8 Best Ad Spy Tools & Swipe Libraries (and What They Can't Show You)

The best ad spy tool for most teams is Foreplay if you want a swipe file and briefs, or Atria if you also want creative analytics on your own account.

If you need a budget option, start with the free Meta Ad Library and TikTok Creative Center, then add BigSpy or PowerAdSpy only if you need many ad networks in one search.

How we picked: vendor pricing pages, public product docs and the tests in our archive.

We have not used these tools ourselves, so nothing here is a hands-on review.

Short answer: the 8 best ad spy tools compared

We could not load the G2 or Capterra pages to confirm ratings, so we left them out rather than guess.

One thing none of these tools can show you is whether an ad made money.

They show what ran, where and for how long.

To see what actually worked, pair them with tests that report real numbers, like the ones in our archive.

Foreplay: the swipe file most teams start with

1. Foreplay

Best for: Creative strategists and small brand teams who save ads every day and turn them into briefs.

What it does: Foreplay saves ads from Meta, TikTok and LinkedIn ad libraries into a shared swipe file, with automatic transcripts.

It adds a searchable ad database (Discovery), competitor tracking (Spyder) and a brief builder.

The homepage lists 54.6 million ads, about 1.8 million of them live (vendor-reported).

Key features:

• Swipe File with a Chrome extension and mobile app for saving ads
• Discovery: search engine across saved and live ads
• Spyder: tracks competitor brands and their creative testing
• Lens: analytics on your own ads to spot winning patterns
• Briefs: storyboard briefs built from saved ads

Pros:

• Saved ads stay in your library even after the brand turns them off
• Briefs connect research to production in one place
• Low entry price for a single user

Cons:

• Competitor tracking (Spyder) starts at the $175/mo Workflow plan
• No spend or results for other brands' ads: you still judge winners yourself
• The trial needs a credit card and rolls into a paid plan

Pricing (as of November 2026): Basic $59/mo, Workflow $175/mo, Agency $459/mo, about 15% less billed yearly, per Foreplay's pricing page.

7-day free trial and a 14-day money-back guarantee after the first charge.

Not for you if you only check competitors once a month: the free Meta Ad Library covers that.

In our archive: A swipe file pays off when it feeds new angles.

@SamPiliero cut CPA from $101.29 to $60.50 (−40.27%) by launching 20 new angles into a tired account. More detail in our Foreplay review.

Atria: ad library plus creative analytics

2. Atria

Best for: Brands and agencies spending enough on Meta or TikTok to want competitor research and their own creative reporting in one tool.

What it does: Atria pairs an ad inspiration library with creative analytics, AI briefs and ad grading for Meta and TikTok.

Its homepage says its AI is built on $12B+ of ad spend data (vendor-reported).

Key features:

• Ad library and competitor tracking (50 brands on Core)
• Creative analytics on connected ad accounts
• AI briefs and ad variant generation
• Ad grading with improvement suggestions
• Batch upload and launch

Pros:

• Research and performance data side by side
• Free start with no card and 1,000 credits
• Useful if you would otherwise pay for a separate analytics tool

Cons:

• Higher entry price than a pure swipe file
• Listed prices are shown as discounts off higher list prices, so they may change
• Focus is Meta and TikTok; no Google or YouTube coverage mentioned
• Lots of AI features you may not need if you only want inspiration

Pricing (as of November 2026): Core $129/mo, Plus $343/mo, Business $959/mo, all billed annually at Black Friday discounts off listed prices of $219, $549 and $1,549, with Enterprise on request, per Atria's pricing page.

Not for you if you spend little and don't need analytics.

In our archive: Atria's analytics side is about reading signals like hook rate.

@alexgoughcooper's makeup teacher hook video ran at a $47.13 CPA with a 45.9% hook rate. See our full Atria review.

BigSpy, PowerAdSpy and AdSpy: the classic spy databases

These three are older-style databases: huge ad counts, many filters, less workflow.

They suit dropshippers, affiliates and media buyers scanning wide.

For more options, see our list of BigSpy alternatives.

3. BigSpy

Best for: Ecommerce and dropshipping product research across many networks.

What it does: BigSpy searches ads across 11 networks, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Google Ads, Pinterest and AppLovin.

Its homepage claims over 1 billion ad creatives across 80+ countries (vendor-reported).

Key features:

• Multi-platform ad search with deduplication
• Competitor tracking via favorites
• Visual search and video recognition
• One-click ad downloads

Pros:

• A real free plan to test it
• Widest network list in this roundup

Cons:

• Free plan is Facebook only, 10 searches a day
• TikTok, YouTube and Google need the $159/mo Growth plan
• Database size claims are the vendor's own

Pricing (as of November 2026): Free; Starter $69/mo; Growth $159/mo; Scale $399/mo (5 seats); Ultimate $499/mo, with lower yearly rates, per BigSpy's pricing page.

Not for you if you run a brand that only needs Meta.

In our archive: Product research is BigSpy's main use.

@EcomRedneck reported $410 in sales on $100 of spend in one day of product tests.

The $410 is total Shopify store sales, not sales tied to the ads, and one-day results like this vary and are not typical.

4. PowerAdSpy

Best for: Media buyers who want deep filters and Google Display or native ads alongside social.

What it does: PowerAdSpy covers Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, Reddit, native ads and more.

Its homepage claims 500M+ ads indexed and AI labels for hook, copy, visual style and CTA (vendor-reported).

Key features:

• Search by keyword, advertiser or domain
• 40+ filters, including placement
• Ad tracker and engagement timelines
• Estimated ad budget (Platinum and up)

Pros:

• Covers Google Display and native ads, which most swipe tools skip
• Large yearly discounts

Cons:

• Networks are gated by plan: TikTok and LinkedIn need the $399/mo Palladium tier
• Budget figures are estimates, not real spend
• Trial lasts only 3 days

Pricing (as of November 2026): Basic $69/mo, Standard $99/mo, Platinum $279/mo, Palladium $399/mo; yearly billing is listed at 58-70% off, per PowerAdSpy's pricing page.

Not for you if you only want Meta and TikTok.

In our archive: Display can work as prospecting, which is why seeing Display ads matters.

@runtraffic ran GDN at a 1.69 MER with 82% new visits.

5. AdSpy

Best for: Affiliates and media buyers who live in Facebook and Instagram.

What it does: AdSpy is a single-plan search database of Facebook and Instagram ads.

Its homepage lists 213.9M+ ads from 30.4M+ advertisers in 225 countries (vendor-reported).

Key features:

• Search across Facebook and Instagram ads
• "Virtually unlimited usage" on one plan
• Advertiser and country coverage at large scale

Pros:

• One simple price, no tiers to compare
• Large Meta-only archive

Cons:

• Facebook and Instagram only: no TikTok or Google
• No free trial listed on the homepage
• No briefs or team workflow

Pricing (as of November 2026): $149/mo, per AdSpy's site.

Not for you if you test on TikTok or YouTube.

Free: Meta Ad Library, TikTok Creative Center and Google

Before paying for any ad spy tool, use the free ones.

They come straight from the platforms, and paid tools pull much of their data from them anyway.

6. Meta Ad Library

Best for: A free check of any brand's live Facebook and Instagram ads.

What it does: Anyone can search all active ads running on Meta.

Per Meta's Ad Library tools page, ads delivered in the EU are archived for one year, and ads about social issues, elections or politics are kept for 7 years with spend and reach.

Key features:

• Search by advertiser or keyword, filter by country and platform
• Start date shown on each ad
• Branded content with the paid partnership label

Pros:

• Free and official
• Shows every active ad, not a sample

Cons:

• No spend or results for regular commercial ads
• Outside the EU, commercial ads drop out once inactive, so save what you like

Pricing (as of November 2026): Free. Our Meta Ad Library guide covers searches and filters step by step.

In our archive: Libraries are full of polished ads, but plain ones often win.

A founder talking in a car beat polished UGC and studio ads with a −62% CPA (MHI Media, Kamal Razzak).

7. TikTok Creative Center

Best for: A free TikTok ad spy tool for seeing top auction ads.

What it does: The Top Ads section shows high-performing TikTok auction ads.

You filter by region, objective, language, format and likes, and sort by reach or CTR.

Key features:

• Top Ads sorted by reach or CTR
• Filters for region, objective and ad format
• Trend data alongside the ads

Pros:

• Free, with a CTR signal most spy tools lack
• Curated by TikTok, so less noise

Cons:

• A curated selection, not every ad
• CTR is not conversions or profit

Pricing (as of November 2026): Free.

In our archive: TANP saw a 39% lower cost per action with Spark Ads from its own and creators' posts than with standard in-feed ads in a two-week test (vendor-reported by TikTok for Business).

8. Google Ads Transparency Center

Best for: Seeing a competitor's Search, YouTube and Display ads for free.

What it does: Google launched it on March 29, 2023.

It shows the ads a verified advertiser has run, which ran in a given region, the last date each ran, and its format.

Key features:

• Search by advertiser or website
• Filter by region, platform and format
• Covers Search, YouTube and Display

Pros:

• The only free way to see YouTube and Search ads in one place

Cons:

• No spend, clicks or conversion data
• Clunky for browsing by topic rather than by brand

Pricing (as of November 2026): Free.

In our archive: @runtraffic added $682k of YouTube spend while ROAS rose from 0.76 to 1.51, a reminder that a brand's YouTube ads can carry real budget.

Run time is not proof: pair it with real results

Most spy tools push "long-running" ads as winners.

Run time only tells you an ad wasn't switched off.

It might be profitable, or it might be left on in a big campaign where it gets little spend.

Spy tools also can't see the offer, price or landing page behind the result.

In a community post shared by @SamPiliero, a brand cut its CPA by 45% with the same ads and budget, just by lowering the product price by €10. Copy the ad without the offer and you copy the wrong thing.

The angle matters more than the look, too.

Hurom saw −65% CPA and +300% ROAS when health-benefit creator videos replaced discount messaging (case study by inBeat).

A swipe file shows you the video; a test shows you why it won.

So use spy tools for ideas, then check them against real results with actual numbers before you brief anything.

Pricing compared

Prices are as of November 2026 from each vendor's pricing page linked above.

For a closer look at the two main swipe tools, read Foreplay vs Atria.

Which one is right for you

Solo buyer or small brand on a budget

Meta Ad Library and TikTok Creative Center, plus Foreplay Basic once you save ads every week.

Brand with a creative team

Foreplay Workflow for research and briefs, or Atria if you also want analytics on your own ads.

Agency

Foreplay Agency or Atria Plus, for seats and more tracked brands.

Dropshipping, affiliate or multi-network buyer

BigSpy Growth or PowerAdSpy, depending on which networks you need.

If you'd rather hand creative research to someone who does it daily, we can match you with a vetted media buyer or agency.

What to look for in an ad spy tool

1. Platforms: make sure the plan you can afford covers the networks you run on.
2. Saving: ads disappear from free libraries, so you need a permanent swipe file.
3. Competitor tracking: automatic alerts beat manual checks.
4. Honest signals: treat run time, likes and "estimated budget" as hints, not results.
5. Workflow: briefs and team sharing matter more than database size.
6. Your own data: analytics on your account tell you what works for you.
7. Trial terms: check whether a card is needed and how long the trial runs.