MenuSpy / Compare / Comparison
MenuSpy vs. a spreadsheet
A spreadsheet gives you control. A MenuSpy report cuts the first round of collection when public sources are available.
Short answer
Use a spreadsheet when the comparison set is small, changes rarely, or needs a custom model you built yourself. Buy a one-time MenuSpy report when collecting the same public menu information for one restaurant has become a chore you keep postponing. Keeping both can make sense: the report for the first pass of collection, the spreadsheet for your own calculations and the record of what you decided.
What can be compared
| Area | MenuSpy | Spreadsheet |
|---|---|---|
| Collection | Organizes data from supported public sources around one address | Someone searches and enters each value |
| Refresh | One-time snapshot using available public sources | Only when a person updates it |
| Competitor limits | One restaurant per report; competitor coverage depends on available sources | No software limit, but workload grows |
| Flexibility | Fixed report sections with sources and stated limits | Any formula, field, approval, or layout you build |
| Accuracy | Public-source extraction can be incomplete or wrong | Manual entry and interpretation can be incomplete or wrong |
| Published MenuSpy price | $79 for one restaurant intelligence report, paid once. No subscription | Free in cash; paid in the hours it takes to fill and maintain |
When a spreadsheet is the right call
A spreadsheet is the right tool when the math is yours. If you have a cost-of-goods model, a target food cost per item, or an approval trail your partners want to see, those live in a sheet and nothing about a report changes that. It is also the right call when your competitor set is three or four places you can check in an afternoon, or when the prices you care about are not published anywhere and have to be gathered in person. A sheet costs nothing in cash, bends to any layout, and holds the history of every change you made. The limit is that it only knows what someone typed into it, and it goes stale the week that person gets busy.
When a one-time MenuSpy report fits
The MenuSpy report is one document for one US restaurant or new concept. It covers nearby competitors and the menu prices observed in public sources, a year of local events with confirmed dates kept apart from recurring events that have not been announced, a regulatory watch for the jurisdiction, and local food signals separated from national context. Each finding carries a source link and a stated limit. You buy it as a guest through Stripe for $79, receive a private email link that works for 90 days, and can print it to PDF. No account is created and nothing renews.
The report is a web page, so the observed prices and source notes can be copied into your own sheet as the starting row set.
It is written for an independent owner or general manager who is pricing a menu, opening a second room, or choosing a neighborhood for a new concept. It is not for lenders, zoning or permit decisions, legal advice, or a chain that already has a research desk and needs continuous coverage.
How to check before you buy either
Four checks an operator can run in about an hour:
- Open your current sheet and note the last-updated date on each competitor row. That tells you how current your own data is.
- Time yourself finding one competitor's menu online and entering five items. Multiply by the number of competitors and items you actually want.
- Open the MenuSpy example report and check whether its competitor table could be pasted into your sheet as a starting point.
- Decide whether you need a model (keep the sheet), a first pass of collection (buy the report), or both.
Questions
Can I move the report's prices into my own spreadsheet?
Yes. The report is a web page you open from a private link, so you can copy the observed prices and source notes into your sheet. The link works for 90 days and the page prints to PDF.
Will the report replace my pricing model?
No. It gives you outside context: competitor prices observed in public sources, local events, regulatory items, and food signals for one address. Your cost math stays in your sheet.
Is there a subscription or an account?
No. $79 buys one report for one US restaurant or new concept, paid once through Stripe as a guest. Nothing renews.