How to do a competitor analysis for a bar or pub
People do not pick a bar from a list of every bar in town. They pick for a night and a reason: after-work drinks, the game, a quiz, a date, a birthday, a last drink after dinner. Your competitors are the places that win those nights.
Bars are also shaped by time. A pub that is full on Friday may be empty on Tuesday, and a cocktail bar may do nothing before 8pm. A useful analysis maps who wins each night, what they charge for the drinks people order most, and what their guests say about service, noise, prices and atmosphere.
Here is a method you can run over a couple of weeks of evenings, a worked SWOT for a new independent bar, and a checklist for each competitor.
Step by step
- 1
List the nights and occasions you want to win
Write down your three main occasions, for example 'after-work drinks for office workers, Monday to Thursday, 5 to 8pm', 'live sport at weekends' and 'late cocktails on Friday and Saturday'.
Each occasion has a different set of competitors. A restaurant with a good bar competes for date nights; a sports pub competes for game days even if it is further away.
- 2
Map every bar and pub in walking range
Most evening trade arrives on foot, so start with a 10 to 15 minute walk, around 800 m to 1.2 km. Include pubs, bars, wine bars, brewery taprooms and restaurants with a strong bar trade.
RivalMap maps all of them around your address for free, with ratings, review counts and a density verdict. Then mark which ones serve each of your occasions.
- 3
Decide whether you are in a nightlife cluster
A 1 km radius covers about 3.1 km². A high count of bars in that area usually means an established nightlife district: people come to the area and move between venues, which helps a new bar get tried. A low count in a residential area can mean room for a neighborhood local, or simply that nobody goes out there.
Check whether the bars around you are busy on the nights you need. A cluster that is only full on Saturdays will not carry a business that depends on weekday trade.
- 4
Compare opening hours and closing times
Record closing times for each day of the week, which venues open at lunchtime, and which close early on Sundays. Note who has late hours and which venues stop serving food early.
Gaps are usually specific: nothing open for a weekday lunch, no quiet bar open late, nowhere showing sport with food on Sundays.
- 5
Price the drinks people actually order
Record the price of a pint of the standard lager or draft beer, a glass of house wine, a classic cocktail and a soft drink. Note happy hour times and what is discounted.
Those four prices tell you where each venue sits. The gap between the cheapest pub and the cocktail bars is where many new venues position themselves.
- 6
Track events, sport and entertainment
List each competitor's weekly schedule: quiz nights, live music, DJs, karaoke, which sports they show, and whether they have a beer garden or patio. Follow them on social media for a few weeks to see what they repeat and what they drop.
An event that has run every week for months is working. One that appears once and disappears probably did not.
- 7
Read reviews for service and atmosphere
Bar reviews are full of specific signals: slow service at the bar on busy nights, warm beer, high prices, door staff, noise, restrooms, staff attitude, the crowd. Tag recent reviews by theme for each competitor.
Complaints shared by several bars in the area are your opportunity. The RivalMap AI report reads competitors' public reviews and summarises recurring praise and complaints, price signals and hour gaps for the whole area.
SWOT example
A worked example for a new independent bar. For themes read from real reviews in one area, see the sample AI report for Camden Town, London.
Strengths
- Rotating local beers and a short cocktail list none of the nearby pubs offer
- Owner-run, with a friendly atmosphere for regulars
- Small room that feels lively with fewer guests
- A food partner next door willing to deliver to the bar
Weaknesses
- No kitchen, so groups who want to eat go elsewhere
- No screens, so it misses game days
- Unknown name and no reviews at opening
- Limited capacity caps revenue on Friday and Saturday
Opportunities
- No venue within a 10-minute walk offers a quiet bar after 10pm on weeknights
- Nearby pubs' reviews repeatedly mention slow bar service on Fridays
- Offices nearby with no after-work venue that takes group bookings
- A weekly quiz could fill Tuesday, which local pubs leave empty of events
Threats
- A chain pub nearby sells pints well below your planned price
- Noise complaints from neighbors could restrict hours or outdoor seating
- Rising costs of beer, energy and staff
- Guests drinking less or switching to low- and no-alcohol options
Checklist for each competitor
- Occasions they win: after-work, sport, dates, groups, late night
- Opening and closing times for each day of the week
- Price of a standard pint, house wine, a classic cocktail and a soft drink
- Happy hour times and offers
- Food: full kitchen, bar snacks or none, and when the kitchen closes
- Weekly events: quiz, live music, DJ, karaoke, sports shown
- Outdoor space: beer garden, patio, smoking area
- Capacity, standing versus seating, table bookings for groups
- Entry: door staff, cover charge, dress code, ID policy
- Rating, review count and the direction of recent reviews
- Repeated complaints: slow service, prices, noise, door staff, cleanliness
- How busy they are at 6pm on a Thursday and 11pm on a Saturday
Bars and pubs by city
How many bars and pubs sit within 1 km of busy neighbourhoods, with density, ratings and chains:
Questions
Who are my real competitors as a bar?
The venues your guests would pick for the same night and reason. That can include restaurants with a bar and a pub further away that shows the game. Start with every bar in walking distance, then keep the ones that overlap with your occasions.
Is it good to open a bar where there are lots of bars?
Often, if the area is a nightlife district people visit on purpose. Guests move between venues, so a new bar gets tried. The risks are high rent and repeating a concept that already exists two doors down.
How can I tell how busy a competitor is?
Visit at the same times on different nights and count heads. Review counts help too: a venue with many reviews has usually traded steadily for a long time, and recent reviews show whether it is getting busier or quieter.
How should I price drinks against competitors?
Compare the four drinks most people order: standard pint, house wine, classic cocktail and soft drink. Decide whether you will match, undercut or charge more, and if you charge more, make the reason visible: better product, atmosphere or service.
What should a bar SWOT analysis cover?
Your venue compared with the bars your guests would choose instead: concept, drinks range, prices, events, hours and atmosphere. Opportunities are nights and occasions nobody serves well. Threats include licensing limits, neighbor complaints and rising costs.
How often should I check on competitors?
Before signing a lease, then every few months and at the start of big seasons such as football season and the holidays. Events and hours change often in bars.
Check competition at your exact address — free
Drop a pin on the street you have in mind and see every competitor around it on a map, with ratings and review counts. The scan is free with an account.