Alternatives

6 best PPSPY alternatives in 2026

PPSPY is a capable Shopify spy and product-research tool — but it is not the right fit for everyone. Here are 6 alternatives compared on price, features and who each one is actually for, including the cases where PPSPY is still the one to keep.

Try Store Detector free Jump to the comparison

PPSPY Shopify spy + product research ppspy.com

A Chrome extension and web app built around 15-day AI sales tracking — it predicts a competitor’s orders over time rather than giving you one snapshot. Add product research by sales, revenue, price and category, store filtering by revenue, traffic and region, a store theme tool, an ad tracker, one-product-store discovery, a public API and an AI-assistant integration, over an index of 1M+ stores and 200M+ products.

Why people look for a PPSPY alternative

It gets expensive above the entry tier

Standard is $39/month, but Pro is $99 and Business $299, and the tiers are set by tracker counts and monthly credits rather than by features. Research volume, not the job you are doing, decides the bill.
The trial ends

A trial is not a free tier. Once it lapses, the product research and sales tracking that made the tool useful stop with it.
Dropshipping-first

The product is built around finding winners. If your question is "what is this specific store doing" — its app stack, its theme, its on-page SEO — that is a thinner part of the product.

We build a competing tool, so read this with that in mind — which is exactly why every block below lists what the tool does worse as well as better, and why 4 of the 12 rows in the comparison table go against us.

The 6 best PPSPY alternatives

1 Store Detector Best free all-rounder for Shopify Free · $4.99/mo
2 Koala Inspector Best for supplier matching Free · $22/mo
3 Dropship.io Best for TikTok Shop research $26–$49/mo
4 SellerCenter Best for multi-marketplace research Free · $4.99/mo
5 TrendTrack Best all-in-one, if the budget is there $42–$105/mo
6 BrandSearch Best for ad creative research Free trial, then paid

#1 · Best free all-rounder for Shopify Shopify spy extension + free rankings

1. Store Detector

A permanent free tier instead of a trial, and a deeper read on any single store: apps, theme, section clone, bestsellers and an SEO/CRO check, plus free ranking pages for every country and niche we hold.

What you get

Free core with no credit limits — the extension, the rankings and the API need no card
One sidebar covers traffic, revenue, ads, apps, theme, bestsellers and SEO
Section clone: lift a section from any store as working code
A public JSON API and an MCP server, so Claude or ChatGPT can query the index directly
Free ranking pages for every country and niche we hold — open, no login wall

What it does not do

No ad creative library — we report that a store is advertising and how many ads are live, not the creatives themselves
No email campaign archive; we detect the email platform, not the sends
No supplier or AliExpress image matching
Shopify only — WooCommerce, Amazon and TikTok Shop are out of scope

Pricing

The extension, every ranking page, all 17 free tools and the public JSON API are free with no account. Pro is $4.99/month billed annually ($59.88/year) or $9.99/month billed monthly, charged when you subscribe.

Install free See pricing

Store Detector sidebar showing a Shopify store's estimated monthly revenue, monthly visits, global rank and 12-month traffic trajectory

Best for

Anyone who wants the full per-store picture — traffic, ads, apps, theme, SEO — from a free tier with no search credits to run down, and who wants the same index reachable as open ranking pages, a JSON API and an MCP server rather than only through a dashboard.

Best for supplier matching

2. Koala Inspector

Shopify spy extension

The best-known free Shopify spy extension, with 250,000+ users. Click the icon on any Shopify store to get bestsellers by estimated sales, theme and app detection, traffic estimates and live ads — plus two things most rivals lack: AliExpress supplier matching by image, and monitoring that alerts you when a tracked store changes a product or a price.

Why it is on this list: The other well-known free-tier extension, at a flat $22/month, and it adds AliExpress supplier matching.

Strengths

AliExpress supplier matching by image — find who actually makes the product
Store monitoring with alerts on product and price changes
A free tier that never expires for theme and app detection
CSV and Excel export

Limitations

Sales estimates sit behind the $22/month tier — over four times Store Detector Pro
Some usage is metered through one-time token packs on top of the subscription
No searchable store database, public API or AI-assistant access is advertised
No section clone or on-page SEO/CRO checklist

Pricing

Free · $22/mo

A free tier that never expires covers browsing, theme and app detection. Sales estimates and the advanced panels are $22/month, with one-time token packs from $3.99.

Visit Koala Inspector

Best for: Dropshippers who want to trace a product back to its AliExpress supplier and be alerted when a competitor changes a price. That supplier match is a real capability Store Detector does not have.

Best for TikTok Shop research

3. Dropship.io

Product research + store & ad spy

A product-research platform that has pivoted hard toward TikTok Shop. It combines a product database, sales tracking, a Facebook ad library with an advertiser tracker, a shop library you can filter by revenue and growth, a Magic AI lookalike search by image or video, and a 350,000-creator library. 100,000+ users and 4.8/5 on Trustpilot.

Why it is on this list: Published pricing from $26/month, an ad library, and TikTok Shop coverage.

Strengths

Deep TikTok Shop coverage — revenue, daily sales and growth, where most Shopify tools have none
Ad library with an advertiser tracker and spend in USD
Magic AI lookalike search from an image or a video
A 350,000-creator library for influencer sourcing
Free Shopify theme detector, and a Chrome extension for ad spend and store analysis

Limitations

No permanently free plan — a trial, then $26/month at the cheapest on annual billing
Credit-metered: every Product, Shop, Creator and Ad Library view costs a credit, so heavy research months hit the cap
Product-research first — thinner than a spy extension on a single store’s app stack and SEO

Pricing

$26–$49/mo

Annual billing is $26, $34 or $49 per month for Basic, Standard and Premium; monthly is $39, $59 or $99. Usage is credit-metered — product, shop and ad library credits, plus caps on tracked shops.

Visit Dropship.io

Best for: Dropshippers whose next product is coming from TikTok Shop rather than Shopify, and who want creator sourcing in the same tool.

Best for multi-marketplace research

4. SellerCenter

Multi-platform spy + sourcing

The broadest surface area in this list: a web app plus two Chrome extensions (ShopifyHunt for stores, AliNiche for AliExpress) covering Shopify, Amazon, Wish, Shopee and Lazada. It adds 15-day sales tracking, ad intelligence across Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram, and 1688/Taobao image sourcing. 1.4M+ users.

Why it is on this list: A free tier plus five marketplaces and 1688/Taobao sourcing.

Strengths

Covers five marketplaces — Shopify, Amazon, Wish, Shopee and Lazada — not just Shopify
Ad library across Facebook, TikTok, YouTube and Instagram
1688 and Taobao image sourcing, alongside AliExpress
Shopify theme and app detectors, plus 15-day sales tracking with AI order trends
A permanently free tier, and paid tiers that start at the same price as ours

Limitations

Split across a web app and two separate extensions rather than one sidebar
Breadth over depth — less detailed on a single Shopify store than a focused spy tool
Credit-metered, with 300-item display limits on most features at the free tier

Pricing

Free · $4.99/mo

A permanently free tier with 1,000 credits a month, then Basic $4.99/month annual ($9.99 monthly), Pro $14.99 ($29.99) and Expert $49.99 ($99.99), metered by monthly credits. The Basic tier is priced identically to Store Detector Pro.

Visit SellerCenter

Best for: Sellers researching across Amazon, Wish, Shopee or Lazada as well as Shopify, and sourcing from 1688 or Taobao rather than AliExpress alone.

Best all-in-one, if the budget is there

5. TrendTrack

Store database + ad & email spy

The most feature-complete of the store-database platforms: 5M+ stores and 250M+ ads, with a shop database you can filter by niche, country and growth, an ad library, a BrandTracker that follows a competitor’s spend and hooks, shop analytics, and an email library that archives the campaigns brands send. It also ships free Shopify app and theme detectors, a free Chrome extension, and an MCP integration for Claude and ChatGPT.

Why it is on this list: The upgrade path if you want ads and email archived alongside the store data.

Strengths

Email library — an archive of the campaigns a brand actually sends, which almost nobody else has
Ad library across 250M+ ads, plus BrandTracker for spend, hooks and landing pages
5M+ store database with niche, country and growth filters
Shopify app and theme detectors, plus a free Chrome extension
An MCP integration, so Claude or ChatGPT can query stores, ads and emails directly

Limitations

No permanently free plan — the cheapest ongoing tier is $42/month on annual billing
Per-seat pricing at $20 on top of the plan
Result limits (shops, ads, email) are tiered, so the cheapest plan caps how much you can pull

Pricing

$42–$105/mo

Starter $42, Pro $63 and Business $105 per month on annual billing ($50 / $75 / $125 monthly), plus a custom Enterprise tier. 15% off quarterly, 30% off annual, and $20 per extra seat. There is a free Chrome extension and a free signup, but no permanently free plan.

Visit TrendTrack

Best for: Agencies and funded DTC teams that need ad creatives and email campaigns archived alongside store data, and have a research budget to match. The email library in particular is something Store Detector does not offer.

Best for ad creative research

6. BrandSearch

Store database + ad spy

A brand library of 7.5M+ Shopify stores and 160M+ ads, aimed at teams with real ad spend. Its Spectre AI tracks a competitor’s ads and landing pages daily, swipe files let you keep the creatives you want to model, and there is a free Chrome extension plus an API and MCP integration. Used by 50,000+ marketers including 7- and 8-figure brands.

Why it is on this list: Ad-creative research at a scale no spy extension matches.

Strengths

Very large ad index — 160M+ ads with AI-assisted discovery
Spectre AI tracks competitor ads and landing pages daily, with AI-ready JSON export
Swipe files for the creatives worth modelling
Brand library filterable by revenue, traffic and ad activity, across Meta, Google and TikTok
Free Chrome extension, plus an API and MCP integration

Limitations

Pricing is not published — you have to start a trial to find out what a tier costs
No permanently free plan, only a trial
Ad-first: the store-side detail is thinner than a dedicated Shopify spy tool

Pricing

Free trial, then paid

Three tiers — Starter, Outscaler and Agency — with monthly or yearly billing (roughly three months free on annual). No figures were published on their pricing page when we checked; the tiers are described by limits, from 15K stores on Starter to unlimited above it.

Visit BrandSearch

Best for: Media buyers who need to see and save competitors’ actual ad creatives and landing pages every day. Store Detector reports ad activity but does not archive the creatives.

Side by side

PPSPY alternatives, compared

Every tool on this page against the 12 capabilities that decide which one you need. 4 rows go against us — that is the honest shape of it.

Capability	PPSPY Comparing	Store Detector This is us	Koala Inspector	Dropship.io	SellerCenter	TrendTrack	BrandSearch
Free plan A free tier that does not expire (~ = trial only)	Partial	Yes	Yes	Partial	Yes	Partial	Partial
Chrome extension Analyse a store from the page you are on	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Traffic & revenue estimate Monthly visits and a modelled revenue figure	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Installed app detection Which Shopify apps the store runs	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not advertised	Yes	Yes	Yes
Theme detection Theme name and version	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Not advertised
Live ad detection Whether the store is advertising right now	Yes	Partial	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Ad creative library A searchable swipe file of the actual ads	Yes	No	Not advertised	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Product research Bestsellers and product discovery	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Change alerts Notified when a tracked store changes	Partial	No	Yes	Not advertised	Partial	Yes	Yes
Searchable store database Filter a whole index, not one store at a time	Yes	Partial	Not advertised	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Public API Query the data from your own code	Yes	Yes	Not advertised	Not advertised	Not advertised	Yes	Yes
AI assistant access MCP or an AI API for Claude / ChatGPT	Yes	Yes	Not advertised	Not advertised	Not advertised	Yes	Yes
Entry price Cheapest way in, checked 2026-08-02	$39–$299/mo	Free · $4.99/mo	Free · $22/mo	$26–$49/mo	Free · $4.99/mo	$42–$105/mo	Free trial, then paid

Yes
Partial
No
Not advertised by the vendor

Built from each vendor’s own public marketing, checked 2026-08-02. “Not advertised” means the capability is not claimed on their site — not that it is missing. Prices drift; check the vendor before you buy.

So which one should you pick?

There is no single best PPSPY alternative — there is a best one for the job you are doing. Find your row.

You want a free tier, not a trial

Store Detector

Free permanently, no card, and the rankings and API are open too.

Order trends are what you actually need

PPSPY

Stay. 15-day AI sales tracking is its real edge and none of these replicate it.

You want supplier sourcing

Koala Inspector or SellerCenter

AliExpress image matching, and 1688/Taobao respectively.

You want to know the price before signing up

Store Detector, Koala Inspector, SellerCenter or Dropship.io

All four publish their tiers openly. BrandSearch was the only tool here without public figures when we checked.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best free PPSPY alternative?

Store Detector — free with no card and no trial clock, covering traffic and revenue estimates, live ads, apps, theme, bestsellers and SEO on any Shopify store, plus free ranking pages and a public API.

Does any alternative do 15-day sales tracking?

SellerCenter advertises 15-day sales tracking with AI order trends as well. Store Detector shows a 12-month traffic trajectory and a modelled revenue range rather than predicted order counts.

Which tool is best for checking a store’s apps and theme?

Store Detector, and it is free — app detection, theme and version, and a section clone that gives you the markup. Koala Inspector also covers apps and theme on its free tier.