Facebook Ads Library: How to Spy on Competitor Ads in 2026

Every ad your competitors run on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and the Meta Audience Network is publicly visible. Not some of them. All of them.

Meta's Ad Library is a free transparency tool that lets anyone search, view, and analyze every active advertisement running across Meta's platforms. For marketers and business owners, it is the single most valuable free competitive intelligence resource available in 2026.

This guide covers everything you need to know about using the Facebook Ads Library effectively: how to search, how to filter, what to look for, how to extract actionable insights, and how to turn those insights into better-performing ads of your own.

What Is the Facebook Ads Library?

The Facebook Ads Library (officially called the Meta Ad Library) is a searchable database of all active advertisements running across Meta's family of platforms. Meta launched it in 2019 as a transparency measure, and it has since become an essential tool for competitive research.

What the Ad Library Shows You

• Every active ad from any advertiser on Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and the Audience Network
• Ad creative including images, videos, carousels, and copy text
• Start date of each ad (when it began running)
• Platform placement (Facebook, Instagram, or both)
• Multiple ad versions if the advertiser is running variations
• Page information including page creation date and location
• Political ad data including spend ranges and impression estimates (for ads about social issues, elections, or politics)

What It Does Not Show

• Performance metrics (no click-through rates, conversion rates, or cost data)
• Audience targeting parameters
• Budget or spend amounts (except for political and social issue ads)
• Deactivated or historical ads (only currently active ads appear)
• A/B test configurations

The absence of performance data is actually not as limiting as it sounds. As we will cover later, there are reliable proxy signals that tell you which ads are performing well.

How to Access the Facebook Ads Library

Navigate to facebook.com/ads/library. You do not need a Facebook account to use it, though being logged in provides a slightly better experience.

You will see a search interface with the following options:

1. Country selector -- Choose which country's ads you want to see. This defaults to your location but can be changed to any country where Meta operates.
2. Ad category -- Choose between "All ads" or specific categories like "Issues, elections or politics."
3. Search field -- Enter an advertiser name, keyword, or topic.

Step-by-Step: Researching a Specific Competitor

Let us walk through a complete competitive research workflow using the Facebook Ads Library.

Step 1: Search by Advertiser Name

Type your competitor's brand name into the search field. As you type, Meta will suggest matching Facebook Pages. Select the correct one.

This pulls up every ad currently running from that Page across all Meta platforms.

Pro tip: Some brands run ads from multiple Pages (e.g., a main brand page, a regional page, and a product-specific page). Search for the parent company and each sub-brand separately to get the complete picture.

Step 2: Filter by Platform

Once you see the competitor's ads, use the platform filter to narrow results:

• Facebook -- Shows ads appearing in Facebook Feed, Stories, Marketplace, and other Facebook placements
• Instagram -- Shows ads appearing in Instagram Feed, Stories, Reels, and Explore
• Audience Network -- Shows ads distributed across Meta's network of third-party apps and websites
• Messenger -- Shows ads appearing in the Messenger app

Filtering by platform reveals platform-specific creative strategies. Many brands use different creative formats for Facebook Feed versus Instagram Stories, and seeing this distinction is valuable.

Step 3: Filter by Media Type

Filter ads by format:

• Images -- Static image ads
• Videos -- Video ads of any length
• Memes -- Image ads with text overlays (Meta categorizes these separately)
• No image or video -- Text-only ads (rare but they exist)

For competitive video ad research, filter by "Videos" to focus specifically on video creative. Video ads typically reveal more about a brand's messaging strategy, hook approach, and production quality than static ads.

Step 4: Analyze the Ad Creative

For each ad, examine:

• Primary text -- The copy that appears above the visual. This is where the main message, hook, and value proposition live.
• Headline -- The bold text below the visual. Usually the core offer or CTA.
• Description -- Additional text below the headline. Often contains supporting details.
• Visual creative -- The image or video itself. For video ads, watch the full video and pay attention to hooks, pacing, and structure.
• CTA button -- The call-to-action button (Shop Now, Learn More, Sign Up, etc.). The CTA choice signals the campaign objective.
• Landing page link -- Where the ad sends traffic. Click through to see the full funnel.

Step 5: Check the Start Date

This is one of the most important data points in the Ad Library. The "Started running on" date tells you how long an ad has been active.

Why this matters:

Ad Duration	What It Signals
1-7 days	New test; too early to judge performance
7-30 days	Passed initial testing; likely showing positive signals
30-60 days	Proven performer; generating acceptable ROI
60-90 days	Strong performer; consistently profitable
90+ days	Evergreen winner; this ad is almost certainly a top performer

Advertisers do not pay to run unprofitable ads for months. If a competitor's ad has been active for 60+ days, you can be confident it is generating returns. Study these long-running ads closely -- they reveal the competitor's best-performing messaging, hooks, and creative approaches.

Step 6: Count Active Variations

Note how many active ads the competitor is running simultaneously. This signals their creative testing intensity.

• 1-5 active ads: Minimal testing. Likely a small business or early-stage advertiser.
• 5-20 active ads: Moderate testing. Running a few variations of proven concepts.
• 20-50 active ads: Aggressive testing. Serious about creative optimization.
• 50-100+ active ads: High-volume testing operation. Likely a DTC brand or performance marketing team with significant budget.

When a competitor is running many variations of a similar concept (same product, similar hook, different visual treatments), they have identified a winning direction and are optimizing within it. This is a strong signal about what is working in your market.

Keyword-Based Research: Finding Ads by Topic

Beyond searching for specific competitors, you can search the Ad Library by keyword to discover ads across your entire industry.

How to Search by Keyword

Instead of entering an advertiser name, type a keyword related to your product, service, or market. For example:

• "protein powder" to find all active ads mentioning protein powder
• "project management software" to discover ads from tools you might not have considered competitors
• "skincare routine" to see how the entire skincare category is advertising

Keyword Research Strategy

Use a tiered keyword approach:

1. Product keywords: Your core product category ("running shoes," "CRM software," "meal delivery")
2. Problem keywords: The pain points your product solves ("back pain relief," "team productivity," "healthy eating")
3. Audience keywords: Terms your target audience identifies with ("busy parents," "small business owner," "fitness beginner")
4. Competitor brand keywords: Your competitors' brand names to find their exact ads

This reveals the full landscape of advertising in your market, including competitors you may not have known about.

Advanced Analysis Techniques

Technique 1: Track Creative Evolution Over Time

Visit the same competitor's Ad Library page monthly and document:

• Which ads from last month are still running (winners)
• Which ads were removed (losers)
• What new ads were added (new tests)
• How the messaging, hooks, or visual style evolved

Over three to six months, this reveals the competitor's creative strategy trajectory -- not just what they are doing today, but where they are heading.

Technique 2: Identify the Winning Hook

When a competitor runs 10+ variations of an ad, compare the hooks across all versions. The hook that appears in the most variations -- or in the longest-running variation -- is likely the best-performing one. Document these winning hooks and use them as inspiration for your own creative.

Technique 3: Analyze Landing Pages

Click through from the ad to the landing page. The landing page reveals:

• The offer: What specific promotion, discount, or value proposition is the competitor leading with?
• The funnel structure: Is it a direct-to-product page, a lead generation form, a quiz, or a content piece?
• Social proof: What testimonials, reviews, or trust signals are they using?
• Price positioning: Where do they sit in the market on price?

The landing page often tells you more about strategy than the ad itself.

Technique 4: Cross-Platform Creative Comparison

Filter the same competitor's ads by Facebook, then by Instagram. Compare:

• Do they use different creative for each platform?
• Is the Instagram creative more UGC-style while Facebook is more polished?
• Are they using different aspect ratios (square for Feed, vertical for Stories)?
• Does the copy differ between platforms?

Brands that customize creative per platform typically have more sophisticated advertising operations. Note how they adapt messaging for each platform's audience behavior.

Technique 5: Competitive Set Benchmarking

Create a spreadsheet tracking 5-10 competitors with these columns:

Data Point	Why It Matters
Number of active ads	Signals testing aggressiveness and budget
Longest-running ad	Reveals their best-performing creative
Primary hook type	Shows what resonates in your market
Dominant format	Video vs. image vs. carousel preference
CTA button choice	Signals campaign objectives
Offer type	Discount, free trial, lead magnet, etc.
Creative style	UGC, studio, animation, AI-generated

Update monthly. Over time, this benchmarking dataset becomes the foundation of your creative strategy.

What to Look For: A Competitive Intelligence Checklist

When reviewing competitor ads, systematically evaluate these elements:

Messaging Analysis

• Value proposition: What is the primary benefit they lead with? Speed? Price? Quality? Convenience?
• Tone of voice: Professional, casual, urgent, humorous, authoritative?
• Pain points addressed: Which customer problems does the ad acknowledge?
• Objection handling: Does the ad preemptively address common purchase objections?
• Social proof: Customer quotes, user counts, ratings, media mentions?

Creative Analysis

• Hook technique: How do the first 3 seconds of video ads (or the visual focal point of image ads) grab attention?
• Production style: High-production studio content vs. raw UGC vs. AI-generated vs. motion graphics?
• Color palette: Brand-consistent or platform-native (meaning it blends into the feed)?
• Text overlay strategy: Heavy text vs. minimal text vs. no text?
• Aspect ratio: 1:1 (square), 4:5 (vertical feed), 9:16 (Stories/Reels), or 16:9 (landscape)?

Strategic Analysis

• Funnel stage: Is the ad targeting cold audiences (awareness) or warm audiences (retargeting)?
• Offer ladder: What are they offering at different funnel stages? Free content at top, discount at bottom?
• Seasonal patterns: Do they change creative for holidays, seasons, or sales events?
• Competitive positioning: Are they positioning directly against other brands, or focusing on their own story?

Turning Competitive Insights into Better Ads

Research without action is procrastination. Here is how to convert Ad Library insights into your own high-performing creatives.

Step 1: Identify 3 Validated Patterns

From your research, identify three patterns that appear across multiple successful competitor ads. These might be:

• A specific hook type (e.g., "problem-first" hooks)
• A dominant format (e.g., UGC-style testimonials)
• A messaging angle (e.g., leading with time savings over cost savings)

These are market-validated approaches. They work because multiple competitors have independently converged on them through their own testing.

Step 2: Find 2 Gaps

Identify two things your competitors are NOT doing:

• A pain point nobody is addressing in their ads
• A format nobody is using (e.g., everyone uses static images, nobody uses video)
• An audience segment nobody is speaking to directly
• A platform nobody is active on

Gaps are your differentiation opportunity.

Step 3: Create Informed Creatives

Build your ads using a combination of validated patterns and gap exploitation:

• Use proven hook types, but with your unique angle
• Address the pain points competitors miss
• Test the formats competitors have not tried yet
• Maintain your brand voice while borrowing structural elements that work

This is where production speed matters. The faster you can go from insight to live creative, the more value your competitive research generates. AdCreate's AI video tools let you turn competitive insights into finished video ads in minutes rather than weeks, so you can act on what you learn while the intelligence is still fresh.

Step 4: Test and Iterate

Launch your competitor-informed creatives alongside your existing ads. Use a structured A/B testing approach:

• Run each creative for a minimum of 2,000 impressions before judging
• Compare CTR, CPA, and ROAS against your baseline
• Kill underperformers after 3-5 days
• Scale winners by creating variations

For a complete framework on testing ad creatives, see our guide on AI video ad A/B testing.

Using the Ad Library for Different Business Types

For Ecommerce and DTC Brands

Focus on:

• Competitor offer structures (discounts, bundles, free shipping thresholds)
• UGC ad prevalence and production style
• Product presentation (lifestyle vs. product-on-white vs. in-use demonstration)
• Seasonal creative rotation cadence

For SaaS and B2B Companies

Focus on:

• Demo vs. free trial vs. content-download offers
• Lead generation form length and fields
• Social proof approach (logos, case studies, user counts)
• Feature-based vs. outcome-based messaging

For Local Businesses

Focus on:

• Competitor ad spend in your geographic area (visible for political/issue ads, inferrable for others)
• Location-specific messaging and offers
• Review and reputation-based creative
• Event and seasonal promotion patterns

For Agencies

Focus on:

• Cross-client pattern identification (what works across industries)
• Creative trend forecasting based on large brand adoption
• Building a reference library of proven ad formats per industry
• Client pitch preparation using specific competitive examples

Beyond Meta: Other Ad Transparency Tools

The Facebook Ad Library is the most comprehensive free tool, but it only covers Meta's platforms. For a complete competitive picture, supplement with:

TikTok Creative Center

Browse top-performing TikTok ads filtered by region, industry, and objective. Unlike Meta's library, TikTok actually shows performance metrics (CTR, conversion rate, view rate). Invaluable for short-form video ad research.

Google Ads Transparency Center

Search any advertiser's Google ads including Search, YouTube, and Display Network placements. Useful for seeing competitor YouTube video ads and search ad copy.

LinkedIn Ad Library

View any company's active LinkedIn ads by visiting their company page. Essential for B2B competitive research.

For a comprehensive guide to competitor ad research across all platforms, see our post on how to spy on competitor ads and build better creatives.

Common Mistakes When Using the Ad Library

Mistake 1: Copying Instead of Learning

The Ad Library is for inspiration and intelligence, not plagiarism. Copying a competitor's ad word-for-word or frame-by-frame is unethical, potentially illegal, and strategically foolish. You will always be one step behind if your strategy is imitation. Extract principles, not assets.

Mistake 2: Only Checking Once

A single snapshot of competitor ads is minimally useful. The real value comes from tracking changes over time. Set a recurring monthly calendar reminder to review your competitive set in the Ad Library. The evolution of a competitor's creative strategy tells you far more than any single ad.

Mistake 3: Ignoring Small Competitors

Small competitors often run scrappier, more innovative ads because they cannot outspend larger players. Some of the best creative ideas come from upstarts experimenting with novel formats, hooks, and offers.

Mistake 4: Not Clicking Through to Landing Pages

The ad is only half the story. The landing page reveals the full conversion strategy. Always click through to understand the complete funnel.

Mistake 5: Analysis Paralysis

Spending three hours analyzing competitor ads and producing zero ads of your own is a net negative. Set a time limit (60 minutes maximum per research session) and end every session with a specific creative brief for what you will produce next.

How to Create Better Ads After Your Research

Competitive intelligence is only valuable if it shortens the distance between insight and action. The biggest challenge most marketers face after Ad Library research is production speed: they know what kind of ad to make but lack the resources to make it quickly.

This is where AI-powered creative tools close the gap. With AdCreate's AI video generator, you can:

• Generate video ads from a text description in under three minutes
• Create multiple hook variations of the same concept for A/B testing
• Produce UGC-style content with AI avatars, matching the authenticity of competitor UGC ads without coordinating with real creators
• Adapt winning competitor formats to your own brand voice instantly

The workflow becomes: research (30 minutes in the Ad Library) then produce (30 minutes generating AI video ads based on insights) then launch (same day). What used to take weeks of agency coordination happens in an afternoon.

For step-by-step guidance on creating Facebook video ads, see our guide on how to create Facebook video ads with AI.

FAQ

Is the Facebook Ads Library really free?

Yes. The Meta Ad Library is completely free and does not even require a Facebook account to access. You can search, filter, and view every active ad from any advertiser on Meta's platforms at no cost. There are no premium tiers, and the data is the same for everyone. Navigate to facebook.com/ads/library and start searching immediately. Meta maintains this tool as part of their advertising transparency commitments.

Can I see how much my competitors spend on Facebook ads?

For standard commercial ads, no. Meta does not disclose spend data for regular ads. However, for ads classified under "Issues, Elections, or Politics," Meta shows estimated spend ranges and impression counts. For regular ads, you can infer relative spend by counting the number of active ads (more ads generally means more budget) and noting how long ads have been running (longer duration suggests profitable returns justifying continued spend). Third-party tools like Semrush and SpyFu provide estimated competitor spend data, but these are approximations.

Can competitors see my Facebook ads in the Ad Library?

Yes. The Ad Library is bidirectional transparency. Every ad you run on Meta's platforms is visible to anyone who searches for your Page or relevant keywords. This is why some advertisers run intentionally misleading test ads or use separate Pages for different markets. Assume that everything you publish is public intelligence, and plan accordingly. You can review your own ads in the library through Meta's business tools to see exactly what competitors see when they search for you.

How often is the Facebook Ads Library updated?

The Ad Library updates in near real-time. New ads typically appear within 24 hours of launch, and deactivated ads are removed within a similar timeframe. This means the library always reflects the current state of a competitor's active campaigns, not historical data. For historical ad tracking, you need to maintain your own records through regular check-ins or use third-party archiving tools.

Can I download ads from the Facebook Ads Library?

Meta does not provide a built-in download feature for ad creatives. You can take screenshots and screen-record video ads for your own research purposes. Some third-party browser extensions offer download functionality. Remember that competitor ad creatives are protected by copyright -- downloading is acceptable for analysis and reference, but using competitor creative assets (images, video footage, or copy) in your own ads is copyright infringement.

Does the Ad Library show Instagram ads too?

Yes. The Meta Ad Library covers all ads running across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and the Meta Audience Network. You can filter by platform to see only Instagram ads. This is particularly useful because there is no separate "Instagram Ad Library" -- the Meta Ad Library is the only official way to view competitor Instagram advertisements.

What are the best alternatives to the Facebook Ads Library?

For Meta platform ads, the official Ad Library has no equal in terms of completeness since it shows every active ad. However, paid tools like AdSpy, Minea, and Foreplay offer additional features including historical ad archives, estimated performance data, and cross-platform coverage. For non-Meta platforms, use the TikTok Creative Center, Google Ads Transparency Center, and LinkedIn Ad Library. Each platform's official transparency tool is always the most complete source for ads on that specific platform.

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The Facebook Ads Library puts your competitors' entire advertising strategy on display. The brands that win are not the ones who look -- everyone looks. They are the ones who systematically extract insights, identify gaps, and move fast enough to act on what they learn. Use the framework in this guide to turn competitive intelligence into a creative advantage. And when you are ready to produce the ads your research inspires, explore AdCreate's AI tools to go from insight to finished video ad in minutes, not weeks. Check our pricing plans to get started today.