As an Amazon seller, using the right tools can make all the difference in growing your business and staying ahead of the competition.

One of the most popular tools over the years is Helium 10, an all-in-one software designed to help sellers with everything from product research to keyword optimization and listing management.

However, Helium 10 has recently removed its free trial option, leaving beginner sellers wondering what other tools offer a test run.

In this blog post, we'll explore Helium 10’s removal of its free trial and talk about the best alternative option for those who want to try out similar tools before committing to a subscription.
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What Were the Features of Helium 10’s Free Trial?

Helium 10 used to offer a free trial for beginner Amazon sellers who want to test-run the tool. It allows users to use most of its features, but they have a few limitations. And rightfully so, because the free trial exists only to give interested Amazon sellers a glimpse of how Helium 10 can help them grow their business.
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Helium 10 Free Trial Features

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The Best Alternative Tool to Helium 10

Helium 10's removal of its free trial may have disappointed potential users who want to get a feel of the tool before subscribing to a plan. However, many tools for Amazon sellers in the market still offer a free trial.

And one of the best ones is SmartScout. SmartScout is a software created by Scott Needham, co-founder and CEO of BuyBoxer, one of the biggest Amazon FBA sellers and the most extensive FBA catalog on Amazon (300,000+ active listings). SmartScout has helped them scale their business to $50+ million in annual sales for seven years in a row now.

Since launching the software in 2020, several big Amazon brands have adopted SmartScout to grow their business.

Here are some of them:
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How Does SmartScout Compare With Helium 10?‍

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Here’s an overview of the matchup between the two tools: 

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In a nutshell, SmartScout matches up well with Helium 10 in terms of helping Amazon Sellers start and grow their business.

‍Product & Market Research: Though Helium 10's black box can help you narrow your search options, it's not the best way to find profitable products to add to your catalog. This is because thousands of sellers also use the same tool and set the same filters, which means you'll be competing in an oversaturated market in no time.

Still, the best way to find profitable products is through manual sourcing. 

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Many sellers just depend on tools to hunt for product opportunities. They don't want the extra work.

But tools are there to reinforce your insights. Not to create them. As Scott Needham once said in a podcast, “Your insights can actually be more valuable than you know what a tool tells you.”

And this is where SmartScout knocks out Helium 10. SmartScout is not just a product research tool, but also a market research tool. If you combine your own insights and the data you can collect using SmartScout, you can find unique ideas and low-competition product opportunities during your manual sourcing that no one else can find.

With SmartScout’s Brands tool, you can see every product that every brand is selling on Amazon on one page, so you no longer have to open multiple tabs scanning page after page of a brand’s product listings.

‍‍Listing Optimization: Helium 10 may have many tools for helping Amazon Sellers create an optimized listing. But you still have to manually collect keywords and write your product listing title, bullet points, and product description.

With SmartScout's AI Listing Architect, you can create your product listing in less than 5 minutes. All you need to do is enter a product's ASIN, click a few buttons, and SmartScout's AI tool will build an optimized listing. This makes SmartScout’s AI Listing Architect one of the best listing optimization tools in the market today.

‍Competitor Analysis: Both Helium 10 and SmartScout have features that can help you analyze your competitors. What sets SmartScout apart is it allows users to move from different data types in just a few clicks — from brands to products to sellers to subcategories. Every data type is interconnected, so you can seamlessly transition from one data to the next, resulting in a smoother competitor research experience.

Reselling (Wholesale and Arbitrage): BuyBoxer is a juggernaut in the reselling space. And it’s been using SmartScout for years to hunt for wholesale opportunities and also scale its business.

Here are some reasons why SmartScout is the best tool for resellers:
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• Scan thousands of UPC at once
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• Find wholesale and arbitrage opportunities through unique tools and filters that Helium 10 doesn't have
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• Find profitable product opportunities at a brand level
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• Use Seller data to spy on the most successful sellers and emulate their strategies to grow your own Amazon business
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• Hunt for out-of-stock Amazon products

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Overall, SmartScout has a range of features, making it a strong contender as an alternative to Helium 10 for product research and competitor analysis on Amazon. SmartScout's keyword research tool provides users with extensive data on keyword trends, search volumes, and competition, while its product research tool offers a deep analysis of product niches and potential opportunities.

In addition, SmartScout's comprehensive competitor analysis tools provide users with insights into their competitors' product offerings, sales, and marketing strategies. With these features and more, SmartScout is a valuable tool for businesses looking to optimize their Amazon sales strategy and grow their business.
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SmartScout’s Unique Features

A. Rank Maker: A Reverse ASIN Lookup Tool

One way to gain insight into your customers is by analyzing the keywords and phrases your competitors rank for. By understanding the language your customers use when searching for products like yours, you can better optimize your product listings to include those same keywords and phrases, increasing the likelihood that your products will appear in relevant search results.

With SmartScout’s Rank Maker, you can harvest keywords that bring traffic to your competitor's listing. This tool is your key to penetrating your competitors' customer base and redirecting their traffic to your own listing.

Here’s how the tool works:

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Step 1. Login to your SmartScout account.

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Step 2. Click “Search Terms.”

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Step 3. Copy and paste a product’s ASIN, then click “search.” 

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Suppose your competitor's product is Hamilton Beach Fresh Grind Electric Coffee Grinder.

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Step 4. Select "Rank Maker," and you'll see the keywords a product ranks for.

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B. AI Listing Architect: The Fastest Tool to Build Optimized Amazon Listings

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SmartScout's AI Listing Architect is a must-have tool if you want to scale your Amazon business.

In less than 5 minutes, you can create a listing without doing keyword research, writing the words yourself, or even hunting for places to insert keywords for SEO purposes.

SmartScout’s Listing Architect will do it all for you.

Here’s how it works:

‍Step 1. Login to your SmartScout account, and go to AI Listing Architect.

‍Step 2. Copy and paste your product's ASIN, then click "Create Listing."

‍Step 3. Click the "Magic Wand" Button, and the Listing Architect will use the highest-searched keywords to create your product listing title, bullets, and product description.

‍Step 4. If you want them all done in one go, click "Generate All," and voila! You will have your optimized product listing in less than 5 minutes.

Imagine wielding this magical tool in your arsenal. It's like having three skilled assistants at your service. One collects the highest-search keywords that bring visitors to your top competitors' product listings. The other one assembles your product listing from scratch, creating the title, bullet points, and product description. And the third one ensures the traffic-attracting keywords are present inside your product listing and in the right place.

That’s exactly how SmartScout’s AI Listing Architect tool can propel your business to the next level.
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How Much Does SmartScout Cost?

SmartScout has four subscription plans.

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‍Basic: Best for beginner sellers

‍If you pay monthly: $29/mo

If you pay yearly:  $25/mo

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‍Essentials: Best for resellers & private label sellers

‍If you pay monthly: $97/mo

If you pay yearly:  $75/mo‍

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Business: Best for brands

‍If you pay monthly: $187/mo

If you pay yearly: $158/mo

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‍Enterprise: Best for agencies and bigger brands

‍If you pay monthly: Talk to the company’s representative

If you pay yearly: Talk to the company’s representative

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Final Thoughts

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While the removal of Helium 10's free trial option may be disappointing for some beginner Amazon sellers, there are still plenty of alternative options available that offer similar features and benefits.

One of the best alternative options is SmartScout, a powerful software suite that offers a range of features that can help you with every aspect of your Amazon business — from product research to competitor analysis to optimized listing creation.

What's more, SmartScout offers a free trial option, allowing you to test out its features and benefits before committing to a subscription. With a 7-day free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee, you can confidently try out SmartScout without any risk and see if it's the right tool for your business.

Ultimately, when choosing the right software for your Amazon business, it's important to do your research, consider your unique needs and goals, and take advantage of any free trials or money-back guarantees. With the right tool in your arsenal, you can streamline your operations, optimize your listings, and ultimately drive more sales and success on the Amazon marketplace.