How to Conduct a UX Competitive Analysis (And Why It Matters)

Jamie Robinson

22 hours ago

8 min read

Just because you think your product is doing something unique doesn't necessarily mean it is.

Recently, I was working with a client who mentioned that their product had a feature none of their competitors offered.

The problem? I knew that wasn't true.

Through my own experience using other applications in their industry, I had already encountered similar functionality elsewhere.

Now, this wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Having a feature that competitors also offer doesn't make it any less valuable.

But it did highlight something important: It's easy to make assumptions about your product when you don't have a clear understanding of the competitive landscape.

And that's exactly why competitive analysis is such an important part of the UX design process.

Whether you're launching a new product, redesigning an existing experience, or deciding which features to prioritize, understanding what other products are doing can help you make more informed decisions.

So, let's talk about what a UX competitive analysis actually is, why it matters, and how to conduct one.

What Is a UX Competitive Analysis?

A UX competitive analysis is the process of evaluating competing or comparable products to understand their user experiences, identify common design patterns, uncover usability opportunities, and inform product decisions.

Rather than focusing solely on what features competitors offer, a UX competitive analysis examines how those features work and how effectively they support users.

For example, imagine you're designing a fitness application.

You might look at competing apps to understand:

How users create workout plans
How exercises are organized and displayed
How progress is tracked
What onboarding experiences look like
Which features are included in free versus paid plans
How competing products differentiate themselves

The goal isn't to copy another product.

It's to understand what users may already be familiar with, where competing experiences fall short, and how your product can offer something valuable.

Competitive analysis should inform your design decisions, not dictate them.

Why Is Competitive Analysis Important?

1. It Challenges Assumptions

Let's go back to my client example.

They believed their product offered a feature that competitors didn't have.

Without looking at other products, that assumption could have influenced how they positioned and marketed the feature.

But if several competitors already offer similar functionality, the feature itself might not be the differentiator they thought it was.

That doesn't mean they need to remove it or abandon the idea.

Instead, it creates an opportunity to ask a more useful question:

How can we make this feature better, easier to use, or more valuable than the alternatives?

Maybe competitors offer the same functionality, but it's difficult to find. Maybe it requires too many steps. Maybe the experience is confusing for first-time users.

These are all opportunities for differentiation that go beyond simply having a feature.

2. It Helps Identify User Expectations

Users don't experience your product in isolation.

They bring expectations from other websites, applications, and digital experiences they've used.

For example, users generally expect a shopping cart icon to represent their saved items in an e-commerce experience.

If your product uses an unfamiliar interaction for something users already understand, you might unintentionally introduce friction.

Competitive analysis can help you identify common patterns and understand what users may expect.

Of course, just because competitors use a particular design pattern doesn't automatically mean it's the best solution.

But understanding those patterns gives you a starting point for evaluating whether a different approach would actually improve the experience.

3. It Reveals Opportunities for Improvement

One of the most valuable parts of competitive analysis is identifying gaps in existing experiences.

Maybe competitors have complicated onboarding processes. Maybe important features are buried in navigation menus. Maybe their mobile experiences are difficult to use.

Or maybe they all approach a particular workflow in essentially the same way, even though that workflow could be simplified.

These observations can help you identify opportunities worth exploring. However, it's important to remember that an observed usability issue is not automatically proof of an unmet user need.

Those opportunities should be validated through research whenever possible.

4. It Supports Better Product Decisions

Competitive analysis can also help product teams make more informed decisions about what to build and prioritize.

For example, if you're considering introducing a new feature, you might want to know:

Do competing products already offer something similar?
How do they implement it?
What limitations exist in their approach?
Is the feature becoming a common expectation?
What could our product do differently?

This doesn't mean you should automatically build something because your competitors have it.

In fact, that's one of the biggest mistakes teams can make.

The purpose of competitive analysis is to provide context for decision-making, not create a checklist of features to copy.

How to Conduct a UX Competitive Analysis

Now that we've covered why it matters, let's walk through the process. Click below to download a free template for conducting your own UX competitive analysis.

Step 1: Define Your Goals

Before researching competitors, determine what you're trying to learn.

Are you evaluating a specific feature? Exploring onboarding experiences? Looking for opportunities to differentiate your product?

Your goals will determine which competitors you research and what information you collect.

For example, if you're designing a project management application, your goal might be:

Understand how competing project management tools help first-time users create their first project and begin organizing tasks.

That's much more focused than simply asking, "What are our competitors doing?"

A clear objective helps prevent your analysis from becoming an overwhelming collection of screenshots and feature lists.

Step 2: Identify Your Competitors

Next, determine which products you'll evaluate.

There are two main categories to consider.

Direct competitors offer similar products or services to similar audiences.

For example, if you're evaluating a project management tool, direct competitors might include Asana, Monday.com, and ClickUp.

Indirect competitors solve similar user problems through different approaches.

For example, someone managing their personal projects might use a spreadsheet, notes app, or calendar instead of a dedicated project management platform.

Both types of competitors can provide valuable insights.

Direct competitors help you understand established industry patterns, while indirect competitors can reveal alternative ways of solving the same problem.

For a focused analysis, I recommend starting with 3–5 relevant products. You can always expand your research if necessary.

Step 3: Decide What You're Evaluating

Once you've identified your competitors, establish consistent criteria for evaluating them.

This is important because comparing different aspects of each product makes it difficult to draw meaningful conclusions.

Your criteria will depend on your project, but common UX evaluation areas include:

Evaluation Area	What to Look For
Onboarding	How are new users introduced to the product?
Navigation	How easily can users find important features?
Feature discoverability	Are key capabilities easy to locate?
User flows	How many steps are required to complete important tasks?
Visual hierarchy	Is important information clearly prioritized?
Accessibility	Are there visible accessibility barriers?
Error handling	How does the interface help users recover from mistakes?
Differentiation	What does the product offer that alternatives may not?

You don't need to evaluate every category.

Choose the areas that are most relevant to your research goals.

Step 4: Explore the Products

Now comes the hands-on research.

Whenever possible, actually use the products you're evaluating.

Reading feature descriptions and looking at marketing pages can be helpful, but they don't always tell you what the experience is really like.

Try completing the same tasks in each product.

For example, if you're comparing onboarding experiences, you might:

Create a new account.
Complete the onboarding questionnaire.
Set up a workspace or project.
Create your first task.
Explore the dashboard.

As you go, pay attention to where the experience feels intuitive and where it becomes confusing.

Take screenshots, document interactions, and record observations.

You can also incorporate a heuristic evaluation to identify potential usability issues using established usability principles.

If you're unfamiliar with this method, check out my previous article, How to Conduct a Heuristic Evaluation: A Step-by-Step Guide.

Tip: Separate what you directly observe from what you're assuming about users. Something that feels confusing to you may not be confusing to the product's intended audience.

Step 5: Organize Your Findings

Once you've evaluated your competitors, it's time to organize your observations.

One of the easiest ways to do this is through a competitive analysis matrix.

For example, imagine you're comparing the onboarding experiences of three fictional project management applications.

Criteria	Product A	Product B	Product C
Guided onboarding	Yes	Partial	No
Setup checklist	Yes	No	Yes
Starter templates	Yes	Yes	No
Contextual help	Partial	Yes	No
First task guidance	Yes	Partial	No

Illustrative example only — not findings from actual products.

A matrix makes it easier to identify patterns and differences across products.

But don't stop at recording whether a feature exists. Consider how effectively each product implements it.

Two products might both offer guided onboarding, but one could provide a much clearer and more intuitive experience.

That's where the UX analysis becomes particularly valuable.

Step 6: Identify Patterns, Gaps, and Opportunities

Now that your findings are organized, look for meaningful patterns.

Ask yourself:

Which features or interactions appear consistently?
Where do competing products take different approaches?
What potential usability issues appear across multiple products?
Are there opportunities to simplify common workflows?
What might users expect based on existing experiences?
Where could our product provide a better experience?

This is also where you can begin identifying opportunities for differentiation.

Let's say all three competing products allow users to create projects, but each requires a lengthy setup process. You might identify an opportunity to simplify project creation.

Rather than immediately recommending a new design, you could frame it as a hypothesis:

Users may benefit from a simplified project creation process that allows them to begin working before configuring advanced settings.

This gives your team something specific to explore and validate.

Step 7: Turn Your Findings Into Actionable Recommendations

A competitive analysis shouldn't end with a spreadsheet full of observations.

The real value comes from translating your research into insights that inform product decisions.

For example:

Observation: Several competitors require users to configure multiple settings before creating their first project.

Potential UX Impact: This may increase cognitive load and delay users from experiencing the product's core value.

Opportunity: Explore a simplified setup experience that prioritizes immediate task completion.

Recommendation: Prototype a streamlined onboarding flow and evaluate it with representative users.

Notice how the recommendation connects the observation to a potential user problem and a clear next step.

That's what makes competitive analysis useful.

Common Competitive Analysis Mistakes to Avoid

Copying Competitors Instead of Learning From Them

Just because a competitor uses a particular design pattern doesn't mean you should use it too.

Their users, business goals, and product constraints might be completely different from yours.

Use competitive research to understand the landscape, not replicate it.

Only Comparing Features

A feature checklist can tell you what competing products offer, but it doesn't tell you whether those features are easy to use.

Look at the overall experience, not just the functionality.

Assuming Competitors Have Everything Figured Out

It's tempting to assume that larger or more established companies have already solved their usability problems.

But even successful products can have confusing workflows, accessibility issues, and opportunities for improvement.

Confusing Expert Observations With User Research

A competitive analysis can reveal potential usability issues, but it doesn't automatically explain how real users experience them.

Whenever possible, validate your findings through usability testing, interviews, or other research methods.

Treating Competitive Analysis as a One-Time Activity

Products evolve.

Features change, new competitors emerge, and user expectations shift.

Revisiting your competitive landscape periodically can help ensure your decisions remain informed by current information.

Final Thoughts

The conversation I had with my client reminded me of something important.

It's easy to become so focused on our own product that we lose sight of what else exists.

And sometimes, what we believe makes our product unique isn't actually unique at all.

But that doesn't mean we don't have an opportunity to stand out.

Differentiation isn't always about offering something nobody else has. Sometimes, it's about delivering a better experience than anyone else.

Competitive analysis helps us challenge assumptions, understand user expectations, and identify opportunities to create more meaningful digital experiences.

Before deciding what makes your product different, ask yourself:

Do I actually know what my competitors are offering?

If the answer is no, a competitive analysis might be a great place to start.

Need Help Understanding Your Product's Competitive Landscape?

I'm Jamie, a UX designer with a master's degree in User Experience and experience working across engineering, human-machine interfaces, and freelance UX design.

Through Jamie Robinson UX, I help businesses evaluate digital experiences, identify usability issues, and make informed design decisions.

Whether you're launching something new, improving an existing product, or looking for opportunities to stand out, understanding the competitive landscape is an important part of the process.

Let's work together and create a better experience for your users.