AppFollow vs. SpyFu

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
AppFollow
Score 8.2 out of 10
N/A
AppFollow in Helsiki offers their software for app store optimization (ASO), as well as replying to app user reviews and ratings.N/A
SpyFu
Score 7.0 out of 10
N/A
SpyFu is the eponymous SEO and PPC research platform from the company in Scottsdale, Arizona focused on "spying" on competitors, or basically using their behaviors to refine your own through keyword and content analysis, and backlink poaching. This positional search engine optimization and paid listings management platform touts the ability to lower costs and raise rankings via a Kombat-oriented approach... basically a cute way of saying "it makes comparisons" of how well your site does in niche…
$39
per month
Pricing
AppFollowSpyFu
Editions & Modules
No answers on this topic
Basic
$39
per month
Professional
$79
per month
Team
$299
per month
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
AppFollowSpyFu
Free Trial
NoNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
AppFollowSpyFu
Considered Both Products
AppFollow
Chose AppFollow
AppFollow is on the same level as AppTweak, but has fewer market insights than AppAnnie.
Chose AppFollow
While App Annie is extremely robust and pulls in data from acquisition channels, app stores, and elsewhere, it can be quite overwhelming at times. If you are looking for more simple and just keyword positioning then definitely look at AppFollow.

Apart from the two platforms …
SpyFu
Chose SpyFu
SpyFu is a good tool and it certainly provides a good starting point for any basic PPC or SEO campaign. I dont believe it has the comprehensive features that a tool like Ahrefs has, as it doesnt have the granular data these tools possess. However, it is still well worth using …
Chose SpyFu
I use Ahrefs for Site audit, Keyword Research, Backlink analysis, and some parts of competitor analysis. SpyFu I always wanted to keep primary, but it's not doable with the limitation of their database, which forces me to use Ahrefs for that reason.
Chose SpyFu
It's a great little tool that offers pretty much everything you can get from Moz or Semrush at a fraction of the cost. My company uses a few different tools but I always come back to SpyFu because it is so easy to use and their build-in reporting is great.
Chose SpyFu
SpyFu is more cost-effective than both (Ahrefs and SEMRush), but we have to compromise on the data's accuracy. However, the data reporting and user interface of SpyFu make it easy to decipher. For Paid Ads keyword lookup, we prefer SpyFu to any other tool maybe, because it's …
Chose SpyFu
I was surprised to find I preferred Semrush when it comes to keyword research. SpyFu is great (and less expensive than Semrush), but I felt the data Semrush provided was vaster than SpyFu. I was able to get more competitors spending insights in Semrush than SpyFu. Overall, I …
Chose SpyFu
I've used SEMRush as well. SEMRush does organic SEO analysis better than SpyFu and backlink research. I find the data more intuitive. I much prefer SpyFu for their advertising/PPC analysis and use SpyFu when researching competitors' advertising campaigns. These are the main two …
Chose SpyFu
Compared to SEMRush or Ahrefs, neither of the competitors stacks up against SpyFu in terms of competitor insight of paid ad performance. It can even identify specific ad copy changes, which can be crucial for high-demand periods like Black Friday. In my opinion, SpyFu is an …
Chose SpyFu
Spyfu fails to hit the mark at least when it comes to SEO since both Ahrefs and Semrush has a bigger directory and fetches data from more countries than Spyfu does, however Spyfu offers a great deal when it comes to cost effective solution to almost every digital marketing …
Chose SpyFu
SpyFu has what we needed from SEMrush, and Spyfu is more reasonably priced. Spyfu does not have some of the higher level and specific tools, but is great for the price.
Chose SpyFu
SpyFu offers the best keyword research platform out there. I have used this for many companies that are still using this tool today. It's always been one of my first marketing software recommendations to companies I work with. For those who understand digital marketing such as …
Chose SpyFu
I spent years exclusively using SEMrush for this kind of competitor PPC data, and have used Moz in the past on several occasions. I feel that SpyFu is more well-rounded and provides deeper insights than these other products, and honestly, it's just more updated as well. Easier …
Chose SpyFu
Currently we actively use SEMRush and Similar Web, along side SpyFu. To be honest, the platforms are fairly interchangeable. Each one has one or two unique things that the other doesn't have. None of it is totally earth shattering. So often it comes down to price, and SpyFu is …
Chose SpyFu
When it comes to assessing the competition, SpyFu is fantastic. I prefer its competitor analysis features much more than SEMRush or any other platform out there. That is what I use SpyFu for. Regarding reporting and integrations, it doesn't quite seem like it's the best option …
Chose SpyFu
I haven't checked any competitors. SpyFu was the one I found first and it works so well that I never needed to look for an alternative. I can't imagine trying to do my job without it. It's that good.
Chose SpyFu
It isn't fair to compare these two tools overall. They have a few shared pieces, but SEMrush is much more expensive but includes many more tools making it a full SEO suite. When looking strictly at the shared tools from both companies (the competitor keyword tools), they stack …
Chose SpyFu
We use Moz for tracking Keywords monthly, and we also use it more for backlink research. We like the keyword research available in SpyFu better than Moz.
Chose SpyFu
Personally, the only tool I use as often as SEMRush. If you have the SEMrush paid version, I personally choose to use that over SpyFu. SpyFu is the best free search analytics tool online though. It has the greatest offerings in its free pack and allows you to have the most …
Chose SpyFu
They both give me great value, I use them together to get the best results. SimilarWeb gives me a holistic view of a website's traffic - it includes both organic and paid traffic, while SpyFu gives only organic traffic results.
Chose SpyFu
We looked at SEM Rush, but for the price, we decided to give SpyFu a chance. SpyFu is very affordable compared to other similar tools. I think that I can overlook some of the lack of intuitiveness of the platform given the low monthly price.
Features
AppFollowSpyFu
SEO
Comparison of SEO features of Product A and Product B
AppFollow
10.0
Ratings
25% above category average
SpyFu
6.6
Ratings
16% below category average
Keyword analysis10.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Competitive analysis10.00 Ratings7.00 Ratings
Backlink management00 Ratings6.00 Ratings
SERP ranking tracking00 Ratings6.00 Ratings
Page grader00 Ratings7.80 Ratings
Site audit / diagnostics00 Ratings7.20 Ratings
Site recommendations00 Ratings6.00 Ratings
Task management00 Ratings6.10 Ratings
SEO Channels
Comparison of SEO Channels features of Product A and Product B
AppFollow
9.0
Ratings
17% above category average
SpyFu
5.8
Ratings
27% below category average
Local SEO8.00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Mobile SEO10.00 Ratings8.00 Ratings
Global SEO9.00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
Social SEO00 Ratings5.00 Ratings
SEO Platform & Account Management
Comparison of SEO Platform & Account Management features of Product A and Product B
AppFollow
10.0
Ratings
17% above category average
SpyFu
7.2
Ratings
16% below category average
Multi-domain support10.00 Ratings6.00 Ratings
Integration with web analytics tools10.00 Ratings8.50 Ratings
Best Alternatives
AppFollowSpyFu
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Nozzle
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Score 10.0 out of 10
Nozzle
Nozzle
Score 10.0 out of 10
Medium-sized Companies
Advanced Web Ranking
Advanced Web Ranking
Score 8.2 out of 10
Advanced Web Ranking
Advanced Web Ranking
Score 8.2 out of 10
Enterprises
Dupli Checker (DupliChecker.com)
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Score 8.5 out of 10
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Score 8.5 out of 10
All AlternativesView all alternativesView all alternatives
User Ratings
AppFollowSpyFu
Likelihood to Recommend
9.0
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
-
(0 ratings)
10.0
(0 ratings)
Usability
-
(0 ratings)
7.0
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
10.0
(0 ratings)
7.6
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
AppFollowSpyFu
Likelihood to Recommend
We use AppFollow only for customer service, but it has a lot of features that would be great for the marketing and development team. A good bit of the features we do not use, as there is simply not a use case for it. The best feature that we get from AppFollow is the ability to import Apple reviews into Zendesk for agents to respond to. This has been a great time saver for us.
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If you have a Google ads PPC campaign and then I would say this is more or less essential if you want to know what your competitors are doing. You can get very useful data out of it even if you subscribe for one month. And the pricing is very reasonable. Even if you don't use Google ads, I would say this is still useful for your SEO/SMO team since it gives you a great idea of what keywords and traffic your competitors are working on.
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Pros
  • One of AppFollow's core features is their keyword rankings. With both our Android and iOS app I'm able to view the keyword and position of our app for that keyword. I'm also able to toggle the dates and see the history positioning. Not only is this available for US app stores but global app stores. This is extremely helpful when A/B testing.
  • Another key feature to AppFollow is their integrations. Being able to integrate AppFollow with Slack has been extremely helpful. With this integration, we are able to see reviews in real-time and respond to them right from Slack.
  • We don't check AppFollow every day. With that said, it's important for us to get daily and weekly reports from AppFollow about our ASO performance. You can easily check which reports you would like, how often, and where to in a matter of seconds.
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  • Keeping a tab on competitors organic and inorganic activities
  • Helps identify where the competitor is getting the backlinks from.
  • Identify competitors top content and the keywords that's bringing them traffic
  • Get proper information of their current and past ADS run on Google.
Read full review
Cons
  • Connecting with Zendesk and getting started can be a bit confusing.
  • The interface can be hard for a new client to navigate.
Read full review
  • As with any database, their keyword database has limits, so the data returned is relative to their database, not necessarily the full picture.
  • When SpyFu database or scoring chances, the data provided can spike, thus causing confusion among stakeholders, we're reporting to.
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Likelihood to Renew
No answers on this topic
Love this tool but would like insights from all 3 major search engines not just Google. I would also like deeper understanding of the placement for local businesses on Google Places/Maps. Insight into mobile search rankings and best landing pages per industry would also help :) Overall, SpyFu is a necessity for serious search marketers.
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Usability
No answers on this topic
SpyFu is an easy to use tool, and has a self -explanatroy dashborad to generate the data needed to provide insights into any B2B SEO and PPC campaign. It is not comprehensive, but it certainly provides good enough insight to make it a valuable part of any agency tool stack
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Support Rating
Fast and supportive feedback from support. They usually answer the same day. They have webinars and updates about new features for their clients.
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SpyFu comes with a link to tutorial videos. I recommend you watch them. The software is capable of so much you really need to watch the videos and learn how to get the most out of it. When I have a question 90% of the time it's there. When it isn't, and I reach out to them, support is always quick and concise.
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Alternatives Considered
While App Annie is extremely robust and pulls in data from acquisition channels, app stores, and elsewhere, it can be quite overwhelming at times. If you are looking for more simple and just keyword positioning then definitely look at AppFollow. Apart from the two platforms themselves, I've had numerous contact experiences with both AppFollow and App Annie. The winner is definitely AppFollow with a less aggressive approach and a higher willingness to go above and beyond to make sure all questions are answered. With App Annie I was bombarded with a ton of sleazy, sales emails to purchase their product.
Read full review
I was surprised to find I preferred Semrush when it comes to keyword research. SpyFu is great (and less expensive than Semrush), but I felt the data Semrush provided was vaster than SpyFu. I was able to get more competitors spending insights in Semrush than SpyFu. Overall, I liked the ability to use both in our keyword research for both paid and organic marketing.
Read full review
Return on Investment
  • AppFollow helps to improve organic growth for the App Store and Google Play.
  • AppFollow helps to measure organic traffic.
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  • Helping us track our ranking.
  • It helps solve the problem of ambiguity when it comes to Google Ads. It makes the strategy more clear.
  • You can sift through lots of different online analytics to find the information, but it takes way too long. SpyFu has it all in one place!
Read full review
ScreenShots