4 Price Comparison Website Business Success Stories [2024]
Consumers are always hunting for the best deals online, and a price comparison website can be their ultimate tool. This business idea revolves around creating a platform that aggregates and compares prices of products across various online retailers.
By offering users a convenient way to find the best prices, you'll attract a steady stream of cost-conscious shoppers. Setting up such a website involves building or licensing software to scrape retailer data, ensuring seamless user experience, and marketing your site to draw traffic.
Your role would include establishing partnerships with e-commerce websites, maintaining up-to-date pricing information, and optimizing the site for search engines. While it’s not an overnight success, investing time and effort into creating a reliable and user-friendly price comparison platform can carve out a lucrative niche in the evolving online shopping landscape. This idea is ideal for someone keen on combining technology, market research, and e-commerce.
In this list, you'll find real-world price comparison website business success stories and very profitable examples of starting a price comparison website business that makes money.
1. ElectricityRates.com ($4.2M/year)
Rob Rex, the founder of Power Target, came up with the idea for his business after noticing the rising popularity of online aggregator platforms and the emergence of energy deregulation laws. Seeing an opportunity to apply the successful performance marketing framework to the energy industry, Rob founded Power Target and launched their online energy comparison site, ElectricityRates.com. The platform's core principles included being fast, simple, trustworthy, and user-friendly, and through constant testing and optimization, Power Target has achieved steady growth and attracted and retained customers through channels such as paid search, content and SEO, email marketing, and social media.
How much money it makes: $4.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $15K
How many people on the team: 4
Power Target LLC, with an average growth rate of 20%, is a successful energy company that developed an online energy comparison marketplace called ElectricityRates.com, which has an excellent, 4.6-star rating on Trustpilot with over 1000 reviews, and allows users to compare competitive energy offers from providers and enroll through their fast, simple, and secure process.
2. Glimp Ltd ($1.2M/year)
Denis and his co-founder Michael started Glimp, a utilities, financial products, and insurance comparison website in New Zealand, after meeting during a coding bootcamp. Inspired by the success of price comparison websites in the UK, they decided to bring the concept to New Zealand and were the first to offer comparisons for multiple products. Through hard work and a focus on AdWords and SEO, they were able to grow their revenue to $60k in their first year and have since doubled their revenue each year.
How much money it makes: $1.2M/year
How much did it cost to start: $2K
How many people on the team: 6
Glimp, a utilities, financial products, and insurance comparison website in New Zealand, generates about $100,000 in monthly revenue with a goal of making $1 million NZD profit this year, using AdWords and SEO to attract customers, negotiating higher CPAs over time, and expanding to different verticals.
3. RatePunk ($600K/year)
Justinas Albertynas, one of the founders of RatePunk, came up with the idea for the travel-tech startup after realizing the frustration of comparing hotel prices on different booking websites. After experiencing the inconsistency in prices, Justinas saw an opportunity to create a browser extension that would compare prices in real-time, saving users time and money. The product has gained traction quickly, with over 3000 users in just a few weeks and reaching the top of the Apple Store charts in multiple countries.
How much money it makes: $600K/year
How much did it cost to start: $5K
How many people on the team: 20
Travel-tech startup RatePunk created a browser extension that compares hotel prices across different booking websites for free and achieved over 3,000 installs within a few weeks of launch, while learning valuable marketing lessons from social media platforms, micro-influencers, and online communities.
4. Fin vs Fin ($480K/year)
Alex Goldberg, the founder of Fin vs Fin, started the business as a "dumb side project" with his ex-boss-turned-side-hustle-partner. They initially focused on comparing fintech startups, but pivoted to reviewing wellness products after noticing the influx of venture capital in the industry. With their first sale earning them a $10 commission, they realized they had a proof of concept and kept growing the business with high-quality content and partnerships. They went from making enough to cover their car payments to reaching $500k in revenue in just two years.
How much money it makes: $480K/year
How much did it cost to start: $0
How many people on the team: 10
Learn how the founder of Fin vs Fin turned a "dumb side project" into a profitable media business generating $70k in profit per month, by committing to creating a "dumb blog" and consistently experimenting with strategies to attract and retain customers.
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Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
Download the report and join our email newsletter packed with business ideas and money-making opportunities, backed by real-life case studies.
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