AdSpy vs BigSpy: prices, networks and who each fits

You have a rival whose ads keep turning up in your feed, a budget for one ad spy tool, and two names on the shortlist. AdSpy vs BigSpy comes down to depth against breadth. As of 12 November 2026, AdSpy is one $149/month plan that searches only Facebook and Instagram ads, with comment search, demographic estimates and affiliate ID search. BigSpy is a ladder of five plans, from $0 to $499 a month, that covers up to 11 ad networks.

Every price and feature below comes from the vendors' own pages: adspy.com, bigspy.com/pricing and bigspy.com.

AdSpy vs BigSpy at a glance

AdSpy is deeper on Meta at one flat price. BigSpy is wider on networks, has a free way in and AI tools, and charges more as you add networks. Prices are as of 12 November 2026.

"Not described" means the vendor's own page does not mention it, which is not proof the tool lacks it.

What does AdSpy do, and what does it cost?

AdSpy is a searchable database of Facebook and Instagram ads, sold as one plan at $149 a month as of 12 November 2026. Its homepage shows no free plan, no free trial and no yearly billing. Its standout searches are ad comments, demographic estimates and affiliate IDs.

AdSpy calls itself "the largest searchable database of Facebook and Instagram ads in the world" on its homepage. The price line reads "We offer virtually unlimited usage for just $149 per month!" The next line says "This is an introductory offer and will not be the same for long!" The page gives no end date for that offer, so treat $149 as today's price, not a promise.

Beyond the basic search, three features set AdSpy apart:

• Search through comments. Search the text people leave under ads, not only the ad copy.
• Demographic estimates. Location, gender and age range for an ad's audience.
• Affiliate search. Search by affiliate network, affiliate ID or Offer ID, with landing-page filtering that the page says "bypasses cloakers".

What does BigSpy do, and what does it cost?

BigSpy is a multi-network ad spy tool with five plans, priced as of 12 November 2026 in the full ladder below. Higher plans unlock more networks and higher limits, except Scale, which keeps Growth's networks and limits but applies them per seat. Yearly billing lowers every paid plan.

The full ladder, from BigSpy's pricing page:

Two details in that table change the maths:

• AppLovin is a partial network. BigSpy marks it "E-commerce only" on every plan that includes it, and on Starter also "Limited-time access". So Starter is really Facebook and Instagram plus a time-limited slice of AppLovin.
• Scale is a team plan. It has the same 8 networks as Growth, with "5 seats · 1 owner + 4 members" and every Growth limit applied per seat. If you work alone, Growth gives the same networks for less.

BigSpy's homepage adds two features AdSpy's page does not describe: tracking ads across 40 ecommerce sites, including Shopify, Etsy, Amazon, Shopee and AliExpress, and audience analysis "by country, time and gender".

Is BigSpy's free plan usable, or is it a teaser?

BigSpy's Free plan is usable for a first look at one rival on Facebook, and not much more. It allows 10 searches a day, Facebook only, 20 tracked ads in total, 5 video analyses a month, 3 AI tool uses a day and no downloads, as of 12 November 2026.

What you cannot do on Free is see their Instagram ads, keep a file of the creatives, or compare networks.

If Facebook is the only network you care about and you want it free, look at the official libraries first. The comparison of the official ad libraries covers what each shows at no cost.

Which has the bigger ad database, AdSpy or BigSpy?

Neither vendor's claim settles which database is bigger. AdSpy's live counter showed 214,059,000+ ads and 30,436,000+ advertisers across 2 platforms on 12 November 2026. BigSpy claims "over 1 billion pieces of ad creative data" and "nearly 10 million advertisers" across 11.

AdSpy's numbers come from a live counter on adspy.com at the moment we loaded it. BigSpy's come from the FAQ on bigspy.com, which gives no update date. Neither page says whether it counts each ad once or each variant, or whether stopped ads stay in the total.

So the numbers point in opposite directions: BigSpy claims more ad creatives over more platforms, AdSpy more advertisers and countries on Meta alone. If your rival advertises only on Facebook and Instagram, an unknown share of BigSpy's billion comes from networks you may not search.

A worked example: one rival, three questions

Say you sell handmade candles, and one rival keeps showing up in your Instagram feed with a new gift bundle. This example is hypothetical. You have three questions, and each points to a different tool.

"What are people saying under their ads, and who are the ads aimed at?" That is AdSpy's ground. Comment search finds the complaints and questions under the bundle ads, and the demographic estimates suggest the location, gender and age range the ads reach. "Are they also on TikTok or Pinterest?" That is BigSpy's ground, at a price. As of 12 November 2026, TikTok comes with Growth at $159 a month and Pinterest needs Ultimate at $499. If TikTok is the only extra network you want, the free routes in how to track a competitor's TikTok ads for free may cover it without either plan.

"Did the bundle go on sale in their store the week the ads started?" Neither tool answers that. Neither describes reading a rival's own product pages and prices over time.

Which should you pick, AdSpy or BigSpy?

Pick by the job, not the headline price. AdSpy suits Meta-only research where comments, demographics or affiliate IDs matter, at a flat $149. BigSpy suits multi-network research, a free start, or a team on Scale. If your rival advertises only on Facebook and Instagram, AdSpy's depth is worth more than BigSpy's extra networks.

Stay on AdSpy if:

• Your rivals advertise on Facebook and Instagram and nowhere else that matters to you.
• You want to read ad comments or see demographic estimates.
• You track affiliate offers by network, affiliate ID or Offer ID.

If you only need to browse Facebook and Instagram ads, BigSpy's Starter covers both for $69 monthly, or $49 monthly when billed yearly, under half AdSpy's $149. Pay AdSpy's premium only if you will use its comment, demographic and affiliate searches.

Choose BigSpy if:

• You need TikTok, YouTube, Google Ads, X or Pinterest in the same search. Check which plan includes your network first.
• You want to start at $0 and upgrade only if it proves useful.
• Two to five people share the research, which is what Scale is built for.

If neither fits, the full AdSpy alternatives roundup puts more tools side by side.

Where ecvision fits

ecvision is a competitor-intelligence tool for ecommerce brands that pairs a named rival's Meta ads with what changed in their store (catalogue, prices, social) while those ads ran. That is the store-side question neither AdSpy nor BigSpy describes answering, from $20 a month as of 12 November 2026.

ecvision's homepage puts it as "Their ads, catalogue, social and traffic. Ask your Claude or ChatGPT; every figure comes back dated." — though no plan card lists traffic as a line item; it only shows as an estimate inside the app's charts. The Starter plan, at $20 a month, lists "Every ad they run on Meta" and "Catalogue, prices and social accounts" for "Your store plus 5 rivals", with "3 months of history". Growth, at $60 a month, covers "Your store plus 10 rivals".

Be clear about its limits against both tools above. ecvision's ads side is Meta only, fewer networks than BigSpy. Its plan cards list ads, catalogue, prices and social accounts; they do not list comment search or affiliate ID search. Its Free plan reads "Your store plus 5 rivals, read for 7 days from setup", and the ads page holds back the eight newest creatives. After that week, Free makes no new catalogue, price or social reads. Every plan is laid out in the ecvision pricing breakdown.

Before you pay: a short checklist

1. List the networks your top three rivals actually advertise on. If it is only Facebook and Instagram, BigSpy's higher plans buy networks you will not use.
2. Decide whether you need comments, demographic estimates or affiliate IDs. If yes, AdSpy is the only one of the two whose page describes them.
3. Spend a day of BigSpy's 10 free searches on your own rival and see what comes back on Facebook.
4. Note that AdSpy calls $149 an introductory offer, and BigSpy's Starter plan marks its AppLovin access limited-time. Re-check both pages before you renew.
5. If you also want their prices and catalogue next to the ads, plan for a store-side tool as well.