The best ad intelligence tools for finding prospects in 2026 span three categories: free platform-owned libraries (Meta Ad Library, Google Ads Transparency Center), paid ad-spy databases (AdSpy, BigSpy, PowerAdSpy, Adbeat), and integrated suites that add competitor analytics (SpyFu, Semrush, Foreplay) or prospecting workflows (CloseFast). Global digital ad spend will reach approximately $836 billion in 2026, meaning roughly two-thirds of all advertising dollars now flow through platforms whose ad libraries are publicly searchable under the EU Digital Services Act and voluntary transparency programs. The global competitive intelligence market itself was valued at $50.87 billion in 2024 and is projected to nearly 2.5x to $122.77 billion by 2033, driven largely by AI-powered ad monitoring. For agencies, the practical question is not whether to use ad intelligence but which combination of tools turns that public data into qualified prospect lists without doubling monthly software spend. This guide compares 10 tools on price, platform coverage, and the one honest limitation each has, so you can pick the right pair for your workflow.
Comparison table
| Tool | Best for | Starting price | Key differentiator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meta Ad Library | Checking if a specific business runs Facebook/IG ads | Free | Largest social ad database, EU targeting data |
| Google Ads Transparency Center | Checking Google Search/YouTube/Display ad activity | Free | Covers all Google ad surfaces, advertiser verification |
| AdSpy | Deep Meta ad archive research | $149/mo | 208M+ ads, comment search, affiliate network filtering |
| BigSpy | Budget multi-platform ad spying | Free ($9/mo Basic) | 9 platforms including TikTok, free tier with real access |
| PowerAdSpy | Agencies needing TikTok and native ad coverage | $69/mo | 8+ networks, estimated ad budget on higher tiers |
| Foreplay | Creative teams saving and organizing competitor ads | $59/mo | Swipe file + creative analytics + Chrome extension |
| SpyFu | Google Ads competitor history and PPC research | $29/mo (annual) | 10+ years of PPC ad history, pre-built campaigns |
| Adbeat | Display and programmatic ad intelligence | Free (Basic) | 145+ display networks, publisher and placement data |
| Semrush | Full SEO + PPC competitor research suite | $139.95/mo | Advertising Research tool inside a 50+ tool suite |
| CloseFast (closefa.st) | Turning ad activity into a ranked prospect list | EUR 49/mo | Ad audit + pixel detection + A/B/C/D prospect ranking |
Pricing verified August 2026.
1. Meta Ad Library
Best for: Checking whether a specific prospect runs Facebook or Instagram ads, and seeing their creative.
The Meta Ad Library is the largest free social ad database available. Anyone can search by advertiser name or Page without an account. For EU users, the DSA requires Meta to show targeting criteria, total reach, and ad-level payer identity alongside the ad creative itself, with ads retained for one year after they stop running. That retention window is the differentiator: you can see not just what a prospect runs today but what they tried and dropped over the past twelve months.
Pricing: Free, no account required to search (login only to download results).
Limitation: No bulk prospecting. You have to know the business name or Page before you search, which means the Meta Ad Library is a qualification tool for individual prospects, not a discovery tool for building lists.
2. Google Ads Transparency Center
Best for: Checking if a prospect runs Google Search, YouTube, Display, or Gmail ads.
Google's Ads Transparency Center (ATC) covers all Google ad surfaces in one searchable interface. You can search by advertiser name or website domain and filter by date range and targeted location. Verified advertisers display their legal name and location; unverified advertisers show only their payment profile name. For EEA-served ads, Google adds targeting information, total recipients per ad, and a subject-matter label under DSA Article 39.
Pricing: Free, no account required.
Limitation: Like the Meta Ad Library, the ATC is a single-advertiser lookup tool. It has no batch search, no API for commercial ads outside the EEA, and no spend data. For a step-by-step guide on using it, see our Google Ads Transparency Center guide.
3. AdSpy
Best for: Agencies that need deep, searchable archive access to Facebook and Instagram ad history.
AdSpy holds 208 million-plus ads across 225 countries and 88 languages, making it the deepest Meta-focused ad archive available. Its search goes beyond keyword and advertiser name: you can search through ad comments (where users label ads for you), filter by affiliate network, affiliate ID, offer ID, and landing page technology. That depth makes it the tool for researching what worked historically rather than just what is live now.
Pricing: $149/month, one flat tier. No annual discount. Trial limited to 1,000 searches. Verified August 2026 via AdSpy homepage and third-party review sources (Daily Intel Service, Makometrics, AffNinja).
Limitation: Meta-only. AdSpy covers Facebook and Instagram but not Google, TikTok, LinkedIn, or display networks. At $149/month with no free tier, it is expensive for a single-platform tool.
4. BigSpy
Best for: Budget-conscious agencies that need multi-platform ad coverage without paying $150+/month.
BigSpy covers nine ad platforms: Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Google, Pinterest, Twitter, Yahoo, and Unity. The free tier provides real, usable access (limited searches, no export). The Pro tier unlocks multi-platform search and download capabilities. A $1 three-day trial lets you test the full Pro plan before committing.
Pricing: Free / Basic $9/month / Pro $99-$149/month / Group $249/month / VIP Enterprise from $3,000/year. Annual subscriptions save up to 50%. Verified August 2026 via BigSpy homepage and third-party sources (RevenueGeeks, TheAdSpy, AffNinja).
Limitation: The free tier's search limits are tight enough that serious prospecting requires the Pro plan or higher. BigSpy's database depth on any single platform does not match AdSpy's Meta coverage.
5. PowerAdSpy
Best for: Agencies that need TikTok ad coverage alongside Meta, Google, and LinkedIn.
PowerAdSpy covers eight or more networks depending on tier: Facebook, Instagram, Google, YouTube, Pinterest, LinkedIn, TikTok, and native ad networks. The higher tiers (Platinum $279/mo and above) add estimated ad budget data and competitor tracking with brand and competitor limits, which is rare among ad spy tools. The platform also includes audience age filters, gender filters, and device filters on Premium and above.
Pricing: Basic $69/month / Standard $129/month / Premium $179/month / Platinum $279/month / Titanium $349/month / Palladium $399/month. $1 or $7 three-day trials available per tier. Verified August 2026 via PowerAdSpy pricing page.
Limitation: The features that make PowerAdSpy useful (estimated ad budget, competitor tracking) are locked behind the $279+ tiers. Basic at $69/month covers only Facebook, Instagram, Google, and YouTube with no ad budget estimates or competitor tracking.
6. Foreplay
Best for: Creative teams and agencies that need to save, organize, and analyze competitor ads as part of a structured workflow.
Foreplay is less a pure ad spy tool and more a creative intelligence platform. It combines a Chrome extension that saves ads from Meta Ad Library, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube into organized swipe files, a Discovery search engine with 200M+ community-sourced ads, Spyder (24/7 competitor ad tracking), and Lens (creative analytics for ad performance). For agencies that produce creative for clients, this is the tool that turns ad research into briefs.
Pricing: Basic $59/month (annual $49/month, 1 user) / Workflow $175/month (annual $149/month, 5 users) / Agency $459/month (annual $389/month, 10 users) / Enterprise custom. 7-day free trial, no credit card required. Verified August 2026 via Foreplay pricing page.
Limitation: Foreplay is a creative workflow tool, not a prospecting tool. It does not surface new prospects based on ad activity or provide ad spend estimates. The Spyder competitor tracking limits scale by tier (15 brands on Workflow, 50 on Agency).
7. SpyFu
Best for: PPC-focused agencies that need 10+ years of competitor Google Ads history.
SpyFu specializes in Google Ads and organic search competitor intelligence. You can search any domain and see every keyword it has bought on Google Ads over the past decade, along with ad copy history, estimated ad budget, and competitor overlap. The Pro+AI tier adds RivalFlow (AI visibility tracking), pre-built Google Ads campaigns, and ChatGPT integration. For agencies pitching PPC management, the ad history depth is a pitch-ready audit.
Pricing: Basic $39/month (annual $29/month) / Pro+AI $59/month first month then $119/month (annual $89/month) / Team/Agency $249/month (annual $187/month). Verified August 2026 via SpyFu pricing page.
Limitation: Google Ads only. SpyFu does not cover Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn, or display networks. If your prospecting targets businesses running social ads rather than search ads, SpyFu will not surface them.
8. Adbeat
Best for: Agencies researching display, programmatic, and native ad strategies across publishers.
Adbeat tracks display advertising across 145+ ad networks, DSPs, and exchanges, plus direct buys from publisher sites. It covers 35 countries and provides publisher and placement URL data, showing not just what ad ran but where it appeared. The free Basic tier gives limited access; Pro plans add historical data, unlimited results, and competitor alerts.
Pricing: Basic Free / Standard $249/month (90 days data, 1,000 results per query) / Advanced $399/month (1 year data, unlimited results, competitor alerts) / Enterprise custom. 30-day satisfaction guarantee on Pro plans. Verified August 2026 via Adbeat pricing page and third-party sources (PulseSignal, ITQlick, ColdIQ).
Limitation: Display-only. Adbeat does not cover social platforms (Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn) or Google Search ads. The Standard tier's 90-day history window is short for trend analysis, and 1,000 results per query can be limiting for broad research.
9. Semrush
Best for: Agencies that already use Semrush for SEO and want ad intelligence inside the same platform.
Semrush's Advertising Research tool shows competitors' Google Ads strategies: paid keywords, ad copy history, estimated ad spend, and competitor overlap. It sits inside a 50+ tool suite covering SEO, content, social, and market research. For agencies that need ad intelligence as one part of a broader competitive audit, paying $139.95/month for the whole suite is more economical than buying a dedicated ad spy tool alongside a separate SEO tool.
Pricing: Pro $139.95/month (annual ~$117/month) / Guru $249.95/month (annual ~$208/month) / Business $499.95/month (annual ~$417/month). Verified August 2026 via Semrush pricing page and third-party sources (Reddily, ClaroRank, Docket).
Limitation: Semrush's ad intelligence covers Google Ads only, not Meta, TikTok, or display networks. The Advertising Research tool is available on all paid plans but with row limits that scale by tier. For agencies that need social ad coverage, Semrush is a complement, not a replacement.
10. CloseFast (closefa.st)
Best for: Agencies that want ad intelligence turned into a ranked prospect list instead of raw ad data.
CloseFast (closefa.st) is our product, and it does something the other nine tools on this list do not: it takes ad activity (from Meta and Google), website quality, pixel status, and review presence, then ranks prospects into A/B/C/D segments. Segment A prospects run ads with a working pixel and a decent website. Segment D prospects have no ads, no pixel, and a weak online presence. The audit runs on every prospect automatically, and the platform generates a personalized pitch based on the findings.
Pricing: Free (10 leads/month) / Starter EUR 49/month (~250 leads/month) / Pro EUR 99/month (~600 leads/month). Flat pricing, no credits, no per-seat charges. Verified August 2026 via closefa.st homepage.
Limitation: CloseFast does not provide historical ad archive access or creative analytics. It shows whether a prospect is running ads and what kind, but it is not a swipe file or creative research tool. If you need to study competitor ad creative in depth, pair it with the free Meta Ad Library or AdSpy.
How to choose
Pick based on what you actually do with the data:
If you need to check a specific prospect's ad activity: Start with the free Meta Ad Library and Google Ads Transparency Center. They cover the two largest ad platforms at zero cost. See our guide on how to find businesses running Facebook ads for the step-by-step method.
If you need to build prospect lists from ad activity: You need a tool that aggregates ad data and exports it. BigSpy's Pro tier ($99-$149/month) or PowerAdSpy's Standard ($129/month) cover multiple platforms. CloseFast (closefa.st, EUR 49/month) adds prospect ranking and pitch generation on top.
If you need creative intelligence for client work: Foreplay ($59-$459/month) is purpose-built for saving, organizing, and analyzing competitor ads. The Chrome extension and swipe file workflow are unmatched for creative teams.
If you need PPC competitor history: SpyFu ($29-$187/month annual) offers 10+ years of Google Ads history. Semrush ($139.95-$499.95/month) adds it inside a broader SEO and market research suite.
If you need display ad intelligence: Adbeat (Free-$399/month) is the dedicated tool for display, programmatic, and native ad research across 145+ networks.
The most common pairing for agencies is a free library (Meta or Google) for individual prospect checks plus one paid tool that covers the rest. A business running ads with a broken pixel is a warm prospect for a tracking audit. See our signs a business needs marketing help checklist for the full qualification framework.
Read next
- How to find businesses running Facebook ads — the free prospecting method using Meta Ad Library
- Best lead generation tools for marketing agencies — the broader tools roundup this ad intelligence list sits inside
- How to find local business clients for your agency — the four-signal framework for qualifying local prospects
- Try CloseFast free — 10 prospects/month with full ad audit, no credit card