BigSpy Alternatives (2026): 8 Ad Libraries and Creative Tools

Ask a media buyer why they're leaving BigSpy and you'll usually hear one of two answers. They want a different archive of other people's ads, or they want a better way to save, brief and report on their own.

The eight tools below are listed in no particular order and grouped by the job they do: libraries that search across platforms, product finders for ecommerce, a YouTube library, and creative workflow and reporting tools. Seven of the eight come from small, independent teams, so expect focused tools rather than giant suites.

Archive or workflow: decide this first

Ad libraries come and go. MagicBrief, one of the better-known creative research tools in this space, has announced on its own site that it's closing after its team joined Canva. Anyone who'd built swipe files and briefs around it now has to move them somewhere else.

That's the part most comparison lists skip. The tools below split into two camps, and the split matters more than any feature grid:

• Archives. Big searchable collections of other brands' ads, filtered by platform, niche or product. Useful for research, ideas and spotting what competitors keep running.
• Workflows. Places to save ads you like, turn them into briefs and report on how your own creative performs. Useful once you're producing ads every week.

Some teams need both, and that's fine, but buy each one for its own job. Whichever you pick, export your saved boards regularly so a shutdown or a switch doesn't wipe out months of collecting.

The eight tools side by side

Tool	Kind of tool	Good for
AdFlex	Cross-platform ad library	One search across Meta, TikTok, Google and native
Adheart	Facebook and Instagram creative spy	Competitor creatives on Facebook and Instagram
Adsparo	AI product research	Finding competitors and watching their pages
Atria	AI ad workflow platform	Insight and ideas for Meta ads
Dropispy	Ecommerce ad spy	Spotting winning products through social ads
Foreplay	Ad swipe file and workflow	Saving and sharing ads as a team
Motion	Creative analytics	Reporting on which creative works
VidTao	YouTube ad library	Searching YouTube video ads by hook

Libraries that search across platforms

AdFlex searches ads across Meta, TikTok, Google and native networks with filters and competitor tracking, so it's the closest like-for-like swap if you mainly used an ad library to browse widely. Adheart narrows the focus to Facebook and Instagram creatives and also covers mobile app ads, which helps if your competitors advertise apps rather than shops.

A broad library is only as useful as its filters. Before you commit, run three or four searches you'd do in a normal week and see whether the results are recent, relevant and quick to sort. For a wider field, see my guide to the best ad spy tools.

Finding products to sell through ads

Dropispy is built for dropshippers and online retailers. It tracks ads on social networks to find products that are selling, and adds a shop spy tool for looking at the stores behind them. Adsparo takes an AI route to the same question, helping you find competitors and watch their Facebook and Instagram pages.

These suit store owners more than agencies. If product research is your main reason for using an ad library, my list of dropshipping spy tools goes deeper on that job.

When the ads you study run on YouTube

VidTao is a searchable library of YouTube video ads. You can search by hook, style and landing page, and the vendor shows spend and run time for each brand. If video is where your competitors put their effort, a video-specific library will show you more than a general one that treats YouTube as an extra.

Look at hooks first. The opening seconds of an ad a competitor keeps running tell you more than a dozen creatives they tried once and dropped.

Saving, briefing and reporting on your own creative

Foreplay started as a way to save ads from TikTok and the Facebook Ad Library, organise them and share them with a team, and the vendor now describes it as covering the whole workflow through to creative analytics. Atria is an AI-powered ad workflow platform for Meta ads, built around insight, inspiration and ideation. Motion sits at the reporting end of this group, with creative reporting for teams running social ads.

These tools earn their place once you're making ads regularly and need to know which ones work. If you mostly need ideas, an archive will do. If you need to brief designers and explain results to a client, this group is the better fit.

Ad research tools from A to Z

AdFlex

Best for: Buyers who want one search across Meta, TikTok, Google and native networks, with filters and competitor tracking; the vendor's site mentions a free plan.

Adheart

Best for: Media buyers studying competitors' Facebook and Instagram creatives, with mobile app ads covered too, from a database the vendor describes as spanning all countries and niches.

Adsparo

Best for: Online store owners using AI product research to find competitors and keep an eye on their Facebook and Instagram pages.

Atria

Best for: Meta advertisers wanting an AI-powered workflow for insight and ideation, pitched by the vendor as an AI teammate layering competitor intel and customer insight.

Dropispy

Best for: Dropshippers and online retailers tracking social ads to find winning products, with a Shop Spy tool; the vendor's site mentions a free plan.

Foreplay

Best for: Creative teams saving ads from TikTok and the Facebook Ad Library into shared, organised boards, with the vendor saying it now reaches through to performance reports.

Motion

Best for: Performance creative teams running social ads who want reporting that, in the vendor's words, shows which creative drives revenue.

VidTao

Best for: Video marketers searching YouTube ads by hook, style and landing page, with spend and run time shown for each brand.

My advice for media buyers and small agencies

Write down the last five things you used your ad library for. If they were all browsing and screenshotting, choose from the archives. If they were saving, briefing and reporting, choose from the workflow tools. Most small teams find one camp clearly wins, and the second tool can wait.

Then trial your shortlist with real work: a client brief, a product you're testing or a competitor you're watching. A demo account full of perfect examples won't tell you whether the search finds what you need.

Keep your swipe file portable

• Export saved boards to a shared drive on a regular schedule.
• Name folders by client or product, not by tool, so they still make sense outside the app.
• Keep a note of why you saved each ad. The reasoning is the part you can't download again.
• Check what an export includes before you rely on it: images, video files, links or only a list.

If a tool you rely on changes hands or closes, you'll lose the subscription, not the research.

Do you make an ad library or creative research tool? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.

Want your tool on this list? Featured spots and reviews here are paid partnerships. Here's how to partner with me.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between an ad spy tool and an ad library?

The terms overlap. An ad library usually means a searchable archive of ads, while ad spy tools add competitor tracking, filters and alerts. Many tools on this page do some of both.

Are free ad library plans worth trying?

Yes, as a test. A couple of the tools here mention a free plan on their own sites, which is a sensible way to check whether the search suits your niche before you bring the whole team in.

Do I need a separate tool for creative reporting?

Only if you're producing and testing ads often. Reporting tools connect creative to results, which matters when you're deciding what to make next, but it's more than a solo store owner usually needs.

How often should I export saved ads?

Monthly is a sensible habit for most teams, and always before you cancel or switch. Tools in this market can change owners or close.

Can one tool cover TikTok, Meta and YouTube?

Some cross-platform libraries cover several networks, but coverage varies. Check that the networks your competitors use are in the search before you sign up, and test with a competitor you already know.

Are these ad research tools ranked?

No. They're in no particular order and grouped by the job they do, because the right choice depends on whether you need an archive or a workflow.