BigSpy is the best free Facebook ad spy tool for new ads: on our free account it showed ads from their launch day, within about ten searches a day. Dropispy’s free plan hides the last two months; the other free options open only ads three months or older.
Ranked on one measure: how recent the newest ads on a free account are, from our own free accounts. Prices checked 31 October 2026
Every ad running nowthe source itself, no account needed
Free
The Meta Ad Library is not ranked: it is the source these tools copy from, and it shows every ad running now. The Starter tier and the PiPiADS trial share an age limit; the tier ranks higher because it does not run out.
The free options, ranked by freshness
#1launch-day ads on a free planOur free account, Oct 2026
On our free BigSpy account, ads showed up from their launch day: in our 20-ad test the free plan held 9 of the 19 we could search, each first seen on October 20. The limits are volume and visibility — BigSpy publishes five searches and twenty downloads a day, our account ran out after about ten searches, and the free plan opens Facebook only and masks advertiser names. Paid plans run $69, $159 and $499.
#2last two months hiddenOur free account, Oct 2026
Dropispy
Free Facebook ad browsing; search filters on Premium
Dropispy’s free plan says it outright: “the ads of the last 2 months are not displayed”. It also locks text search, page name and post-date filters, so on a free account you browse rather than search. Paid access starts at Premium, €29.90 a month in the app.
#3ads three months and olderOur free account, Oct 2026
The free Starter tier needs no card and opens the archive in “Archive (3 mo+)” mode, with “Live” locked: ads at least three months old, Meta only, TikTok marked as paid. That is enough to judge whether the archive covers a niche and no use for a launch this week. Fresh ads start on the $79 plan.
#4ads older than 90 days, on a trialOur free account, Oct 2026
The PiPiADS trial gives 500 credits with no card and shows a “Limit historical data (90 days ago)” notice above every search; the newest ads sit behind a members-only card. The credits are spent as you search and do not renew, which is why it ranks under a tier with the same age limit. Basic lists at $69 and runs at $49.
Not rankedno free ad searchPrice checked 31 Oct 2026
A free TrendTrack account opens Shops only; the Ads, Advertisers, Emails and Images tabs carry a lock, so there is no free ad search to rank. Ad search starts on its Pro plan at $89, and Starter at €49 / $49 covers shops.
Not rankednot measured on a free accountPrice checked 31 Oct 2026
A free Minea registration opens ad search with shop data locked, but we measured freshness only on a paid Starter account, so it has no place here. Minea’s pricing table lists no free plan; Starter is $49 a month.
Yardstickevery ad running nowPrice checked 31 Oct 2026
The Meta Ad Library is free, needs no account and shows every ad running now, which makes it the source the other tools copy rather than a contestant. Outside the EU and UK an ordinary ad leaves it once it stops, so it cannot show how long an ad ran.
What each free account showed
Each limit above was read on our own free or trial account, not only on the vendor’s pricing page. The screenshots below are the evidence, with the date we took them.
Dropispy Free, Ads with no filters: “You are in free plan, the ads of the last 2 months are not displayed.” Our free account, October 8.Spytrend Free, Meta ads, search “dropshipping”: “Archive (3 mo+)” is on, “Live” is locked and TikTok carries a “Base” lock. Our free account, October 8.PiPiADS trial, search “gymshark”: “Free user data range: Limit historical data (90 days ago)”, credits 360 of 500, the first card locked as “42.6K+ Latest Ads, Only For Member”. Our trial account, October 14.TrendTrack Free, Explorer, search “dropshipping”: Shops is the only open tab; Ads, Advertisers, Emails and Images are locked. Our free account, October 8.
What paid adds, and when to pay
Paid entry starts at €29.90 a month at Dropispy, $39.99 per module at Anstrex, $49 at Minea, PiPiADS and TrendTrack, $69 at BigSpy and PowerAdSpy, and $149 at AdSpy and AdPlexity, AdPlexity per module.
The money buys back what the free accounts above removed: the newest ads, stopped ads with their run length, searches beyond a daily quota, and channels other than Facebook. On BigSpy, $69 opens unlimited searches on Facebook and Instagram, $159 adds TikTok, YouTube and Google Ads, and $499 opens all 11 channels. Anstrex and AdPlexity charge per traffic source, so two channels mean two subscriptions; PiPiADS sells credits, and a heavy research week can use up a month of them.
Stay free if the question is about the present: who is advertising today and what the creative looks like. The Meta Ad Library and BigSpy’s free plan answer that between them. Pay when the question starts with “what did they run”: run length, stopped ads and a competitor’s older campaigns are what free removes. If your channel is not Facebook, check coverage before price: both of those free options stop at Meta.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free Facebook ad spy tool?
BigSpy, for new ads: its free plan showed us Facebook ads from their launch day, within about ten searches a day, though it masks advertiser names. The Meta Ad Library is free too and shows every ad running now, but outside the EU and UK it forgets an ordinary ad once it stops.
Are these free tools or just free trials?
Mostly plans. BigSpy and Dropispy have free plans with no end date, Spytrend has a free Starter tier, and the Meta Ad Library is Meta’s own free product. PiPiADS is the exception: 500 trial credits that run out and do not renew.
What are the best free tools to spy on competitor Facebook ads?
Start with the Meta Ad Library for what a competitor runs today, then BigSpy’s free plan for ads that have stopped within its 90-day window. Dropispy’s free plan is narrower: it hides the last two months and locks search by page name.
How many searches does BigSpy’s free plan allow?
BigSpy publishes five searches and twenty creative downloads a day; on our own free account the quota ran out after about ten searches in a day, and the account menu counted the remaining searches down. Paid access starts at $69 a month.
Is a free tier the same as a free trial?
No. A trial gives access for a set time or a set number of credits and then stops; a free tier has no end date but smaller limits. BigSpy’s and Dropispy’s free plans are tiers; PiPiADS’s 500 credits are a trial.
Is a free ad spy tool as good as a paid one?
Not for history. A free tool answers whether a page is advertising today; a paid one answers how long an ad ran and what an advertiser has stopped, and opens channels beyond Facebook. On our free accounts the gap was the newest ads: Dropispy hid the last two months, and the archive options opened only ads three months or older.
What is the difference between the Facebook Ads Library and ad spy tools?
The Meta Ad Library is Meta’s own free record of ads running now, and outside the EU and UK it drops an ordinary ad once it stops. Ad spy tools keep ads after they stop, search across advertisers and, on paid plans, cover platforms Meta does not.
Free-plan limits were read on our own free accounts in October, with the date under each screenshot; prices on each vendor’s own pages on 31 October 2026.
