Competitor price benchmark
A competitor price benchmark is a reference price used to compare your offer with a defined set of competing offers.
By Berend Vrakking, founder of Product Metrics. Updated 28 October 2026.
Competitor price comparison formula
Price difference (%) = (your price − benchmark price) ÷ benchmark price × 100
A positive result means your price is higher. The benchmark price must be positive. Use comparable products, currency, tax treatment and observation dates. State whether shipping is included.
Competitor price benchmark example
| Item | Value |
|---|---|
| Your price | €120.00 |
| Reference price | €100.00 |
| Difference | +20% |
Your price is 20% above the reference before considering delivery or other differences. This does not measure demand or profit. Illustrative data.
Put it into practice
- Explore it: Competitor PricesCompare relevant own-brand alternatives.
- Read the guide: Competitor price analysis templateRecord matching assumptions and price differences.
Competitor price benchmark: one product and the whole account
Google’s Merchant Center benchmark is “the average price that typically leads to more successful ad auctions”, taken from all retailers selling a product with the same GTIN. Own-brand alternatives have no shared GTIN, so they need a different comparison: define the features that make offers comparable first.
Product Metrics Competitor Prices compares own-brand alternatives using style, colour and merchant-approved dimensions, and reads your price against the median of the matched products, not an average. Its prices exclude shipping. Read each gap next to the product’s margin and POAS before you change a price.
Competitor price benchmark: common mistake
Treating a lower reference price as an instruction to reduce your own price. The comparison does not include your margin, positioning or every delivery difference.
Competitor price benchmark: questions
Does a benchmark identify the best price?
Can I compare different products?
Keep reading
- Price elasticityPrice position does not establish demand response.
- Gross marginCheck the cost of a possible price change.