Play Store Competitor Analysis

Extract comprehensive app data and screenshots from Google Play Store listings for competitive analysis. Supports single app analysis, multi-app comparison, or searching for top competitors by keyword.

Requirements

Install the google-play-scraper package. On modern macOS/Linux systems, you'll need to use a virtual environment:

bash

# Create a virtual environment in the skill directory (one-time setup)
python3 -m venv .venv

# Activate and install the package
source .venv/bin/activate
pip install google-play-scraper

Then run the script with the virtual environment's python:

bash

# Use the venv python directly (no activation needed)
.venv/bin/python3 scripts/scrape_play_store.py --search "messenger" ./output

# Or activate first, then run
source .venv/bin/activate
python3 scripts/scrape_play_store.py --search "messenger" ./output

Workflow

•
Determine the analysis type:
- •Single app: User provides a Play Store URL or package ID
- •Comparison: User provides multiple URLs/package IDs
- •Search: User wants to find top competitors for a keyword (e.g., "top 10 messenger apps")
•Run the appropriate scraper command
•Review the generated outputs with the user

Usage

Single App Analysis

Run the scraper with a Play Store URL or package ID:

bash

python3 scripts/scrape_play_store.py "<play_store_url_or_package_id>" "<output_directory>"

Examples:

bash

# Using URL
python3 scripts/scrape_play_store.py "https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.slack" ./competitor-analysis/slack

# Using package ID directly
python3 scripts/scrape_play_store.py com.slack ./competitor-analysis/slack

Multiple App Comparison

Run the scraper with multiple URLs or package IDs:

bash

python3 scripts/scrape_play_store.py --compare "<id1>" "<id2>" "<id3>" "<output_directory>"

Example:

bash

python3 scripts/scrape_play_store.py --compare \
  com.slack \
  com.microsoft.teams \
  com.discord \
  ./competitor-analysis/messaging-apps

Search for Top Competitors

Search for top apps by keyword and automatically analyze them:

bash

python3 scripts/scrape_play_store.py --search "<query>" "<output_directory>" --limit <N>

Examples:

bash

# Find and analyze top messenger apps
python3 scripts/scrape_play_store.py --search "messenger apps" ./competitor-analysis/messenger --limit 10

# Find top 5 podcast apps
python3 scripts/scrape_play_store.py --search "podcast" ./competitor-analysis/podcasts --limit 5

# Default limit is 10 if not specified
python3 scripts/scrape_play_store.py --search "fitness tracker" ./competitor-analysis/fitness

Output

Single App Output

code

output_dir/
├── {package-id}.json    # Full structured data
├── {package-id}.md      # Formatted report
├── icon.png             # App icon
└── screenshots/
    ├── screenshot_01.png
    ├── screenshot_02.png
    └── ...

Comparison/Search Output

code

output_dir/
├── comparison.json      # All apps data for programmatic use
├── comparison.md        # Side-by-side comparison report
├── {app-1-package-id}/
│   ├── {package-id}.json
│   ├── {package-id}.md
│   ├── icon.png
│   └── screenshots/
├── {app-2-package-id}/
│   └── ...
└── {app-3-package-id}/
    └── ...

Data Extracted

Field	Description
title	App name
description	Full app description
short_description	Brief summary
rating	Average star rating (1-5)
rating_count	Number of ratings
reviews_count	Number of text reviews
histogram	Rating distribution [1-star, 2-star, 3-star, 4-star, 5-star]
installs	Install count range (e.g., "10,000,000+")
real_installs	Actual install count estimate
category	Primary category
category_id	Category ID (e.g., GAME_ACTION)
price	Price or 0 for free
free	Boolean: is app free
currency	Price currency code
contains_ads	Boolean: has advertisements
offers_iap	Boolean: has in-app purchases
iap_range	In-app purchase price range
developer	Developer name
developer_id	Developer ID
developer_email	Developer contact email
developer_website	Developer website URL
developer_address	Developer address
privacy_policy	Privacy policy URL
version	Current version
android_version	Minimum Android version (text)
content_rating	Content rating (Everyone, Teen, etc.)
content_rating_description	Content rating details
released	Original release date
last_updated	Last update timestamp
screenshots	All screenshot URLs
video	Promo video URL if available
icon_url	App icon URL
header_image	Header/feature graphic URL

Comparison Report Includes

Metric	Description
Rating comparison	Side-by-side ratings with visual indicators
Install base	Relative market presence with actual numbers
Update frequency	Last update dates
Monetization	Free/paid, ads, IAP comparison
Feature highlights	Key differentiators from descriptions
Competitive insights	Highest rated, most installed, etc.

Notes

•Uses the google-play-scraper Python package for reliable data extraction
•Screenshots are downloaded at high resolution
•Rate limiting is applied automatically to avoid blocking
•For comparison/search mode, apps are processed sequentially with delays
•Output directories are created if they don't exist
•The comparison report highlights competitive advantages and gaps
•Search results are ordered by Play Store's ranking algorithm