# The best competitor research sources size, ads, reviews, hiring, prices.

> Company pages, ad libraries, reviews, job listings and store prices ranked as competitor research data sources for 2026, with what each returns.

Canonical: https://apiforagents.dev/best/best-competitor-research-data-sources · Updated 2026-10-21

The best competitor research sources are LinkedIn company pages for size and growth, the Facebook and LinkedIn ad libraries for what they promote, reviews for what customers say, job listings for where they invest and Shopify or Amazon for what they charge. Each answers a different question, so a full picture takes several of them.

- Sources ranked: 7
- LinkedIn company pages: $0.004 per record
- Facebook ads: $0.0045 per record
- Free trial: $0.10

## The ranking

| # | Source | What you get | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LinkedIn company pages | Industry, size band, employee count, followers, website, HQ, specialities | Size and growth | $0.004 per record |
| 2 | Facebook ads | Creative, headline, CTA, link, dates, platforms, EU reach | Consumer messaging | $0.0045 per record |
| 3 | LinkedIn Ad Library | Headline, body, format, click URL, impressions, days active | B2B messaging | $0.002 per record |
| 4 | Amazon reviews | Text, rating, verified-purchase flag, helpful votes, variant | What their buyers complain about | $0.00045 per record |
| 5 | Google Maps reviews | Text, stars, date, owner response | Local competitors | $0.000225 per record |
| 6 | LinkedIn jobs | Open roles with title, location, salary text, description | Where they are investing | $0.001 per record |
| 7 | Shopify store catalogue | Every product and variant with price, stock, sale flag | Direct-to-consumer pricing | $0.0009 per record |

List prices are per record and some calls carry a minimum. Quote any call first with "estimateOnly": true: the quote is free and is the most the call can cost.

## Each source, in order

- **[1. LinkedIn company pages](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/linkedin/company-api).** Company pages for up to ten handles per call. The free history operation stores followers and employee count for companies already held, so headcount growth is one free call after the first fetch.
- **[2. Facebook ads](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/facebook/ad-library-api).** Every ad a competitor's page runs in Meta's Ad Library, active or stopped. Shows the offers and the landing pages they push.
- **[3. LinkedIn Ad Library](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/linkedin/ads-library-api).** A competitor's live LinkedIn ads by Ad Library URL, with impressions, targeting location and how long each has run.
- **[4. Amazon reviews](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/amazon/reviews-api).** Reviews for up to ten competing products per call. Sort the low ratings into themes to find gaps you can fill. Amazon caps reviews at 100 per product.
- **[5. Google Maps reviews](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/google_maps/reviews-api).** Reviews for up to ten competing places, sorted lowest first if you want the complaints. The owner's responses show how each one handles them.
- **[6. LinkedIn jobs](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/linkedin/jobs-api).** Filter listings by company name to see which teams a competitor is growing and where. The description often names the tools and markets involved.
- **[7. Shopify store catalogue](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/shopify/products-api).** A competitor's full Shopify catalogue, up to five stores per call, with every variant's price and stock. The free history tracks price and stock changes. Use Amazon products for rivals that sell on Amazon.

## How to choose

- How big and how fast: LinkedIn company pages plus free history.
- What they say: Facebook ads and the LinkedIn Ad Library.
- What customers say about them: Amazon or Google Maps reviews.
- What they plan: LinkedIn jobs filtered by company.
- What they charge: Shopify or Amazon, fetched on a schedule.

## The operations on this list

- [LinkedIn Company API](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/linkedin/company-api): Size and growth
- [Facebook Ad Library API](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/facebook/ad-library-api): Consumer messaging
- [LinkedIn Ad Library API](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/linkedin/ads-library-api): B2B messaging
- [Amazon Reviews API](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/amazon/reviews-api): What their buyers complain about
- [Google Maps Reviews API](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/google_maps/reviews-api): Local competitors
- [LinkedIn Jobs API](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/linkedin/jobs-api): Where they are investing
- [Shopify Products API](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/shopify/products-api): Direct-to-consumer pricing

## Questions

### How can I track a competitor's headcount?

Read their LinkedIn company page for the employee count. The free history operation then stores the series for companies already held.

### Can I see what a competitor is hiring for?

Yes. Search LinkedIn jobs with their name in the companies filter, or search Indeed with their name as the keyword.

### Can I monitor competitor prices?

Yes. Fetch their Shopify store or Amazon products on a schedule; each fetch adds a price point and history reads the series free.

### Can I see competitor ads?

Yes, on Facebook (Meta's Ad Library, by page) and LinkedIn (by Ad Library URL).

## Why API for Agents

- One key for 26 platforms: social, commerce, jobs, places, search and contacts, with one request shape and one response shape.
- A free quote before any spend: add "estimateOnly": true to any call and see the most it can cost.
- Pay per record in US dollars. No subscription, nothing expires, top-ups from $5.
- $0.10 free to try, no card. An AI agent can sign itself up in one request; a person claims it later.
- Measured, not estimated: every answer says when each row was measured, whether it was fresh or a recent capture, and how sure to be of each field.
- Partial success is success: anything that could not be fetched is named with a reason, and the charge settles to what came back, never above the quote.
- Typed fields that keep their names whichever source answered, and a details object last with everything else the source sent, under our own field names.
- Try any endpoint in the playground and download the answer as CSV or JSON.

## Start

The playground runs any endpoint by hand: pick a platform and what you want from it, fill a short form named in plain words (or press Use sample input), see the free quote on the Run button, run it, then read the answer as a table or JSON and download it as CSV or JSON. The same call is written out as cURL, Python and Node while you type. Open it at https://apiforagents.dev/dashboard/run (sign in first).

Agents register at https://apiforagents.dev/auth.md (one POST, $0.10 free). People: https://apiforagents.dev/docs#start. Prices: https://apiforagents.dev/pricing.md