How do I see my competitors' Google ads?
The domain's Google ads grouped into text, image and video, each with first and last shown dates and a Transparency Center link.
Question How do I see my competitors' Google ads?
Ad research tool
Ad Spy Tool
Four public ad libraries, one request.
Use this ad spy tool to see competitor ads on Meta, TikTok, Google and LinkedIn.
Part of the ads library guide
See the ads a competitor is running
Write the brand or domain and the platforms you care about.
Find their adsThe ad spy tool opens SpringBrand with your request. Each library search spends credits from your balance.
What the search returnsRuns in SpringBrandAfter you sign in or create an account, the ad spy tool searches the public ad libraries you named and returns each ad with its advertiser, start date, format and link.
- Each ad's creative and copy
- The advertiser and start date
- Format and landing page
- A link back to the public library
Meta, TikTok, Google and LinkedIn librariesAdvertiser, start date, format and link per adAlso over MCP in Claude Code, Codex and Cursor
START WITH A REQUEST
One brand. Four libraries to search.
Each card is a real question people ask. Add the brand you care about and the ad spy tool opens it in SpringBrand.
Google TikTok How do I see competitor ads on TikTok?
Active ads from TikTok's library with advertiser, start date, format and link, listed per advertiser name so you can keep only the official account.
Question
How do I see competitor ads on TikTok?
Spend and reach Can I see how much my competitors spend on ads?
The competitor's current ads with whatever reach figures each library publishes, such as LinkedIn's impression ranges. Public libraries don't show spend for commercial ads.
Question
Can I see how much my competitors spend on ads?
WHAT YOU GET
Which ad libraries can you search at once?
Each platform keeps its own public ad library, and none of them searches the others. The ad spy tool runs the searches you name and keeps every ad tied to the library it came from.
01 / ONE SEARCH
Facebook, TikTok, Google and LinkedIn ads in one search
Checking one brand across all four usually means four sites, four search boxes and four sets of filters. One marketer described the Meta library this way on r/AskMarketing: "The facebook ad library works but it's kind of clunky and doesn't really help you organize or track patterns over time, just shows you what's currently running".
Name the brand once in the ad spy tool, pick the platforms, and every ad comes back with its advertiser, start date, format and a link back to the library.
PUBLIC LIBRARIES
Searched from one request
Meta: Facebook, Instagram, Audience Network, Threads
TikTok ad library
Google Ads Transparency Center
LinkedIn ad library
02 / SEARCH ADS
PPC competitor research: Google search ads
For search ads, Google's Ads Transparency Center is the source. One PPC practitioner put it on r/PPC: "Google transparency centre is great. Let's you see exact ads and their landing pages from rivals and uncover websites you didn't know they owned and ran SEM for".
Ask the ad spy tool for a domain's Google ads and filter by Google Search, YouTube or Shopping, by format or by date.
GOOGLE FILTERS
Narrow the results
Google Search, YouTube or Shopping
Format
Date
First and last shown dates per ad
03 / IN YOUR ASSISTANT
Run competitor ad research from Claude Code or Cursor
If you already work in an AI assistant, you can run the same searches there. Connect SpringBrand over MCP and ask Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, WorkBuddy or ChatGPT Desktop for a competitor's ads; credits come from the same balance.
As one ad ops practitioner wrote: "Make an MCP or an API I’ll try it. But I’m using Claude not some interface I don’t want to learn to use from scratch."
OVER MCP
Same searches, same balance
Claude Code
Codex
Cursor
WorkBuddy
ChatGPT Desktop
04 / THE LIMITS
What ad libraries don't show you
Public ad libraries show the creative and the dates. They do not show what an advertiser spends, how an ad performs or who it converts. Any tool that shows a competitor's exact ad spend is estimating.
What you can use instead: how long an ad has been running, how many variants of the same message an advertiser keeps live, and which formats and landing pages repeat. To see what the same brands post organically, analyze competitors on social.
READ INSTEAD OF SPEND
Signals the libraries do show
How long an ad has been running
Variants of the same message kept live
Formats and landing pages that repeat
What came back in our test runs
With the SpringBrand ad spy tool you name the brand once and pick the platforms. These are the results of our test runs, one library search each.
- Google, by domain (lululemon.com): ads on the first page, 27 text, 9 image and 4 video, each with first and last shown dates and a Transparency Center link
- 40
- LinkedIn, company microsoft: ads, each with an impression range such as 50k-100k, run dates and targeting notes
- 24
- TikTok, advertiser Gymshark: ads across several matching advertiser names, with audience ranges only
- 12
- Meta, keyword "running": active ads per page, with placements across Facebook, Instagram, Audience Network and Threads
- 30
Each of those searches used 1 credit.
What ad libraries don't show you
Spend, reach and results are the numbers people most want from a competitor, and the ones the public libraries, and any ad spy tool built on them, leave out.
Checked on
Do public ad libraries show spend or reach?
Not for commercial ads. In our Meta test, spend and reach were empty for all 30 ads; TikTok returned no spend either. LinkedIn was the only one of the four to give impression ranges.
Source: Meta Ad Library
Can an ad spy tool estimate a competitor's ad spend?
Any ad spy tool that shows a competitor's exact ad spend is estimating. One PPC agency tested spend estimates against real accounts.
“Not accurate enough to use as a number.”
Which tool covers your platforms, and what does it cost?
Ad spy tools differ mostly in which platforms they cover, whether they keep their own ad database, and how you pay. The official libraries cost nothing but cover one platform each. Subscription tools add saved boards and their own databases. SpringBrand searches the official libraries on demand and charges per search.
| Tool | Platforms | $0 option | Paid from and how you pay | Works in Claude Code or Cursor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SpringBrand | Meta, TikTok, Google, LinkedIn public libraries | 100 credits a month at $0, no card | Plus: $29/mo for 3,000 credits; credits per search | Yes, over MCP |
| Official ad libraries | One platform each | $0 | $0; no cost | No |
| AdSpy | Facebook, Instagram | No $0 plan on the page | $149/mo; monthly subscription | Not stated on the page |
| BigSpy | Multiple ad platforms (vendor's claim) | $0 plan with registration | Starter $49/mo, billed annually; subscription | Not stated on the page |
| Minea | Facebook, TikTok, Pinterest | Trial | Starter $49/mo; subscription | Not stated on the page |
| SpyFu | Google search ads | Trial | $33/mo; subscription | Not stated on the page |
Prices checked 2026-11-13 on each vendor's site, in USD. "Not stated" means the page did not say, not that the feature is missing. Written by SpringBrand, which is one of the tools listed.
How to spy on competitor ads in three steps
Most of the work with an ad spy tool is finding the right advertiser and reading what comes back. Broad keywords pull in unrelated advertisers, and many brands have several look-alike accounts. These three steps keep the results on the brand you actually care about.
1
Confirm the advertiser first
Search by the brand's domain or exact advertiser name, not a broad keyword. In our test, a TikTok search for "Gymshark" matched 10 different advertiser names, and a broad Meta keyword search was led by large advertisers unrelated to the keyword.
2
Search the libraries you need
Ask for Meta, TikTok, Google, LinkedIn or all four. The agent runs each public library search and returns the ads with advertiser, start date, format and a link back to the library.
3
Read the pattern, not one ad
Sort by how long ads have been live, group them by format and message, and note which landing pages repeat. Export the table to share it with your team or a designer.
A FEW THINGS TO KNOW
Before you dig into a competitor's ads
Cost, Google and TikTok ads, and what libraries can't tell you.
Can I use an ad spy tool without paying?
Yes. The official ad libraries from Meta, TikTok, Google and LinkedIn cost nothing, one platform at a time. New SpringBrand accounts get 100 credits a month with no card; in our tests each library search used 1 credit. Paid tools such as AdSpy, which lists a $149 monthly plan for Facebook and Instagram (checked 2026-11-13), add saved boards and their own databases.
What's the difference between an ad spy tool and the Meta Ad Library?
The Meta Ad Library shows ads running on Meta's platforms, searched one advertiser or keyword at a time. An ad spy tool organises those ads, often across several platforms. SpringBrand searches Meta, TikTok, Google and LinkedIn libraries from one request and returns a table you can export. For a quick look at one brand's Facebook ads, the Meta Ad Library itself is often enough.
How do I see my competitors' Google ads?
Use Google's Ads Transparency Center and search by advertiser or domain. In the ad spy tool, give the domain and ask for its Google ads; you can filter by Google Search, YouTube or Shopping, by format and by date. Each ad comes back with first and last shown dates.
How do I see competitor ads on TikTok?
Search TikTok's public ad library by keyword or advertiser name. Check the advertiser name carefully: in our test, "Gymshark" matched 10 different advertiser names. The ad spy tool runs the search and lists the ads per advertiser so you can keep only the official one.
Can I see how much my competitors spend on ads?
Mostly no. Public ad libraries don't show spend for commercial ads; in our Meta test, spend was empty for all 30 ads. LinkedIn shows impression ranges. Third-party spend estimates exist, but one agency that tested them called them "Not accurate enough to use as a number."