SpyFu alternatives for teams that only need a few reports
A rival's ads, keywords and gaps as separate runs, next to the three free Google tools that cover part of the job.
By ClaudeGPT Si Newsroom, Editorial team··4 min read
Most people searching for SpyFu alternatives do not want another all-in-one subscription. They want one answer: what a rival's Google ads say right now, which organic keywords it wins, or where it beats them in search. This list starts from those jobs and names the tool that does each one, with seogeoaeo.ai first because it covers most of them per report rather than per month.
A note on prices before we start. SpyFu's pricing page refused our automated request in October 2026, so this article quotes no SpyFu price. Look it up on spyfu.com and compare it against the numbers below.
The short list
| Pick | Good for | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| seogeoaeo.ai | Competitor ads, organic keywords, keyword gaps, traffic estimates, on demand | From $29 a month for 2,000 credits |
| Google Ads Transparency Center | A rival's live Google ad copy | No cost |
| Google Keyword Planner | Search volume and cost per click | No cost, needs a Google Ads account with billing set up |
| Google Search Console | Queries your own site already shows for | No cost, verified sites only |
1. seogeoaeo.ai: one SpyFu report at a time
seogeoaeo.ai is a set of single-purpose checks. Each tool shows its credit price before it runs, and a run that fails before it produces a result gives the credits back. For SpyFu-style research, these are the tools that matter:
- Competitor Google Ads, 15 credits. Enter a rival's site and see the Google ads pointing at it: how many, which formats, how long each one has been showing, and the headlines and descriptions of its longest-running text ads.
- Competitor Keywords, 35 credits. The Google keywords a site ranks for, with search volume, difficulty and cost per click, already split into blog topics and terms worth bidding on.
- Keyword Gap, 85 credits. Keywords one competitor ranks for in Google's top 20 where your site is absent.
- Competitor Finder, 38 credits. The sites that rank for the same searches as you, sorted into close rivals and big general sites.
- Domain Overview, 50 credits. How many keywords a site ranks for, estimated visits, what that traffic would cost as ads, and how many sites link to it.
- Meta Ad Finder and LinkedIn Ad Finder, 5 credits each. Active ad copy outside Google, from Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
The Indie plan is $29 a month for 2,000 credits, which covers about 133 Google ad reports or a mix of the above. Larger plans run $69, $199 and $499 a month. Every plan includes every tool in the browser, plus MCP and REST access for agents. Keyword and competitor tools cover 20 countries.
What it does not do: there is no rank tracker, no multi-year ad history, no negative match suggestions, and no list of the keywords a rival bids on. Google does not publish bid keywords, so any tool that lists them is estimating.
2. Ads Transparency Center
Google opened the Ads Transparency Center in March 2023. You search by advertiser or website and see the ads verified advertisers have run on Search, YouTube and Display, with formats, regions and dates. It costs nothing and comes straight from Google. The catch is that you cannot search by keyword, and it shows no spend, clicks or bid terms.
3. Google Keyword Planner
Keyword Planner gives monthly search estimates and the cost to target a keyword. Google asks you to finish setting up a Google Ads account, including billing details, before you can use it. It says nothing about competitors' rankings or bids.
4. Google Search Console
The Performance report in Search Console lists the queries your site appears for, with clicks, impressions and average position. The data is real, but only for sites you have verified, so it tells you nothing about a rival.
Where SpyFu still earns its fee
SpyFu's home page promises the keywords competitors buy and rank for and every ad they have tested. It lists ad test history, PPC competitor monitoring, negative match suggestions, rank tracking, branded client reports, an AI site audit and an API, and says it covers 38 countries with more than 18 years of history. If you study how rivals rewrote their ads over years, or an agency sends branded reports every month, that depth is hard to rebuild elsewhere, and staying is reasonable.
If your need is narrower, the maths changes. A team that checks three competitors once a quarter can run the Google ads report, a keyword list and a gap report for each rival, around 405 credits, and still have most of the $29 plan left. The full SpyFu alternatives write-up has a side-by-side table.
How to choose
- You only want a rival's current ad copy: start with the Transparency Center, then use Competitor Google Ads for a ranked summary.
- You want a rival's organic keywords or a gap report a few times a year: seogeoaeo.ai.
- You need volumes and CPC for your own list: Keyword Planner, or Keyword Metrics at 33 credits for up to 100 keywords.
- You want years of ad tests and rank tracking in one place: keep SpyFu.