SpyFu

Store and compare user-imported competitor keyword and advertising reports

NOT REALLY · consider alternatives
price $39/mosubscription / year $468estimated build time closest consolation build: one sittingreplaced by 0 people

A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For SpyFu, store and compare user-imported competitor keyword and advertising reports. The hard boundary is historical paid-search and organic datasets, web crawling, and competitive intelligence, plus proprietary web index and data acquisition.

Build verification: not recorded. How we judge buildability

What you give up

  • historical paid-search and organic datasets, web crawling, and competitive intelligence
  • planet-scale crawl index
  • backlink graph
  • clickstream estimates
  • high-volume location-specific SERPs

Why people still pay

People still pay for SpyFu because customers pay for a continuously refreshed web-scale dataset whose collection cost dwarfs the dashboard around it. The recurring cost buys proxy and API costs, crawl freshness, geolocation, anti-bot rules, keyword normalization, storage, and data QA, not just the visible interface.

Your build guide

The stack, security requirements, and agent rules for a focused replacement.

Before you start

  • self-hosted server
  • PostgreSQL
  • approved search-data API or manual imports
  • scheduled worker
01
Use Python 3.12, FastAPI, PostgreSQL, Playwright, and a small React frontend.
02
Model sites, crawl pages, keyword snapshots, audit findings, and report dates; keep stable source IDs and timestamps.
03
Interface for this keyword research, backlinks and rank tracking workflow: a local web page with input, progress, review, and export views.
engineering roadmap

Implementation plan

1

Phase 1, architecture and data

Use Python 3.12, FastAPI, PostgreSQL, Playwright, and a small React frontend. Model sites, crawl pages, keyword snapshots, audit findings, and report dates; keep stable source IDs and timestamps.

2

Phase 2, implement

Create projects with domains, keywords, target country, language, device, and tags.

3

Phase 3, implement

Fetch rankings only through the configured compliant API and enforce a daily budget.

4

Phase 4, review and output

Store raw result snapshots and normalized positions so every chart is auditable. Add scheduled runs, failure alerts, CSV export, retention settings, and database backups.

5

Phase 5, recovery and acceptance

Add scheduled runs, failure alerts, CSV export, retention settings, and database backups. Verify this invariant with a saved fixture: A failed crawl retains its last dated snapshot; a report must not imply backlink or keyword coverage the input lacks. State the practical limit: historical paid-search and organic datasets, web crawling, and competitive intelligence.

the pro prompt
Build me a focused keyword research, backlinks and rank tracking workflow for the personal core of SpyFu. Requirements:

- Use Python 3.12, FastAPI, PostgreSQL, Playwright, and a small React frontend. Model sites, crawl pages, keyword snapshots, audit findings, and report dates; keep stable source IDs and timestamps.
- Paid product context: Store and compare user-imported competitor keyword and advertising reports. Build only this DIY scope: Store and compare user-imported competitor keyword and advertising reports, collect permitted search-result snapshots at low volume, and show trends without pretending to recreate a commercial web index.
- Create projects with domains, keywords, target country, language, device, and tags.
- Fetch rankings only through the configured compliant API and enforce a daily budget.
- Store raw result snapshots and normalized positions so every chart is auditable. Import backlink and keyword files from third-party tools without claiming independent coverage. Add scheduled runs, failure alerts, CSV export, retention settings, and database backups.
- Use a local web page with input, progress, review, and export views. Required input or access: self-hosted server; approved search-data API or manual imports.
- Recovery: Add scheduled runs, failure alerts, CSV export, retention settings, and database backups.
- Acceptance: with one labelled sample, show the input, saved intermediate state, and exported result; verify this invariant: A failed crawl retains its last dated snapshot; a report must not imply backlink or keyword coverage the input lacks.
- Out of scope: historical paid-search and organic datasets, web crawling, and competitive intelligence; planet-scale crawl index. Keep this a personal, inspectable workflow.
- Include a README with setup, a sample input, required keys or permissions, data location, and the supported scope.

$ open in your agent (prompt prefilled, you press enter), copy the prompt or copy AGENTS.md · generated from this app's build plan

prior art · use these instead of building, if you'd ratherSerpBearOpen-source search ranking tracker for owned keyword sets.↗
share on X ↗

SpyFu pricing

planmonthlyannual (per mo)what you get
basic$39/workspace$29/workspace10,000 search results/exports; 1 live site; 5,000 weekly tracked rankings; 10 reports; 1 user.
pro + ai$119/workspace$89/workspaceUnlimited results/exports; 10 live sites; 15,000 weekly tracked rankings; 100 reports; 1 RivalFlow site; 1 user.First monthly invoice is currently $59, then $119/month.
team/agency$249/workspace$187/workspaceUnlimited sites, results, exports, and reports; 50,000 weekly tracked rankings; 5 RivalFlow sites; 5 users.

free tierno free tier or free trial (30-day money-back guarantee only)

billingmonthly + annual (annual is about 25% lower)

hidden costsExtra users cost $15/month on Basic and $30/month on Pro or Team. API capacity is separately metered, with included credit values shown as $40 on Pro and $100 on Team.

pricing sources checked 2026-08-14 · pricing source ↗

Questions about SpyFu

Can you build your own SpyFu with AI?

A full replacement is not the recommended project. A consolation build is possible, but the paid product's decisive value sits outside a solo rebuild. For SpyFu, store and compare user-imported competitor keyword and advertising reports. The hard boundary is historical paid-search and organic datasets, web crawling, and competitive intelligence, plus proprietary web index and data acquisition.

What does the SpyFu build prompt cover?

The prompt starts with this scope: Store and compare user-imported competitor keyword and advertising reports, collect permitted search-result snapshots at low volume, and show trends without pretending to recreate a commercial web index. Full-product capabilities excluded from the comparison include: historical paid-search and organic datasets, web crawling, and competitive intelligence; planet-scale crawl index; backlink graph. Follow the implementation plan and its prerequisites before expanding the build.

How do I use the prompt, AGENTS.md and agent skills?

Start with the SpyFu prerequisites and stack, then copy the prompt into your coding agent. Save the project rules as AGENTS.md in the project root. Linked skills are optional packages or source instructions for specific tasks; review their current contents and install only those matching the chosen stack. A skill does not supply API credentials or verify the finished app.

How long will this SpyFu project take?

The catalogue estimate is closest consolation build: one sitting for the limited scope. Setup, integration approvals, debugging, deployment and ongoing maintenance can add time. This is an estimate, not a delivery guarantee.

What would I give up by replacing SpyFu?

historical paid-search and organic datasets, web crawling, and competitive intelligence; planet-scale crawl index; backlink graph; clickstream estimates; high-volume location-specific SERPs. People still pay for SpyFu because customers pay for a continuously refreshed web-scale dataset whose collection cost dwarfs the dashboard around it. The recurring cost buys proxy and API costs, crawl freshness, geolocation, anti-bot rules, keyword normalization, storage, and data QA, not just the visible interface.

What price is this guide comparing against?

The recorded Basic plan is $39/mo (monthly), checked 2026-07-31. Check the linked pricing source before buying. Building your own also has hosting, API and maintenance costs; the recorded amount is not a guaranteed saving.

What can I use instead of building SpyFu?

The prior-art section lists SerpBear as starting points. Review their current scope, license and maintenance before adopting one.

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