Facebook Ad Spy Tools: 9 Compared, With Prices (2026)

Choose the tool by the job

Choose the Meta Ad Library if you want to look at a brand's live ads for free.
Choose Minea or PiPiADS if you hunt for products to sell.
Choose Foreplay if you want to save ads and track a few competitors.
Choose AdSpy or PowerAdSpy if you run affiliate offers.
Choose Selzee if you want to turn what's working into your own ads.

Not sure? Answer 4 questions and get a pick

Facebook ad spy tools compared

Prices checked 2 Oct 2026

The table puts all 9 tools side by side on price, free access, platforms and what each shows about an ad. The free Meta Ad Library comes first, because every paid tool has to beat it. One column goes against us: Selzee has no ad library you can browse. For a wider list, see 13 ad intelligence tools compared.

Tool	Price	Free plan or trial	Platforms	What it shows	Browse ads yourself	Best for
Meta Ad Library	Free	Free, no login needed	Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Audience Network, Threads	Start date per ad; reach, age, gender and location only for ads shown in the EU; no engagement	Yes	Looking at a brand's live ads for free
Selzee	From $19/week or $75/month, credit-based	Start free, no card	Reads competitors' Meta and TikTok ads in the background	No ad library: builds new ads for your brand from proven formats	No	Turning what's working into your own ads
AdSpy	$149/mo, one plan	No free plan or trial on its page	Facebook, Instagram (per AdSpy)	Last seen, likes, comments, landing page; sorts by run time (per AdSpy)	Yes	Affiliate offers
BigSpy	$69 to $499/mo	Free plan advertised; search needs a login	11 networks, Facebook among them	Date range per ad (guest view)	Yes	A wide scan across many networks
PiPiADS	$49 to $900/mo	500 free test credits, not a time-limited trial	TikTok, Facebook	Days running, likes, comments, shares; ad cost estimate	Yes	Finding products
Minea	$49 to $199/mo	No free plan on the pricing page; a free account can search ads	Meta, TikTok	Days running; reach and spend for EU ads; no likes or comments	Yes	Finding products
PowerAdSpy	$69 to $399/mo	No free plan; paid 3-day trial from $1	Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google, TikTok and more (per PowerAdSpy)	Days running, engagement, landing page, targeting (per PowerAdSpy)	Yes	Affiliate offers
Foreplay	$59 to $459/mo	7-day free trial, card charged after; no free plan	Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn (per Foreplay)	Running time, engagement, estimated spend, landing page (per Foreplay)	Yes	Saving ads and tracking competitors
Winning Hunter	€49 to €249/mo	No free trial stated on the pricing page	Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest (per Winning Hunter)	Ad spend, scaling signals, ad creation dates (per Winning Hunter)	Yes	Dropshippers tracking a few competitors

Prices read from each vendor's own pricing page on 2 Oct 2026. Minea and Winning Hunter showed euro prices to our browser, and PiPiADS shows its Basic and Advanced prices as discounts on higher list prices. Cells marked with a (per ...) note come from that tool's own site; the rest we checked in the tool on 2 Oct 2026. Verified 2026-10-02.

We searched Gymshark in every free tier

We searched Gymshark on 2 Oct 2026 in the free Meta Ad Library and in the free tiers of Minea, PiPiADS and BigSpy. Each tool showed something different, and the three that answered gave three different oldest Gymshark ads: 92 days in Meta, 59 in Minea, 468 in PiPiADS. Treat how long an ad has run as a signal you check, not a fact a tool hands you.

Meta Ad Library: free, but noisy and with no run-time sort

A keyword search for "gymshark" (US, active ads) returned about 760 results, and only 3 of the first 8 advertisers were Gymshark. Picking Gymshark's own Page from the Advertisers suggestions gave about 610 active US ads. The only sorts are impressions and newest, so there is no way to list the longest runners first. The oldest ad we could load had run 92 days, and the list stopped loading after 62 cards. The details of a US ad showed the advertiser and nothing else: no engagement, spend, reach or targeting.

Meta Ad Library results for the keyword gymshark showing active ad cards from several advertisers — Keyword search: 3 of the first 8 advertisers are Gymshark.

Meta Ad Library results for the Gymshark advertiser page with its active ads — Gymshark's Page: sort by impressions or newest only.

Meta Ad Library ad details for a Gymshark ad showing advertiser information — A US ad: no engagement, spend, reach or targeting.

Meta Ad Library transparency by location panel for a Gymshark ad shown in Germany — An ad shown in Germany: targeted at women aged 18 to 35.

Meta Ad Library EU ad delivery panel for the same Gymshark ad showing a reach of 162,043 — The same ad: reach 162,043 in the EU.

Minea: EU reach and spend for free, once you switch the search

Minea searches ad copy by default, which returned other brands. Switching the target to Page name gave one Gymshark card: 4.8k active ads, 50k in total. Ads shown in the EU carry reach and spend on the free account. There is no sort by days running; sorting by publication date, oldest first, put a 59-day ad at the top (28 Apr to 26 Jun 2025, reach 603.8k, about 5,400 dollars of spend in the EU). Shop insights are locked behind Premium.

Minea Browse ads page with Gymshark ad cards, status, reach and spend per ad — Minea: 4.8k active and 50k total Gymshark ads.

Minea ad detail for a Gymshark ad with dates, reach and spend, and a locked premium panel — Oldest listed ad: 59 days.

PiPiADS: the only real days-running sort, paid for in credits

On the Facebook tab, PiPiADS was the only tool with a true sort by days running, and each card shows likes, comments and shares. Sorted by days, the top "gymshark" result was a reseller at 2,397 days. Gymshark's own longest ad ran 468 days, from Dec 2022 to May 2025. Each search, sort or detail view cost 20 of the 500 free credits, and the total count and the ad's links stayed locked.

PiPiADS search results with an upgrade banner and a locked card for newest ads — 20 credits per search, sort or detail.

BigSpy: search blocked for guests

As a guest, typing "gymshark" and pressing Enter did nothing; a tooltip said "Login to experience more features". We got no result count, no ad detail and no run time.

BigSpy Ad Library search screen with filters and a login prompt — Guest search blocked.

Time per brand

About 10 minutes and 12 clicks in the Meta Ad Library, 5 minutes and 12 clicks in Minea, 5 minutes and 10 clicks in PiPiADS. BigSpy took 4 minutes and gave no answer.

Which spy tool fits you?

What do you sell?

Budget free, wants products (any q1)

PiPiADS

The only true sort by days running in our test, with 500 free credits to try it.

500 free test credits
Budget free, wants ideas, tracking or a wide scan (any q1)

Meta Ad Library

Free and no login: every active ad on a brand's Page, with its start date.

Free
Dropshipping, wants ideas, paid budget

Minea

Search a store's Meta and TikTok ads, with reach and spend on EU ads.

from $49/mo
Own brand, agency or affiliate, wants ideas, paid budget

Foreplay

Save the ads you like and keep tabs on the brands you watch.

from $59/mo
Wants products, under 100 dollars (any q1)

Minea

Product hunting across Meta and TikTok ads, with EU reach and spend.

from $49/mo
Wants products, 100 dollars or more (any q1)

PiPiADS

Sort by days running and see likes, comments and shares on every ad.

from $49/mo
Dropshipping, wants tracking, paid budget

Winning Hunter

Our pick for dropshippers who track a few competitors.

from €49/mo
Own brand, agency or affiliate, wants tracking, paid budget

Foreplay

Save ads and track a few competitors over time.

from $59/mo
Affiliate, wide scan, under 100 dollars

PowerAdSpy

Our affiliate pick on a smaller budget. The trial is paid.

from $69/mo
Wide scan, 100 dollars or more (any q1)

AdSpy

One flat plan for a wide search, with no free trial.

$149/mo
Own brand, dropshipping or agency, wide scan, under 100 dollars

BigSpy

One search across 11 networks, Facebook among them.

from $69/mo
In the top 2 on every answer: first if you get stuck turning what you find into new ads, second if you get stuck finding what works.

Selzee

Recreates ads winning right now for your brand, with new ads every day.

Start free, no card. Then from $19/week or $75/month, credit-based

See all 9 tools

What to look for in a Facebook ad spy tool

Five things decide whether a Facebook ad spy tool is worth paying for: how far back its ads go, whether you can search by brand instead of ad copy, a sort by how long an ad has run, the platforms it covers, and what you do with what you find.

How far back the ads go

Meta's library drops a normal ad once it stops running and keeps ads shown in the EU for a year. Minea and PiPiADS still listed Gymshark ads that stopped in 2025.

Brand search, not ad-copy search

In our test, a keyword search for "gymshark" in Meta's library returned mostly other advertisers. Minea also searches ad copy until you switch it to Page name.

A sort by days running

Brands keep paying for the ads that work, so run time is the signal to sort by. In our test, only PiPiADS could sort by days.

The platforms it covers

Meta's library covers Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Audience Network and Threads. Minea and PiPiADS add TikTok. For Google, see our Google Ads Transparency Center guide.

What you do with what you find

A list of other brands' ads is research. Your next ad still has to be made, which is where the steps below start.

The tools, one by one

Each card gives the tool's strength, its catch, its price as read on 2 Oct 2026, and who should pick it. We ran Gymshark through the Meta Ad Library, Minea and PiPiADS ourselves. BigSpy blocked our search without a login, and the other cards come from each vendor's own site.

Meta Ad Library

Meta's own free search of the ads running on its apps, with no login needed.

The catch: No sort by how long an ad has run, a keyword search returns mostly other brands, and a US ad shows no spend, reach or engagement. Ordinary ads drop out once they stop.

Pricing: Free

Best for: Looking at a brand's live ads for free.

Choose it if: you check a short list of brands and can read start dates by eye. Our Meta Ad Library guide shows how to search it by brand.

Selzee

Selzee is an AI ad generator that recreates ads winning right now for your brand. It scrapes competitors' Meta and TikTok ads in the background and builds new ads for your brand from proven formats.

The catch: Selzee has no ad library you can browse, search or filter. If you want to dig through ads yourself, pair it with one of the tools here.

Pricing: Start free, no card. Then from $19/week or $75/month, credit-based. See pricing.

Best for: Turning what's working into your own ads.

Choose it if: finding good ads is not your problem, and making your own version of them is.

AdSpy

A paid ad search tool sold as one flat monthly plan.

Its site says: AdSpy lists 211.8 million ads across Facebook and Instagram, searchable by ad text, advertiser, URL and affiliate network, with a sort by run time.

The catch: Its page lists no free plan or trial, and calls the price an introductory offer that "will not be the same for long".

Pricing: $149/mo

Best for: Affiliate offers.

Choose it if: you work affiliate offers and can pay for a month before you try it. We covered the cheaper options in AdSpy alternatives.

BigSpy

One ad search across 11 networks, Facebook among them, with industry filters such as ecommerce and games.

The catch: Search needs a login. As a guest, our Gymshark search was blocked with "Login to experience more features".

Pricing: Free plan advertised, then $69 to $499/mo (pricing page)

Best for: A wide scan across many networks.

Choose it if: you want breadth across networks more than depth in one, on a small budget.

PiPiADS

TikTok and Facebook ad search with the only true sort by days running in our test, plus likes, comments and shares on every card.

The catch: The free tier is 500 credits, not a trial, and each search, sort or detail view costs 20. Its pricing page shows Basic and Advanced as discounts on higher list prices.

Pricing: $49 to $900/mo

Best for: Finding products.

Choose it if: run time is the signal you trust and you hunt for products to sell.

Minea

Meta and TikTok ad search that shows reach and spend for ads shown in the EU, on a free account.

The catch: No sort by days running, the default search is by ad copy, and Shop insights are locked behind Premium. The pricing page lists no free plan.

Pricing: $49 to $199/mo

Best for: Finding products.

Choose it if: you want spend and reach estimates on EU ads while you hunt products.

PowerAdSpy

A paid ad spy tool with four plans, from Basic to Palladium, and yearly billing at 50 to 70% off.

Its site says: PowerAdSpy lists ads from Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Google and TikTok, among others, with a sort by ad lifespan.

The catch: No free plan: even the 3-day trial is paid.

Pricing: $69 to $399/mo; trial $1

Best for: Affiliate offers.

Choose it if: you work affiliate offers on a smaller budget than AdSpy needs.

Foreplay

A place to save ads you like and track the competitors you watch.

Its site says: Foreplay shows running time, engagement and estimated spend for Meta, TikTok and LinkedIn ads, with a sort by running time.

The catch: No free plan, and the 7-day trial charges your card when it ends. It is built for saving ads, not as an archive of old ones.

Pricing: $59 to $459/mo

Best for: Saving ads and tracking competitors.

Choose it if: your team wants one shared place for the ads it saves. We compared it with Selzee in Foreplay vs Selzee.

Winning Hunter

An ad spy tool for dropshippers, with Basic, Standard and Premium plans priced in euros.

Its site says: Winning Hunter shows ad spend, scaling signals and creation dates for Facebook, TikTok and Pinterest ads, and tracks Shopify stores.

The catch: The pricing page states no free trial: its "Start for Free" button is a signup link. Its site lists no Instagram ads.

Pricing: €49 to €249/mo

Best for: Dropshippers tracking a few competitors.

Choose it if: you run a store and want to keep an eye on a handful of rival stores.

What no spy tool can show you

No spy tool shows a competitor's real targeting, spend or results for a US ad. The most you get are estimates: PiPiADS shows an estimated ad cost, and Minea shows spend only for ads shown in the EU. In our test, the details of a US Gymshark ad in Meta's own library showed the advertiser and nothing else.

Ads shown in the EU are the exception. Meta gives more information for ads delivered in the EU, and the library shows the targeted location, age and gender, the reach, and who paid. When we searched Gymshark on 2 Oct 2026, an ad shown in Germany listed women aged 18 to 35, a reach of 162,043, and GYMSHARK LTD as advertiser and payer.

Old ads are the other gap. Outside ads about politics and social issues, the library only shows ads that are active. Ads shown in the EU stay archived for a year after their last impression; any other ad is gone once it stops.

From found ads to your own ads

Turning found ads into your own takes four steps. The long runner is your winner signal: a brand rarely keeps paying for an ad that doesn't sell. Take its pattern, the hook, the format and the length, and leave the ad itself alone. By the time a winner shows up in a spy tool, other sellers have often copied it, so a copy lands on a tired angle. We covered how to read a rival's ads in more depth in competitor ads analysis.

Find the brand's own ads

Search by the brand's Page, not a keyword. A keyword search mostly returns other advertisers.
Sort for the longest runners

Use a days-running sort where the tool has one. Otherwise, read each ad's start date.
Take the pattern, not the ad

Write down the hook, the format and the length. Leave the creative and the words behind.
Make your version

Rebuild the pattern in your brand. Selzee does this step: it recreates ads winning right now for your brand.

Facebook ad spy tools: FAQ

How do I spy on a competitor's Facebook ads for free?

Use the Meta Ad Library: it's free and needs no login. Type the brand's name, then pick its Page from the Advertisers suggestions instead of running a keyword search. When we searched Gymshark on 2 Oct 2026, the keyword search showed about 760 results and only 3 of the first 8 advertisers were Gymshark, while the Page view listed about 610 of its own active US ads. Read each ad's start date to see how long it has run. We list the other free options in free ad spy tools.

Is using an ad spy tool legal?

Searching the Meta Ad Library is what Meta built it for: it's Meta's own public search of the ads running on its apps. Paid spy tools show ads that already ran in public. We have not reviewed each tool's terms or the law where you live, so check both before you build a routine on one. Whichever tool you use, take the pattern of an ad, not the ad itself.

Can I see a competitor's ad targeting or spend?

Not for a US ad. No tool we checked shows the real targeting or spend of a US ad; PiPiADS shows an estimated ad cost. For ads shown in the EU, Meta's library shows more: the location, age and gender targeted, the reach and who paid. When we searched Gymshark on 2 Oct 2026, an ad shown in Germany listed women aged 18 to 35 and a reach of 162,043. Minea adds spend estimates for EU ads.

Is the Meta Ad Library enough, or do I need a paid tool?

For checking a few brands, the Meta Ad Library is enough: it's free, and a brand's Page lists its active ads with their start dates. Pay when you need what it lacks. In our 2 Oct 2026 test it had no sort by days running and no engagement counts (PiPiADS has both), no spend estimates (Minea shows them for EU ads), and no TikTok in the same search. adlibrary.com's rule is to upgrade once you spend more than an hour a week stitching free tools together.

What's the best ad spy tool for dropshipping?

Minea or PiPiADS. PiPiADS had the only true sort by days running in our test and shows likes, comments and shares, from $49/mo. Minea showed reach and spend for EU ads on a free account, with paid plans from $49/mo. If you mostly track a few rival stores, Winning Hunter is our pick, from €49/mo.

How do I choose an ad spy tool as a beginner?

Start with the free Meta Ad Library and pay only once you hit a limit you can name. Learn to search by a brand's Page and to read start dates first. Then pick by the job: Minea or PiPiADS for products, Foreplay to save and track, AdSpy or PowerAdSpy for affiliate offers. The 4-question picker above gives you two picks with prices.

Is Selzee an ad spy tool?

Partly. Selzee scrapes competitors' Meta and TikTok ads like a spy tool does, but in the background: there is no ad library for you to browse, search or filter. What it does with them is build new ads for your brand from proven formats. Selzee is an AI ad generator that recreates ads winning right now for your brand.

How much does Selzee cost?

Start free, no card. Paid plans from $19/week or $75/month for one brand, $50/week or $200/month for three, and Agencies $500/month for ten; Enterprise is custom. Credit-based, cancel anytime. If you find no new winner or don't like the full batch, you get a full refund.

Keep exploring

AdSpy alternatives

The free options, and what the paid ones cost.

Free ad spy tools

The free ad libraries the platforms publish, and how to use them.

Meta Ad Library guide

Search any competitor's live ads by brand.

Ad intelligence tools compared

Tools that go beyond Facebook ads.