If you’ve ever wondered how some online stores always seem to know exactly what’s selling like hotcakes, you’re not alone. The secret often lies in the tools they use to spy on competitors and spot trending products before anyone else. PPSPY is one of those popular tools, leveraging AI to reveal top sellers on Shopify, but it’s just the tip of the iceberg. There are plenty of powerful alternatives out there—each with its own strengths—that can help you uncover winning products, analyze competitor strategies, and level up your e-commerce game.

With millions of businesses advertising across Facebook, TikTok, and other social platforms, the ability to uncover viral products and analyze competitor strategies can make or break your dropshipping or online store. In this guide, we cover the 7 best PPSPY alternatives, each with unique strengths to help you research products, spy on ads, and boost your business growth.

Summary: Top 7 PPSPY Alternatives and Their Strengths

• Dropship.io – All-in-one platform with a huge product database, real-time sales tracking, and multi-platform store support. Ideal for comprehensive product and competitor research.
• Minea – Multi-platform ad spy tool with an extensive ad library and AI-powered trending product detection. Best for finding viral products via social media ads.
• PiPiADS – TikTok-focused ad spy tool with millions of TikTok ads and daily trending product feeds. Perfect for marketers leveraging TikTok’s explosive growth.
• BigSpy – Massive ad database covering 9+ networks with powerful search and competitor ad tracking. Great for broad ad spying and creative inspiration.
• Ecomhunt – Curated winning products platform with analytics and saturation meters. Excellent for quick product research with expert guidance.
• Thieve.co – Trend-driven product discovery with supplier matching and AI content generation. Ideal for finding hot products and ready-to-use marketing content.
• Koala Inspector – Free Chrome extension for Shopify store spying, revealing best-sellers, apps, themes, and traffic sources. Best free option for competitor store analysis.
  

What Is PPSPY?

PPSPY is an AI-powered product research and competitor spying tool primarily designed for Shopify stores. It helps dropshippers and e-commerce entrepreneurs uncover winning products by analyzing what other stores are selling and how successful those products are. With PPSPY, users can quickly identify trending items, track competitor sales, and get insights into the marketing strategies that drive conversions.

Key Features of PPSPY

• AI-Powered Product Discovery: Uses artificial intelligence to scan thousands of Shopify stores and highlight products with strong sales performance.
• Sales Tracking: Provides estimates of daily and monthly sales for products and stores, helping users gauge demand and profitability.
• Competitor Analysis: Allows users to spy on rival stores’ product catalogs, pricing, and best-sellers.
• Chrome Extension: Offers an easy-to-use browser extension to instantly access product and store data while browsing Shopify sites.
• Marketing Insights: Some versions include ad spying capabilities to analyze competitors’ Facebook and Instagram ads related to winning products.

Why Do You Need a Spy Tool?

In the world of online selling, knowledge is power — especially when it comes to understanding your competition. Spy tools give you a behind-the-scenes look at what other successful stores are doing: which products are flying off the shelves, how they price their items, and what marketing strategies they use to attract customers.

Instead of guessing or relying on luck, spy tools provide real data and insights that help you:

• Discover Winning Products Faster: Spot trending items before they saturate the market, giving you a crucial first-mover advantage.
• Analyze Competitor Strategies: Learn what’s working for other stores, from product selection to pricing and promotions, so you can adapt and improve your own approach.
• Optimize Your Marketing: See the ads your competitors run, helping you craft better campaigns that resonate with your audience.
• Save Time and Reduce Risk: Avoid costly mistakes by investing in products and strategies proven to perform well.
• Stay Ahead of Trends: E-commerce moves fast — spy tools keep you updated on what’s hot, so you never miss an opportunity.

Simply put, a spy tool transforms guesswork into data-driven decisions, making your online business smarter, faster, and more competitive.

Top 7 PPSPY Alternatives 

Finding the right tool to research products and spy on competitors can transform your dropshipping or e-commerce business. Below, we’ve rounded up seven of the best PPSPY alternatives that offer powerful insights, multi-platform support, and unique features to help you discover winning products and stay ahead of the competition.

1. Dropship.io – Comprehensive Store Analytics & Product Hunting

Dropship.io  is a powerful product research and competitor analysis platform designed by seasoned e-commerce entrepreneurs. Unlike PPSPY, which focuses primarily on Shopify, Dropship.io supports multiple platforms, including Amazon, WooCommerce, and eBay. This multi-platform support broadens your research capabilities, allowing you to discover products trending across various marketplaces.

Key Features

• Extensive Product Database: Explore millions of products with detailed sales data and trending metrics to help identify high-potential items.
• Real-Time Sales Tracking: Monitor Shopify stores’ daily, weekly, and monthly sales to gauge product popularity and store performance.
• Competitor Insights: Analyze competitors’ store apps, traffic sources, best sellers, and pricing strategies for a comprehensive competitive analysis.
• Chrome Extension: Access detailed data instantly while browsing Shopify stores, streamlining your research process.
• Supplier & Facebook Ads Library Integration: Quickly connect product research with reliable suppliers and Facebook ad creatives to ease sourcing and marketing.

Pros

• An all-in-one solution combining product hunting, competitor analysis, and marketing insights.
• Budget-friendly with free trial options, ideal for beginners and scaling stores.
• Visual and easy-to-understand dashboards, making data interpretation accessible.
• Supplier and ad integrations streamline product launch workflow.

Cons

• Real-time sales tracking currently focuses mainly on Shopify, limiting comprehensive tracking for other platforms.
• Some multi-platform features are still evolving and may lack depth compared to dedicated tools for those platforms.

2. Minea – Multi-Platform Ad Spy & Winning Product Finder

Minea is a versatile ad intelligence platform that monitors ads across major social media platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat. It uses AI to analyze millions of ads daily, helping users spot trending products and winning ad campaigns early.

Key Features

• Massive Ad Library: Over 200 million ads from leading social platforms updated constantly.
• AI-Powered Trend Detection: Highlights viral and trending products based on real-time ad performance.
• Advanced Filters: Search by keyword, engagement, geographic location, platform, and other parameters for precise results.
• Shopify Integration: Simplifies adding winning products to your store directly from the platform.
• Chrome Extension: Research ads on the fly while browsing social platforms.

Pros

• Covers multiple social networks in a single interface, offering a broad market view.
• Real-time detection of product trends reduces lag time in capitalizing on viral products.
• Free Lite plan available to start, with competitive paid options for more advanced users.
• Includes influencer campaign insights for deeper competitor understanding.

Cons

• TikTok data access is restricted to paid plans.
• Complexity and breadth of features require some learning time.

3. PiPiADS – TikTok Ads Spy Tool for Viral Product Trends

PiPiADS specializes in TikTok advertising intelligence, boasting a database of over 20 million TikTok ads. It focuses on uncovering the hottest trending products on TikTok, one of the fastest-growing e-commerce and social commerce platforms.

Key Features

• Extensive TikTok Ad Library: Access a vast collection of daily updated TikTok ads across niches.
• Tailored TikTok Metrics: Filter ads based on impressions, engagement, campaign duration, and location.
• Competitor & Advertiser Profiles: Examine competitors’ ad histories and strategies.
• Curated Daily Winning Products: Stay informed with a list of viral TikTok products updated every day.
• User-Friendly Interface: Intuitive design suitable for all experience levels.

Pros

• The leading tool for TikTok ad spying and product discovery.
• Early identification of viral trends allows first-mover advantages.
• Clean interface with detailed data and daily content refresh.

Cons

• Limited to TikTok; lacks cross-platform spying capability.
• No permanent free plan; trial available only.

4. BigSpy – Largest Multi-Platform Ad Database for Creative Spying

BigSpy offers an enormous database of over one billion ads across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, and TikTok. It’s geared toward marketers seeking comprehensive creative inspiration and competitor ad intelligence across multiple channels.

Key Features

• Broad Network Coverage: Ad data from nine major global advertising platforms.
• Advanced Search & Filtering: Powerful filters allow searching by platform, region, niche, ad format, engagement, and more.
• Competitor Monitoring: Track competitors’ ads and social media activity.
• ‍Trending Ads & Creative Downloads: Access top-performing ads for inspiration and download creatives for reference.‍
• Multi-language and Regional Support: Search ads based on specific geographic or language criteria.

Pros

• Extensive multi-platform coverage unmatched by many competitors.
• Facilitates competitor analysis with easy access to their ad campaigns.
• Affordable entry-level pricing suitable for beginners.
• Provides useful engagement metrics to gauge ad popularity.

Cons

• Engagement metrics don’t always correlate directly with sales success.
• Requires additional tools or methods for sales data validation.

5. Ecomhunt – Curated Winning Products Platform with Analytics

Ecomhunt is a curated product research platform that handpicks winning products daily and provides detailed analytics, including competition saturation and profit margins.

Key Features

• Daily Curated Product Picks: Expert-selected products with comprehensive data.
• Profitability & Engagement Metrics: Insights into social media engagement and estimated profits.
• Saturation Meter: Helps sellers avoid overly saturated markets.
• Live Trending Products: Real-time tracking of rising product trends.
• Shopify Integration: One-click product import and AliExpress review integration for quick store setup.

Pros

• Saves time and effort by offering expertly researched product suggestions.
• Saturation meter helps sellers choose less competitive niches.
• Quick Shopify import with social proof through reviews.
• Community support and educational resources available.

Cons

• Free version is limited; paid plans are needed for full access.
• Pricing can be steep for beginners wanting advanced features.

6. Thieve.co – Curated Trending Products with Supplier Matching

Thieve.co  provides a curated daily selection of trending and quality products, mainly sourced from AliExpress, supported by an active community.

Key Features

• Daily Trending Product Feed: Regular updates of trending, high-quality items.
• Reliable Supplier Matching: Helps identify trustworthy suppliers for chosen products.
• AI-Generated Product Descriptions: Saves time on copywriting.
• Reverse Image Search: Find products by uploading images.
• Watermark Removal Tools: Clean product images for better marketing visuals.

Pros

• Curated selection reduces guesswork and highlights trending items.
• Focuses on supplier reliability to improve customer satisfaction.
• Time-saving AI marketing tools.
• High-quality product visuals improve store appeal.
  

Cons

• Pricing details are not clearly disclosed upfront.
• Does not provide in-depth sales or performance analytics.

7. Koala Inspector – Free Shopify Store Spy Extension for Competitor Insights

Koala Inspector is a free Chrome extension that reveals vital insights into Shopify stores, including best-selling products, installed apps, themes, and estimated traffic sources.

Key Features

• Live Store Data: View competitors’ products, apps, and themes in real-time.
• Traffic & Engagement Estimates: Get rough visitor metrics and traffic sources.
• Ads Insights (Premium): See competitor ad campaigns and strategies.
• Product Source Finder: Find supplier links for competitor products.
• Data Export: Export gathered data for further analysis (paid plans).

Pros

• Free tier provides valuable baseline competitor data.
• Reveals competitor technology stack and marketing tools.
• Easy-to-use browser extension for quick spying.
• Helps identify product sourcing efficiently.

Cons

• Many advanced features are restricted to paid tiers.
• Only works with Shopify stores; no support for other platforms.

Best Practices When Using a Dropship Spy Tool

Dropshipping spy tools are invaluable for uncovering winning products, analyzing competitors, and shaping your marketing strategies. However, simply having access to these tools isn’t enough to guarantee success. To truly benefit, you need to use them wisely and strategically. Below are some best practices to help you get the most out of any dropshipping spy tool.

1. Define Clear Research Goals

Before diving into any spy tool, clarify exactly what you want to achieve. Are you looking for new product ideas? Analyzing competitor pricing? Exploring advertising strategies? Setting specific goals helps you focus your efforts and avoid information overload.

• Product Research: If your goal is to find winning products, focus on tools or features that provide real sales data, trend insights, and saturation metrics.
• Competitor Analysis: To understand how competitors market and price products, use features that reveal ads, pricing strategies, and traffic sources.
• Ad Inspiration: If you want to craft better ads, pay attention to ad creatives, engagement metrics, and campaign structures your competitors use.

Having a focused approach makes your research time effective and actionable.

2. Use Multiple Tools to Cross-Verify Data

No single spy tool has a monopoly on perfect data. Different platforms gather data differently and may cover different channels. To make well-informed decisions:

• Combine product research data from one tool with ad intelligence from another. For example, use Dropship.io or Ecomhunt for product sales data, and Minea or BigSpy for ad insights.
• Cross-check sales estimates with ad engagement to validate if a popular ad is truly driving conversions.
• Use free tools like Koala Inspector to verify competitor store apps and product sources.

Cross-verification reduces risks of relying on misleading or incomplete data.

3. Don’t Chase Every Trend — Analyze Market Saturation

Spy tools often highlight viral products or ads with high engagement, but not every trending product is profitable. Use saturation or competition metrics, when available, to gauge how crowded the market is:

• Avoid products with extremely high saturation scores or hundreds of sellers to minimize cutthroat competition.
• Look for trending products with moderate saturation, offering room to enter and grow.
• Study seasonal trends carefully — some products spike quickly but fade just as fast.

Balancing trendiness with saturation ensures you select sustainable, profitable products.

4. Dig Deeper Than Surface Metrics

High ad engagement or many sellers don’t always translate into profits. Go beyond the surface data by:

• Checking product reviews and ratings on supplier sites like AliExpress to assess quality and customer satisfaction.
• Analyzing competitors’ store setups, upsell offers, and marketing funnels to identify strengths and weaknesses.
• Reviewing ad copy and creatives carefully — see what messaging resonates and what could be improved.
• Considering profit margins carefully after factoring in product cost, shipping, ad spend, and platform fees.

This deeper analysis helps avoid costly mistakes and positions your store for success.

5. Keep an Eye on Multiple Platforms and Channels

Consumers shop and discover products across various platforms. Limitations to just Shopify or Facebook might cause you to miss lucrative opportunities. Effective spy research includes:

• Monitoring ads and product trends on TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, and emerging channels, depending on your target audience.
• Checking competitor activity not just on Shopify stores but also on marketplaces like Amazon and eBay.
• Exploring ad creatives across platforms to inspire diverse marketing campaigns.

This multi-channel vigilance helps you spot untapped trends and stay ahead in a dynamic market.

6. Use Spy Tools Ethically and Strategically

While spy tools offer valuable intelligence, use them responsibly:

• Avoid outright copying competitors’ ads or branding. Instead, get inspired and add your unique twist to your marketing.
• Respect copyright and intellectual property; don’t plagiarize images or copy protected content.
• Focus on understanding customer pain points and crafting original solutions rather than mimicking blindly.
• Spy tools should supplement your creativity and strategy, not replace them.

Ethical use not only keeps you safe legally but also builds a stronger brand reputation.

7. Continuously Monitor and Adapt

The e-commerce landscape evolves rapidly, and what works today might not tomorrow. Make spy tool usage an ongoing part of your business process:

• Regularly check for new trending products and emerging competitors.
• Track the performance of products and ads you’ve launched, and adjust based on what the spy tools reveal about market shifts.
• Stay informed about platform algorithm changes (e.g., Facebook or TikTok ad policies) that affect ad visibility and success.
• Use spy tools to test new product ideas quickly and iterate faster than competitors.

Consistent monitoring and adaptation keep your business agile and competitive.

Conclusion

Choosing the right PPSPY alternative depends on your unique needs. Whether you want comprehensive multi-platform analytics, focused TikTok ad insights, curated product lists, or free competitor spying, this list covers every angle. Start with free trials to test features, then invest wisely in tools that empower your product research and advertising strategies.

With the right spy tool in your arsenal, you can uncover winning products faster, replicate successful marketing campaigns, and stay ahead of the competition in the ever-evolving e-commerce landscape.