How we make this list: we compare pricing pages, product documentation and public user reviews. Ratings come from G2, Capterra or Trustpilot, with the date we checked them.
Key takeaways
- AdSpy and PowerAdSpy suit Facebook and Instagram buyers who need deep filters for ad text, comments, and landing pages.
- BigSpy and Minea give smaller teams a lower-cost entry point, with free access or a $49 per month starting plan, though limits apply on lower tiers.
- Native and push buyers should shortlist AdPlexity and Anstrex first, since social-first tools cover those networks weakly or not at all.
- AdBeat is the pick for display and programmatic research, while PiPiADS is the pick when TikTok and social commerce matter most.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Free plan |
|---|
 AdSpy | Deep Facebook and Instagram research | $149 per user/month | No |
 BigSpy | Low-cost multi-platform creative research | $9 per user/month | Yes |
 PowerAdSpy | Multi-platform social ad research | $69 per user/month | No |
 AdPlexity | Native, push, and adult traffic research | $149 per user/month | No |
 Anstrex | Budget native and push research | $39.99 per user/month | No |
 SocialPeta | Cross-platform ad and app intelligence | See website | Free trial |
 Minea | Product and e-commerce ad research | $49 per user/month | Yes |
 PiPiADS | TikTok and social commerce research | $49 per user/month | Free trial |
 AdBeat | Display and programmatic intelligence | $249 per user/month | No |
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We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Starting price$149 per user/month
Free planNo
AdSpy built its name on one promise: let a media buyer search Facebook and Instagram ads the way a librarian searches a catalogue. You can filter by ad text, page, country, language, age, gender, likes, comments, and the date an ad first ran. That depth helps when you need to find which angles a competitor kept running, rather than which ads appeared once and vanished. Landing page previews add context, since the creative alone rarely explains the offer.
The price keeps AdSpy out of reach for many beginners. At $149 per month with no free plan, it only makes sense once ad spend or client work justifies a research subscription. It also stays focused on Meta platforms, so buyers who run native, push, or TikTok campaigns will need a second tool. For Meta-first teams, though, the filter depth and database size remain a strong reason to pay.
What we like- Large Facebook and Instagram database
- Detailed filters for text, comments, and demographics
- Landing page previews
Watch out for- High monthly price
- No free plan
- Social focus leaves native and push coverage thin
Starting price$9 per user/month
Free planYes
BigSpy appeals to buyers who want breadth before depth. One search can surface ads from Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Pinterest, and other networks, which helps a small team spot creative trends without buying three subscriptions. The free plan lets new users learn the interface and test whether ad spying fits their workflow. Paid tiers then open up more filters, longer history, and higher search limits.
Breadth comes with limits. Entry plans restrict the filters and downloads that power users rely on, and coverage is not equally deep on every network. A TikTok specialist may still prefer PiPiADS, and a native buyer may still prefer AdPlexity. Still, as a first ad spy tool, or as a creative inspiration source alongside a specialist tool, BigSpy offers good value for its price.
What we like- Free plan for basic research
- Covers Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and more
- Simple search for beginners
Watch out for- Lower tiers limit filters and exports
- Data depth varies by platform
Starting price$69 per user/month
Free planNo
PowerAdSpy tries to cover the social buyer who runs campaigns in several places at once. Its database spans Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Google, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Reddit, and Quora on higher plans, with native and display options as well. Bookmarking lets a buyer save winning creatives into collections, and engagement filters help separate ads that ran briefly from ads that kept attracting clicks and comments.
Plan structure is the main catch. The entry plan does not include every network, so the advertised coverage only arrives on higher tiers, which can push the monthly cost well above $69. New users also face a busy interface with many filter options. Teams that run multi-platform campaigns and will use the full network set can justify the cost. Single-network buyers may get better value from a specialist.
What we like- Covers many social and search networks
- Bookmarking and side-by-side ad views
- Filters for engagement and demographics
Watch out for- Higher tiers needed for full network access
- Interface takes time to learn
Starting price$149 per user/month
Free planNo
AdPlexity serves affiliate marketers and media buyers who live outside the Meta feed. Its separate modules cover native, push, mobile, e-commerce, and adult traffic, with filters for traffic source, device, country, and carrier. One-click landing page downloads let buyers study the full funnel, not just the ad creative. For native buyers, seeing which landers ran longest on Taboola, Outbrain, or MGID is often more useful than the ad image alone.
Pricing needs careful reading. Each module costs from about $149 per month, so covering native and push together means two subscriptions. There is also no free trial on most modules, which raises the cost of testing. AdPlexity suits experienced buyers with a clear traffic type in mind. Beginners should start with a cheaper social tool and move here once native or push becomes a core channel.
What we like- Strong native, push, and mobile coverage
- One-click landing page downloads
- Separate modules per traffic type
Watch out for- Each module is priced separately
- No free trial on most plans
- Steep learning curve for beginners
Starting price$39.99 per user/month
Free planNo
Anstrex gives native and push buyers a cheaper route into the same kind of research AdPlexity offers. Entry plans start near $39.99 per month for one module, and the landing page ripper lets users download and study competitor funnels. Filters for country, device, and ad network help narrow a large database to campaigns that match a buyer's traffic and budget. For affiliates testing native for the first time, that lower entry price matters.
The trade-offs are real. The interface looks older than newer social tools, and some buyers report thinner data on certain networks compared with AdPlexity. Like AdPlexity, Anstrex charges per module, so multi-channel research adds up. Even so, Anstrex remains the most practical starting point for native and push research, and many buyers keep it even after adding a social tool.
What we like- Lowest entry price among native tools
- Landing page ripper included
- Covers native, push, and pop traffic
Watch out for- Interface feels dated
- Data depth below AdPlexity on some networks
- Per-module pricing still applies
Starting priceSee website
Free planFree trial
SocialPeta focuses on advertisers who need to understand apps as well as ads. It tracks creatives across social, video, and display networks, and adds app intelligence such as download trends and audience estimates. That combination helps mobile, gaming, and e-commerce teams judge whether a competitor is scaling an app install campaign or only testing creatives. Reports and charts make it easier to brief a client or a creative team without exporting raw rows.
Pricing is the main friction. Many SocialPeta plans are quote-based, so a small buyer cannot always see the full cost before talking to sales. Estimates for spend and audience size are also modelled, not first-party figures, so treat them as direction rather than fact. Teams with mobile or app budgets, and agencies that need cross-platform reporting, will get the most from SocialPeta.
What we like- Broad app and ad coverage
- Cost and audience estimates
- Useful for mobile and gaming advertisers
Watch out for- Pricing is quote-based for many plans
- Estimates should be checked against real campaign data
Starting price$49 per user/month
Free planYes
Minea flips the usual ad spy question. Instead of asking which ads a competitor ran, it asks which products are gaining traction in stores and social feeds. Ads link to product pages and shops, so a dropshipper can move from a trending creative to the store, price, and product details behind it. AI-assisted search and placement filters help when you know the product type but not the brand. A free plan makes it easy to test before committing.
That product focus narrows its audience. Lead generation, SaaS, and B2B buyers will find less value here than in AdSpy or PowerAdSpy, since Minea is built around shops and products. Search limits on lower tiers also frustrate heavy users. For e-commerce teams, though, Minea connects ad research to product decisions in a way general tools do not, and that link justifies its place on this list.
What we like- Product-focused search for dropshipping and e-commerce
- Links ads to stores and products
- Free plan available
Watch out for- Less useful for lead generation or B2B campaigns
- Lower tiers limit daily searches
Starting price$49 per user/month
Free planFree trial
PiPiADS is the tool to pick when TikTok drives the plan. It tracks TikTok ads, advertisers, and products, and links many ads to the Shopify stores behind them. That store link matters for social commerce, since the ad creative, product page, and price together explain why an offer converts. Filters for likes, comments, and run time help separate a viral one-off from a sustained winning product.
Outside TikTok, PiPiADS is thinner. Facebook coverage exists, but a Meta-first buyer will find AdSpy deeper. Export limits on lower tiers can also slow a team that needs to share research widely. For TikTok-first brands, dropshippers, and agencies running TikTok Shop campaigns, PiPiADS gives focused coverage that broader tools often treat as a side feature.
What we like- Strong TikTok coverage
- Links ads to Shopify stores
- Product and advertiser search
Watch out for- Weaker outside TikTok and Facebook
- Lower tiers limit exports
#9AdBeat
Best for: Display and programmatic intelligence4.1/5 on
G2 (9 reviews, checked Oct 2026)
Visit adbeat.com
Starting price$249 per user/month
Free planNo
AdBeat answers a different question from the social tools above: where is a competitor buying display inventory, and which publishers carry its ads? It tracks display and programmatic ads across desktop and mobile, with publisher breakdowns and historical trends. Agencies use it to plan media buys, publishers use it to find advertisers already buying in their niche, and brands use it to check where competitors appear outside social feeds.
The price puts AdBeat in the professional tier. At $249 per month, it suits agencies and larger advertisers rather than solo dropshippers. Social creative research is also weaker here than in AdSpy or BigSpy, so AdBeat works best as a display specialist alongside a social tool. If display is a core channel, the publisher data alone can justify the cost. If it is not, start elsewhere.
What we like- Deep display and publisher data
- Long historical coverage
- Useful for agencies and publishers
Watch out for- High price
- Weak social creative coverage
- No free plan for Pro
How we chose
We compared vendor pricing pages, product documentation, and public reviews on G2, Capterra, and Reddit, and we checked each tool for the networks it covers, its entry price, and whether it offers a free plan or trial. We favoured tools with a clear specialty, from Meta research to native, push, TikTok, and display, rather than listing near-identical social tools. We did not claim hands-on testing, and we avoided tools with unclear pricing or broken signup pages.
We also weighed fit by campaign type. A dropshipper, an affiliate buyer, and an agency planner need different signals, so the list mixes product research, social research, and display intelligence. Where a price could not be confirmed on the vendor site at the time of writing, we wrote See website instead of guessing.
Start with your main network, not the biggest database
A large database helps only if it covers the network where you spend. List your top two networks first, then shortlist tools that are strong there. Meta buyers should compare AdSpy, PowerAdSpy, and BigSpy. Native and push buyers should compare AdPlexity and Anstrex. TikTok buyers should start with PiPiADS or Minea. This single filter removes most of the list at once.
Judge ads by run time, not by likes alone
An ad with many likes may have run for a day on a viral post, while an ad with steady engagement over weeks likely survived budget decisions. Sort by first seen date, last seen date, and run duration when the tool allows it. Save the landing page as well as the creative, since the offer, price, and page structure often explain performance better than the image.
Set a research routine and a spending guardrail
Ad spy tools reward a short, regular routine more than endless browsing. Pick three competitors, check new ads twice a week, and save only creatives that match your offer and audience. Set a monthly cap for the subscription itself, and review it after one billing cycle. If you have not used the research in a live campaign by then, downgrade or cancel rather than letting the subscription renew by habit.
Frequently asked questions
What is an ad spy tool?
An ad spy tool collects ads running across networks and lets you search them by keyword, advertiser, format, country, and run time. Media buyers use it to study competitor creatives, offers, and landing pages before launching their own campaigns. It does not reveal a competitor's exact spend or profit, and any spend figures shown are estimates.
Is it legal to use ad spy tools?
Using public ad data for research is generally accepted in marketing, and Meta also runs its own free Ad Library. Copying a competitor's creative, trademark, or ad text for your own ads is a separate issue and can breach platform rules or trademark law. Use spy tools for ideas and market research, then create original ads.
What is the best Facebook ad spy tool?
AdSpy offers the deepest Facebook and Instagram filters on this list, which makes it the strongest pick for Meta-first buyers with budget. BigSpy and PowerAdSpy are cheaper or broader alternatives. If budget is tight, start with BigSpy's free plan and Meta's free Ad Library before paying $149 per month for AdSpy.
Do ad spy tools show exact ad spend?
No. Most tools show engagement signals, run dates, and modelled spend estimates, not verified advertiser spend. Treat estimates as a guide to scale and duration, not as a precise budget figure. Combine them with your own campaign data when you judge whether an angle is worth testing.
Can beginners use ad spy tools?
Yes, but start with one network and one clear question, such as which offers in your niche ran longest last month. Free plans from BigSpy and Minea, plus Meta's Ad Library, give beginners a low-risk start. Paid tools pay off faster once you can turn research into a live campaign within days, not weeks.
How much should I pay for an ad spy tool?
For a solo buyer, $9 to $69 per month usually covers a first tool, while $149 to $249 per month suits agencies or buyers with steady spend. Avoid paying for several tools at once. Pick one specialist for your main network, use it for a full campaign cycle, and add a second tool only when a gap is clear.
Sources we checked (9)
- https://adspy.com
- https://bigspy.com
- https://poweradspy.com
- https://adplexity.com
- https://anstrex.com
- https://www.socialpeta.com
- https://minea.com
- https://www.pipiads.com
- https://www.adbeat.com
Is your product missing or out of date?
We review this list regularly. Vendors can request a listing, send updated pricing or ask about featured placement.
Shihab Mia · Founder, Rankite
Shihab has 5+ years in B2B and SaaS SEO. He writes Rankite's software buying guides from pricing pages, documentation and public user reviews. More about Shihab.