01 Jul 2025
Developer Tools

Check Reddit for app ideas by scraping posts and finding users with ...

...problems to solve

Confidence
Engagement
Net use signal
Net buy signal

Idea type: Swamp

The market has seen several mediocre solutions that nobody loves. Unless you can offer something fundamentally different, you’ll likely struggle to stand out or make money.

Should You Build It?

Don't build it.


Your are here

Your idea of scraping Reddit to find app ideas by identifying user problems places you in a crowded space. We found 14 similar products, which indicates high competition. The average engagement for these products is low, with an average of 3 comments per product. This suggests that while many try this, few truly capture user interest. There's no clear signal of people wanting to use or buy these types of tools, indicating a market that hasn't yet found a compelling solution. Many projects have launched in this area, but the lack of strong positive signals suggests the approach needs careful consideration and differentiation. You're entering a 'Swamp' category, where many have tried and few have thrived, so be cautious.

Recommendations

  1. Given the crowded space, start by deeply researching why existing Reddit scraping tools haven't resonated with users. Analyze their shortcomings and identify unmet needs to understand what's missing in the current solutions. This will inform how you can differentiate your approach.
  2. Focus on a very specific niche or user group within Reddit. Instead of broadly scraping all of Reddit, target specific subreddits or user types (e.g., entrepreneurs, educators, hobbyists). This will allow you to tailor your solution and offer more relevant, actionable insights.
  3. Consider building tools that enhance existing platforms or workflows rather than creating a standalone app. For instance, develop a browser extension that integrates Reddit data directly into popular project management or market research tools. This will help to avoid the need to attract users to a new platform and allow you to work where they are.
  4. Explore adjacent problems that might be more promising. Instead of directly finding app ideas, focus on identifying market trends, sentiment analysis, or competitive intelligence within specific niches on Reddit. These could be more valuable and less crowded areas.
  5. Since some similar products faced criticism regarding pricing, focus on offering a freemium model or a tiered pricing structure that provides value at each level. Offer a free tier with limited access to features to attract users and a paid tier with more advanced capabilities.
  6. Carefully address the challenge of filtering out irrelevant or toxic content from Reddit data. Develop robust algorithms or human-in-the-loop systems to ensure the quality and relevance of the insights you provide. This will differentiate your solution and provide more meaningful results.
  7. Focus on improving the presentation and visualization of Reddit data. Instead of just providing raw data, use charts, graphs, and other visual aids to make the insights more accessible and actionable. This will help users quickly understand the key takeaways.
  8. Actively seek feedback from users and iterate on your product based on their suggestions. Engage with your target audience on Reddit and other platforms to understand their needs and pain points. This will help you ensure that your solution is truly valuable and differentiated.

Questions

  1. Given the concerns about filtering trolls and toxic content on Reddit, what specific strategies will you implement to ensure the quality and relevance of the insights your tool provides?
  2. Considering the criticism that some similar products lack uniqueness, how will you differentiate your tool in terms of features, functionality, or target audience to stand out from the competition?
  3. Many similar products struggled with user engagement. How will you ensure that your tool is easy to use, provides actionable insights, and keeps users coming back for more?

Your are here

Your idea of scraping Reddit to find app ideas by identifying user problems places you in a crowded space. We found 14 similar products, which indicates high competition. The average engagement for these products is low, with an average of 3 comments per product. This suggests that while many try this, few truly capture user interest. There's no clear signal of people wanting to use or buy these types of tools, indicating a market that hasn't yet found a compelling solution. Many projects have launched in this area, but the lack of strong positive signals suggests the approach needs careful consideration and differentiation. You're entering a 'Swamp' category, where many have tried and few have thrived, so be cautious.

Recommendations

  1. Given the crowded space, start by deeply researching why existing Reddit scraping tools haven't resonated with users. Analyze their shortcomings and identify unmet needs to understand what's missing in the current solutions. This will inform how you can differentiate your approach.
  2. Focus on a very specific niche or user group within Reddit. Instead of broadly scraping all of Reddit, target specific subreddits or user types (e.g., entrepreneurs, educators, hobbyists). This will allow you to tailor your solution and offer more relevant, actionable insights.
  3. Consider building tools that enhance existing platforms or workflows rather than creating a standalone app. For instance, develop a browser extension that integrates Reddit data directly into popular project management or market research tools. This will help to avoid the need to attract users to a new platform and allow you to work where they are.
  4. Explore adjacent problems that might be more promising. Instead of directly finding app ideas, focus on identifying market trends, sentiment analysis, or competitive intelligence within specific niches on Reddit. These could be more valuable and less crowded areas.
  5. Since some similar products faced criticism regarding pricing, focus on offering a freemium model or a tiered pricing structure that provides value at each level. Offer a free tier with limited access to features to attract users and a paid tier with more advanced capabilities.
  6. Carefully address the challenge of filtering out irrelevant or toxic content from Reddit data. Develop robust algorithms or human-in-the-loop systems to ensure the quality and relevance of the insights you provide. This will differentiate your solution and provide more meaningful results.
  7. Focus on improving the presentation and visualization of Reddit data. Instead of just providing raw data, use charts, graphs, and other visual aids to make the insights more accessible and actionable. This will help users quickly understand the key takeaways.
  8. Actively seek feedback from users and iterate on your product based on their suggestions. Engage with your target audience on Reddit and other platforms to understand their needs and pain points. This will help you ensure that your solution is truly valuable and differentiated.

Questions

  1. Given the concerns about filtering trolls and toxic content on Reddit, what specific strategies will you implement to ensure the quality and relevance of the insights your tool provides?
  2. Considering the criticism that some similar products lack uniqueness, how will you differentiate your tool in terms of features, functionality, or target audience to stand out from the competition?
  3. Many similar products struggled with user engagement. How will you ensure that your tool is easy to use, provides actionable insights, and keeps users coming back for more?

  • Confidence: High
    • Number of similar products: 14
  • Engagement: Low
    • Average number of comments: 3
  • Net use signal: 29.7%
    • Positive use signal: 29.7%
    • Negative use signal: 0.0%
  • Net buy signal: -0.3%
    • Positive buy signal: 5.1%
    • Negative buy signal: 5.4%

This chart summarizes all the similar products we found for your idea in a single plot.

The x-axis represents the overall feedback each product received. This is calculated from the net use and buy signals that were expressed in the comments. The maximum is +1, which means all comments (across all similar products) were positive, expressed a willingness to use & buy said product. The minimum is -1 and it means the exact opposite.

The y-axis captures the strength of the signal, i.e. how many people commented and how does this rank against other products in this category. The maximum is +1, which means these products were the most liked, upvoted and talked about launches recently. The minimum is 0, meaning zero engagement or feedback was received.

The sizes of the product dots are determined by the relevance to your idea, where 10 is the maximum.

Your idea is the big blueish dot, which should lie somewhere in the polygon defined by these products. It can be off-center because we use custom weighting to summarize these metrics.

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