Competitive
Teardown.
A single-page format for analyzing a competitor. Repeatable across the whole landscape.
Date: _____
Version: _____
The mistake most teardowns make is showing off how much the analyst knows. The teardown that actually changes a roadmap is short, structured, and ends in a list of decisions. Use this template once per major competitor. Repeat across the landscape so they're directly comparable.
Competitor At A Glance
- Name
- Founded
- Funding (latest)
- ICP
- Pricing entry
- 1-line positioning
Positioning Analysis
Pull these straight from their homepage. Verbatim. Don't paraphrase — the exact words tell you who they're targeting and what they're trying to claim.
- Hero claim (verbatim): _____________________
- Who they say it's for: _____________________
- Promise #1: _____________________
- Promise #2: _____________________
- Promise #3: _____________________
- The implied villain: what or who their copy positions against. (e.g. "spreadsheet chaos," "legacy CRMs," "your PMs guessing.")
Pricing Teardown
| Tier | Price | Who It's Gated For | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Entry | $___/mo | _____ | Free trial? Card required? |
| Mid | $___/mo | _____ | Seat minimum? |
| Enterprise | Contact sales | _____ | SAML / SOC2 / dedicated CSM? |
| Hidden fees | _____________________ (overages, integrations, support tiers) | ||
| Annual discount | _____% — how aggressive vs. monthly? | ||
Feature Matrix
Pick the 8 capabilities that matter to your buyer. Don't include features that don't move the deal.
| Capability | Their Feature | Our Feature | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| _____ | _____ | _____ | Gap |
| _____ | _____ | _____ | Parity |
| _____ | _____ | _____ | Win |
| _____ | _____ | _____ | Parity |
| _____ | _____ | _____ | Gap |
| _____ | _____ | _____ | Win |
| _____ | _____ | _____ | Parity |
| _____ | _____ | _____ | Win |
Review Mining
Pull from G2, Capterra, App Store, Reddit, and their LinkedIn comments. The negatives matter more than the positives — they're your wedge.
Top 5 Positive Themes
- Theme 1: _____________________
- Theme 2: _____________________
- Theme 3: _____________________
- Theme 4: _____________________
- Theme 5: _____________________
Top 5 Negative Themes
- Theme 1: _____________________
- Theme 2: _____________________
- Theme 3: _____________________
- Theme 4: _____________________
- Theme 5: _____________________
Recent Moves (Last 90 Days)
- Product launches: _____________________
- Funding events: _____________________
- Leadership hires: _____________________ (CRO/CPO/Head of AI signals strategy direction)
- Pricing changes: _____________________ (price up = confidence, down = pressure)
- Positioning shifts: _____________________ (homepage hero rewrite is the loudest tell)
Our Gap (3 Things They Do Better)
Be honest. The teardown's value depends on your honesty here. If you can't list 3, you're not looking hard enough.
- Gap 1: _____________________
- Gap 2: _____________________
- Gap 3: _____________________
Our Differentiation (3 Things We Do Better)
Each must be defensible — not opinion. "We have better UX" doesn't count. "We're the only product with native MCP support for Claude / Cursor / ChatGPT" does.
- Differentiator 1: _____________________
- Differentiator 2: _____________________
- Differentiator 3: _____________________
Action Items
This is where the teardown earns its keep. Three concrete changes — to roadmap, messaging, or pricing — with owner and due date. If a teardown ends without these, it's a book report.
| Action (Roadmap / Messaging / Pricing) | Owner | Due |
|---|---|---|
| _______________________ | ___ | ___ |
| _______________________ | ___ | ___ |
| _______________________ | ___ | ___ |
Re-run cadence: refresh this teardown every 90 days for top-3 competitors, every 180 days for the rest. Diff against the previous version — the changes are the most valuable part of the doc.