How to Use Meta Ad Library to Research Competitors

Ad Library is the one place Meta lets you see a rival’s live ads without being targeted by them. Use it to collect the formats, offers and angles a competitor keeps running, and to date when each ad started. Do not use it to judge what works for them: for an ordinary product ad, Meta publishes no spend, no impressions and no results, so a long-running ad is a clue to test, not proof that it pays.

What does Meta Ad Library show about a competitor’s ads?

Meta’s own summary is that the library “contains all active ads” shown across its technologies, and anyone can search it (About the Meta Ad Library). How much detail you get depends on where the ad delivered and what it is about:

Meta also shows advertiser and payer information for ads delivered in the EU, and Page transparency details for every ad: when the Page was created, its name changes, the organisations that manage it and the primary countries it is managed from. The EU archive exists because of the EU Digital Services Act; the UK one is a Meta commitment, according to the same page.

How do I find a competitor’s ads?

Meta’s steps, from About the Meta Ad Library:

1. Open the Ad Library. Meta says anyone can view and search it.
2. Choose a country with the country selector. Meta shows ads by country, so pick the market where your competitor sells.
3. Search the competitor’s Page name. A keyword search also works, but Meta returns any ad that contains the term or comes from a Page whose name contains it, so expect other advertisers in the results.
4. Select the competitor’s Page to list all its active ads, with creative and copy.
5. Click See ad details on an ad for more, such as the About section or a lead form’s details.
6. Search again with an EU country selected if the brand sells there. Ads delivered in the EU carry reach by age, gender and location.

One limit trips people up: for age-restricted products such as alcohol, Meta hides the creative from people who are underage or not logged in. If an ad shows no image, log in and search again.

What should I record from each competitor ad?

The library gives you raw creative, so the value is in how you log it. For each competitor, note:

• Start date. It is the only time signal you get for an ordinary ad. An ad that has run for months is one the advertiser has chosen to keep paying for, which is worth knowing, though the library will not tell you whether it is profitable.
• Format. Single image, video, carousel or another format, and the aspect ratio.
• Hook. The first line of copy and the first three seconds of video.
• Offer. Discount, bundle, free shipping, guarantee, or none.
• Landing page. Where the button goes: home page, product page, collection or quiz.
• Count of live variants. Many near-identical versions of one concept suggest that concept is being tested hard.

Log these in one sheet across three to five competitors and repeat monthly. Patterns across brands matter more than any single ad. To turn what you collect into tests, read where do good ad concepts actually come from? and, for openings, what makes a good hook for a Meta Reels ad?

What does Ad Library not show?

For an ordinary commercial ad that does not reach the EU or UK, Meta’s table lists no amount spent, no impression ranges, no reach, no targeting and no archive (About the Meta Ad Library). In practice that means:

• No spend or budget. You cannot tell whether an ad has $50 or $50,000 behind it.
• No results. Clicks, purchases, cost per result and ROAS are never shown.
• No history. Once an ordinary ad stops, it leaves the library. Check monthly, or you lose the record.
• No audience detail outside the EU and UK. You see the ad, not who it was aimed at.

Treat any third-party tool that claims to show a competitor’s exact Meta ad spend with care: Meta does not publish that figure for these ads, so it can only be an estimate.

What extra data do EU, UK and political ads add?

Three categories carry more detail, all from the same Meta page.

Ads delivered in the EU

Because of the Digital Services Act, Meta archives every ad that delivers an impression in the EU or associated territories for one year after its last impression. You see total reach, reach by targeted location broken down by age and gender, the ad’s location, age and gender targeting, and who the advertiser and payer were. For competitor research, this is the closest the library gets to an audience profile.

Ads delivered in the UK

The UK archive covers all placements, keeps ads for one year after the last impression, and shows reach and ad-level location, age and gender targeting, but not payer information.

Social issue, election and political ads

These stay for seven years whether active or not, and show ranges for spend and impressions, a disclaimer naming who paid, estimated audience size and Page-level targeting totals (targeting transparency). A store selling a product rarely falls in this group, so do not expect spend data for your competitors.

Can I see a competitor’s creator and influencer deals?

Partly. Ad Library includes a searchable database of public, active branded content on Facebook and Instagram that carries a paid partnership label, created on or after 17 August 2023. You search by Page or Instagram profile, pick Facebook or Instagram and a date range, and see the creator, the brand partner, the post type and a link (About the Meta Ad Library). It shows which creators a competitor pays, not what it pays them. If you are planning your own creator ads, see should I run creator content from my brand page or theirs?

How do I turn competitor research into my own tests?

Pick one pattern you saw across several brands, such as a guarantee-led hook or a founder-to-camera video, and build two or three versions of it for your product. Test them against your current best ad with a fixed budget and a stop rule, as set out in the Facebook ad creative testing guide. Copying a single ad tells you little: you do not know its results, and its audience is not yours.

FAQ

Do I need an ad account to use Meta Ad Library?

No. Meta says anyone can view and search the library. You need to be logged in to Facebook in two cases: to download search results, which also means agreeing to Meta’s terms, and to see the creative of ads for age-restricted products such as alcohol or gambling.

Can I see how much a competitor spends on Facebook ads?

Not for ordinary product ads. Meta shows amount spent, as a range such as $1,000 to $5,000, only for ads about social issues, elections or politics. For other ads, including those delivered in the EU and UK, the library shows no spend and no impressions.

Can I see a competitor’s old or paused ads?

Only in some cases. Ordinary ads that never reached the EU or UK disappear once they stop. Ads that delivered in the EU or UK stay for one year after their last impression, and social issue, election and political ads stay for seven years.

Does the Ad Library show who a competitor targets?

Only for ads delivered in the EU or UK, where it shows the ad’s location, age and gender targeting, and for political ads, at Page level. Detailed targeting, custom audiences and lookalikes are shown only in the political ad category, as Page-level totals.

Sources

Sources: Meta Business Help Center, About the Meta Ad Library and Targeting transparency information for ads about social issues, elections or politics; Meta Ad Library (checked 2 Oct 2026).