AdSpy alternatives: which are free and which are trials

As of 10 November 2026, AdSpy sells one plan: $149 a month for a database of Facebook and Instagram ads, with no free trial on its homepage. The AdSpy alternatives below split three ways. Meta Ad Library, TikTok Creative Center, Google Ads Transparency Center and BigSpy's Free plan cost nothing with no end date. PiPiAds and GetHookd start with a trial. Minea is paid only. ecvision, for reading one named rival's ads next to their Shopify store, has a Free plan that runs a week and then pauses.

"Free" is the word that causes the trouble here. A free plan you can keep using and a free trial that ends are very different things when you are deciding whether to stop paying $149 a month. So every tool below was sorted by one test, read from its own pricing page or help page on 10 November 2026: what happens when the first week is over?

I build ecvision, which is one of the options. It gets the same test and the same rules as the rest: what its own page says it does, and who it fits.

What does AdSpy do, and what does it cost?

AdSpy is a searchable database of other advertisers' Facebook and Instagram ads. As of 10 November 2026 it has one price, $149 a month, with no lower tier and no free trial or free plan mentioned on its homepage. You pay for the whole database or you don't use it.

Its homepage says "AdSpy is the largest searchable database of Facebook and Instagram ads in the world." It covers ads in "88 different languages, across 225 countries." The features it names are search, "SEARCH THROUGH COMMENTS", "ACCURATE DEMOGRAPHICS" and filters by "affiliate network, affiliate ID, Offer ID". Comment search and the affiliate filters are what set it apart: if you work in affiliate offers, you can find ads by the offer behind them.

The price line reads "We offer virtually unlimited usage for just $149 per month!" The page also says "this is an introductory offer and will not be the same for long!", with no end date. No other ad network is named on the page. If your rivals also advertise on TikTok or Google, AdSpy doesn't show those ads.

What are the best AdSpy alternatives?

The best AdSpy alternative depends on what you used AdSpy for. If you want a cheaper multi-network ad database, look at BigSpy, PiPiAds or GetHookd. If you want to pay nothing, use the official libraries from Meta, TikTok and Google. If you want one named rival's ads next to their store, look at ecvision.

Here is the plain test, by what you would say about your own situation:

1. "I search across thousands of advertisers for ideas and offers." You want an ad spy database. Read BigSpy, Minea, PiPiAds and GetHookd.
2. "I only check a few brands, and I don't want to pay at all." You want the official libraries. Read Meta Ad Library, TikTok Creative Center and Google Ads Transparency Center.
3. "I know exactly who my rival is. I want their ads and what they're doing in their shop." You want a rival read. Read ecvision.
4. "I need comment search and affiliate Offer IDs on Facebook and Instagram." Stay on AdSpy. That is its job.

Is there a free alternative to AdSpy?

Meta Ad Library, TikTok Creative Center and Google Ads Transparency Center are free AdSpy alternatives with no card and no end date, each showing ads from its own platform only. BigSpy's Free plan is also ongoing, but covers Facebook only with 10 searches a day. PiPiAds and GetHookd offer trials, not free plans.

The split, as each tool's own page described it on 10 November 2026:

• Free, no end date: Meta Ad Library, TikTok Creative Center, Google Ads Transparency Center and BigSpy's Free plan.
• A trial, then a paid plan: PiPiAds (500 one-time credits) and GetHookd (7 days for $0).
• No free option on the pricing page: AdSpy and Minea.
• Free for a week, then paused: ecvision's Free plan.

The three official libraries are the honest answer to "adspy free alternative" for most founders. The catch is that each one covers its own platform only, and none of them adds AdSpy's comment search or demographic estimates. If you only need Facebook and Instagram, Meta's library alone covers the same two platforms AdSpy does. Our walk-through of finding a competitor's Facebook ads for free shows how to use it step by step.

How do AdSpy alternatives compare on price?

Paid AdSpy alternatives run from $19 to $149 a month: GetHookd's Starter is the cheapest at $19 billed annually, ecvision's Starter is $20, and AdSpy's one plan is the dearest at $149. Four options cost nothing with no end date: the three official libraries and BigSpy's Free plan.

Every row comes from that tool's own page, read on 10 November 2026; "After week one" is what the free option turns into once the first seven days are over.

One price in that table is billed annually: GetHookd's $19 is $29 billed monthly. Two others drop with longer billing: BigSpy's Starter is $49 a month billed annually, and Minea's Starter is $39 a month paid quarterly. Compare monthly against monthly before you switch.

A worked example: one rival, three routes

Say you sell swimwear, and a rival you know by name starts running a new ad for a cover-up. This is a made-up case to show how the three routes differ, not a real store.

In an ad spy database like BigSpy or GetHookd, you would search "swimwear" or "cover-up" and see that rival's ad among many brands. Good for spotting ideas, less good for following one brand.

In Meta Ad Library, you would type the rival's page name and see every ad they have running across Facebook and Instagram. It costs nothing, and you check it by hand each time.

In a rival read like ecvision, the same ad sits next to that rival's catalogue and prices, so you can see whether the cover-up in the ad is a new product and what it sells for. The ad is the same in all three. The question you can answer is different.

BigSpy: a paid ad spy with a free plan that stays

BigSpy is a multi-platform ad spy, and the only paid ad spy on this page with a free plan that doesn't end. Its Free plan says "No paid subscription required." It covers Facebook only, with 10 searches a day, 5 video analyses a month, 20 tracked creatives and no downloads.

As of 10 November 2026, from BigSpy's pricing page, monthly price first (billed annually in brackets):

• Free: $0. Facebook only, 10 searches a day.
• Starter: $69/month ($49). Adds Instagram and AppLovin.
• Growth: $159/month ($119). Adds Google Ads, YouTube, X, TikTok and Pangle.
• Ultimate: $499/month ($399). "All 11 platforms and higher capacity for intensive research."

Fits: a founder who wants to try an ad spy for nothing, then pay to add TikTok and Google later.

Minea: Facebook ads plus influencer placements

Minea tracks Facebook ads and influencer placements. Its pricing page lists "All Facebook ads" in a general features section, outside the plan cards, and marks "Snapchat, Pinterest, TikTok ads (coming soon)", so today it is a Facebook tool. The page describes no free plan; its "Register now for free" button creates an account, not a free tier.

As of 10 November 2026, from Minea's pricing page:

• Starter: $49/month, or $39 a month if paid quarterly.
• Premium: $99/month.
• Business: $199/month.

Premium and Business add more AI ad-analysis credits, not more ad platforms.

Fits: a brand that sells through creators as much as through ads, and wants both on one screen.

PiPiAds: a TikTok-first ad spy with a credit trial

PiPiAds is built around TikTok and Facebook ads. Its free option is a trial: 500 credits, one time, under a "Start for Free" button. The page states no recurring free allowance, so once those credits are spent, the next step is a paid plan.

As of 10 November 2026, from PiPiAds' pricing page:

• Trial: 500 credits, "Start for Free".
• Basic: $49/month, 30,000 credits, shown against a struck-through $69.
• Advanced: $99/month, marked "Most popular".
• Flexible: $180/month.
• Enterprise: $900/month.

A Q4 banner offered 50% off annual plans, "Monthly plan excluded." The page doesn't break down which platforms each plan covers.

Fits: a brand whose rivals advertise mostly on TikTok, which AdSpy doesn't cover. If TikTok is the whole question, our guide to tracking a competitor's TikTok ads for free covers the no-cost route first.

GetHookd: the cheapest paid Meta ad library here

GetHookd is a Meta-only ad library of "over 22 million active ads", and its FAQ says TikTok "is not in there today." Every plan starts with a 7-day trial: "7 days for $0. Cancel before it ends and you pay nothing." That is a trial on a clock, not a free plan.

As of 10 November 2026, from GetHookd's homepage, billed annually:

• Starter: $19/month ($29 billed monthly).
• Pro: $32/month.
• Team: $52/month, marked "Most Popular".
• Agency: $83/month.

Fits: a founder who only advertises on Meta, wants AdSpy's two platforms in a searchable library, and wants to pay well under $149 for it.

The three official libraries: free, one platform each

Meta, TikTok and Google each publish their own ad library at no charge. None of them lists a price or a paid tier. Each shows its own platform's ads only, so covering all three means checking three sites by hand.

Meta Ad Library

Meta calls it "a comprehensive, searchable database for ads transparency", and says "People can search for all active ads running across products from Meta." That means Facebook and Instagram, the same two platforms AdSpy covers. Meta's page states no price anywhere.

Fits: a founder watching a handful of named rivals on Facebook and Instagram.

TikTok Creative Center

TikTok describes Creative Center as "a free, public home to an ever-growing suite of creative resources". Its Top Ads section is "a collection of high-performing creatives from the TikTok platform." TikTok's help page recommends logging in "to take advantage of and see all of its features, data, and insights", so a free TikTok account gets you the full view.

Fits: a brand looking for creative ideas on TikTok, where AdSpy has none.

Google Ads Transparency Center

Google's Ads Transparency Center states no price or paid tier. Per Google's help page, you can "search by advertiser name or website name and filter their search results by serving region and date."

Fits: a founder whose rivals spend on Google rather than social. Our comparison of Meta Ad Library, Google Ads Transparency Center and TikTok goes deeper on what each of the three shows.

ecvision: a rival's ads next to their store

ecvision reads a named rival's Meta ads next to their catalogue, prices, social accounts and traffic. It is not a database of every advertiser like AdSpy. You name the stores you compete with, and ask about them in the AI assistant you already use.

Its tagline in the app is "Competitor intelligence for Shopify." The homepage puts it as "Their ads, catalogue, social and traffic. Ask your Claude or ChatGPT; every figure comes back dated." Ads are Meta only. Because "Meta publishes no spend or impressions for any ad", ecvision describes an ad "by how long it has run."

As of 10 November 2026, from ecvision's plan cards:

• Free: $0. "Your store plus 5 rivals, read for 7 days from setup". After that week the workspace is paused, with "Nothing already collected is deleted".
• Starter: $20/month. "Your store plus 5 rivals", "3 months of history", "Every ad they run on Meta", "Catalogue, prices and social accounts", "1 AI assistant connection".
• Growth: $60/month. "Your store plus 10 rivals", "6 months of history", "Scan as often as daily", "4 AI assistant connections".

There is no self-serve sign-up. The button reads "Book a call", and "On the call we set up your workspace on Free. Write one line and add a card, and your first month of Starter is free." The full breakdown is on what ecvision costs.

Fits: a Shopify founder who already knows their three to five main rivals and wants to see each one's ads beside what is in their shop. If you need TikTok or Google ads, or want to browse thousands of advertisers, another tool on this page fits better. For the wider competitor-intelligence platforms, our ShopVision alternatives roundup covers that end of the market.

Who should stay on AdSpy?

Stay on AdSpy if you need comment search, demographic estimates or affiliate Offer ID filters on Facebook and Instagram ads, and its price as of 10 November 2026, $149 a month, is fine. For affiliate marketers in particular, the Offer ID filter is the reason to stay.

The other reason to stay is simple: you already know the tool, and it answers your question. Switching only pays off if the alternative does a job AdSpy doesn't, such as TikTok coverage, an ongoing free plan or a rival's store data.

How do you pick an AdSpy alternative?

Pick an AdSpy alternative by the job you used AdSpy for, then by what "free" really means for that tool. List the platforms your rivals advertise on, decide whether you browse thousands of advertisers or follow a few named rivals, and check whether the free option is a plan that stays or a trial that ends.

The checklist:

1. Write down the platforms your rivals advertise on. Facebook and Instagram only: Meta Ad Library, GetHookd or AdSpy. TikTok too: BigSpy's paid plans or PiPiAds. Google: Google Ads Transparency Center or BigSpy Growth.
2. Decide whether you browse or follow. Browsing thousands of advertisers needs an ad spy database. Following three to five named rivals works in the free libraries or in ecvision.
3. Check what happens after week one. A free plan stays. A trial ends or charges your card.
4. Compare monthly with monthly. Several of the low prices above are billed annually.
5. Try the free route first. Spend a week in Meta Ad Library before paying anyone, including us. If checking by hand gets old, you'll know which paid tool you actually need.