Sistrix vs SpyFu in 2026: European Visibility Index platform vs affordable PPC and SEO competitor intelligence
Sistrix leads with a proprietary Google visibility score and an API on every plan. SpyFu leads with historical ad data and 15-minute rank updates at a fraction of the price.
Sistrix
SpyFu- Sistrix starts at €119/month with API access included from the first tier. SpyFu starts at $39/month but reserves API access and white-label reports for the $119/month Pro + AI plan and above.
- SpyFu maintains years of historical PPC ad data, showing which ads competitors ran, for how long, and at what estimated spend. Sistrix has no equivalent PPC ad archive.
- SpyFu updates rank tracking as frequently as every 15 minutes on paid plans. Sistrix does not advertise a comparable real-time tracking frequency.
- Sistrix's Visibility Index is a widely cited European industry benchmark for overall domain search presence; SpyFu has no equivalent single-score metric.
- Neither tool tracks AI model or LLM visibility. Sistrix has no AI model tracking, and SpyFu explicitly confirms it does not monitor ChatGPT or Gemini visibility.
- SpyFu offers white-label branded client reports from its Pro + AI plan; Sistrix does not offer white-label reporting on any plan.
Sistrix and SpyFu both track organic search performance and competitors, but they were built for different budgets and different jobs. Sistrix is a European-focused platform anchored by the Visibility Index, a proprietary score of a domain's overall Google presence, priced from €119 per month with an API on every plan. SpyFu is a competitive intelligence tool that pairs SEO keyword research with a deep historical archive of competitor PPC campaigns, starting at $39 per month with white-label reporting and API access unlocked from the $119 per month Pro + AI tier. Sistrix is the deeper, pricier option for teams that live in European organic search data; SpyFu is the cheaper entry point for teams that need PPC and SEO competitor intelligence together.
The tools at a glance
Sistrix
Professional SEO platform with the Visibility Index, competitor intelligence, and AI-powered content tools
Sistrix is a professional SEO software platform, originally from Germany, that has become the standard tool for SEO professionals and agencies across the DACH region and broader European markets. The Visibility Index measures a domain's overall presence in Google search results by weighting keyword rankings against search volume, giving teams a single trusted score for tracking trends and comparing against competitors over time.
Beyond the Visibility Index, Sistrix covers technical SEO auditing, deep competitor analysis, keyword research, AI-powered content creation tools, and monitoring for Amazon and Instagram. The API is available on every plan starting at €119 per month and is well-documented, which has made it a favorite among technical SEO teams building custom dashboards or reporting pipelines.
Sistrix does not include PPC competitor data or ad spend history, and it has no white-label client reporting or AI model visibility tracking. Its focus is strictly organic search intelligence, with pricing on the higher end of the market for teams that value the depth of its historical European data.
| Feature | Start €119/month | Plus €239/month | Professional €419/month | Premium €799/month | Enterprise Contact for pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| API access | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| White-label reports | No | No | No | No | No |
| AI content tools | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Amazon/Instagram monitoring | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| AI model tracking | No | No | No | No | No |
SpyFu
Competitive intelligence for SEO and PPC with 15-minute rank updates and historical ad data
SpyFu is a competitive intelligence platform built to uncover the SEO and PPC strategies of competing websites. Its signature feature is a historical archive of competitor PPC campaigns going back years, showing which ads a domain has run, the keywords targeted, and estimated spend, which is a differentiator that pure rank trackers do not offer.
Beyond PPC research, SpyFu provides its own rank tracking with update intervals as frequent as every 15 minutes, backlink analysis, and white-label branded reports for client delivery from the Pro + AI plan upward. The Pro + AI tier also adds a ChatGPT integration that layers AI-generated recommendations on top of the raw ranking and keyword data.
SpyFu is not a full enterprise SEO suite in the way Sistrix aims to be. Its keyword database is smaller, it does not include the depth of technical site auditing that Sistrix offers, and it has no AI model or LLM visibility tracking. For teams whose core workflow is competitive PPC and SEO research on a budget, though, SpyFu's $39 per month entry point undercuts Sistrix significantly.
| Feature | Basic $39/month | Pro + AI $119/month | Team/Agency $249/month |
|---|---|---|---|
| API access | No | Yes | Yes |
| White-label reports | No | Yes | Yes |
| Rank tracking updates | Weekly | 15 min | 15 min |
| AI-powered recommendations | No | Yes | Yes |
| AI model tracking | No | No | No |
Head-to-head feature comparison
| Feature | Sistrix | SpyFu |
|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | Organic search visibility and competitor intelligence | PPC and SEO competitor intelligence |
| API access | Yes, on all plans | Pro + AI plan and above |
| White-label reporting | No | Pro + AI plan and above |
| Historical PPC ad data | No | Yes (years of historical ad data) |
| Rank tracking update frequency | Not specified as real-time | As frequent as 15 minutes on paid plans |
| AI model / LLM tracking | No | No |
| Technical site audit | Yes | Not a core focus |
| Proprietary visibility benchmark | Yes (Visibility Index) | No |
| Content creation tools | Yes (AI content tools) | Yes (AI-powered recommendations on Pro + AI) |
| Free trial or free tier | No | No |
| Starting price | €119/month | $39/month |
Which should you choose?
SistrixSpyFuSpyFuSistrixSpyFuSistrixSistrix and SpyFu overlap on organic keyword research and competitor rank comparison, but each has a distinct center of gravity. Sistrix is stronger for teams that need a trusted single-score benchmark, deep European search data, and an API available immediately. SpyFu is stronger for teams that run PPC alongside SEO and want historical ad intelligence plus a faster rank refresh cycle, all at roughly a third of Sistrix's entry price.
Bottom line
Choose Sistrix if your team operates primarily in European markets, needs the Visibility Index for client or executive reporting, and wants an API from the cheapest plan. Choose SpyFu if PPC competitor research matters as much as SEO, budget is a real constraint, and you want white-label reports without paying enterprise prices. Neither tracks AI model visibility, so pair whichever you choose with a dedicated AI visibility tool if that is part of your remit.
Frequently asked questions
Is SpyFu cheaper than Sistrix?
Yes. SpyFu starts at $39 per month compared to Sistrix's €119 per month entry tier, though SpyFu reserves API access and white-label reports for its $119 per month Pro + AI plan, while Sistrix includes API access from its cheapest tier.
Does Sistrix track competitor PPC campaigns like SpyFu does?
No. Sistrix does not have a PPC ad history database. Its competitor intelligence is focused on organic Visibility Index trends and keyword rankings. SpyFu is the stronger choice specifically for historical PPC ad spend and campaign data.
Which tool updates rankings faster, Sistrix or SpyFu?
SpyFu advertises rank tracking updates as frequent as every 15 minutes on its Pro + AI and Team/Agency plans. Sistrix does not publish a comparable real-time update frequency, so for teams that need near-instant rank change visibility, SpyFu has the edge.
Do either Sistrix or SpyFu monitor AI search visibility in ChatGPT or Gemini?
No. Neither tool tracks AI model or LLM visibility. Sistrix has no AI model tracking of any kind, and SpyFu explicitly confirms it does not monitor ChatGPT or Gemini presence. Both are focused on traditional Google search and, in SpyFu's case, PPC data.
Is SpyFu good enough to replace a full SEO suite like Sistrix for an agency?
It depends on the agency's workload. SpyFu covers competitive PPC and SEO research well but has a smaller keyword database and less technical audit depth than Sistrix. Agencies doing deep organic technical work across many European domains will likely still need Sistrix or a similarly deep platform alongside SpyFu.