Short answer: every large ad platform has a free public ad library, and most need no account. For Facebook and Instagram, search the Meta Ad Library, which holds every active ad worldwide. For Google Search and YouTube, use the Google Ads Transparency Center. For LinkedIn, use the LinkedIn Ad Library. TikTok, X, Pinterest and Snapchat publish full libraries only for ads shown in Europe, and TikTok adds a curated Top Ads list for other regions. None of them show spend on normal ads, so how long an ad has run is the best free signal of what works.
How we checked: we opened every library below on October 26, 2026, ran real searches, and read each platform's own help pages, linked in each section. Adlicio publishes this guide. It has its own free search for Meta ads and nothing for the other platforms, which we say where it matters.
Two patterns stand out. Outside Europe, Meta, Google and LinkedIn are the main libraries that list a competitor's ads. And the extra data, such as reach, targeting and run dates, mostly exists for ads shown in Europe, so if a competitor advertises there, searching with an EU country selected tells you much more about them.
A 30-minute competitor ad check
✓List three to five competitors with their brand names and website domains.
✓Start with Meta. It is the only library that holds every active ad worldwide.
✓Then Google. Search the domain as well as the brand, and set the platform to YouTube to see their video ads.
✓Then LinkedIn if they sell to businesses.
✓Then TikTok. Use the Ad Library with a European country if they sell there, and Top Ads for your category.
✓Check X, Pinterest and Snapchat only if the brand is active there and sells in Europe, and log every ad worth keeping (more on that below).
Facebook and Instagram: the Meta Ad Library
An exact-phrase search for Gymshark in the Meta Ad Library: each card shows the start date, the platforms and whether the ad has several versions. Screenshot: October 26, 2026.
Meta's Business Help Center says the Ad Library "contains all active ads that are shown across Meta technologies" and that "anyone can view and search" it.
✓Search a brand, a page name or a keyword. Put a phrase in quotes for an exact match.
✓Open Filters to narrow by language, advertiser, platform, media type, active status and impressions by date.
✓Read each card: Library ID, "Started running on" date, platform icons, and notes such as "This ad has multiple versions" or "2 ads use this creative and text".
Instagram ad library: there is no separate one. Set the Platform filter in the Meta Ad Library to Instagram. The other options are Facebook, Audience Network, Messenger, WhatsApp and Threads.
What it does not show. Outside the EU and UK, only active ads are listed, so an ad disappears when the advertiser stops it. Ads about social issues, elections or politics are the exception: they stay for seven years with who paid, a spend range and reach. For ads delivered to the EU and UK, Meta keeps the ad for one year after its last impression and adds the dates it ran, age, gender and location targeting, and reach broken down by age and gender. Spend is never shown for ordinary ads.
Adlicio's free Meta Ad Library Search searches the same library by brand and country, groups ads that share copy, and sorts them by how long they have run. The Ad Longevity Checker shows the same brand's oldest active ads at a glance.
Google Search and YouTube: the Ads Transparency Center
Search an advertiser or a website at adstransparency.google.com, set the region, and filter by date, platform (Google Maps, Google Play, Google Shopping, Google Search, YouTube) and format (image, text, video).
YouTube ad library: there is no separate one. Set the Platform filter to YouTube and Format to Video. For one Nike account in the US that gave about 200 video ads.
You get the creative, up to five variations and the last shown date, plus first shown, times shown and audience criteria in Europe and Türkiye. Full walkthrough: Google Ads Transparency Center guide.
LinkedIn: the LinkedIn Ad Library
Search by company, payer or keyword at linkedin.com/ad-library, with country and date filters, no account needed. Ads targeted to the EU show run dates, an impressions range and targeting. Other ads show the creative, format, advertiser and payer. Full walkthrough: LinkedIn Ad Library guide.
TikTok: the Ad Library and Top Ads
The TikTok Ad Library lists every ad shown in the EEA, the UK, Switzerland and Turkey, searchable by advertiser or keyword, with first and last shown dates, reach and targeting. A brand that only advertises in the US won't be in it. Top Ads in Creative Center covers the US and other regions with likes, a CTR rank and a budget level, but only for ads their advertisers authorized. Full walkthrough: TikTok Ad Library guide.
X: the Ads Repository
X's Ads Repository asks you to "search for an advertiser or use the filter options to create a report", with a country and a date range. The report comes as a file rather than a page of ads, and the page also offers the full "Commercial Communications CSV" for download. X's ads transparency help page says that for ads served in the EU it includes the advertiser, the funding entity, the main targeting parameters, impressions and reach. Reports can take a while to build, so save it for competitors that lean on X and sell in Europe.
Pinterest: the Ads Repository
Pinterest's Ads Repository shows "all ads that Pinterest has shown to users in the European Union within the last 12 months", according to its help page. Filters cover start and end date, ad category, country, gender, age and advertiser name. The country list also included Brazil, Norway and Turkey when we checked. Each ad's details list the advertiser, date range, category, the age, gender, language or location targeting, whether keywords or an audience list were used, and how many EU users saw it, in 10K ranges.
Snapchat: the Snap Ads Gallery
The Snap Ads Gallery says it lets you "find ads delivered in European Union and other jurisdictions in the last 12 months, and commercial content that's live right now", with tabs for ads and commercial content and filters for where an ad was shown, ad status and date. When Snap launched it, its announcement said anyone can see who paid for an ad, the creative, the campaign length, impressions by EU country and the targeting. The gallery says ads and impressions update every 24 hours. Snap also keeps a separate Political Ads Library.
Bing: the Microsoft Ad Library
The Microsoft Ad Library lets you "find ads shown on Bing" by searching ad content or an advertiser name, then "View ad details" on each result. It also has an API. Check it when a competitor buys Bing search ads.
Reddit
We could not verify a public library of Reddit ads for this guide, so Reddit is not in the table.
What no ad library shows
✓Spend. Only Meta's political and issue ads show a spend range.
✓Results. No library shows conversions or sales. TikTok's Top Ads gives a CTR rank and likes, which are the closest thing.
✓Keywords. Google shows search ad text but not the keywords that triggered it.
✓Stopped ads, in some places. Meta outside Europe lists only active ads, so you need to save ads before they stop.
✓Every version. Meta groups versions, Google shows up to five variations, and LinkedIn shows one version with a note that others may exist.
Run time: the best free signal
Advertisers tend to stop ads that lose money and keep paying for ads that work, so an ad that has run for months is worth studying. On Google we found a Nike video ad shown in Germany that was first shown on October 17, 2023 and last shown on October 25, 2026.
Run time has limits. A big brand can afford to run a weak ad for a long time, and an ad that started yesterday may become their best one. Compare run times within one advertiser's ads, and look for several long-running ads that share an offer or a hook. That repeated element is the best lead to test.
How to save competitor ads and track them over time
Libraries drop ads: Meta outside Europe when the ad stops, and LinkedIn, Google, TikTok, Pinterest and Snapchat about a year after the ad last ran. So:
✓Keep one sheet with a row per ad: platform, advertiser, link or ad ID, date first seen, last seen or "still running", format, offer, hook and landing page.
✓Save the creative as a screenshot or a file named by the ad ID.
✓Bookmark your searches. Meta, Google and LinkedIn keep the search in the page address, so one click reruns it.
✓Recheck monthly and update the "last seen" column. The rows that keep updating are the ads that keep running.
Paid ad research tools add shared boards and tracking on top of this, and do that job better than a spreadsheet. We compare them in the best ad angle research tools.
Where Adlicio fits
Ad libraries show what competitors claim. Adlicio covers what buyers say about it: it reads the comments under ads and videos and the reviews of the product, then groups the repeated pains and objections with quotes and links. Useful starting points:
✓Meta Ad Library Search: free, lists a brand's active Meta ads sorted by how long they have run.
✓Meta Ad Library connector: on Growth and up, ask Claude or ChatGPT for a competitor's Meta ads, grouped by angle, with links.
✓Competitor reviews: what a competitor's buyers dislike, counted and quoted.
Adlicio has no search for LinkedIn, Google or TikTok ads. Use the libraries above for those.
FAQ
How can I see my competitors' ads for free? Search their brand in the Meta Ad Library, the Google Ads Transparency Center and the LinkedIn Ad Library. If they advertise in Europe, also check the TikTok Ad Library and the X, Pinterest and Snapchat repositories with an EU country selected.
Is there an Instagram ad library? Instagram ads are in the Meta Ad Library. Set the Platform filter to Instagram.
Is there a YouTube ad library? YouTube ads are in the Google Ads Transparency Center. Set the Platform filter to YouTube.
Can I see how much a competitor spends on ads? Not for normal ads. Meta shows a spend range only for ads about social issues, elections or politics.
Do I need an account to see competitor ads? No. The exceptions are small: TikTok asks you to log in to see all Top Ads, Google for age-restricted ads, and Meta to download search results.
How do I know which competitor ads are working? Look for ads that have run the longest and for offers or hooks that repeat across several of them. In Europe, reach and impression ranges add a sense of scale.
Can I copy a competitor's ad? Their creative belongs to them. Study the offer, the structure and the angle, then make your own version in your buyers' words.
About the author
Daniel is the founder of Adlicio. He builds the scrapers behind it and uses them daily to turn customer comments and reviews into ad angles.
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