Jungle Scout vs. ASINspector
Updated on March 16, 2020
If you’ve never used a product research tool to identify opportunities for selling on Amazon, then you have been missing out! Product research tools can unearth a goldmine of items with high demand and low competition. This could mean serious profits if you find the right products to sell.
Instead of forcing you to spend days or weeks sifting through listings, these automated tools can give you thousands of ideas in minutes. For each idea you get, you’ll also get in-depth data about the product, including sales volume, profit estimates, and more.
Before Jungle Scout invented the first product research tool, this task was time-consuming and tedious. Amazon sellers were forced to make business decisions based on gut decisions and incomplete data. Finding a successful product to sell was akin to throwing spaghetti on the wall to see what would stick.
Now, there are several product research tools available that eliminate the need for tedious research and help you avoid expensive mistakes. You’ll be able to reduce your research time from days or weeks to just minutes.
Now the question is which product research tool is best. Jungle Scout might have been the first to the game, but have the newer entrants done a better job? In this head-to-head comparison, we look at Jungle Scout vs. ASINspector, and we’ll tell you who we think comes out on top.
What All Product Research Tools Have in Common
No matter what product research platform you use for Amazon, you’ll get data about the following:
- Competition – Which brands are available and whether the items are being sold by Amazon itself, through FBA (Fulfilled by Amazon), or by a merchant from their own warehouse
- Amazon BSR – The Best Seller Rank for each item, which helps you anticipate demand as well as see how well the niche ranks overall
- Unit Volume – An estimate of how many sales there are each month.
- Revenue – Estimated monthly revenue
- Amazon Fees – The FBA fees for each category
- Profit– The overall profit and percentage margin for each product
- Number of Reviews and Review Rating – An up-to-date report on the number of reviews a product has gotten and what the overall rating is
By finding products with high unit volume but a low number of reviews, you’ll be able to pinpoint that profitable sweet spot of an item that is in high demand with low competition. Further, a low review rating means you have an opportunity to improve the product.
- Keywords– What keywords your competitors rank for and what keywords people are using in search
Before product research tools, people used to have to do this manually, either by using the Amazon auto-complete feature (an incredibly tedious endeavor) or mining data from Google Keyword planner and other types of software that didn’t necessarily reflect Amazon buyer intent.
- Product Variations – Best-selling features and opportunities for product bundling
- Product Sourcing – The best places to source the products you want to sell
- Price History and Sales Rank– How sales are trending and the competitiveness of a product over months or years
- On-Hand Inventory – Inventory levels for each of your competitors
Are your competitors flush with inventory? This could indicate they anticipate high demand. Are they running out of stock? Maybe they plan on discontinuing the item. There are a variety of ways to interpret stock levels, and having this data is invaluable.
- Filtering – View only the products and performers that meet your criteria
Varying Levels of Accuracy
In an ideal world, we would see exact Amazon data, but unfortunately, this isn’t the case. Each of the product research tools has an algorithm they use to estimate the number of sales and the amount of revenue a product generates each month.
Just like some search engine algorithms are better than others (Google, we’re looking at you), the algorithms for these product research tools vary in accuracy as well.
Spoiler alert: out of all the tools on the market today, Jungle Scout gets the highest marks for accuracy in nearly every test it’s put through. The only way to test the accuracy is to compare the tool’s estimation to your actual product performance. Any seller can do this, and it helps inspire confidence when the product research tool’s estimates match your real data.
Time and again, Jungle Scout has been shown to have accuracy levels of 90 to 95% and above, while ASINspector gets a D grade of about 60% to 65% accuracy.
In our opinion, the accuracy of the tool is the most important feature to consider. For this reason alone, we’ve chosen Jungle Scout as the early winner in this heads-up competition, but we’ll also evaluate other features so that you’ll have a clearer picture of how these tools measure up against each other in other areas.
ASINspector Strengths
Because ASINspector has a free seven-day trial, it’s worth testing. Just remember to cancel your trial before the seven days are over, or they will charge your credit card.
ASINspector is also endorsed by Kevin Harrington of Shark Tank and “As Seen on TV” fame. He claims to use ASINspector for all of his product research needs. It’s indisputable that he’s been successful, but given the low accuracy of the tool itself, it could be dangerous to rely on its data.
This tool is one of the most economical options, with a one-time fee for the standard license of just $97. However, the standard license is barebones, and it bars you from getting product keywords, calculating competitor profits, and seeing competitor inventory levels.
The pro license is also relatively inexpensive. For a low one-time fee of $147 and a recurring payment of just $10 per month, you get all of ASINspector’s functionality. The only thing that causes us to take pause is the upfront fee. This is substantially more than the Jungle Scout monthly license for low to mid-volume sellers, and it seems like a high price to pay if you decide you don’t want to continue after a couple of months.
ASINspector Weaknesses
As an entry-level tool, ASINspector is far from perfect. We’ve already pointed out the issues with accuracy, and there are some other problems with this tool that prevent us from recommending it.
- There is no web application, only a Chrome extension. Being able to work from the software itself allows for faster performance and more security. Having only the Chrome extension keeps costs low but limits functionality.
- The sales volume and revenue numbers don’t include variations. Often, an item will have several variations in the listing. A blanket might come in five colors, for example. With ASINspector, you only get the data about the top-selling variation, which is bound to throw off the revenue and volume estimates. Without knowing the data about the product variations, you are forced to make decisions in the dark.
- The algorithm lacks accuracy. We mentioned this earlier, but it’s worth repeating in a discussion of ASINspector’s weaknesses. The low accuracy rate of this tool prevents us from being able to recommend it when there are so many other, better options available.
Jungle Scout Strengths
As the first product research tool to be introduced to the market, Jungle Scout has had longer to get things right. Founded by a successful Amazon seller, Greg Mercer, Jungle Scout was designed by sellers for sellers.
The interface is intuitive and easy-to-use, the free training is a huge value-add, and the speed with which the tool operates is second to none.
As you’ve gathered thus far, we are sticklers for accuracy, and Jungle Scout wins first place in this category. From day one of Jungle Scout’s existence, Mercer worked with skilled developers and even flew them to his location after they made the first Chrome extension to work more in-depth.
The original developers are still part of the Jungle Scout team. Mercer also has a full-time team of data scientists and engineers that love to crunch numbers and are always working to maintain and improve Jungle Scout.
No matter how powerful a tool is, if you don’t know how to use it and you don’t take advantage of its features, then you won’t get very far. Mercer and his team have made it their mission to empower sellers.
While all of the competitors in this space offer training that teaches you how to use the tools, Jungle Scout goes above and beyond. Their team of trainers and content providers teach other Amazon sellers how to succeed in the marketplace. You can work alongside them and watch over their shoulder as they build out businesses, all while using Jungle Scout’s suite of tools.
Their training is free, and they also provide free tools (like the Jungle Scout Estimator) that allow you to experience a taste of Jungle Scout’s functionality without having to spend a dime.
Jungle Scout Weaknesses
When comparing Jungle Scout to ASINspector, Jungle Scout is better in almost every way. However, to be fair and as unbiased as possible, we’ll point out the following:
- Jungle Scout’s data doesn’t include PPC performance. This was a conscious decision by Jungle Scout, with the rationale that paid ads aren’t a true reflection of consumer demand. While we agree with this in spirit, it would be helpful to know how a competitor’s ads are performing.
- There’s also no ability to “reverse search stores.” ASINspector provides the option to search stores like Walmart, Home Depot, etc., while Jungle Scout does not. If you’re selling in multiple locations, this feature is nice to have. However, if you are focused on the Amazon marketplace, then data about Home Depot and other retailers might not be relevant.
Pricing
We’ve already discussed ASINspector pricing. There are two tiers:
- A standard license for a one-time fee of $97 per month
- A pro license for a one-time fee of $147 plus $10 per month
Jungle Scout’s pricing is based on the number of orders your store receives per month. Here’s the pricing for stores that receive 500 or fewer orders per month.
The price drops if you pay for an annual subscription. For example, the Jungle Scout web app and Chrome extension bundle price drops to $49 at this tier.
While Jungle Scout doesn’t have a free trial, they do offer a 14-day month-back guarantee. This means you can try Jungle Scout for two weeks, and if you decide it’s not for you, you get a full refund. Basically, it’s like a 14-day free trial; you just have to make sure you request your refund within the two-week timeframe.
Conclusion
Jungle Scout is the clear winner when it’s compared side-by-side with ASINspector. It wins for accuracy, support, features, and functionality. The first-tier pricing for low-volume stores is reasonable, and the training you’ll get from Greg Mercer and his team is top-notch. If you want to use the best product research tool on the market today, then we recommend Jungle Scout.
Want more Jungle Scout comparisons? Try our Jungle Scout vs. Helium 10 post.
