In short — Start with the free libraries: the Meta Ad Library for Facebook and Instagram, TikTok Top Ads in the Creative Center for TikTok, and the Google Ads Transparency Center for Search, YouTube and Display. Pay only when you need history, saved boards or several platforms in one search: Foreplay (from $49/month billed yearly, 7-day trial) for a swipe file and competitor tracking, BigSpy (free plan, paid from $49/month yearly) for the most platforms, PiPiAds for TikTok, Minea for dropshipping product research. Prices below were read on each tool's pricing page on 8 November 2026.
Disclosure: Klaivo is our product. It isn't an ad spy tool: its Ad Clone feature starts where these tools stop, by rebuilding a winning ad's structure for your own product. We don't earn anything from the tools below.
What an ad spy tool actually tells you
An ad spy tool shows you ads other brands are running: the video or image, the copy, the landing page and, depending on the tool, how long the ad has been live, on which platforms, and in which countries. None of them shows you a competitor's sales or return on ad spend. The most reliable signal they give is run time: an ad that has been running for weeks, with several variants, is probably profitable, because advertisers stop paying for ads that lose money.
That's why the free libraries cover most needs. Paid tools add three things: history (ads that stopped running), organisation (boards, tags, transcripts, alerts) and one search across several platforms.
The 9 tools at a glance
| Tool | Best for | Platforms | Free option | Paid from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Meta Ad Library | Facebook and Instagram, any budget | Meta | Free | — |
| TikTok Top Ads | TikTok creative research | TikTok | Free | — |
| Google Ads Transparency Center | Search, YouTube and Display ads | Free | — | |
| Foreplay | Swipe file and competitor tracking | Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube Shorts, Google | 7-day trial (card) | $49/mo yearly, $59 monthly |
| BigSpy | Most platforms in one tool | Up to 11 networks | Free plan (Facebook) | $49/mo yearly, $69 monthly |
| PiPiAds | TikTok ads and TikTok Shop | TikTok, Facebook | 500 free credits | $294/year (Q4 offer) |
| Minea | Dropshipping product research | Facebook, influencer posts | Free sign-up | $49/mo ($39 quarterly) |
| AdSpy | Deep Facebook and Instagram search | Facebook, Instagram | Not stated | $149/mo |
| Atria | Brand creative strategy with AI | Meta and others | "Start for free" | $129/mo billed yearly (promo) |
Prices read on each tool's pricing page on 8 November 2026, in US dollars. Several tools were running end-of-year promotions; check the page before you buy.
The 9 best ad spy tools
1. Meta Ad Library — the free starting point for Facebook and Instagram
The Meta Ad Library lists every ad currently running on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger and Audience Network, searchable by advertiser or keyword and filterable by country, platform and media type. It's free and works without an advertiser account. Two kinds of ads stay visible after they stop: ads about social issues, elections or politics, kept for 7 years (Meta), and ads shown in the European Union, which the EU's Digital Services Act requires platforms to keep for one year after the last impression, with reach and targeting details (DSA, Article 39).
Best for: checking what any competitor runs right now. Limit: for ads that ran only outside the EU, there's no history once they stop, and there's no saving or tagging.
2. TikTok Top Ads (Creative Center) — the free view of what works on TikTok
TikTok Top Ads is part of TikTok's Creative Center. You filter by region, objective, ad language, ad format and likes, and sort by "For You", reach or CTR. Unlike Meta's library, it shows a selection of high-performing ads rather than every ad, which makes it better for ideas than for tracking one competitor. No pricing is shown on the page; some views ask you to log in.
Best for: finding TikTok hooks and formats by industry. Limit: you can't follow a specific brand's whole account.
3. Google Ads Transparency Center — Search, YouTube and Display
The Google Ads Transparency Center is a searchable hub of ads from verified advertisers across Search, YouTube and Display (Google). You search by advertiser name or website and filter by date and targeted location (Google Ads Help). It's free.
Best for: seeing a competitor's YouTube video ads and search copy. Limit: no performance signal beyond dates.
4. Foreplay — best for building a swipe file and tracking competitors
Foreplay saves ads into boards from a Chrome extension or its mobile app, and its "Spyder" feature tracks competitors' Meta ads around the clock, with up to 3 years of a brand's ad history. It covers the Meta Ad Library, TikTok's ad library and Top Ads, organic TikTok and Instagram, the LinkedIn Ad Library, YouTube Shorts and Google's Transparency Center, and has a community library it puts at 200M+ ads.
Price: Basic $59/month ($49 billed yearly), Workflow $175 ($149 yearly), Agency $459 ($389 yearly), Enterprise on quote. 7-day free trial, card required, charged after 7 days.
5. BigSpy — the most platforms, with a free plan
BigSpy covers up to 11 ad networks depending on the plan, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Google, YouTube, X, Pinterest, Pangle, AppLovin, Yahoo and Unity. It adds TikTok Shop ad and domain analysis from the Growth plan, creative downloads on paid plans and AI video analysis.
Price: free plan (10 searches a day, Facebook only); Starter $69/month ($49 yearly: Facebook, Instagram, AppLovin), Growth $159 ($119 yearly: adds Google, YouTube, X, TikTok, Pangle), Scale $399 ($299 yearly, 5 seats), Ultimate $499 ($399 yearly, all 11 platforms).
6. PiPiAds — best for TikTok ads and TikTok Shop
PiPiAds is built around TikTok ads, with Facebook ads, TikTok Shop data and ad trackers. It works with credits: each result costs 1 credit, each ad detail 20.
Price: during its Q4 offer (annual plans only, until 31 December), Basic $294/year (30,000 credits, 2 ad trackers; listed at $828), Advanced $594/year (100,000 credits, 10 trackers), Enterprise $5,400/year (1,000,000 credits, 10 users). Free trial: 500 credits, ads only, no ad details.
7. Minea — best for dropshipping product research
Minea is aimed at dropshippers: daily lists of winning products, the shops selling them, a brand tracker, Facebook ads and influencer product placements, plus AI analysis and transcripts of ads. Its pricing page lists TikTok, Snapchat and Pinterest ads as "coming soon".
Price: Starter $49/month ($39 paid quarterly), Premium $99 ($79 quarterly), Business $199 ($158 quarterly). Free registration is available.
8. AdSpy — deep search across Facebook and Instagram
AdSpy is one of the oldest tools, focused on Facebook and Instagram. Its distinctive search options are searching inside ad comments and filtering by affiliate network, affiliate ID and offer ID, which is why affiliate marketers use it.
Price: its homepage advertises $149/month "virtually unlimited usage" as an introductory offer. We couldn't read plan details or trial terms on its subscription page, which loads only after registration.
9. Atria — creative strategy for brands, with AI
Atria combines a large ad library (filters by theme, format, industry and language, sorting by longest-running ads, active and inactive status) with "Radar", an AI strategist, review mining, a Chrome extension, an MCP server and an API. Atria describes itself as a badged Meta Business Partner.
Price: during its Black Friday promotion, Core $129/month billed yearly (listed at $219; 5 seats, 50 brands followed), Plus $343 (listed $549), Business $959 (listed $1,549), Enterprise on quote. The page offers "Start for free" without stating a trial length.
Which one to pick
| You are… | Start with | Add if needed |
|---|---|---|
| A store testing products on Meta | Meta Ad Library | Minea (product research) |
| A brand advertising on TikTok | TikTok Top Ads | PiPiAds |
| A team that wants a shared swipe file | Meta Ad Library + TikTok Top Ads | Foreplay |
| Running ads on many networks | The three free libraries | BigSpy |
| An affiliate marketer | Meta Ad Library | AdSpy |
| A brand with a creative team and budget | Foreplay | Atria |
Most small e-commerce teams never need more than the three free libraries and a habit: check them weekly and save what keeps running.
How to read an ad library like a media buyer
- Check the start date. Each ad shows when it started running. An ad live for 30+ days, still being shown, is the closest thing to proof you'll get; Atria, for example, can sort ads by it.
- Count the variants. A brand running 5 versions of one idea is scaling it; a single ad may be a test.
- Note the hook, not the footage. Write down what happens in the first 3 seconds and the order of the arguments. That structure is the transferable part.
- Open the landing page. The offer (bundle, discount, guarantee) often explains the ad's performance more than the video does.
- Check several countries. In the Meta Ad Library, an ad running in many markets is usually a proven one.
After you find a winning ad: remaking it for your product
Copying a competitor's video is a copyright problem and rarely works for a different product anyway. What you can reuse is the structure: the type of hook, the order of the beats, the pacing.
That's what Klaivo's Ad Clone does. Paste a link from the Meta Ad Library, TikTok or Instagram, or upload the video (up to 90 seconds, 100 MB), and Klaivo maps the ad's structure (hook, steps, pacing), then writes and generates a new ad for your product. It never reuses the original footage, music, brand or claims. The analysis costs 2 credits, and new accounts get one free analysis. For how many variants to test once you have a winner, see how many ad creatives you need, and for when to replace them, creative fatigue.
FAQ
What is the best ad spy tool?
For most e-commerce advertisers, the free Meta Ad Library and TikTok Top Ads cover the essentials. Among paid tools, Foreplay is the strongest for saving and tracking ads, BigSpy covers the most platforms, PiPiAds is built for TikTok and Minea for dropshipping product research.
Is there a free ad spy tool?
Yes. The Meta Ad Library, TikTok Top Ads in the Creative Center and the Google Ads Transparency Center are free. BigSpy has a free plan limited to 10 Facebook searches a day, and PiPiAds offers 500 free credits.
How much does an ad spy tool cost?
On 8 November 2026, paid plans started at about $49 a month billed yearly (Foreplay, BigSpy), $49 a month for Minea, $294 a year for PiPiAds during its Q4 offer, and $149 a month for AdSpy.
Is using an ad spy tool legal?
Yes. These tools show ads that were published publicly, and the Meta, TikTok and Google libraries are run by the platforms themselves. Copying another brand's footage, music or trademarks is a different matter: reuse the structure, not the assets.
How do you find winning ads on Facebook?
Search the brand or product keyword in the Meta Ad Library, filter by country, and look for ads that have been running for several weeks with multiple variants. Long run time is the best public signal that an ad is profitable.
How do you spy on TikTok ads?
Use TikTok Top Ads in the Creative Center, filtered by region, objective and format and sorted by reach or CTR. For tracking specific advertisers and TikTok Shop products, PiPiAds and BigSpy's Growth plan cover TikTok.