How To Find Competitor Ads On Facebook

Competitor research is one of the most important steps when planning advertising campaigns. Nowadays, there are many tools available to help you find your competitors’ Facebook ad campaigns. Even Facebook itself offers a powerful tool called the Facebook Ad Library, which allows users to explore and query ads stored in Facebook’s archive. Besides that, there are various third-party ad spy tools you can take advantage of.

In this article, we’ll explore the importance of competitor research and how to effectively find your competitors’ Facebook ad campaigns.

Need help choosing the right placements or setting up tests? Reach out to a Meta-certified expert or follow our blog for more actionable insights on Facebook and Instagram ads.

Benefits of Analyzing Your Competitor’s Ads on Facebook

Studying your competitors and the ads they’re running provides your business with valuable insights. These insights can help you plan more effective Facebook ad strategies. By reviewing competitor ads, you can draw inspiration from high-performing campaigns and apply those learnings to optimize your own.

Get Inspiration: Ad Format, Creative, Copy, And Audience Targeting

You can learn a lot from your competitors’ successful campaigns from ad formats and visuals to copywriting styles and targeting strategies. However, remember that it’s about learning and not copying. Always maintain your brand’s unique voice and identity in your campaigns.

Target audience

Analyzing competitor ads can help you better define your own target audience. Successful competitor ads show they’ve identified and convinced the right audience. You can use these findings to refine your own targeting strategy.
Read more: Types of Audience in Facebook Ads

Type of ad campaign

Which types of ads convert better? Which ones drive the most engagement? While A/B testing helps you discover the best formats for your audience, you can also learn by observing what type of ad campaigns work well for competitors. Although not every setup used by your competitors will bring the same results for your business, their experience offers valuable insights.

Ad content

By studying successful ads, advertisers can identify key elements that contributed to high performance, whether it’s a compelling image, powerful hook, persuasive copy, or strong call-to-action. These can all serve as creative inspiration for your future campaigns.

Keep up with current trends

Competitor research also gives you a pulse on emerging trends in the market. By incorporating trends into your ad messaging or creative assets, you can increase engagement and stay relevant.

How to See Facebook Ads of Competitors: 3 Effective Methods

Finding your competitors’ ads on Facebook is easier than you might think. You can start with basic methods like searching directly on Facebook or visiting competitor Pages, or go deeper using the Facebook Ad Library and third-party spy tools.

Use Facebook’s Ad Library

This is the largest archive of Facebook ads and the most reliable source of advertising data.

• Ad Search Feature: This tool allows you to filter ads by region, ad type, ad status (active/inactive), and keywords. It provides access to ad content and run dates.

• Advertiser Search Feature: You can look up competitors by name to track their daily ad spending, number of active campaigns, and even monitor spending trends by category or industry.

Use Third-Party Tools (Free & Paid)

Third-party tools often provide more advanced insights into ad performance, making them popular among professional advertisers. However, since these are not official Facebook tools, data accuracy may vary. For best results, consider combining these tools with Facebook’s Ad Library.

Minea

Minea is a popular ad spy tool that provides valuable data. Even with just the free plan, you can view basic details like impressions and engagement. Paid plans unlock features like ad spend tracking and more advanced search limits. It’s user-friendly and suitable for small to medium businesses.

BigSpy

Another powerful spy tool, BigSpy offers not only engagement metrics but also estimated impressions, conversions, and popularity scores. Higher-tier plans provide deeper insights into audience targeting, creative quality, and call-to-action effectiveness. Its simple interface and strong filtering make it easy to use. Compared to Minea, BigSpy delivers more comprehensive data great for mid-sized businesses looking to invest in ad research.

Adwin

Among free plans, Adwin offers the most features. It provides essential ad data, including estimated interaction rates and popularity scores. It also visualizes campaign timelines and daily engagement through charts. Although its filters are less detailed, it offers more in-depth ad data compared to other tools. Its free plan nearly matches the premium features of other tools, making it a solid choice for businesses testing the waters before upgrading.

Manual Research via Facebook Pages

Sometimes, third-party tools can complicate the research process. A more manual but effective method is to browse competitor Facebook Pages and observe their active ads directly. 

While it takes more time, it lets you assess audience reactions through likes, comments, and shares. You can also use the “Why am I seeing this ad?” feature to learn about the advertiser’s targeting strategy such as demographics, interests, and behaviors. This insight helps you understand the competitor's audience segmentation and targeting tactics. 

Tips For Effective Competitor Ad Monitoring

Monitoring competitor ads is a smart tactic for gaining insights, identifying creative trends, and spotting gaps in your own advertising strategy. Whether you're running Facebook, Instagram, or TikTok ads, observing what others are doing can help you refine your messaging, test new formats, and even adjust your offers. Below are proven tips to monitor competitor ads effectively.

Track Competitor Offers and Promotions

Take note of how your competitors structure their offers, what kind of discounts, bundles, or limited-time deals they promote. You can spot seasonal trends or aggressive pricing strategies and determine how to position your own offers more competitively.

Create a spreadsheet to log:

• Date of ad launch

• Offer details (e.g., 20% off, BOGO)

• Duration of campaign

• Engagement metrics (likes, shares, comments, if visible)

Analyze Ad Creative Trends

Observe the design, format, and style of the creatives used. Are competitors using UGC-style videos? Are they focusing on testimonials or product demos? What colors, fonts, or visuals are recurring? Noticing these patterns can help you align your creative with audience expectations while still standing out.

Tip: Tools like Meta Ads Library + Chrome Extensions (e.g., Turbo Ad Finder) can automate visual tracking.

Monitor Engagement and Comments

Engagement metrics are public for organic and boosted posts. Check how audiences react in the comment section:

• Are users asking questions about shipping, price, or trust?

• Do you see complaints or praise?

• How responsive is the brand?

This gives you clues about what your audience cares about and where you can outperform your competitors in customer service and transparency.

Monitor Across Multiple Channels

Don't limit your tracking to Facebook and Instagram. If your competitors are running ads on TikTok, Google, or YouTube, it’s worth observing their strategies there too. Cross-platform ad consistency, offer positioning, and creative adaptations give you a 360-degree view of their marketing funnel.

Set Alerts for New Ad Launches

Use tools like Visualping or watchlist features within ad spy tools to get alerts when competitors launch new campaigns. Being first to know allows you to respond faster with counter offers, matching creatives, or better deals.

Don’t Copy - Adapt

Finally, remember the goal is not to copy your competitors, but to adapt their strengths and identify their blind spots. Your unique value proposition should still shine through, even if you're learning from others.

Frequently asked questions

1. What are manual ad placements on Facebook and Instagram?

Manual ad placements let advertisers choose exactly where their ads appear across Meta’s platforms such as Facebook Feed, Instagram Stories, Messenger Inbox, and more. This gives more control over delivery, audience experience, and budget distribution.

2. Should I use automatic or manual ad placements?

Automatic placements are great for beginners or when testing broadly. However, manual placements are ideal if you want to optimize performance, avoid low-quality placements, or target specific funnel stages.

3. How can I test which ad placement works best?

You can run A/B tests in Meta Ads Manager by creating two identical ad sets and changing only the placement. Monitor performance over 3–7 days and compare metrics like CTR, conversions, and ROAS.

4. Which placement performs best for conversions?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. However, placements like Facebook Feed, Instagram Feed, and Facebook Search Results often perform well for mid-to-bottom funnel conversions. Always test and analyze based on your product and audience.

5. How do I track competitor ads on Facebook?

Use the Facebook Ad Library to view your competitors’ active ads. You can also use third-party tools like AdSpy or BigSpy for deeper analysis across platforms.

Conclusion

Understanding and leveraging Facebook and Instagram’s 13 manual ad placements can dramatically improve your ad performance when done right. From high-visibility placements like Facebook In-feed to niche retargeting options like Messenger Inbox, each serves a different purpose in the marketing funnel.

Combine this knowledge with smart A/B testing and competitor ad monitoring to craft campaigns that are not only creative but also data-backed and results-driven. By optimizing where your ads appear and continuously learning from your competition, you can stretch your ad budget further and reach the right people at the right moment.