Adspy.sh vs Meta Ad Library

Meta Ad Library is Meta's own public database of the ads running across Facebook, Instagram and its other apps, open to anyone with or without an account. Adspy (adspy.sh) keeps the Meta and Google ads it collects after they end, reads and tags every one, and follows unlimited brands over time, in Claude, Codex or any remote MCP client.

Adspy wrote this comparison from public information.Facts checked on Sep 23, 2026.Not affiliated with Meta Ad Library.Corrections: info@adspy.sh

Choose Meta Ad Library if

you need Meta's official record: every ad running right now, spend and audience ranges for political and issue ads, targeting and reach for EU and UK ads, with no account and no subscription.

Choose Adspy if

you want ads kept after they end, Meta and Google in one search, every ad read and tagged for you, and the patterns across the brands you follow, with your team, in Claude, Codex or any remote MCP client.

Meta Ad Library and Adspy, feature by feature

Each Meta Ad Library entry links to the public page it comes from, checked on the date in the sources below. Adspy’s own gaps are marked the same way.

Yes
Partly, or on some plans
No
Not published

Meta Ad Library compared with Adspy, feature by feature
Feature	Meta Ad Library	Adspy
Ad sources
Meta ads (Facebook, Instagram)	Yes: Meta's own record: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, Threads¹²	Yes: Facebook and Instagram; most of the library
Google and YouTube ads	No: Meta ads only²	Partly: Ads Transparency Center, including YouTube; smaller than Meta
TikTok ads	No: Meta ads only²	No: Not covered; the organic posts of brands' TikTok accounts are
Ads kept after they end	Partly: Only EU and UK ads (one year) and political or issue ads (seven years)¹³	Yes: Kept after they end, with recorded activity
Analysis
AI analysis of each ad	No: The ad and its details; spend and reach ranges for some ads¹²	Yes: Hook, angle, format, tone, call to action
Video transcripts	No: Search matches words spoken in videos; no transcript is shown¹	Yes: Transcripts of video ads, where available
Automatic AI tags	No: Filters by language, platform, media type, status and dates¹	Yes: Native AI tags in 23 creative categories
Patterns across a brand	No: Ad-by-ad results; a spending report for political ads¹⁴	Yes: Brand Full Analysis and side-by-side brand comparison
Following brands
Followed brands	No: No following: you search again each time¹	Yes: Followed from your assistant, on every plan
Change reports on followed brands	No: No reports on what changed¹	Partly: No change reports; ask for a followed brand's newest ads
Adding a missing brand	Yes: Not needed: running ads appear within 24 hours²	Yes: Requested from your assistant: 94% collected within 10 minutes
Workflow
Team workspace	No: Search only; results download when logged in¹²	Yes: Shared collections and notes; $5, $15 or $29 a month per extra user, by plan
AI assistants (MCP)	Partly: Meta's Ads MCP searches the library; needs a Facebook ads login⁶⁷⁸	Yes: Claude, Claude Code, Codex and other MCP clients
API	Yes: Ad Library API, after an identity check⁵	Partly: REST API on Enterprise; every plan works through MCP
Browser extension	Not published: Not published	No: No browser extension
Your own ad accounts	Not published: Not published	No: Public ads only: no spend or ROAS
Free plan or trial	Yes: Open to anyone, with or without an account¹	No: No free plan or trial
Price and library
Price	Open to anyone, with or without a Facebook account; Meta states no price.¹²	Starter $19 a month (one source: Meta, Google or TikTok; 2,000 credits), Pro $39 (every source; 6,000 credits), Unlimited $99 (every source; no credit count, fair use) and Enterprise on contract. One user included; an additional user is $5 a month on Starter, $15 on Pro and $29 on Unlimited. Research runs in your AI assistant.
Library	Every ad currently running across Meta technologies, added within 24 hours of its first impression.¹²	Library records · October 2026: 2.2M+ creative records, 7.5M+ source-ad records, 2.5k+ advertiser profiles.

Where Meta Ad Library is the better choice

You need the official record
Meta Ad Library is Meta's own database. It contains every ad currently running across Meta technologies, added within 24 hours of the first impression.¹²
You want no account and no subscription
Anyone can search it, with or without a Facebook account.¹
You research political or issue ads
For ads about social issues, elections or politics, Meta shows ranges of spend and impressions, viewers by age, gender and location, and keeps them seven years; the Ad Library Report summarizes spending by advertiser and location.²⁴
You research ads shown in the EU or UK
For ads delivered in the EU or UK, Meta shows the advertiser's targeting and the ad's reach, and keeps them for a year after they stop.¹²
You search by what is said or shown
Keyword search also matches text inside images and words spoken in videos, and results can be sorted by impressions.¹

Where Adspy is different

Ads stay after they end
Adspy keeps the ads it has collected once they stop running, with their recorded activity, whatever their country or category. Meta keeps ended ads only if they ran in the EU or UK (one year) or were about politics or social issues (seven years).¹³
Every ad read and tagged for you
Each collected ad comes with its hook and when it lands, its angle, format, tone and call to action, its transcript and AI tags in 23 creative categories. Meta Ad Library shows the ad and its details.¹
Follow brands and read their patterns
Follow as many brands as you want on every plan, ask your assistant for a brand's newest ads, newest first, to see what it started running, and Brand X-Ray shows the patterns across a brand's ads. In Meta Ad Library, you search again each time.¹
Meta and Google in one search
Adspy searches Meta ads and creatives from Google's Ads Transparency Center, including available YouTube ads, together. Most advertisers in its library come from Meta.
Research with a team or in your assistant
Shared collections and notes keep a team's references together, and Adspy's MCP server lets Claude, Codex or any remote MCP client search ads and read analysis without an ad account. Meta's Ads MCP needs a Facebook login with ads permissions.⁷

The same research in your AI assistant, with Adspy

Connect Adspy to your AI assistant, then ask for a brand, a product or a phrase, for example Meta video ads that mention collagen.
Ask for AG1's ads: its creatives across Meta, their formats and their recorded activity.
Ask for AG1's Brand Full Analysis: the hooks and formats across its ads, its organic posts where Adspy collects them, and the ads behind each finding.
Follow AG1, then ask for its newest ads, newest first, to see what it started running.
Ask your assistant to save the ads worth keeping in a collection, with a note for your team.

Questions

Is Meta Ad Library free?

Anyone can search it, with or without a Facebook account, and Meta shows no price. Downloading search results requires logging in. Adspy is paid, at $19, $39 or $99 a month, with no free plan or trial.

Does Meta Ad Library keep ads after they stop?

Some: ads about social issues, elections or politics for seven years, and ads that ran in the EU or UK for a year. Other ads can be searched while they are running. Adspy keeps the ads it has collected after they end.

Does Adspy show spend or reach?

No. Adspy shows no spend, conversions or ROAS. Meta Ad Library shows spend and impression ranges only for ads about social issues, elections or politics, and reach for ads delivered in the EU or UK.

Can I search Meta ads from Claude?

Adspy's MCP server works in Claude, Codex and any remote MCP client on every plan. Meta's official Ads MCP server includes an Ad Library search tool; it needs a Facebook login with ads permissions.

Sources and method

This page compares published facts only. Meta Ad Library’s entries come from its own public pages, listed below with the date each was checked; Adspy’s come from this site’s plans and product pages. Adspy's time to collect a missing brand is measured from its own job records: 663 requests from March to September 2026, median 2.3 minutes, 94% within 10 minutes, counted until the brand's ads are collected. Sources are checked again at least every 90 days and when a price changes. To report an error, write to info@adspy.sh.