billion keywords with advanced metrics and 152 Million websites for competitive research. spyfu.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
- States 18+ years of historical data. spyfu.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
- PPC tools include competitor keyword downloads, Google Ads keyword gap analysis, ad history, negative keyword recommendations and ad rank tracking. spyfu.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
- SEO tools include keyword gap analysis, ranking history, backlink research and branded client reports. spyfu.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
- Offers site audits that scan for 100+ technical and on-page issues, plus an API. spyfu.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
Pricing, as SpyFu publishes it
- The pricing page could not be fetched when we checked (it returned an access error), so plan prices are not quoted here. spyfu.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
- The free account page lists a premium plan at $39 per month, with the note 'Membership starts at just $33/month', a money-back guarantee and 'No contracts'. spyfu.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
- The help centre names three plans, Basic, Pro + AI and Team/Agency, without prices. help.spyfu.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
- Offers a free account with no credit card required. Searches are subject to a daily limit. spyfu.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13
SpyFu and Audience Intel answer different questions.
SpyFu is the specialist's view of competitors in search: which keywords they buy, which ads they have tested, how their rankings moved. If you run Google Ads, it is a direct way to see a rival's paid search history.
Audience Intel takes some of that data as one input (our trust page lists SpyFu as a source for paid and organic search) and spends most of its effort elsewhere: on reading the pages those keywords and ads send buyers to, as five buyer types would, beside your own.
Where SpyFu is better: keyword-level and ad-level work. If you want to export a rival's keyword list or see the ad copy they tested, use SpyFu. Our reports do not expose that data at that depth.
Where Audience Intel adds something: knowing a rival bids on a keyword does not tell you why their landing page converts the buyer who clicks. That is the part we read.
SpyFu beside Audience Intel.
Their column is sourced and dated; ours is what runs today, with anything in build marked as such.
| Question | SpyFu | Audience Intel |
|---|---|---|
| What it measures | Competitors' organic and paid keywords, ads tested and ranking history | Your website read the way five buyer types would, beside the competitors you name, scored against a fixed rubric. |
| History | 18+ years of historical data (as published). spyfu.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13 | From your first report |
| Competitor ads | Ad history for Google Ads | Not today. A competitor ad watch is in build. |
| Relationship | Data supplier | Uses SpyFu data for paid and organic search inputs (listed on /trust) |
| Price | Free account page lists a premium plan at $39 per month; full pricing page not fetchable when checked. spyfu.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13 | The Insight Report and the Intel loop comparison are free. The paid plan, Team, is £195/mo after a £595 Foundation Month. |
| Free option | Free account, no credit card, daily search limit. spyfu.com (opens in a new tab) · checked 2026-10-13 | Yes: the Insight Report needs no account and no card to start. |
Pick by the question you are asking.
Use SpyFu when
- You run paid search and want rivals' keyword and ad history
- You want keyword gap lists to act on
- You want raw exports for your own analysis
Use Audience Intel when
- You want to know what buyers conclude from rivals' pages
- You want findings written for the owner
- You want a free read before buying any tool
SpyFu shows where a rival spends; Audience Intel shows what that spend lands a buyer on, and how it compares with yours.
SpyFu or Audience Intel: questions
Why does Audience Intel use SpyFu if it is an alternative?
Because they do different jobs. SpyFu supplies search data; Audience Intel reads pages. Our trust page lists every third party that receives data from us, SpyFu included.
Can I see a rival's keyword list in an Audience Intel report?
Not at keyword-export depth. For that, use SpyFu directly.
Where do the facts about SpyFu on this page come from?
From SpyFu's own website, read on 13 October 2026. Each fact links to the page it came from and carries the date it was checked. Prices change; check the linked page before you buy.
What does Audience Intel cost?
The Insight Report and the Intel loop comparison are free. The paid plan, Team, is £195/mo after a £595 Foundation Month.
Loops, the recurring watches, are in build and are not on sale.
Read your site beside the rivals you lose to.
The free Insight Report reads your site beside the competitors you name. No account and no card to start.