Best for
Best for Amazon brands, sellers and agencies that research markets at the level of brands, sellers and subcategories.
E-commerce Seller Tools Comparison
SmartScout vs. What Sells Next
At a glance
At a glance
Best for
Best for Etsy sellers who make their own products and want to test an idea against the market before making it.
- Freelancers
Cataleo does not name a winner. Both statements come from the vendors themselves.
Full Comparison
| Criterion | SmartScout | What Sells Next |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | From $29 / month, billed yearly Basic is $49 a month billed monthly. Enterprise is priced on request. | Free Premium is £12 per month, tax included, cancel anytime. |
| Free trial | 7-day money-back guarantee on paid plans, once per customer within the first seven days of the account | No trial; an ongoing free plan instead |
| API | API, data lake and seller exports as add-ons through sales; an MCP server with 1,000 monthly credits on Business and full access on Enterprise | Not stated |
| Hosting | Cloud: a web app and a Chrome extension | Cloud: a web app and a Chrome extension |
| Made in | Not stated | United Kingdom |
| Product research | Product, brand, seller and subcategory databases (30,000,000+ active products, 500,000+ brands, 2,000,000+ sellers and 40,000+ subcategories, unlocked by plan), a subcategory niche finder, a sales estimator and a Chrome extension; TikTok Shop product, creator and content research | Product discovery, Opportunity Radar and the Crossover Lab, which combines a product with a theme. Idea checks show comparable Etsy listings, asking prices and buyer signals, with an idea board and build guides for planning the make. |
| Marketplace keyword research | Search Terms Explorer for related keywords and demand, Rank Maker for a product's search-term performance, a keyword map and historical search trends; unlimited keyword research and tracking from Essentials | Keyword research and Keyword Smash |
| Listing optimisation | AI Listing Architect for 1 ASIN a month on Basic, 10 on Essentials, 25 on Business and 60 on Enterprise, with extra ASINs at $3 to $4 each, plus monthly AI Scorecard audits on the same scale | Listing audit, AI listing drafts with editable titles, descriptions and 13 tags, AI copy reviews of connected listings, saved listing drafts, concept visuals and listing videos from product photos |
| Competitor tracking | Relevant products, custom market segments, pricing intelligence, promotions history, share of voice and buy box history; seller and subcategory level data from Business, and Ad Spy as an add-on | Competition watch with estimated sales and revenue, search visibility for connected shops, and a weekly market briefing |
| Fee and profit calculation | FBA calculator for profit margins, a sales estimator, and a UPC Scanner that checks uploaded price lists, 5,000 ASINs a month on Basic | Fee and profit calculator |
| Marketplaces covered | Amazon and TikTok Shop; the vendor's homepage states coverage of 20 Amazon marketplaces | Etsy |
| Integrations and API | API, data lake and seller exports as add-ons through sales, Excel and CSV exports, and an MCP server: snapshot access with 1,000 monthly credits on Business, full access on Enterprise | An optional read-only Etsy shop connection, with changes copied into Etsy by hand, and a Chrome extension |
| AI features | Yes | Yes |
| MCP-ready | stated Yes | No |
| Deployment | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based | Cloud (SaaS), Browser-based |
| Onboarding | Documentation and knowledge base | Not stated |
| Company size | Not stated | Freelancers |
| Integrations | Chrome extension | more entries Etsy, Chrome extension |
Add a tool
Adds a column to the table, from the tools in this category.
Row where the values differ The small markers point at the lower number, the longer list or the stated feature. They describe the data, they are not a verdict.
The short version
Key Differences
- Starting price SmartScout From $29 / month, billed yearly What Sells Next Free
- Free trial SmartScout 7-day money-back guarantee on paid plans, once per customer within the first seven days of the account What Sells Next No trial; an ongoing free plan instead
- MCP-ready SmartScout Yes What Sells Next No
- Product research SmartScout Product, brand, seller and subcategory databases (30,000,000+ active products, 500,000+ brands, 2,000,000+ sellers and 40,000+ subcategories, unlocked by plan), a subcategory niche finder, a sales estimator and a Chrome extension; TikTok Shop product, creator and content research What Sells Next Product discovery, Opportunity Radar and the Crossover Lab, which combines a product with a theme. Idea checks show comparable Etsy listings, asking prices and buyer signals, with an idea board and build guides for planning the make.
- Marketplace keyword research SmartScout Search Terms Explorer for related keywords and demand, Rank Maker for a product's search-term performance, a keyword map and historical search trends; unlimited keyword research and tracking from Essentials What Sells Next Keyword research and Keyword Smash
Every line is one datapoint from the table above, picked automatically. Nothing here is written text.
The trade-offs
Strengths and Limitations
SmartScout
Strengths
- Yearly billing lowers Basic from $49 to $29 a month
- Brand, seller and subcategory databases for category-level research
- TikTok Shop research on every plan
- Business includes MCP access with 1,000 monthly credits
Limitations
- Each paid plan includes 1 user, with additional users listed at $49 each
- API, data lake and Ad Spy are add-ons priced through sales
- Seller and subcategory data start on Business at $299 a month billed monthly
- The terms of use state a termination takes effect 14 days after notice
What Sells Next
Strengths
- Free plan with daily keyword lookups and idea checks, no card needed
- Idea checks show comparable Etsy listings, asking prices and buyer signals
- Fee and profit calculator and build guides sit next to the research
- The Etsy shop connection is optional and read-only
Limitations
- The site names Etsy as the only marketplace
- Listing changes have to be copied into Etsy by hand
- Competitor sales and revenue are estimates
- The site does not state the company or country behind the tool
Plans
Pricing
SmartScout
- Basic $49 / month billed monthly, or $29 / month billed yearly Product level data, keyword research, product research, Chrome extension, review automation, price list scanner for 5,000 ASINs a month and a sales estimator. 1 user.
- Essentials $119 / month billed monthly, or $99 / month billed yearly Adds brand and keyword level data, search results data in the extension, unlimited keyword research and tracking, and historical search trends. 1 user.
- Business $299 / month billed monthly, or $239 / month billed yearly Adds seller and subcategory level data, snapshot MCP access with 1,000 monthly credits, sentiment analysis, brand reports and traffic networks. 1 user.
- Enterprise Custom Historical data, seller exports, Ad Spy, share of voice, full MCP access and custom dashboards with alerts; custom number of users.
What Sells Next
- Free £0 5 keyword lookups per day, 3 starter crossovers and 5 idea checks per rolling 24 hours. No card needed.
- Premium £12 Per month, tax included, cancel anytime. Introductory offer: the first month is £5.
What users say
Review Scores · opens after launch
SmartScout
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.
What Sells Next
- Ease of use
- Not rated yet
- User interface
- Not rated yet
- Onboarding
- Not rated yet
- Support and service
- Not rated yet
- Value for money
- Not rated yet
- Features
- Not rated yet
No reviews yet. Nothing has been published here yet, and no score is shown. How a review is checked before it appears is described below.
How we check reviews
Before sending, the author has to confirm three things: that they have used the product themselves, that they work neither for the vendor nor for a competitor, and that nobody is paying them for the review. We also ask whether the vendor invited them to write it. That answer is required, either answer is accepted, and it stays with the review.
Every review is read by a person before it appears. An email address is required and is confirmed: we send a link to it, and a review does not reach us until the author opens that link, so a review has a sender who was reachable at least once rather than being anonymous. Where what somebody writes needs backing, we ask them for evidence that they used the product, and a review that does not get it is not published. We publish positive and negative reviews alike, we pay nothing and offer nothing for a review, and we accept none that was bought or incentivised.
What we cannot do is verify a purchase. There is no shop here and no account, so whether the author really used the tool rests on their own declaration, on whatever we ask them for, and on the plausibility of what they write. We say so rather than implying a check that does not exist.
A vendor cannot buy a review, and cannot have one removed or changed because they dislike it. We remove or edit a review only if it breaks our rules or the law, for example a false statement of fact. Paid placement has no effect on which reviews appear or on any score.
Where this comes from
Where this comes from
SmartScout https://www.smartscout.com/ · checked against the official source on 2026-11-11
What Sells Next https://whatsellsnext.com/ · checked against the official source on 2026-11-10
This table lists factual criteria taken from information the vendors publish themselves. For how we put it together, see the methodology.