Guide / 2026-10-18
How do I track competitor mentions for free?
Search for your competitor's name next to switching words ("alternative", "switch from", "export", "too expensive") on the communities your buyers use. Hacker News has a free Algolia API, GitHub has issue search, and Stack Exchange and Bluesky are searchable too. AskHound runs those searches together for free and ranks the results by buying intent.
Try it now (free, no signup)
The search strings that find switchers
"<competitor> alternative","alternative to <competitor>""switch from <competitor>","migrating off <competitor>""<competitor> export","<competitor> pricing","<competitor> shutting down"- GitHub only:
"<competitor>" is:issue is:openin projects that integrate with it
Free, by source
| Source | Free way | With AskHound |
|---|---|---|
| Hacker News | hn.algolia.com search or the Algolia API | Free browser search, CLI, local MCP |
| GitHub issues | github.com search, or the API (a token raises the rate limit) | Free browser search, CLI, local MCP |
| Stack Exchange | site search, tag feeds, API | Free browser search, CLI, remote MCP, watches |
| Bluesky | app search | Free browser search, CLI, remote MCP, watches |
| Reddit, X | not covered by AskHound; see the social listening comparison for tools that do | No |
Steps with AskHound (free)
- Open askhound.haullabs.dev and enter the competitor plus "alternative" (e.g. "linear alternative"). Your browser searches all four sources.
- Read the top results with the intent hint. The free browser search shows the last 7 days and the top 10.
- For longer lookbacks or a daily file, use the free CLI:
npx -y https://askhound.haullabs.dev/askhound-0.1.5.tgz search "linear alternative" --days 14. - To get new mentions automatically, save a watch (Stack Exchange + Bluesky). Pro delivers to Slack, Discord or a webhook; Solo's daily email digest is beta and not sending yet.
Replying without being "that founder"
Answer the question first, name 2–3 options including competitors, disclose that you built one of them, and don't reply where the rules forbid it. Hacker News's guidelines say "Don't post generated text or AI-edited text", and Stack Overflow doesn't allow generative-AI content.
Continue?
Find this week's switchers from your competitor.
Free, no signup: your browser searches Hacker News, GitHub, Stack Exchange and Bluesky directly.
FAQ
How can I track competitor mentions for free?
Search the competitor's name with switching words like "alternative" or "switch from" on Hacker News (Algolia API), GitHub issues, Stack Exchange and Bluesky. AskHound's free browser search runs these searches together.
What should I search to find unhappy competitor users?
"<competitor> alternative", "switch from <competitor>", "<competitor> export" and "<competitor> pricing" catch most switchers.
Does AskHound monitor Reddit or X?
No. Hosted search, watches and the remote MCP cover Stack Exchange and Bluesky; the free browser search and CLI add Hacker News and GitHub.
Can I get alerts for new competitor mentions?
Yes, for Stack Exchange and Bluesky: an AskHound watch sends new matches to Slack, Discord or a webhook on Pro. Solo's daily email digest is beta and not sending yet.
Related
- Find users on Hacker News
- Find users in GitHub issues
- Find users on Bluesky
- Stack Exchange recommendation questions
- Social listening tools compared
- All alternatives
Guides: where your users ask
- Find users on Hacker News
- Hacker News keyword alerts
- Find users in GitHub issues
- Find users on Bluesky
- Bluesky monitoring
- Stack Exchange recommendation questions
- Where to find beta users
- Social listening for developer tools
- Find people asking for your product
- Stack Overflow keyword alerts
- MCP for lead generation
- Social listening tools compared
Sources
- https://hn.algolia.com/api
- https://docs.github.com/en/rest/search/search (issue search; rate limits)
- https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
- https://stackoverflow.com/help/gen-ai-policy
- https://askhound.haullabs.dev/llms.txt (sources, plans, limits)
Cartridges
Give it to your agent
Remote MCP
zero install · Stack Exchange + Bluesky, from our serverFree: 10 results per call, 20 calls a day. A key lifts the cap and returns 50 to 100.
{
"mcpServers": {
"askhound": { "url": "https://askhound.haullabs.dev/api/mcp" }
}
}Claude Code: claude mcp add --transport http askhound https://askhound.haullabs.dev/api/mcp
Local MCP
all 4 sources · runs on your machine · Node 18+HN and GitHub are queried with your own access.
{
"mcpServers": {
"askhound": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["-y", "https://askhound.haullabs.dev/askhound-0.1.5.tgz", "mcp"]
}
}
}CLI
one file · zero dependenciesnpx -y https://askhound.haullabs.dev/askhound-0.1.5.tgz \
search "otter.ai alternative" --context meeting,transcript
# save a pack, run it daily, new results only
askhound pack save mine --competitor Otter.ai \
--competitor Fireflies --category "transcript export"
askhound pack run --md today.mdHonest-reply policy (built into every tool response): a human approves every public reply; never auto-post or mass-DM; disclose that you build the product; answer the question first and name alternatives; follow each community's rules. Hacker News, for example, does not allow AI-generated or AI-edited comments, so replies there must be written by you. AskHound finds the conversation. You decide whether you have something useful to say.
Insert coin
Pricing: select your player
Free is for looking around. Paid plans are for not missing anyone: watches re-run your searches on our server and send you only people you haven't seen yet. Hosted searches cover Stack Exchange and Bluesky (the sources whose terms allow server-side use). Hacker News and GitHub run in the free CLI on your machine. No Reddit, no X.
- Browser search: 3 a day, last 7 days, top 10
- Remote MCP: 10 results per call, 20 calls a day
- Free CLI + local MCP: HN, GitHub, Stack Exchange, Bluesky
- Local reply-state
- 3 always-on watches
- Daily email digest of new askers only (beta, not sending yet)
- Search 90 days back, every result
- Remote MCP: 50 results per call, no daily cap
- Cloud reply-state sync
- 15 watches
- Hourly checks (beta, see note)
- Slack, Discord or any webhook, plus email
- Remote MCP: 100 results per call
- 3 seats sharing reply-state
- Everything in Pro
- 50 watches (one set per client)
- White-label client reports (Markdown/HTML)
- 10 seats
Beta, plainly: email digests are in beta and not sending yet: our email sender isn't switched on. A new email watch is saved now and starts sending the day the sender goes live. Slack, Discord and webhooks on Pro deliver today. Hourly checks are in beta too: an external hourly scheduler was added on 2026-10-18, and the label stays until we've confirmed hourly runs in production. Your license key appears right after checkout. Cancel anytime: reply to your Stripe receipt and we cancel it. Full refund within 14 days if it isn't useful to you.