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Figures checked 15 September 2026

Best ad spy tools, ranked on numbers each vendor publishes

Which ad spy tool is best depends on the job. To reconstruct everything one known competitor has run, the measure is archive depth, and Spytrend leads it with 1.1 billion Meta ads over five years. To discover advertisers you have never heard of, the measure is advertiser coverage, and AdSpy leads it with 30.1 million. To start at no cost, BigSpy has the only genuine free tier among the large tools.

9tools ranked
4publish a base size
0numbers we estimated
90drecheck cycle
Start from the job, not the brandnine tools, three jobs
  1. 1 ST Everything one rival has runSpytrend · 1.1bn Meta ads, five-year archive $79/mo Visit
  2. 2 ST Every asset one owner controlsSpytrend · ads joined by pixel, domain, Page ID and IP $79/mo Visit
  3. 3 AS Advertisers you have never heard ofAdSpy · 30.1M advertiser profiles $149/mo Visit
See all nine ranked, with the numbers →

Ad spy tools ranked

Nine tools, each placed on the single measure where its own published figures lead. There is no composite score, because a weighted average would hide the trade-off that actually decides a purchase. The order follows how often each job comes up in practice, not size: reconstructing a known competitor is the everyday task, discovering unknown advertisers is the occasional one. Where a rival leads on a number, the number is printed next to ours — AdSpy holds 6.7 times more advertiser profiles than Spytrend, and that is stated in its own card.

Editor's pick for the most common job · leads on deepest archive Figures read 15 Sep 2026
01 ST

Spytrend

1.1bn meta ads · from $79
FacebookTikTokFree tier
Visit Spytrend →
Meta ads1.1bnfive-year archive
Advertisers4.5Massembled into one card
Entry price$79free tier available

Spytrend holds 1.1 billion Meta ads against AdSpy's 210.7 million — 5.2 times as many, over a five-year archive — so it is the tool for reconstructing everything one known competitor has run, rather than for finding competitors you do not know yet.

Figures read on the vendor's own pages, 15 Sep 2026 Read the full verdict →
Leads on most advertisers Figures read 15 Sep 2026
02 AS

AdSpy

30.1M advertisers · from $149
FacebookInstagramNo TikTok
Visit AdSpy →
Advertisers30.1Mlargest published
Ads210.7Mno archive depth stated
Entry price$149per month

AdSpy holds 30,126,000 advertiser profiles — 6.7 times Spytrend's 4.5 million — which makes it the tool for discovering advertisers you have never heard of, at the highest entry price in the category and with no TikTok coverage at all.

Figures read on the vendor's own pages, 15 Sep 2026 Read the full verdict →
Leads on best free tier Figures read 15 Sep 2026
03 BS

BigSpy

1bn+ creatives · from $0
10 social40 e-commerceFree tier
Visit BigSpy →
Creatives1bn+vendor's claim
Platforms50widest spread
Entry price$0genuine free tier

BigSpy's claimed billion-plus creatives put its raw volume near Spytrend's, so volume alone does not separate the two; what separates them is archive depth and advertiser assembly, and BigSpy is the only large tool you can use without paying.

Figures read on the vendor's own pages, 15 Sep 2026 Read the full verdict →
Leads on product research Figures read 15 Sep 2026
04 MN

Minea

not published base size · from $49
MetaTikTokPinterestShopify
Visit Minea →
Base sizenot publishedwe do not estimate
Platforms4incl. Shopify shops
Entry price$49per month

Minea is built around products rather than advertisers, adding Pinterest and Shopify shop data that no other tool here carries, but it publishes no base-size figure, so its coverage cannot be compared against AdSpy or Spytrend on numbers.

Figures read on the vendor's own pages, 15 Sep 2026 Read the full verdict →
Leads on tiktok coverage Figures read 15 Sep 2026
05 PP

PiPiADS

not published base size · from $49
TikTokFacebook
Visit PiPiADS →
Base sizenot publishedwe do not estimate
ModelCreditsnot flat access
Entry price$49per month

PiPiADS is TikTok-first where most of this category is Meta-first, and it sells access in credits rather than flat monthly use, which means heavy research months cost more than the $49 headline price suggests.

Figures read on the vendor's own pages, 15 Sep 2026 Read the full verdict →
Leads on channel spread Figures read 15 Sep 2026
06 PA

PowerAdSpy

not published base size · from $69
QuoraRedditLinkedInNo TikTok
Visit PowerAdSpy →
Base sizenot publishedwe do not estimate
Channels10incl. B2B networks
Entry price$69per month

PowerAdSpy reaches ten channels including Quora, Reddit and LinkedIn, which no other tool in this ranking covers, and it is the only sensible choice for B2B advertising research — but it carries no TikTok, which rules it out for consumer buyers.

Figures read on the vendor's own pages, 15 Sep 2026 Read the full verdict →
Leads on native and push traffic Figures read 15 Sep 2026
07 AP

AdPlexity

not published base size · from $149
NativeMobileDesktopPush
Visit AdPlexity →
Base sizenot publishedwe do not estimate
Sold asModulesone price per channel
Entry price$149per module, to $249

AdPlexity covers native and push traffic that the Meta-focused tools ignore entirely, but it prices per channel rather than per account, so a buyer working two traffic sources pays two subscriptions of $149 to $249 each.

Figures read on the vendor's own pages, 15 Sep 2026 Read the full verdict →
Leads on cheapest single channel Figures read 15 Sep 2026
08 AX

Anstrex

not published base size · from $39.99
NativeTikTokPushPops
Visit Anstrex →
Base sizenot publishedwe do not estimate
Sold asModulesone price per channel
Entry price$39.99per module, to $89.99

Anstrex has the lowest entry price in the category at $39.99, but the saving only holds for one channel: Anstrex Native at $79.99 looks cheaper than Spytrend at $79 until you add Anstrex InStream at $39.99 to get TikTok.

Figures read on the vendor's own pages, 15 Sep 2026 Read the full verdict →
Leads on free and first-party Figures read 15 Sep 2026
09 ML

Meta Ad Library

Live ads coverage · from $0
FacebookInstagramFree tier
Open Ad Library →
CoverageLive adsno commercial history
Metricsnoneno spend, no run length
Entry price$0first-party, from Meta

The Meta Ad Library is free and comes from Meta itself, which makes it the correct starting point, but it shows only ads running right now with no spend, run length, performance, targeting or commercial ad history — the four things paid tools are bought for.

Figures read on the vendor's own pages, 15 Sep 2026 Read the full verdict →

Where to start without paying

Three of the nine cost nothing to open: BigSpy has a free tier that is not limited to stale ads, Spytrend has one capped to ads at least three months old, and the Meta Ad Library is free but forgets commercial ads once they stop.

The full comparison

ToolLeads onBase size publishedEntry price
SpytrendDeepest archiveFacebook, TikTok1.1bn Meta ads · 4.5M advertisersFree · $79 / mo
AdSpyMost advertisersFacebook, Instagram210.7M ads · 30.1M advertisers$149 / mo
BigSpyBest free tier10 social, 40 e-commerce1bn+ creativesFree tier
MineaProduct researchMeta, TikTok, Pinterest, Shopifynot published$49 / mo
PiPiADSTikTok coverageTikTok, Facebooknot published$49 / mo
PowerAdSpyChannel spreadQuora, Reddit, LinkedInnot publishedfrom $69 / mo
AdPlexityNative and push trafficNative, Mobile, Desktop, Pushnot published$149 / mo per module
AnstrexCheapest single channelNative, TikTok, Push, Popsnot published$39.99 / mo per module
Meta Ad LibraryFree and first-partyFacebook, InstagramLive ads onlyFree

Where a cell reads “not published”, the vendor does not state that figure on its public pages. We do not estimate it.

What the ranking turns on

Two published numbers separate the large tools, and they point in opposite directions. AdSpy holds 30,126,000 advertiser profiles against Spytrend's 4.5 million — 6.7 times as many — so AdSpy is the tool for discovering advertisers you have never heard of. Spytrend holds 1.1 billion Meta ads against AdSpy's 210.7 million — 5.2 times as many — with a five-year archive, so it is the tool for reconstructing everything one known competitor has run.

Price does not track capability here. Entry runs from free at BigSpy and the Meta Ad Library, through $49 at Minea and PiPiADS, $79 at Spytrend and $149 at AdSpy — and the most expensive tool is also the one with the narrowest platform coverage, since AdSpy carries no TikTok at all.

The modular vendors deserve a warning of their own. AdPlexity at $149 to $249 and Anstrex at $39.99 to $89.99 both price per channel, not per account, so a buyer working two traffic sources pays two subscriptions.

Guides

  • Best Facebook ad spy toolEight tools ranked on Facebook coverage specifically, with a one-line verdict and the numbers behind each placement.

All figures were taken from each vendor's own public pages on 15 September 2026 and are rechecked quarterly. Where a vendor's page could not be read without running scripts, the figure is marked as not published rather than estimated. Our full method is on the methodology page.

Spytrend — the whole history of one advertiser Visit Spytrend →
See all nine ranked →
The ranking9 tools Best Facebook tool8 compared Full comparisonone table Start free3 tools What it turns onthe trade-off Methodologyhow we check
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