At a glance
To spy on competitors' Facebook ads, open Meta's Ad Library at facebook.com/ads/library, pick a country, choose All ads and search the brand's Page name. You see every active ad, its creative and its start date. Spend appears only for social issue, election and political ads. Paid spy tools add history, filters and engagement data.
Prices and features come from each vendor's official pricing and help pages, read on the date given in the article, from Europe and the US when prices differ. We did not run hands-on tests for this article. SpyBox publishes this page and earns money from its subscription, which includes the tools marked In SpyBox.
Knowing how to spy on competitors' Facebook ads saves you from testing blind, and the first tool costs nothing. Meta's Ad Library lists every active ad running on Meta's apps, Facebook and Instagram included. Facts about it come from Meta's help pages, read on 5 November 2026, and tool prices were checked on each vendor's site the same day. For a wider list, see our comparison of dropshipping spy tools.
How to use the Facebook Ad Library, step by step
The Facebook Ad Library, now called the Meta Ad Library, is Meta's public search engine for ads.
- Open facebook.com/ads/library. Meta's help page says that "anyone can view and search the Ad Library".
- Pick a country. You only see ads shown there, so choose your competitor's market, or All.
- Set the ad category to All ads. The other category is for social issue, election and political ads.
- Type the brand or Page name and pick the Page in the suggestions to see only its ads. A keyword, such as a product name, returns ads that contain it and ads from Pages whose name contains it.
- Narrow the results with the filters: status (active or inactive), language, platform, media type. Meta documents them for political ads, and guides report the same set for all ads.
- Click See ad details. You get the start date, the platforms and, for ads delivered in the EU or the UK, the reach by age, gender and location.
Do you need a Facebook account?
Meta writes that anyone can view and search the library. A login matters in two cases. Age-restricted creatives, such as alcohol or gambling ads, are hidden from people who are underage or not logged in. Downloading search results requires a login and accepting Meta's Terms of Service. Guides disagree on the rest, so start logged out.
What the Ad Library shows, and what it hides
For a commercial ad shown outside the EU and the UK, the library shows the creative, the Page and the start date, with nothing on spend, impressions or targeting. Source: Meta's help page, read on 5 November 2026.
| Data | Commercial ad, outside the EU and UK | Ad delivered in the EU or UK | Social issue, election or political ad |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creative, copy and Page | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Dates | Start date only | Yes | Yes |
| Stopped ads kept | No | 1 year after the last impression | 7 years |
| Amount spent | No | No | Yes, as a range |
| Reach | No | Total, by age, gender and location | Share by age, gender and location |
| Targeting | No | Location, age and gender, per ad | Summary per Page |
In practice:
- Spend stays private for commercial ads everywhere. A spend figure in a spy tool is that tool's estimate.
- Outside Europe, a stopped ad leaves the library. If your competitor also sells in the EU, pick France or Germany to see its stopped ads from the past year.
- Likes, comments, clicks and sales are not in the library. Likes and comments sit on the post itself, and spy tools collect them at scale.
Which signals suggest a competitor's ad is working?
No public number proves that an ad is profitable. Four signals give clues, stronger together than alone.
| Signal | Where to look | What it may mean | Why it can mislead |
|---|---|---|---|
| Run time | Start date of an active ad | Weeks of spend suggest the ad pays for itself | Big brands keep some ads on for awareness |
| Variants | Several versions of one creative or hook | The brand is testing, or scaling a winner | Some advertisers launch many versions, winner or not |
| Angle | First line of copy, first seconds of video | The promise the brand bets on: price, problem, proof or gift | An angle can work in one country only |
| Landing page | Where the button leads | The offer, price and bundle behind the ad | The page can change after you look |
An ad running for six weeks, in five versions with the same hook, pointing to one product page, is a strong clue. It stays a clue: you never see the margin, the return rate or the real spend.
When is a Facebook ad spy tool worth paying for?
A Facebook ad spy tool is worth paying for when you need what the library lacks: stopped ads, filters by run time or engagement, likes and comments at scale, and TikTok. Prices checked on 5 November 2026 on each official page, in US dollars.
| Tool | Price shown | What it adds to the Ad Library | Platforms | In SpyBox |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minea | Starter $49, Premium $99, Business $199 a month ($39, $79, $158 billed quarterly; $34, $69, $139 billed yearly) | Product and store lists, brand tracker, AI ad analysis | Facebook; TikTok announced, with conflicting information on Minea's site | Included |
| AdSpy | $149 a month, one plan, described as an introductory offer | Search by ad text, advertiser, likes, comments and affiliate network | Facebook, Instagram | Included |
| Adsparo | $69 a month, one plan | Filters by number of ads, country and pixel; scaling charts per ad and Page; Chrome extension | Facebook, Instagram | Included |
| PiPiAds | Basic $49 (30,000 credits), Advanced $99, Enterprise $900 a month; trial with 500 credits | TikTok and Facebook ad search, ad trackers, image search | TikTok, Facebook | Included |
- Minea suits a dropshipper who wants the product and the store behind an ad. Skip it if you only need ad examples. See Minea's plans and limits, or other tools that do what Minea does.
- AdSpy suits buyers who filter by engagement or study affiliate offers. Skip it for TikTok.
- Adsparo is the cheapest of the four for Facebook scaling history. Skip it for TikTok, which its site does not mention.
- PiPiAds suits sellers who test on TikTok first. It charges 1 credit per result and 20 per detailed view, so daily research drains the Basic plan fast. More in our PiPiAds review.
Bought separately at entry prices (Minea Starter, AdSpy, Adsparo, PiPiAds Basic), the four cost $316 a month, or $366 with Minea Premium. SpyBox includes them all among 35 tools in one desktop app, for €29.99 a month or €249.99 a year. This compares each vendor's list prices. In SpyBox, every tool opens on its top plan. Minea uses no credits there, while PiPiAds searches use SpyBox credits. See Minea in SpyBox or the full offer.
35 tools, €29.99/mo
From competitor ad to product test: a 6-step method
This method chains the library and the tools above, so you answer each question before spending on ads.
- List five to ten competitors and two or three niche keywords. Search the keywords in the Ad Library to find advertisers you did not know.
- Keep the ads active for several weeks and running in several versions. Note the Page, the start date and the landing page.
- Check the history. Adsparo's Page charts show whether the advertiser is scaling, and AdSpy shows likes, comments and when the ad was last seen.
- Open the landing page, then look the store up in Minea to see its other products and top ads.
- Search the product, or an image from the video, in PiPiAds to see whether it runs on TikTok too.
- Build your own test: your own creative, a different angle and your own offer. Fix your budget and your stop rule before launch, then check the competitor's ads again each week.
Is it legal to spy on competitors' Facebook ads?
Seeing competitors' ads is what the library is for: Meta says people "can use it to get more information about the ads they see across Meta technologies". Copying them is another matter. Meta's Advertising Standards state that "ads may not contain content that violates the intellectual property rights of any third party, including copyright, trademark or other legal rights."
- Take ideas from the angle, the structure, the offer and the page layout.
- Do not reuse their videos, photos, music, text or customer reviews.
- Keep their brand name and logo out of your ads, your store name and your domain.
Meta adds that such ads "may be rejected or removed" after a report from the rights holder. This is general information, not legal advice.
35 tools, €29.99/mo
FAQ
Is the Facebook Ad Library free?
Yes. Meta runs the Ad Library as a transparency tool, and anyone can view and search it at facebook.com/ads/library. Looking at a competitor's active ads costs nothing. Downloading search results is the one feature that requires a logged-in Facebook account and accepting Meta's Terms of Service.
Can you see how much a competitor spends on Facebook ads?
Not for commercial ads. Meta shows the amount spent, as a range such as $1,000 to $5,000, only for ads about social issues, elections or politics. For a store's ads, any spend figure in a third-party tool is that tool's estimate, not data published by Meta.
How do I see all the ads a Facebook Page is running?
Open the Ad Library, choose All countries and All ads, type the Page name and select it in the suggestions. You get every active ad from that Page, with its creative and start date. Set the status filter to inactive to see stopped ads where Meta keeps them: EU, UK and political ads.
Can you see a competitor's targeting?
Partly. For ads delivered in the EU or the UK, Meta shows the location, age and gender chosen for each ad, plus reach by age and gender. Detailed targeting and custom audiences appear only for political ads, summed up per Page. For a store selling outside Europe, you see no targeting at all.
Sources
- Meta Business Help Center, About the Meta Ad Library, read on 5 November 2026.
- Meta Help Center, What is the Meta Ad Library and how do I search it?, read on 5 November 2026.
- Meta Advertising Standards, Third-party intellectual property infringement, read on 5 November 2026.
- Meta Ad Library.
- Minea pricing, prices checked on 5 November 2026.
- AdSpy, checked on 5 November 2026.
- Adsparo, checked on 5 November 2026.
- PiPiAds, checked on 5 November 2026.
About the SpyBox editorial team
These guides are published by SpyBox Limited, the company behind the SpyBox app. We write them for e-commerce sellers and marketers who are choosing their tools: every price comes from the vendor's official page on the date shown, and the sources are listed at the end of each article. SpyBox sells the subscription that includes the tools marked In SpyBox. Spotted a price change or an error? Email us at Contact@spybox.io.