---
title: "Competitive Analysis"
description: "Creates a structured competitive analysis comparing features, positioning, and strategy across competitors. Use when entering a market, planning differentiation, or understanding the competitive landscape."
generated: true
source: scripts/generate-skill-pages.py
tags:
  - Discover
  - research
---

:::note[Quick facts]
**Phase:** Discover | **Version:** 2.0.0 | **Category:** research | **License:** Apache-2.0
:::

**Try it:** `/competitive-analysis "Your context here"`

A competitive analysis provides structured insight into the competitive landscape, helping product teams understand where they stand relative to alternatives and identify opportunities for differentiation. Rather than exhaustively cataloging every competitor, an effective analysis focuses on actionable insights that inform product strategy.

## When to Use

- Before entering a new market or launching a new product
- When planning differentiation strategy for an existing product
- During quarterly or annual strategic planning reviews
- When evaluating build vs. buy decisions
- After losing deals to understand competitive positioning
- When onboarding new product team members to the market context

## How to Use

Use the `/competitive-analysis` slash command:

```
/competitive-analysis "Your context here"
```

Or reference the skill file directly: `skills/discover-competitive-analysis/SKILL.md`

## Instructions

When asked to create a competitive analysis, follow these steps:

1. **Define the Scope**
   Clarify what you're analyzing: a specific feature area, overall product positioning, or pricing strategy. Identify 3-5 key competitors.direct competitors (same solution), indirect competitors (different solution to same problem), and potential disruptors.

2. **Gather Intelligence**
   Research each competitor through public sources: websites, pricing pages, G2/Capterra reviews, press releases, job postings, and customer testimonials. Note what you can verify vs. what you're inferring.

3. **Build the Feature Matrix**
   Create a comparison grid of key capabilities. Focus on features that matter to your target customers, not exhaustive checklists. Use consistent ratings (e.g., Full, Partial, None, Unknown).

4. **Analyze Positioning**
   Map competitors on a 2x2 positioning matrix using dimensions relevant to your market (e.g., price vs. features, ease of use vs. power, SMB vs. enterprise). Identify white space opportunities.

5. **Assess Strengths and Weaknesses**
   For each competitor, document genuine strengths (what they do better than you) and weaknesses (where they fall short). Avoid dismissing competitors.respect drives better strategy.

6. **Identify Strategic Implications**
   Translate observations into actionable recommendations: where to compete head-on, where to differentiate, what messaging to emphasize, and what gaps represent opportunities.

7. **Note Confidence Levels**
   Mark which conclusions are based on verified data vs. inference. Competitive intelligence has varying reliability.be honest about uncertainty.

## Output Template

# Competitive Analysis: [Market/Product Area]

## Overview

**Analysis Scope:** [What specific area is being analyzed]
**Target Segment:** [Customer segment this analysis focuses on]
**Date:** [When analysis was conducted]
**Analyst:** [Who prepared this]

## Market Context

<!-- Brief overview of the market being analyzed -->

**Market Size:** [TAM/SAM/SOM if available]
**Growth Trend:** [Growing, stable, declining]
**Key Trends:**
- [Trend 1]
- [Trend 2]
- [Trend 3]

## Competitors Analyzed

| Competitor | Type | Target Market | Founded | Funding/Size |
|------------|------|---------------|---------|--------------|
| [Name] | Direct/Indirect | [Segment] | [Year] | [Info] |
| [Name] | Direct/Indirect | [Segment] | [Year] | [Info] |
| [Name] | Direct/Indirect | [Segment] | [Year] | [Info] |
| [Name] | Direct/Indirect | [Segment] | [Year] | [Info] |

## Feature Comparison Matrix

<!-- Rate as: Full, Partial, None, Unknown -->

| Feature | Our Product | Competitor A | Competitor B | Competitor C | Competitor D |
|---------|-------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|--------------|
| [Feature 1] | | | | | |
| [Feature 2] | | | | | |
| [Feature 3] | | | | | |
| [Feature 4] | | | | | |
| [Feature 5] | | | | | |
| [Feature 6] | | | | | |
| [Feature 7] | | | | | |
| [Feature 8] | | | | | |

## Pricing Comparison

| Competitor | Entry Price | Mid-Tier | Enterprise | Pricing Model |
|------------|-------------|----------|------------|---------------|
| [Name] | [Price] | [Price] | [Price] | [Per seat/usage/flat] |
| [Name] | [Price] | [Price] | [Price] | [Per seat/usage/flat] |
| [Name] | [Price] | [Price] | [Price] | [Per seat/usage/flat] |
| [Name] | [Price] | [Price] | [Price] | [Per seat/usage/flat] |

## Positioning Map

<!-- Describe the 2x2 positioning map -->

**Axis X:** [Dimension 1 - e.g., Price (Low to High)]
**Axis Y:** [Dimension 2 - e.g., Functionality (Basic to Advanced)]

```
                    [High Y]
                       |
                       |    [Competitor C]
        [Competitor A] |
                       |
[Low X] ---------------+--------------- [High X]
                       |
        [Our Product]  |    [Competitor B]
                       |
                       |    [Competitor D]
                    [Low Y]
```

**White Space Identified:** [Underserved positioning opportunities]

## Competitor Deep Dives

### [Competitor A Name]

**Overview:** [1-2 sentence description]
**Target Customer:** [Who they serve best]
**Key Differentiator:** [Their main selling point]

**Strengths:**
- [Genuine strength 1]
- [Genuine strength 2]
- [Genuine strength 3]

**Weaknesses:**
- [Weakness 1]
- [Weakness 2]
- [Weakness 3]

**Recent Moves:** [Notable product launches, funding, acquisitions]

---

### [Competitor B Name]

**Overview:** [1-2 sentence description]
**Target Customer:** [Who they serve best]
**Key Differentiator:** [Their main selling point]

**Strengths:**
- [Genuine strength 1]
- [Genuine strength 2]
- [Genuine strength 3]

**Weaknesses:**
- [Weakness 1]
- [Weakness 2]
- [Weakness 3]

**Recent Moves:** [Notable product launches, funding, acquisitions]

---

### [Competitor C Name]

**Overview:** [1-2 sentence description]
**Target Customer:** [Who they serve best]
**Key Differentiator:** [Their main selling point]

**Strengths:**
- [Genuine strength 1]
- [Genuine strength 2]
- [Genuine strength 3]

**Weaknesses:**
- [Weakness 1]
- [Weakness 2]
- [Weakness 3]

**Recent Moves:** [Notable product launches, funding, acquisitions]

---

### [Competitor D Name]

**Overview:** [1-2 sentence description]
**Target Customer:** [Who they serve best]
**Key Differentiator:** [Their main selling point]

**Strengths:**
- [Genuine strength 1]
- [Genuine strength 2]
- [Genuine strength 3]

**Weaknesses:**
- [Weakness 1]
- [Weakness 2]
- [Weakness 3]

**Recent Moves:** [Notable product launches, funding, acquisitions]

## Competitive Gaps and Opportunities

<!-- Where the market is underserved -->

| Gap | Opportunity | Strategic Value | Difficulty |
|-----|-------------|-----------------|------------|
| [Gap 1] | [Opportunity] | High/Medium/Low | High/Medium/Low |
| [Gap 2] | [Opportunity] | High/Medium/Low | High/Medium/Low |
| [Gap 3] | [Opportunity] | High/Medium/Low | High/Medium/Low |

## Strategic Recommendations

### Where to Compete Head-On
<!-- Features or areas where we should match or beat competitors -->
1. [Recommendation]
2. [Recommendation]

### Where to Differentiate
<!-- Areas where we should take a different approach -->
1. [Recommendation]
2. [Recommendation]

### Messaging Implications
<!-- How competitive insights should inform positioning -->
- [Messaging guidance 1]
- [Messaging guidance 2]

### Watch List
<!-- Competitive developments to monitor -->
- [Item to watch]
- [Item to watch]

## Sources and Confidence

| Information Type | Source | Confidence |
|------------------|--------|------------|
| Feature data | [Source] | High/Medium/Low |
| Pricing | [Source] | High/Medium/Low |
| Market size | [Source] | High/Medium/Low |
| Strategy inference | [Source] | High/Medium/Low |

## Next Steps

- [ ] [Action item 1]
- [ ] [Action item 2]
- [ ] [Action item 3]

---

*Analysis valid as of [date]. Competitive landscape changes frequently; recommend quarterly updates.*

## Example Output

<details>
<summary>Competitive Analysis: Project Management Software for SMB Teams</summary>

# Competitive Analysis: Project Management Software for SMB Teams

## Overview

**Analysis Scope:** Core project management features for teams of 10-50 people
**Target Segment:** Small and medium businesses with data-driven culture
**Date:** January 2026
**Analyst:** Product Strategy Team

## Market Context

The project management software market continues to grow as remote and hybrid work becomes standard. While established players dominate, there's increasing demand for better reporting and analytics capabilities.

**Market Size:** $6.7B (2025), projected $9.8B by 2028
**Growth Trend:** Growing at 12% CAGR
**Key Trends:**
- AI-assisted task management and prioritization
- Integration with communication tools (Slack, Teams)
- Demand for real-time dashboards and custom reporting
- Shift from per-seat to usage-based pricing models

## Competitors Analyzed

| Competitor | Type | Target Market | Founded | Funding/Size |
|------------|------|---------------|---------|--------------|
| Asana | Direct | Mid-market teams | 2008 | Public (NYSE: ASAN) |
| Monday.com | Direct | SMB to Enterprise | 2012 | Public (NASDAQ: MNDY) |
| ClickUp | Direct | SMB, price-sensitive | 2017 | $537M raised |
| Notion | Indirect | Startups, knowledge workers | 2016 | $10B valuation |

## Feature Comparison Matrix

| Feature | TaskFlow (Ours) | Asana | Monday.com | ClickUp | Notion |
|---------|-----------------|-------|------------|---------|--------|
| Task Management | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full |
| Kanban Boards | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full |
| Gantt Charts | Full | Full | Full | Full | Partial |
| Time Tracking | Full | Partial | Full | Full | None |
| Custom Fields | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full |
| Reporting Dashboard | Full | Partial | Full | Full | None |
| Custom Reports | Full | Partial | Partial | Partial | None |
| Resource Planning | Full | Partial | Full | Partial | None |
| AI Prioritization | Full | Partial | Partial | Partial | Partial |
| API Access | Full | Full | Full | Full | Full |

## Pricing Comparison

| Competitor | Entry Price | Mid-Tier | Enterprise | Pricing Model |
|------------|-------------|----------|------------|---------------|
| TaskFlow (Ours) | $8/user/mo | $15/user/mo | Custom | Per seat |
| Asana | Free (basic) | $11/user/mo | $25/user/mo | Per seat |
| Monday.com | $9/seat/mo | $12/seat/mo | $19/seat/mo | Per seat (min 3) |
| ClickUp | Free (limited) | $7/user/mo | $12/user/mo | Per seat |
| Notion | Free (personal) | $10/user/mo | $15/user/mo | Per seat |

## Positioning Map

**Axis X:** Price (Low to High)
**Axis Y:** Analytics Depth (Basic to Advanced)

```
                    [Advanced Analytics]
                           |
                           |    [TaskFlow - Us]
                           |
            [Monday.com]   |
                           |
[Low Price] ---------------+--------------- [High Price]
                           |
            [ClickUp]      |    [Asana]
                           |
            [Notion]       |
                           |
                    [Basic Analytics]
```

**White Space Identified:** Advanced analytics at mid-market price point. Current solutions either offer basic reporting (ClickUp, Notion) or charge enterprise prices for advanced analytics (Asana Portfolio).

## Competitor Deep Dives

### Asana

**Overview:** Enterprise-grade work management platform with strong workflow automation and portfolio management features.
**Target Customer:** Mid-market to enterprise teams with complex workflows
**Key Differentiator:** Workflow Builder and portfolio-level visibility

**Strengths:**
- Excellent workflow automation capabilities
- Strong enterprise security and compliance certifications
- Deep integrations with 200+ business tools
- Mature mobile applications

**Weaknesses:**
- Premium features require expensive tiers
- Reporting limited without Business/Enterprise plans
- Can feel complex for small teams
- Time tracking requires third-party integration

**Recent Moves:** Launched AI "Work Graph" features in Q4 2025; acquired small analytics startup in 2025.

---

### Monday.com

**Overview:** Highly visual, flexible work OS with strong customization and automation capabilities.
**Target Customer:** Visual thinkers in SMB to mid-market companies
**Key Differentiator:** Extreme flexibility and colorful, intuitive interface

**Strengths:**
- Highly customizable workflows and views
- Excellent visual appeal and user experience
- Strong automation without coding
- Growing CRM and dev management add-ons

**Weaknesses:**
- Minimum 3-seat purchase on paid plans
- Can become expensive as features scale
- Reporting depth limited compared to dedicated BI tools
- Performance can lag with large datasets

**Recent Moves:** Expanded into CRM and developer workflows; launched Monday AI assistant for task creation.

---

### ClickUp

**Overview:** Feature-rich, all-in-one productivity platform competing aggressively on price and feature breadth.
**Target Customer:** Price-conscious teams wanting maximum features
**Key Differentiator:** Everything included at lower price points

**Strengths:**
- Exceptional value for features offered
- Generous free tier for small teams
- Rapid feature development pace
- Docs, whiteboards, and time tracking included

**Weaknesses:**
- Interface can feel cluttered and overwhelming
- Feature depth sometimes sacrificed for breadth
- Reporting and analytics relatively basic
- Occasional performance and reliability issues

**Recent Moves:** Major UI refresh in late 2025; expanding AI capabilities across platform.

---

### Notion

**Overview:** Flexible workspace combining notes, docs, databases, and basic project management.
**Target Customer:** Startups and knowledge workers valuing flexibility
**Key Differentiator:** Unparalleled flexibility as connected workspace

**Strengths:**
- Infinitely flexible building blocks
- Excellent for documentation and wikis
- Strong template ecosystem and community
- Clean, distraction-free interface

**Weaknesses:**
- Not purpose-built for project management
- No native Gantt charts or resource planning
- Limited reporting and analytics capabilities
- Performance degrades with large databases

**Recent Moves:** Launched Notion Projects for structured PM workflows; acquired calendar startup.

## Competitive Gaps and Opportunities

| Gap | Opportunity | Strategic Value | Difficulty |
|-----|-------------|-----------------|------------|
| Advanced analytics at mid-market pricing | Position as "BI-powered PM tool" | High | Medium |
| Native resource utilization tracking | Appeal to services firms and agencies | High | Medium |
| Customizable executive dashboards | Differentiate on strategic visibility | High | Low |
| AI-powered project health scoring | Early mover advantage in emerging space | Medium | High |

## Strategic Recommendations

### Where to Compete Head-On
1. **Core PM features:** Must match table-stakes functionality (tasks, boards, basic views) to avoid disqualification
2. **Integrations:** Prioritize Slack, Teams, and Google Workspace integrations to match competitor ecosystem plays

### Where to Differentiate
1. **Analytics depth:** Make reporting and dashboards a primary differentiator, not an afterthought. Position as "the PM tool for data-driven teams"
2. **Resource intelligence:** Build predictive resource planning that shows utilization forecasts.no competitor does this well at our price point
3. **Time-to-insight:** Focus on immediate visibility vs. "set up dashboards later" approach of competitors

### Messaging Implications
- Lead with analytics and visibility in all positioning.this is our white space
- Avoid feature-count battles with ClickUp; emphasize depth over breadth
- Target messaging at team leads and operations managers who care about metrics
- Use "finally, a PM tool that shows you what's really happening" as positioning theme

### Watch List
- Asana's AI roadmap.they have resources to move quickly
- ClickUp reliability improvements.if they solve stability, they're formidable
- Monday.com analytics investments.likely to improve given market demand
- New entrants from BI space moving into PM (e.g., if Tableau/Looker launched PM features)

## Sources and Confidence

| Information Type | Source | Confidence |
|------------------|--------|------------|
| Feature data | Product websites, free trials | High |
| Pricing | Public pricing pages | High |
| Market size | Gartner, IDC reports 2025 | Medium |
| Strategy inference | Press releases, job postings | Medium |
| Customer sentiment | G2, Capterra reviews | Medium |

## Next Steps

- [ ] Validate analytics positioning with customer interviews (5 prospects)
- [ ] Create competitive battle cards for sales team
- [ ] Develop demo script emphasizing analytics differentiation
- [ ] Set up competitor monitoring for product launches
- [ ] Schedule quarterly refresh of this analysis

---

*Analysis valid as of January 2026. Competitive landscape changes frequently; recommend quarterly updates.*

</details>

## Real-World Examples

See this skill applied to three different product contexts:

<details>
<summary>Storevine (B2B): Storevine B2B ecommerce platform . email marketing competitive landscape for Campaigns</summary>

**Prompt:**

```
/competitive-analysis

Scope: Email marketing tools available to ecommerce merchants . built-in vs.
third-party positioning. Informing Campaigns v1 scope and feature prioritization.

Our product: Storevine . B2B all-in-one ecommerce + web platform, Series A,
~18k active merchants [fictional]. Building Campaigns: native email marketing
with audience segmentation and automations.

Competitors: Shopify Email (built-in), Klaviyo (third-party, most-used by
merchants), Mailchimp (third-party, SMB standard), Campaign Monitor
(third-party, mid-market)

Segment: Small-to-mid-size ecommerce merchants (Storevine core segment).
Buyer: merchant owner/operator.

Feature matrix dimensions needed:
- Drag-and-drop email editor
- Pre-built templates
- Audience segmentation (purchase-based)
- Abandoned cart automation
- Welcome series automation
- Analytics (open rate, click rate, revenue attribution)
- List import (CSV)
- CAN-SPAM/GDPR compliance tools
- SMS campaigns

Also need: pricing comparison, positioning map (Platform Integration vs.
Feature Depth), deep dives per competitor, gaps and opportunities, and
strategic recommendations.

Audience: Growth PM, Eng Lead, Head of Product.
References: problem-statement (Q4 discovery), exit survey analysis.
```

---

**Output:**

# Competitive Analysis: Email Marketing for Ecommerce Merchants

</details>

<details>
<summary>Brainshelf (Consumer): Brainshelf consumer PKM app . competitive landscape for content resurfacing features</summary>

**Prompt:**

```
/competitive-analysis

pkm and read-later market, focusing on resurfacing and re-engagement
features. brainshelf is planning a resurface feature (morning email digest
with 3-5 saved items) and need to understand the competitive landscape.

context: brainshelf is a consumer pkm/save-for-later tool, ~85k registered
users, ~22k MAU [fictional]. core problem is users save tons of stuff but
never come back to read it . 47 items saved/month, <9% revisited within
30 days [fictional].

4 competitors to analyze: readwise, raindrop.io, pocket (mozilla),
instapaper. focus on resurfacing features, email digests, pricing,
and where the white space is for us.
```

---

**Output:**

# Competitive Analysis: PKM / Read-Later Content Resurfacing

</details>

<details>
<summary>Workbench (Enterprise): "Workbench enterprise collaboration platform: Blueprints competitive landscape"</summary>

**Prompt:**

```
/competitive-analysis

Scope: Enterprise documentation and knowledge management -- template governance and approval workflow capabilities. Informing Blueprints GA positioning.

Our product: Workbench -- enterprise collaboration platform, Series B, ~500 enterprise customers [fictional]. Blueprints: reusable doc templates with required sections, role-based approval gates, and version tracking.

Competitors: Atlassian Confluence, Notion, Coda, Monday.com

Segment: Enterprise (500 - 10,000 employees). Buyers: ops, compliance, and product team leads.

Feature matrix dimensions needed:
- Document templates
- Required/enforced section validation
- Native approval workflows
- Version control
- SSO/SAML
- Audit logs
- Real-time co-editing
- AI-assisted drafting

Also need: pricing comparison, positioning map (Governance Rigor vs. Ease of Adoption), deep dives per competitor, gaps and opportunities, and strategic recommendations.

Audience: Head of Product, Head of Marketing, Enterprise Sales Lead.
```

---

**Output:**

# Competitive Analysis: Enterprise Documentation and Template Governance

</details>

## Quality Checklist

Before finalizing, verify:

- [ ] Scope is clearly defined (what market, segment, use case)
- [ ] 3-5 competitors are analyzed, including direct and indirect
- [ ] Feature comparison focuses on customer-relevant capabilities
- [ ] Positioning map uses meaningful, differentiated dimensions
- [ ] Strengths acknowledge where competitors genuinely excel
- [ ] Recommendations are specific and actionable
- [ ] Sources and confidence levels are documented

## Output Format

Use the template in `references/TEMPLATE.md` to structure the output.
