Top 8 Free Similarweb Features | Rank Ranger

Top 8 Free Similarweb Features: How Good Are They?

Similarweb is a digital intelligence platform that provides web analytics services to help businesses understand their competitors, industry trends, and digital market dynamics. It tracks and analyzes data across websites, apps, and online platforms, offering insights into the digital world.

Similarweb also believes in democratizing data, which is why they offer a bunch of free tools on their website…but are they any good?

That’s why I decided to put Similarweb’s free tools to the test and see how useful they really are for competitive intelligence. From traffic data on websites and apps to keyword data, backlink data, and even website technologies data. I had to check how actionable they are, and what I found was surprising, so let’s dig in, shall we?

How to use free Similarweb features for competitive insights

To see how useful these free tools really are, I rolled up my sleeves and put them to work. Here’s what I found:

1. Analyze any website’s traffic and engagement

When it feels like a competitor is everywhere, you want to know why. Instead of guessing, Similarweb’s Website Traffic Checker helps you analyze the exact strategy they use, so you can learn what works and adapt your own strategy.

How this feature works:

Example: Analyzing Expedia.com’s web traffic vs a competitor

A travel deals website wants to see how Expedia.com is performing. Using the tool, they found that Expedia got 64.9 million monthly visits in February 2029, mostly from organic search, with users worldwide predominantly being in the US (89%).

Other insights include audience interests, such as the top categories and topics that get the most visits based on Expedia visitors, as well as other travel websites that also get traffic from the same visitors.

You can also look at the marketing mix, which shows that Expedia and its top competitor (hotels.com) both get around 20% of traffic from organic search and that other key traffic sources are direct (46%) and paid search (23%).

The Traffic Checker has many more metrics and views, including the ability to add one competitor site for a side-by-side analysis. In this example, that’s Priceline.com, another leading OTA site. You’ll need to sign up for the 7-day trial to add more competitors to your mix.

2. Check any mobile app’s engagement and usage

For app marketers, understanding user engagement is critical. Similarweb’s Free App Analytics provides insights into monthly active users (MAU), retention rates, and download trends for any app.

How this feature works:

Example: Analyzing OkCupid app Stats vs Bumble

A new dating app wants to understand OkCupid’s market position, especially compared to Bumble.

The app comparison tool shows that in the last 28 days (as of March 13), OkCupid had a usage rank of 10, while Bumble ranked higher at 3, indicating that users in the dating category slightly prefer Bumble. This trend aligns with Google Play’s store rankings, where OkCupid is ranked #11, while Bumble holds the #2 spot.

Interestingly, the data also shows that for a short period last month, Bumble was ranked #1 in the category, whereas OkCupid dropped as low as #17 before steadily improving its position.

Why is this important? Understanding these shifts helps you refine your app growth strategy – whether by adjusting acquisition efforts, optimizing app store presence (organically or through paid efforts), or identifying when competitors gain an edge.

3. Find keyword opportunities

In 2025, keyword research is important for both SEO and PPC. Similarweb’s Free Keyword Generator gives you data on what people are searching for, historically and in near real-time, with the freshest keyword data. This can easily help you identify and pick the keywords you should target to rank on Google’s first-page SERP.

How this feature works:

Example: Keyword research for a flower shop website

An online flower shop in NYC searches for “flower delivery” and finds that “same day flower delivery” has a high search volume (25.9K) and a relatively competitive cost-per-click (CPC) of $4.57, with a keyword difficulty score of 74. On the other hand, “flower delivery NYC” has a much lower keyword difficulty score of 34, but is more expensive to bid on at $6.98.

Other keyword suggestions help the business identify the most relevant terms to create organic content for. By checking the Related Keywords tab, they discover that “send flowers” is a great term to compete on: it has a high search volume of 81.3K while the CPC is under $4, making it a cost-effective choice.

Signing up for an account lets you access more keyword stats and even export data to Excel so you can work with it more freely. Plus, you can create custom keyword lists. That way, you can focus on the terms that matter most to your business.

4. Perform a range of competitor analyses with Similarweb’s 7-day free trial

The 7-day free trial lets you explore Similarweb’s competitive analysis, keyword research, and business benchmarking tools. It gives you a hands-on look at the platform’s capabilities, helping you decide which paid plan works best for you.

3 things you can do with the 7-day free trial of Similarweb

1. Competitor analysis

Once inside, you can use Similarweb’s competitor analysis tools to dig into your competitors’ SEO, PPC, affiliate, and advertising strategies, all in one place. Here’s what you can explore:

Here’s an example of what a typical competitor analysis looks like:

You can see how using the Competitive Tracker, gardenworld.com, a plants ecommerce site, can see a detailed view of up to 24 competitor sites’ marketing channels, including leaderboards and examples of ads and creatives other plant providers are using.

2. Run media buying analysis to find the best publishers to partner with

If you own a business that relies on paid advertising, knowing where to place your ads is priceless. With Similarweb’s 7-day free trial, you can spy on competitors’ display and search strategies to gain a competitive edge. Find the best publishers to work with, no guesswork, just real data on which publishers drive high-quality traffic and how they perform across industries.

How this feature works:

A tech review site is considering publishing Google Ads on Forbes.com. Using Similarweb’s free tools, they can get data on the top domains receiving traffic from this leading news site.

From March 2024 to February 2025, the top advertisers on Forbes.com included:

Interestingly, most top domains saw a month-over-month decline, except for Booking.com, which grew 27% MoM, and Wayfair.com, which ranked #6 and experienced an impressive 152% increase in traffic. This suggests that Wayfair has been running highly effective ads on Forbes.com, resulting in strong performance gains.

If I focus only on ad networks to determine which ones drive the most traffic or provide the best ROI, the data shows that CJ Affiliate dominates with a 30.4% traffic share, followed by Paid Referrals at 3.8%. Interestingly, Google Display Network (GDN) accounts for only 16.8% of the ad network share, indicating that affiliates provide the best ROI for advertisers on Forbes.com.

3. Perform ad research to see what competitors are doing

Successful ad campaigns start with knowing what works for your competitors. With a free Similarweb account, you can get key insights into their advertising strategies and use that intel to refine your own campaigns.

The tool lets you:

Here’s a look at what you can access inside Similarweb’s ad intelligence tool:

5. Find the most visited websites or apps by country

Understanding global digital trends is crucial. Similarweb’s free website and app analysis tools allow you to explore top-ranking websites and apps across different countries, providing valuable insights into potential markets and user behavior.

While these are technically three separate tools, they work best when used together to create a holistic view of your (or your competitor’s) digital marketing strategy. That’s why we’ve combined them into one section. These tools offer a quick snapshot of digital popularity, helping you see where different platforms and apps are gaining traction.

1. Web Category Leaders

The website ranking tool provides a snapshot of the top-ranking domains in the world, ranked by traffic and engagement for every web category and country, along with key metrics. With a free trial account, you can access a much larger list of websites and use the country filter to focus on the markets that matter most to you.

You can view metrics like rank change, average visit duration, and pages per visit to better understand website performance and benchmark against competitors.

As of March 1, 2025, in the “All Categories” and “Worldwide” view:

2. See the top iPhone apps

This tool lets you quickly discover the leading iOS apps in various countries.

Filters include country, free vs. paid apps, and device type (iPhone vs. iPad, since rankings differ based on user preference). The ranking reflects App Store performance, with an additional column for monthly ranking changes to track app popularity trends.

For example, filtering by the highest monthly ranking change in the US (March 2025) shows:

3. View the top apps on Android

Similarweb’s app data also powers a robust Android app ranking tool, helping you explore the most downloaded and used Android apps globally.

You can toggle between the Google Play Store and Apple App Store at the top, making it easy to compare app rankings across platforms. This tool offers similar ranking metrics, including categories, countries, and top free vs. top paid apps, helping you understand the global Android market and pinpoint where specific apps are trending.

Here, when filtering by change in store ranking in the last month, we see that:

6. Track industry trends and SERP volatility

This is another great free tool that Similarweb developed specifically for search marketers. Google’s algorithm updates can significantly impact rankings, and Similarweb’s SERP Seismometer helps you track these fluctuations, so you can stay ahead of major shifts.

The free SERP Seismometer provides daily monitoring of ranking fluctuations and Google algorithm changes. That way, you don’t have to rely on news outlets to know when an update has occurred.

It measures SERP fluctuations for 10K+ domains and keywords that are tracked daily, covering both Google Desktop and Google Mobile. With it, you can analyze volatility over the past 30 and 90 days to get a complete view of SERP trends.

How this feature works:

If I see a sudden spike in volatility in the health and wellness industry, for example, I can investigate potential algorithm updates affecting rankings. This tool works for both Google Desktop and Google Mobile, across different versions and timeframes.

7. Analyze any company’s market, audience, and digital footprints

Similarweb’s free company analysis tool provides you with a holistic view of any company’s digital presence, market share, and audience.

How this feature works:

Example: Analyzing Uber Technologies Inc. market share

By analyzing Uber, you can see that it has subsidiaries like Postmates.com (a leading food delivery platform) and Careem.com (an EMEA-focused transportation app).

The tool surfaces trends like Uber.com’s total visits, which declined from 78 million in December 2024 to 70 million in February 2025.

Additionally, you can gain insights into audience behavior, such as Postmates.com’s longer average visit duration compared to Uber.com and Careem.com. The Top Technologies analysis also reveals Uber’s tech stack, which shows that they use technologies like PayPal and Google Analytics.

8. Search for any technology and reveal its market share and usage stats

Beyond just understanding a competitor’s tech stack, Similarweb’s Website Technology Checker allows you to analyze the broader market share and usage of any technology. This transforms competitive analysis into a powerful lead-generation tool. Imagine instantly seeing which websites use WordPress, React, Shopify, or any other technology.

How this feature works:

Example: Checking WordPress CMS market share

You can instantly see the market share of any technology. For instance, if you’re a competitor to WordPress, you can analyze how top sites like Canva, Zoom.us, and TikTok contribute to a significant share of WordPress’s overall traffic. This level of detail helps you understand the major players within a technology’s ecosystem.

Understanding where a technology is most widely used is also crucial. For example, WordPress’s primary market is the U.S., followed by India and Japan. With this data, you can focus your marketing efforts on the most relevant regions.

And that’s a wrap on our top 8 free Similarweb features!

Conclusion: Using Similarweb can be your (free) marketing advantage

In a world where data is power, Similarweb’s free tools give you an edge. If budget is one of your concerns, don’t be afraid to use these tools to access the data you need to achieve growth. Whether you’re a senior marketer or just starting out, these insights can upgrade your strategy without costing a dime.

We’ve shown you how to:

Now it’s your turn to turn this free guide into a real marketing impact. Don’t let budget constraints hold you back. Start using the power of free digital intelligence today!

FAQs

What are the key free features available in Similarweb?

Similarweb offers several powerful free features, including:

How accurate is the data provided by Similarweb’s free tools?

Similarweb uses advanced data aggregation and machine learning algorithms to provide accurate estimates. While free tools may have limitations compared to paid versions, they still offer valuable insights for competitive analysis and market research.

Can I use Similarweb’s free tools for my own website analysis?

Yes, you can use Similarweb’s free tools to analyze your own website’s performance, but keep in mind that the free features may have usage limitations. For a more comprehensive analysis of your own site, a paid subscription provides deeper insights and more detailed data.

How often is the data updated in Similarweb’s free tools?

The data update frequency varies depending on the specific tool and data type. Similarweb strives to provide up-to-date information, but real-time data may only be available in paid versions.