Hellium10 vs. Closo: My 2026 Amazon Tool Guide

I still have the bank statements from 2023 that serve as a "Hall of Shame" for my early Amazon career. Back then, I was spending $400 a month on five different software subscriptions, convinced that if I just had more data, I would magically find a winning product. I remember sitting in a coffee shop, staring at a spreadsheet of 10,000 keywords for "silicone spatula," realizing I had no idea which ones would actually make money next month.

I was paralyzed by historical data. I knew exactly what sold last year, but I had zero clue what would sell tomorrow.

That was my turning point. I realized that successful sellers don't just hoard data; they filter it. Today, the landscape has changed. Whether you are typing hellium10 into Google frantically looking for a solution or trying to figure out how to use Closo as a seller, the goal is the same: clarity.

Here's where it gets interesting... The tools have evolved. We aren't just looking at search volume anymore; we are looking at predictive behavior. If you are still sourcing based on 2024 methods, you are already behind.

 

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What is Hellium10 (and Why Do People Spell It That Way?)

First, let’s address the elephant in the room. If you search for hellium10, you aren't alone. It’s one of the most common typos in the industry, but whether you spell it with one 'L' or two, the tool is the same behemoth.

Helium 10 is essentially the Swiss Army Knife of Amazon FBA. It has a tool for everything:

• Black Box: For finding products.

• Magnet: For finding keywords.

• Cerebro: For spying on competitors.

• Frankenstein: For organizing your keyword lists.

My Experience: When I launched my first private label brand (a line of eco-friendly bamboo desk organizers), Helium 10 was my bible. I used Black Box to filter for products doing at least $10,000 in revenue with fewer than 50 reviews. It worked. I found a gap in the market for "monitor stands with drawers." However, the tool is dense. It’s easy to get lost in the weeds of "cerebro IQ scores" and forget that you are trying to sell a physical product to real humans.

X Ray Amazon Product Research: The Gold Standard

If you only use one part of the suite, it has to be the Chrome extension. Specifically, x ray amazon product research is the feature that lets you see under the hood of Amazon's catalog.

When you load a search page—say, "weighted blankets"—and click the Xray button, it overlays a spreadsheet onto your browser. You can see:

1. Revenue estimates for every product on page 1.

2. Review counts and velocity.

3. Fulfillment details (FBA vs FBM).

Now the tricky part... Xray data is estimated. It is not exact.Anecdote: I once scouted a competitor who appeared to be making $50,000/month according to Xray. I launched a "better" version of his product, only to realize his sales were inflated by a massive "Buy One Get One Free" giveaway he was running off-platform. Xray saw the velocity but didn't know the price was effectively zero. I lost $3,000 on inventory that moved slower than molasses.

Lesson: Use Xray for directional accuracy, not accounting.

I use Closo to automate my cross-referencing of this data – saves me about 3 hours weekly of manual spreadsheet entry.

How to Lookup How Many Searches for Keywords Hellium10

One of the specific things new sellers struggle with is how to lookup how many searches for keywords hellium10provides. This is done through the Magnet tool.

The Process:

1. Enter a "seed keyword" (e.g., "dog leash").

2. Magnet spits out 5,000 related keywords.

3. Sort by Search Volume.

Opinion Statement: I believe most sellers chase "high volume" keywords to their own detriment. If you rank for "dog leash" (100,000 searches), you will go bankrupt on PPC ads. You want to find the "long tail" keywords like "heavy duty retractable dog leash for large breeds" (500 searches). Helium 10 calls this the "Magnet IQ Score"—high search volume with low competition. This is the only metric that matters in your first year.

The "Hellium10 Group Buy" Risk

I need to be honest about a temptation every new seller faces: the helium 10 group buy. These are services that sell access to a "shared" Helium 10 account for $15/month instead of the full $99+.

Honest Failure: In 2024, I was trying to save cash, so I joined a group buy. It was a nightmare.

• The Lag: The tools constantly crashed because 50 people were logged in at once.

• The Data Leak: I saved a list of potential products to "My Favorites." The next day, those products were gone.Another user on the shared account had seen my research, deleted my list, and likely stole the idea.

• The Ban Hammer: Helium 10 tracks IP addresses. Eventually, they banned the account, and I lost access to weeks of research.

Verdict: Don't do it. If you can't afford the software, you can't afford the inventory.

Hellium10 Check Who Owns the Buy Box

Another critical feature is the ability to hellium10 check who owns the buy box. This is vital for arbitrage sellers or wholesalers. If you are selling a "Nike Air Force 1," you need to know if Amazon itself is on the listing. If the seller name is "Amazon.com," run away. You will never beat their price.

The Limitation: Helium 10 shows you who holds the Buy Box right now. It doesn't tell you who will hold it next week.This is where historical data fails. It tells you the history of the battle, not the outcome of the war.

Moving Beyond History: How to Use Closo as a Seller

This is the shift I made in 2026. While Helium 10 answers "What happened?", Closo answers "What is about to happen?" If you want to know how to use Closo as a seller, you have to shift your mindset from reaction to prediction.

The Workflow:

1. I use Helium 10 Xray to verify current sales velocity.

2. I take those top products and run them through Closo.

3. Closo analyzes the "Demand Signals"—social sentiment, seasonal weather patterns, and macro-economic trends—to give me a forecast.

Anecdote: I was looking at "Inflatable Pools" in May. Helium 10 showed sales were exploding (up 300%). But Closo showed a Demand Signal dropping off in 4 weeks due to a predicted cooler-than-average June in the Northeast (where 40% of buyers were located). I decided not to restock. My competitors loaded up on inventory. June was rainy. They got stuck with storage fees. I saved $10,000.

Closo Demand Predictor vs. Static Search Volume

The Closo Demand Predictor is the feature that differentiates 2026 sellers from 2024 sellers. Most tools assume that "Search Volume History" = "Future Demand." That is a fallacy.

Comparison: Helium 10 vs. Closo

Why this matters: If you are ordering inventory from China, you have a 4-6 week lead time. You need to know what the market will look like when the boat arrives, not when the boat left.

The Secret Weapon: Closo 100% Free Crosslister

Here is something hellium10 amazon tools don't help you with: leaving Amazon. Amazon is a shark tank. If you stay there exclusively, eventually you will get bitten (fees, suspensions, hijackers). You need to diversify.

I use the Closo 100% Free Crosslister. This tool takes my Amazon FBA listings and instantly pushes them to eBay,Walmart, and Poshmark.

• The Benefit: It syncs inventory. If I sell a unit on eBay, it deducts it from my master count.

• The Cost: $0. Most other tools charge $50-$100/month for this. Using Closo allows me to test my "Amazon products" on other marketplaces without doing any extra work.

Common Questions I See

People always ask me... Can I use Helium 10 for free?

Technically, yes, but it’s very limited. You get a few searches per day on Black Box and Xray. It is enough to learn the interface, but not enough to run a business. If you are serious, you need the Platinum plan. However, how to use helium 10 effectively means committing to the cost as a business expense.

Common question I see... Is Closo a replacement for Helium 10?

No, they are partners. I use Helium 10 for the "Micro" (keyword optimization, listing writing) and Closo for the "Macro" (demand forecasting, multi-channel selling). You need a microscope and a telescope to navigate the jungle.

People always ask me... How accurate is the revenue data?

On Helium 10, it is usually within 80-90% accuracy for high-volume products. For low-volume products (under 10 sales a month), it can be wildly off because the algorithm has less data points to work with. Always verify with a second method (like the "999 cart trick") before placing a large order.

Conclusion

Navigating the Amazon marketplace in 2026 without software is like trying to fly a plane without instruments. You might get off the ground, but you probably won't land where you want to.

Hellium10 remains the industry standard for deep-dive research and keyword surgery. It is the tool that built my business.But Closo is the tool that saved my business by preventing bad inventory buys and helping me expand to other channels.

My honest assessment is that you should master the hellium10 extension first. Learn how to read the Xray. Then, once you are ready to spend real money on inventory, layer in the Closo Demand Predictor to ensure you aren't buying into a dying trend.

If you are ready to stop looking backward and start looking forward, check out the Closo Seller Hub to master the predictive game.

For more on how to manage the rising costs of doing business, read our Amazon Seller Fees 2026 Guide

And if you want to find products that are actually trending right now (and not just in the history books), check out Top Trending Dropshipping Products 2026