Competitive analysis in UX design: Why and how to do it (with templates)

They say comparison is the thief of joy, but in UX design, there can be no ‘joy’ without comparison. By joy, we mean creating a truly seamless and delightful user experience.

Think about it. Every Olympic athlete scrutinizes their performance against past records, and football teams dissect game footage of their opponents in preparation for future games.

In the same vein, UX designers should thrive on competitive analysis. In this case, it’s not about stealing ‘joy’ but about moving beyond conjecture and grounding product development in a deep understanding of the competitive landscape.

Competitive analysis for UX designers vs product managers

We’ve previously written about how to approach competitive analysis for PMs, but this article will share approaches for how UX designers specifically can carry out competitive analysis.

To explain how UX competitive analysis is different from PM competitive analysis, for UX designers, the focus is on understanding how users interact with competing products and identifying opportunities to create a superior user experience.

On the other hand, for PMs, the goal is to inform product strategy, identify market opportunities, and develop a competitive differentiator for their own product.

What is competitive analysis for UX?

Competitive analysis in UX is a research method that involves systematically examining the user experiences offered by competing products with a specific goal in mind.

This includes analyzing their strengths, weaknesses, features, functions, user flows, metrics, and user interfaces, so that designers are able to gain valuable insights into the competitive landscape. With this knowledge, UX designers are empowered to identify opportunities for differentiation and address unmet user.

The goal is to stay ahead of the curve by creating innovative and user-centered solutions that surpass whatever the competition is offering.

Benefits: Why do a competitive analysis?

What happens when we build products without a clear understanding of the competitive landscape is that we leave innovation to chance instead of taking a more strategic approach. On the other hand, when we dissect the strengths and weaknesses of existing products, we are better positioned to identify opportunities for differentiation and ultimately create solutions that truly stand out from the crowd.

Designing without insights into your competition leaves your UX strategy vulnerable to mediocrity and irrelevance in your problem space. Here’s how:

• Without understanding what your competitors are doing well, you risk creating a product that may be simply “good enough” rather than exceptional. You are likely to miss opportunities to innovate and differentiate your product in meaningful ways
• If you’re not aware of the latest trends and innovations in your industry, your product may quickly become outdated and irrelevant to users. This can lead to low user adoption and, ultimately, failure

As a UX designer, the buck certainly doesn’t stop with Figma. You’ll need to do a lot of research to ensure that you create an outstanding experience for your customers.

When should you do a UX competitor analysis?

For many organizations, competitive analysis is treated as an afterthought – often conducted reactively or defensively, for instance, in response to a significant UX problem or when developing a new product or feature.

However, the most successful UX teams recognize the value of competitive analysis in continuous discovery. They integrate competitive analysis into their routine research efforts, regularly monitoring the competitive landscape to identify emerging trends, anticipate user needs, and maintain a competitive edge.

How to conduct competitive analysis for UX

There is no specific step-by-step approach to conduct a competitive analysis for UX, as it’ll depend on a number of factors, including:

1. Industry type and ability to access competitors’ products:
   • B2B vs B2C products might demand different approaches. For instance, with B2C, you might focus on user reviews and emotions, while B2B products might be more focused on ROI, saved costs, etc.
   • With B2C products, you’re usually able to directly access competitor products for hands-on testing, while this may not be easy/possible for B2B products
2. Scope and expected outcomes of the study:
   • Is this a one-time analysis or part of an ongoing, continuous discovery process?
   • Are you analyzing a specific feature, an entire product, or the broader market landscape?
3. Available resources (time, budget, and available personnel):
   • If you’re the only UX designer on the team, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to conduct an in-depth competitive analysis as part of a regular routine

As a result, it’s important for you to first:

• Identify your competitors — This includes both direct competitors (those offering similar products to your target audience) and indirect competitors (those offering alternative solutions to the same or similar user needs). For instance, Sketch is a direct competitor (similar solution, same target) to Figma, while Canva (alternative solution, similar needs) is an indirect competitor
  • You can gather this information through:
    • Customer feedback — Conduct surveys or interviews to understand which other products your customers use or have considered
    • Market research — Google search, app stores, industry reports, and competitive intelligence tools can help you identify key players
• Define your analysis goals — You have to clearly articulate the objectives of your competitive analysis early on
  • What specific insights are you hoping to gain?
  • Are you aiming to identify unmet user needs, discover new features, or benchmark your product against the competition?

Once you’ve done this, you can then refine your methodology based on the scope of the study, the available resources, and any limitations you might encounter in accessing competitor products or data.

Methods for conducting competitive analysis in UX

Since there is no specific step-by-step approach for competitive analysis in UX, it is up to you to decide which of the following methods will help you or your team identify the goals you have specified.

You can use any one or more of the below methodologies to collect data about your competitors:

1. Direct observation and interaction with competitors’ products:
   • Hands-on use — Directly use competitor products to experience them as a user. If competitor products are not accessible for hands-on testing, you can also build a replica or prototype of product
   • User testing — Observe users interacting with competitor products to understand their behaviors and pain points
   • Heuristic evaluation — Evaluate competitor products against established usability principles (e.g., Nielsen’s 10 heuristics)
2. Indirect research and analysis methods:
   • Market research reports — Make use of industry reports, market data, and competitive intelligence tools
   • User reviews and feedback — Analyse user reviews on app stores, social media, and review websites. Also, use tools like Brand24 and Brandwatch
   • Website and app analysis — Analyse competitor websites and apps in terms of their design, functionality, and user flow
   • Competitive audits — Conduct detailed analyses of competitor products, evaluating their strengths and weaknesses in terms of their design, functionality, and user flow

Synthesizing and visualizing the data you’ve collected

This is one of the trickiest parts of the entire process, as it’s now time to make sense of all that information you’ve gathered — transforming raw data into actionable insights.

To help make sense of the information you’ve gathered, we’ve created the templates below for you:

• Competitive matrix — Create a structured format (spreadsheet, visual matrix) to compare competitors across key dimensions. Template here
• Screen-by-screen interface comparisons — Evaluate competitor UX interface-by-interface. Template here
• Feature and functionality comparison checklist — Compare competitors on a feature-by-feature basis. Template here
• Comparative customer journey mapping — Map out the user journey for each competitor to understand their approach to key user tasks
• SWOT analysis — Analyse the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats of each competitor, focusing on UX and usability. Use our SWOT analysis template and how-to (with examples) as a guide

Best practices for competitive analysis in UX

Here are a few things to keep in mind when carrying out UX competitive analysis:

1. Focus on users, not just competitors — The ultimate goal of a UX competitive analysis exercise is to understand user needs and preferences, not to one-up your competitors. So, use the competitive analysis to gain insights into user behavior, pain points, and expectations
2. Think of the analysis more as a learning process than a one-off outcome — Competitive analysis should be an ongoing effort where you continuously learn from the insights gained. These insights will help refine your product strategy and design approach
3. Balance qualitative and quantitative data —
   • Qualitative data (e.g., user interviews, usability testing, competitor case studies) for insights into user emotions and experiences
   • Quantitative data (e.g., market research reports, website analytics, user review data) for a broader understanding of industry trends and changes in user behavior
4. Regularly revisit and update your competitive analysis to stay informed about new products, features, and market trends as the industry changes
5. Not all information or data you collect is valuable or useful — You should prioritize information that is relevant to your specific project goals and target audience and avoid getting bogged down in irrelevant details
6. Every competitor has their own edge; avoid simply copying competitor strategies — Instead, carefully analyze their strengths and weaknesses to identify opportunities for differentiation and innovation
7. Stay objective — Note down any assumptions or personal biases early on so you can try to maintain an objective and unbiased perspective throughout the analysis process

FAQs about UX competitive research

What is competitive analysis in UX?

Competitive analysis in UX is the systematic process of researching and evaluating competitor products to understand their strengths, weaknesses, user experiences, and market positioning. This analysis helps UX designers gain valuable insights into user needs, identify opportunities for differentiation, and create innovative and user-centered solutions.

How often should I conduct competitive analysis?

The frequency might depend on factors like your industry, the pace of innovation, your product lifecycle, and the methodology you use for the analysis. For industries where things change rapidly, frequent analysis (e.g., monthly or quarterly) can be adopted. For more “stable” industries, less frequent analysis (e.g., semi-annually) should suffice.

Can I conduct a competitive analysis without direct access to competitor products?

Yes, absolutely! Indirect research methods like user reviews, website analysis, market research reports, and competitor audits can provide valuable insights even without direct access.

What tools can help me with competitive analysis?

Several tools can assist, including:

• Market research platforms — Statista, IBISWorld, Euromonitor, Forrester Research, Google Trends
• Competitive intelligence tools — SEMrush, Ahrefs, SimilarWeb, Answerthepublic
• User research tools — UserTesting, Hotjar
• Design and prototyping tools — Figma, Figjam, Sketch, and Miro (for analyzing competitor interfaces, flows, and journey maps)

Conclusion

You may have thought that competitive analysis is about one-upping your rivals in order to win customers — though let’s be honest, a little healthy curiosity never hurts anyone.

However, you now understand through this article that it’s really about understanding the bigger picture, learning from the successes and failures of others, and ultimately, creating a user experience that truly delights.

The best UX designers understand how continuous discovery through UX competitive analysis keeps them ahead of the curve, creating one-of-a-kind experiences for their users, even as industry dynamics and user behavior evolve.