How Do I Find Out What My App Competitors Are Doing Wrong?

Have you ever wondered why your competitors app gets more downloads than yours, even though you know—you absolutely know—that your product is better? I see this frustration all the time and honestly its one of the most common problems in mobile app development. The thing is, most people approach competitor analysis completely backwards; they look at what their rivals are doing right and try to copy it, when the real opportunities lie in finding what they're doing wrong.

After building apps for over eight years, I've learned that the best way to gain an edge isn't by mimicking successful competitors—its by identifying their weaknesses and filling the gaps they've left wide open. Sure, you need to understand what makes popular apps work, but that knowledge alone won't help you stand out in an app store with millions of options. What will help? Finding the frustrated users, the unmet needs, the clunky features that make people search for alternatives.

The apps that succeed aren't always the ones that do everything right—they're the ones that do fewer things wrong than their competition.

This guide is going to show you exactly how to conduct proper competitive research that actually reveals opportunity, not just data. We'll look at where to find genuine insights (hint: its not where most people look), how to read between the lines of app store reviews, and most importantly—how to spot market gaps that you can actually exploit. I mean, there's no point doing competitor analysis if you cant turn those findings into actionable improvements for your own app, right? The mobile market is crowded, yes, but that doesn't mean there isn't room for apps that solve problems better than whats currently available. You just need to know where to look.

Why Most Competitor Analysis Gets It Wrong

Most people think competitor analysis means downloading a few apps, clicking around for ten minutes, and making a spreadsheet of features. Its basically a shopping list approach—they see what other apps have and assume they need those same things. But here's the thing, that's not analysis, thats just copying homework.

I see this mistake constantly. Someone comes to us wanting to build "Uber but for dog walking" or "Instagram but for gardeners" and when I ask what makes their version different, they list features their competitors dont have. Missing the point entirely, really. They've looked at what competitors are doing right—or what they assume is right—instead of digging into what they're doing wrong.

The problem with surface-level analysis is that it tells you nothing about why users are frustrated or where opportunities actually exist. You end up building an app based on what already exists rather than what should exist. And that's expensive; we're talking tens of thousands of pounds to recreate features that might not even be solving real problems.

Real competitor analysis isn't about feature comparison—it's about understanding where competitors are failing their users. Where are people getting stuck? What complaints keep coming up? What workflows feel clunky or confusing? These are the questions that matter, not whether they have dark mode or social sharing.

Another thing people get wrong is assuming that if a competitor has a feature, it must be working well. But you know what? Sometimes features exist because of legacy decisions, investor pressure, or just poor planning. Just because its there doesnt mean its good or necessary. I've seen apps bloated with features nobody uses, all because someone looked at competitors and ticked boxes without thinking critically about user needs.

Where to Look for Real Competitive Intelligence

Right, so you know you need to research your competitors—but where do you actually start? I mean, its not like theres a big button that says "show me everything my competitors are doing wrong" is it? Over the years I've developed a pretty solid process for this, and I'm going to share the exact places where I look when I'm doing competitive research for clients.

The app stores themselves are goldmine number one. Both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store give you access to reviews, ratings, update histories, and even screenshots of how apps have evolved over time. You can see when your competitors last updated their app (which tells you if they're actively maintaining it or letting it die), what features they're promoting in their screenshots, and how they're positioning themselves in their app description. But here's the thing—most people stop there, and they miss out on the deeper stuff.

Social media is where people complain publicly about apps. Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, Instagram...users love to vent about frustrating experiences. Search for your competitors app name on these platforms and you'll find unfiltered opinions that never made it into an app store review. I've found some of my best insights from Reddit threads where users are discussing alternatives to an app because they're fed up with something specific.

Public Sources Everyone Overlooks

Tech blogs and review sites like TechCrunch, Product Hunt, and industry-specific publications often do deep dives on popular apps. These articles usually highlight both strengths and weaknesses, and the comment sections? Pure gold. Users who take the time to comment on articles are often power users who have strong opinions about what's missing.

Support forums and help centres are another place most people ignore. If your competitor has a public support forum or knowledge base, you can see what issues users are struggling with. What questions keep coming up? What features are confusing? This tells you exactly where their user experience is failing.

Tools That Do The Heavy Lifting

There are some paid tools that can speed up this process quite a bit. App analytics platforms like Sensor Tower, App Annie (now called data.ai), and Apptopia give you download estimates, revenue estimates, and competitor tracking features. They're not cheap, but if you're serious about competitive research they can save you dozens of hours.

For website and online presence research, tools like SimilarWeb show you traffic sources, and SEMrush or Ahrefs show you what keywords your competitors are ranking for. Sure, these are web-focused tools, but they tell you how your competitors are driving awareness and downloads through their online presence. If you're thinking about whether you need a website for your mobile app, understanding how competitors leverage their web presence for app marketing is crucial.

Set up Google Alerts for your competitors app names and company names; you'll get an email whenever they're mentioned online, which means you'll catch press coverage, user complaints, and product launches without having to actively search for them.

User testing platforms like UserTesting.com let you watch real people use apps—including your competitors apps. You can commission tests where users complete specific tasks in competitor apps and share their thoughts out loud. Its basically like having a focus group without the massive cost and time commitment.

LinkedIn is useful too, believe it or not. You can see when competitors are hiring for specific roles (which hints at their priorities), read posts from their team members about challenges they're facing, and even check out their company updates to see what features they're promoting. If they're hiring three Android developers, you can bet they're either struggling with their Android version or planning something big for that platform.

The places where competitive intelligence lives are all around you—you just need to know where to look and how to interpret what you find. Most of this research doesn't cost anything except time, which makes it accessible even if you're bootstrapping your app idea. The paid tools are nice-to-haves that speed things up, but the free sources I've mentioned will give you 80% of what you need to understand your competitions weaknesses.

• App store listings and update histories
• Social media platforms (Twitter, Reddit, Facebook, Instagram)
• Tech blogs and industry publications
• Public support forums and help centres
• App analytics tools (Sensor Tower, data.ai, Apptopia)
• Web analytics tools (SimilarWeb, SEMrush, Ahrefs)
• User testing platforms (UserTesting.com)
• LinkedIn company pages and employee profiles
• Google Alerts for competitor mentions

Reading App Store Reviews Like a Detective

App store reviews are honestly one of the most valuable sources of competitive intelligence you'll find—and they're sitting right there in the open for anyone to read. But here's the thing, most people just skim through them looking for star ratings and move on. That's a mistake.

When I'm analysing a competitors app reviews, I'm not looking at the 5-star "great app!" comments or the 1-star rants from angry users who clearly didn't understand what they were downloading. What I want are the 2-star and 3-star reviews—thats where the real gold is buried. These reviewers actually tried to use the app, they wanted it to work, but something specific let them down. They'll tell you exactly what that something is if you pay attention.

Start by reading at least 50-100 recent reviews, not just the featured ones at the top. Look for patterns in the complaints. Are multiple users mentioning slow loading times? Confusing navigation? A feature that doesn't work as expected? Write these down because each one represents an opportunity for your app to do better.

Pay special attention to reviews that mention switching from another app or comparing features—users often explain what they liked about the previous solution and why this one falls short. Its like getting free user research handed to you on a plate. Tracking competitor updates automatically can help you monitor when they're fixing these issues or making changes based on user feedback.

And don't just read the text; check the developer responses too. How quickly do they reply? Are they defensive or helpful? Do they actually address the issues raised or just copy-paste generic responses? A competitor who ignores their user feedback is basically handing you a roadmap of problems you can solve better. The reviews tell you what users want—your job is to listen properly and then build it.

Testing Competitor Apps Without Bias

Right, this is where things get tricky—because your brain is basically programmed to find faults in your competitors apps. You've already decided yours will be better, so every little issue you spot feels like validation. But here's the thing; that mindset is going to make you miss the stuff they're actually doing well. And trust me, they are doing some things well, otherwise they wouldn't have users.

When I test competitor apps, I force myself to use them properly for at least a week. Not just poking around for five minutes looking for problems. I mean actually using them as if I'd paid for the app and needed it to work for me. Set up a real account, complete the onboarding, try to accomplish genuine tasks. Its amazing what you learn when you stop hunting for weaknesses and start trying to succeed with their product.

Creating a Structured Testing Process

I keep a spreadsheet—nothing fancy, just columns for features, user flows, and performance. Document everything without judgement at first. Does the app load quickly? Yes or no. Can you complete a purchase in three taps or does it take seven? Just facts. The analysis comes later, once you've got actual data rather than opinions formed in the first thirty seconds.

The best competitive research happens when you temporarily forget you're building a competing product and genuinely try to love using theirs

Common Testing Mistakes

People test competitors apps on wifi when most users are on mobile data. They test with perfect conditions when real users are distracted, in poor lighting, or trying to complete tasks one-handed on a crowded train. So I make myself test in rubbish conditions too—slow connection, bright sunlight, while walking. That's when you see whether an app genuinely works or just works in ideal scenarios. You'll spot interaction problems, readability issues, and performance bottlenecks that never show up in a controlled environment. And those insights? They're gold for your own development process.

Identifying Technical Weaknesses and Performance Issues

Right, let's talk about the technical side of things—this is where you can actually find some pretty obvious flaws in your competitors apps. I mean, its one thing to have a great idea but if the app crashes every time someone tries to checkout? That's a massive problem.

First thing I do is test the app on different devices. Not just the latest iPhone but older models too, because thats what a lot of real users are actually using. I'll fire up the app on a three-year-old Android phone and see how it performs. Does it lag? Does it drain the battery like mad? These are real issues that affect actual users but get overlooked all the time.

Loading times are huge. If a screen takes more than two or three seconds to load, users notice—and they get frustrated. I time everything when I'm testing a competitor's app; the splash screen, the login process, how long it takes to load product images or data. You'd be surprised how many apps just feel sluggish because nobody bothered to optimise their image sizes or database queries.

And here's something people forget: test on a poor internet connection. Switch to 3G or even turn on airplane mode to see how the app handles offline scenarios. Does it crash? Does it show a helpful message? Most apps handle this terribly, which is an opportunity for you to do better. Understanding API security and technical architecture can also help you spot vulnerabilities that competitors might have overlooked.

Look for visual bugs too—misaligned text, images that don't load properly, buttons that are cut off on certain screen sizes. These seem small but they signal a lack of attention to detail that users pick up on subconsciously. Document everything you find because these technical weaknesses are your roadmap to building something better.

Finding the Gaps in User Experience

Right, so you've tested your competitors apps and looked at their reviews—now its time to dig into the user experience itself and find where they're actually letting people down. This is where you can really gain ground because most apps, even the popular ones, have frustrating UX issues that users put up with simply because they dont have better options yet.

Start by mapping out the core user journeys in your competitors apps. What's the flow like from opening the app to completing a key task? I mean, actually write this down or sketch it out. Count how many taps it takes to do something simple. You'd be surprised how many apps make users jump through five or six screens to do something that should take two. And bloody hell, the number of apps that hide their most important features three menus deep is just mad really.

Pay attention to the little frustrations that add up over time. Things like confusing navigation labels, buttons that are too small to tap accurately, or forms that dont remember your information. These aren't showstopping bugs, but they erode user satisfaction every single time someone uses the app. Its like death by a thousand paper cuts.

Here's what to look for specifically when analysing UX gaps:

• Onboarding that's too long or doesnt clearly explain the apps value
• Search functionality thats rubbish or completely missing when it should be there
• Slow loading times between screens that make the app feel sluggish
• Unclear error messages that leave users confused about what went wrong
• Missing shortcuts for power users who want to move faster
• Poor use of empty states—those screens that show up when theres no content yet

But here's the thing—you need to think about different user types when doing this analysis. What frustrates a new user might not bother someone who's been using the app for months. Actually, I find that apps often optimise for one type of user and completely forget about the other. They either make onboarding brilliant but give experienced users no advanced features, or they cater to power users and confuse everyone else.

Create a simple spreadsheet where you rate each competitor on specific UX criteria like onboarding clarity, navigation simplicity, and task completion speed; this gives you a clear picture of where the biggest gaps are and where you can differentiate your own app.

Look at accessibility too because genuinely, most apps do the bare minimum here. Can you use the app with voiceover enabled? Does it work well for people with larger text sizes? These aren't nice-to-haves anymore—they're requirements that open up your potential user base significantly. And sure, your competitors might be ignoring this, which means its a perfect opportunity for you to do better. Testing for accessibility compliance is something many competitors skip, giving you a chance to stand out.

One more thing to watch for is consistency, or the lack of it. When an app uses different design patterns for similar actions, it confuses users and makes them think harder than they should. If a swipe gesture does one thing on one screen but something completely different on another screen? Thats a UX gap you can exploit by being more predictable and learnable in your own design.

Spotting Missed Market Opportunities

Here's where competitor analysis gets really interesting—finding the things your competitors aren't doing at all. I mean, its easy to spot what they're doing wrong, but the gaps? The missed opportunities? That's where you can actually build something special.

Start by looking at who isn't being served. Every app has its ideal user, but there are always adjacent audiences that get ignored. A fitness app might focus entirely on gym enthusiasts but completely miss people who want to exercise at home. A budgeting app might target young professionals but overlook students or retirees who have different financial needs. These underserved groups are gold mines—they're actively looking for solutions and your competitors have left the door wide open. Understanding cultural differences can also reveal international markets that competitors have neglected.

Look at the features users are requesting but not getting. Go through those app reviews again, but this time focus on what people wish the app could do. You'll see patterns emerge pretty quickly. Maybe users keep asking for offline mode, or they want better sharing options, or they're desperate for integration with other apps they use daily. When multiple people ask for the same thing and nobody delivers it? That's your opportunity.

Common Missed Opportunities to Watch For

• Geographic markets where competitors haven't localised properly (language, currency, cultural differences matter more than people think)
• Platform gaps—maybe everyone's focused on iOS and Android's being neglected, or vice versa
• Price points that don't exist yet; sometimes there's a massive gap between free basic plans and expensive premium ones
• Use cases that aren't being addressed (people using apps in ways the developers never intended usually signals an unmet need)
• Integration opportunities with popular tools or platforms that your competitors haven't bothered with
• Accessibility features that get overlooked but matter to millions of users

But here's the thing—just because an opportunity exists doesn't mean you should chase it. You need to ask yourself if its actually viable. Does it align with your app's core purpose? Can you execute it well? Is there enough demand to justify the development cost? Sometimes competitors aren't serving a market because they've done the maths and it doesn't make sense, not because they missed it. Timing your app idea correctly is crucial when considering whether to pursue these gaps.

The best opportunities are the ones where you can see clear demand, underserved users, and a way to deliver value that fits naturally with what you're already building. Those are the wins that matter.

What to Do With Your Findings

Right, so you've done all this work—you've analysed your competitors, tested their apps, read through hundreds of reviews, spotted the technical issues and mapped out the gaps. Now what? This is where most people get stuck, honestly. They've got pages of notes and screenshots but no clear plan for what to do with it all.

First thing: don't try to fix everything your competitors are doing wrong. That's a massive mistake I see constantly. Just because another app has a confusing checkout process doesn't mean you need to build the world's most complex payment system. Pick three to five key opportunities that align with your app's core purpose and focus there. Remember that why we talked about earlier? This is where it matters.

Create a simple document—seriously, it can just be a Google Doc—that lists each weakness you found and matches it to a specific feature or improvement in your app. Be realistic about what you can actually build with your budget and timeline. I've seen too many projects try to do everything and end up doing nothing well. If you're working with a development team, make sure you understand how to assess developer fit to ensure they can actually execute on these opportunities.

The best competitive research doesn't just show you what's broken; it reveals where your competitors have made deliberate choices that left certain users underserved

Your findings should feed directly into your product roadmap. Prioritise based on two things: impact on users and feasibility for your team. A small improvement that delights users is worth more than ten features nobody asked for. And look, some opportunities you find might not be right for launch—that's fine. Keep a separate list for version 2.0 because the app market moves fast and what's not relevant today might be your biggest advantage in six months. The key is turning all that research into actual decisions, not just interesting observations that sit in a folder somewhere. Consider using no-code platforms to quickly prototype and test solutions to the problems you've identified.

Conclusion

Look, I've spent years helping clients figure out what their competitors are doing wrong and honestly? The process never gets old. Every single time we dig into a competitor's app, we find something—a clunky checkout flow, confusing navigation, performance issues on older devices. Its like they're leaving money on the table and don't even realise it.

But here's the thing—finding these weaknesses is only half the battle. The real work begins when you take what you've learned and actually do something with it. I mean, you can have the most detailed competitor analysis in the world, but if you don't turn those insights into action? You've wasted your time.

Start small. Don't try to fix every problem you've identified at once. Pick one or two areas where your competitors are clearly struggling and make those your focus. Maybe its their onboarding process thats confusing users, or maybe their app crashes on certain devices. Whatever it is, make sure your app does it better—not just different, but genuinely better.

And remember, this isn't a one-time exercise. Your competitors aren't sitting still; they're updating their apps, fixing bugs, adding features. What was a weakness last month might be their strength today. So keep testing, keep monitoring those reviews, keep checking their performance metrics. Make competitor analysis part of your regular routine, not something you do once and forget about.

The apps that succeed in this market aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest budgets or the fanciest features—they're the ones that understand what users actually need and deliver it consistently. By studying where your competitors fall short, you're giving yourself a massive advantage. Use it wisely.

Frequently Asked Questions