What should a competitive analysis include?

The competitors you actually lose deals to, a small set of axes that buyers care about, a comparison filled from primary sources, and — most important — the decision each comparison drives. A grid with no 'so what' is trivia.

How many competitors should I analyse?

Three to five. The ones you genuinely lose deals to, plus the obvious incumbent. A grid of fifteen competitors is impressive and unread; a tight set you act on is useful.

How do I keep a competitive market analysis from going stale?

Date every claim and set a review reminder. Competitors change pricing and ship features constantly, so an undated grid is misleading within a quarter. Keeping it in a wiki with version history shows what changed between refreshes.

Where should competitor claims come from?

Primary sources — the competitor's own documentation, pricing pages, and a trial account. Second-hand summaries drift. Cite the source and the date next to each claim so anyone can re-check it.

Competitive Analysis Template for SaaS teams — Template

TL;DR. A competitive analysis is a comparison table plus the decision it drives. Pick the axes buyers care about, fill them from primary sources, date every claim, and end with “so what.” Copy the body of this page into a wiki page and set a review date.

The value is not the grid; it is the decision the grid drives. A comparison with no conclusion is trivia. Keep the competitor set tight, the axes buyer-relevant, and every claim dated — competitors ship, and an undated analysis misleads within a quarter.

What a competitive analysis includes

The set. Three to five competitors you actually lose to.
The axes. Four to seven dimensions buyers decide on.
The comparison. Filled from primary sources, each claim dated.
The “so what.” The decision each row drives.

How to use this template

Copy the body below into a new wiki page in your space.
Pick axes that change a purchase decision, not every feature.
Fill the grid from the competitor’s own docs and a trial. Date it.
Write the decision each comparison drives.
Put a review date on it and a reminder to refresh.

The template — copy from here

Summary

Prepared by: <Name, role>
Date: <date> — Review by: <date>
Question this answers: <the decision this analysis informs>

The comparison

Axis (buyer cares about)	Us	`<Competitor A>`	`<Competitor B>`	Source / date
`<axis 1>`	`<...>`	`<...>`	`<...>`	`<link, date>`
`<axis 2>`	`<...>`	`<...>`	`<...>`	`<link, date>`

Where we win

<Axis and the buyer it matters to.>

Where we lose

<Axis and the buyer it matters to — written honestly.>

So what — decisions this drives

<Build / fix: what this tells us to do.>
<Position: how to message the difference.>
<Ignore: what not to chase.>

Common questions

What should it include? A tight competitor set, buyer-relevant axes, dated claims, and the decision each row drives.

How many competitors? Three to five — the ones you lose to plus the incumbent.

How do I keep it current? Date every claim and set a review reminder.

Keep the analysis in a wiki with version history so refreshes are visible, and link it from the briefs that cite it. Pair this with the User Persona Template and the Product Brief Template, or see the full template library.