Part of social media monitoring

Social Media Competitor Analysis

Run a social media competitor analysis on rivals' public posts, formats and engagement.

Works with

  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • YouTube
  • X
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Exa
  • Firecrawl
  • Apify
  • Apollo

And 7 more routed sources

Run it from SpringBrand or the assistant you already use

  • Claude Code
  • Codex
  • Cursor
  • WorkBuddy
  • Hermes
  • OpenClaw
  • Windsurf

Social media competitor analysis for growth leads, agencies and online stores

1. Describe the job in a sentence

Compare the last 12 Instagram posts of @ourbrand with three competitors: posting frequency, formats and median engagement.

2. The agent picks the tools

  • Google
  • Exa
  • Firecrawl
  • Apify
  • Apollo
  • Google Maps
  • People Data Labs
  • Reddit
  • X
  • Facebook
  • TikTok
  • InstagramUsed for this job
  • YouTube
  • RedNote
  • OpenAI

Same request works from Claude Code, Codex, Cursor or WorkBuddy over MCP.

Instagram

What comes back

Content benchmark

  • A side-by-side table: posts, frequency, format mix, median engagement rate
  • The top posts for each account, with links
  • What the best-performing posts have in common

Opening every profile by hand vs one request

One marketer described the usual routine on r/DigitalMarketing: "Right now I literally go to each competitor's IG/LinkedIn before creating content to see what's working for them and get design inspiration."

  • Without SpringBrand:

    Opening each competitor's profile and writing down every observation

    With SpringBrand:

    One request reads the public posts of every account you name

  • Without SpringBrand:

    Engagement guessed from the like counts you happen to see

    With SpringBrand:

    Engagement worked out per post, compared by median so one viral post doesn't skew it

  • Without SpringBrand:

    A chat assistant that can't see engagement data

    With SpringBrand:

    An agent connected to public post data from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X

  • Without SpringBrand:

    Numbers without the reason behind them

    With SpringBrand:

    The agent reads the top posts and explains the hooks, topics and formats they share

  • Without SpringBrand:

    A competitor spreadsheet rebuilt by hand every month

    With SpringBrand:

    A side-by-side table you can export, then rerun and compare with last time

What can I compare across my competitors' accounts?

  1. Public profiles and posts

    Instagram profiles and posts, TikTok profiles and videos, YouTube channel videos, X user posts, Facebook page posts and LinkedIn company posts. Each read spends credits from one balance.

    • Google
    • Exa
    • Firecrawl
    • Apify
    • Apollo
    • Google Maps
    • People Data Labs
    • Reddit
    • X
    • Facebook
    • TikTok
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
    • RedNote
    • OpenAI
    • ElevenLabs
    • Seedream
  2. Numbers and the reasons behind them

    Instagram posts come with likes, comments and video views; TikTok videos with plays, likes, comments, shares and saves. The agent reads the captions too, so you get why a post worked, not only that it did.

    competitor.com/pricing

    • H1Plans for every team
    • H2What’s included
    • H2Frequently asked questions
  3. Name the accounts, get the comparison

    List your account and the competitors, the platforms and how many recent posts to read for the social media competitor analysis. The agent shows you exactly which posts it compared.

    Content benchmark

    Compare the last 12 Instagram posts of our account with three competitors.

    Agency report

    Compare TikTok views and engagement for our client and two competitors.

    Store launch check

    List what three competing stores are promoting on Instagram this month.

  4. Run it from SpringBrand or your coding assistant

    Ask in SpringBrand, or connect over MCP and run the same reads from Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, WorkBuddy or ChatGPT Desktop.

    Claude CodeCodexCursorSpringBrandWorkBuddyHermesOpenClaw
  5. Every number links to its post

    Each row keeps the post link and date, so you can open the original before you copy an idea or quote a figure.

    Instagram
    TikTok
    YouTube
  6. A table you can export

    Each social media competitor analysis comes back as a side-by-side table and a short summary, ready for a spreadsheet or a client report. Run the same request again when you want a fresh snapshot.

    Agent

    Researches and drafts

    You

    Review and edit

    Your tools

    CRM, CMS or ad platform

  7. Monthly credits, pay per read

    New accounts get 100 credits a month with no card. Purchased top-ups never expire.

    Credits on signupOne balanceTop-ups never expirePay per runMonthly credits reset each cycle

How to do a social media competitor analysis in 5 steps

A social media competitor analysis is only as useful as its comparison is fair. Pick the same platforms, the same time window and the same engagement method for every account, then look at both the numbers and the posts behind them.

  1. 01

    Pick 3 to 5 competitors

    Choose accounts that sell to the same audience, not only the biggest names in your category. Include your own account as the baseline for the social media competitor analysis.

  2. 02

    Choose platforms and a time window

    Compare like with like: the same platforms and the same number of recent posts, or the same date range, for every account.

  3. 03

    Pull the public posts

    Ask the agent to read each account's recent posts with their engagement. It returns one row per post with the link and date.

  4. 04

    Compare frequency, formats and engagement

    Look at posts per week, the mix of Reels, carousels, videos and text, and the median engagement rate per account.

  5. 05

    Read the top posts and write down why

    Numbers show what worked; the posts show why. The agent summarizes the hooks, topics and formats the best posts share, and you decide what to test.

What to compare: frequency, formats and engagement

Most social media competitor analysis comes down to three things: how often each account posts, which formats it uses, and how much engagement each post gets. One marketer put the balance well on r/DigitalMarketing: "numbers explain what worked, but only creativity explains why it worked." So read the top posts as well as the totals. Organic posts are one channel: spy on competitor ads to see what they pay to promote, and analyze competitors' SEO to see what they rank for.

Engagement rate: pick one method before you compare

Engagement rate changes a lot with the method. On a sample public Instagram account we checked, the last 12 posts averaged 9.25% engagement by followers, but the median was 1.11%; dropping one early viral post brought the average down to 1.97%. On a sample public TikTok account, the same 10 videos showed a median of 6.73% by views and 0.12% by followers.

Two rules keep the comparison fair:

  • Use the median, not the average, so one viral post doesn't decide the result.
  • Use the same denominator for every account. For TikTok and Reels, engagement by views is usually more meaningful than by followers; whichever you pick, use it for everyone.

Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn competitor analysis

  • Instagram competitor analysis: read the profile and recent posts, then compare Reels and image posts separately, since they reach people differently.
  • TikTok competitor analysis: views are public, so compare engagement by views and look at which hooks hold attention.
  • LinkedIn competitor analysis: company posts come with their text and date but not engagement counts, so compare topics and posting frequency rather than engagement rate.

Which social media competitor analysis tool fits your budget?

Dedicated social media competitor analysis tools keep historical data and dashboards for a monthly subscription, usually after a trial. SpringBrand reads public posts when you ask, from its workspace or your AI assistant, and charges per read. It gives you a current snapshot, not a history.

Which social media competitor analysis tool fits your budget?
ToolTrial or starter optionPaid from (as listed)HistoryWorks in Claude Code or Cursor
SpringBrand100 credits a month, no cardPlus $29/mo for 3,000 creditsCurrent snapshot each time you run itYes, over MCP
Rival IQ14-day trial, no card$239/moHistorical benchmarksNot stated in the sources we read
Socialinsider14-day trialAbout $99/moHistorical benchmarksNot stated in the sources we read
Sprout Social30-day trial$199 per seat/moHistorical reportsNot stated in the sources we read
HootsuiteNot stated in the sources we read$99 per user/moHistorical reportsNot stated in the sources we read

Starting prices as listed in Hootsuite's competitive analysis guide and trial terms from each vendor's page, checked 2026-11-13. Written by SpringBrand, which is one of the tools listed.

Will it log in, post or like on my behalf?

  • Password

    Public data only

    The agent reads public profiles and posts. It doesn't log into accounts or see private profiles.

  • SearchRead pagesDraftPost or send

    Research, not actions

    It reads and compares. It doesn't post, follow, like or comment on your behalf.

  • Googlesource
    Firecrawlsource
    Redditsource

    Public numbers, not verified ones

    Engagement counts are what the platform shows publicly. They can include bots, so read the comments before you trust a spike.

  • Credit balance

    MonthlyTop-ups never expire

    Credits you can see

    Each read spends credits from one balance. Purchased top-ups never expire; monthly credits reset each billing cycle.

What people ask before a social media competitor analysis

  • How do you do a social media competitor analysis?

    Pick 3 to 5 competitors, choose the same platforms and time window for each, pull their recent public posts with engagement, compare posting frequency, formats and median engagement rate, then read the top posts to see why they worked. SpringBrand reads public posts from Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X, works out engagement by median and returns a side-by-side table you can export.

  • Which social media competitor analysis tools can you try before paying?

    Most dedicated tools offer a 14 to 30 day trial before a monthly plan. SpringBrand gives new accounts 100 credits a month with no card, which covers a set of competitor reads you run when you need them.

  • How do I analyze a competitor's Instagram?

    Read their public profile and recent posts, then compare likes, comments and video views per post. Work out engagement by median rather than average, and compare Reels and image posts separately.

  • How do I track competitors on social media?

    Keep the same social media competitor analysis request (the accounts, platforms and number of posts) and run it again when you want an update. Compare the new export with the last one to see what changed.

  • How do I do a LinkedIn competitor analysis?

    Read each competitor's recent company posts and compare topics, formats and how often they post. Engagement counts aren't included in the LinkedIn company post data we read, so compare content rather than engagement rate there.

  • How do I see a competitor's Facebook ads?

    Meta's Ad Library is public: search the advertiser's name to see the ads they are running. SpringBrand can also read an advertiser's ads from the library and summarize the offers and creative angles they use.

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  • TikTok API

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  • Twitter keyword alerts

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Compare your first competitors

New accounts get 100 credits a month, so your first social media competitor analysis costs nothing to try.