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Best Ad Spy Tools for Affiliate Marketing [2025 Ranking]

Best Ad Spy Tools for Affiliate Marketing [2025 Ranking]

by Andrea Knezovic

Affiliate marketing is all about spotting opportunities before others do. That’s where ad spy tools come in.

These platforms let you see what kinds of ads competitors are running, which creatives are performing best, and in some cases, even the landing pages they’re sending traffic to.

Whether you’re scaling on TikTok, testing YouTube campaigns, or pushing native traffic, the right ad spy tool gives you a serious advantage. In this article, we’ll cover the top 10 ad spy tools – plus a few free options – that can help you research, analyze, and launch better campaigns.

PiPiADS ad spy tools

1. PiPiADS

  • Focus: TikTok and Facebook ad spy tool for affiliates. Hosts millions of ad creatives and product insights.
  • Features:
    • Huge library: 30–50+ million TikTok ads, plus Facebook data
    • Product discovery tools and intelligence on viral ads
    • Chrome extension to analyze Shopify stores
  • Pricing (as of August 2025):
    • Basic: $49/month (10k credits, 2 ad trackers)
    • Advanced: $99/month (100k credits, 10 trackers)
    • Enterprise: $900/month (1M credits, 100 trackers)
    • Annual plans save ~30%
  • Best For: Dropshippers and e-commerce affiliates focusing on TikTok/Facebook trends.

We use PiPiADS ourselves, so we know how powerful it is when running campaigns on TikTok and Facebook. The tool has a huge creative library and very precise filters, which makes finding trending products and winning ads much easier.

One of the best features is the ability to see the landing pages that ads are sending traffic to, giving us a full picture of how successful campaigns are structured. For affiliates focused on social platforms, PiPiADS is a must-have.

BigSpy ad spy tools

2. BigSpy

  • Reach: Covers multiple ad platforms – Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Google, Instagram, plus e-commerce sites.
  • Highlights:
    • Massive library (1 billion+ ad creatives)
    • Affordable: basic plan for $9, Pro from $99/month
  • Best For: Beginners or budget-conscious affiliates needing broad platform coverage.

BigSpy is known as one of the most accessible ad spy tools, especially for affiliates who don’t want to spend a fortune. Its biggest strength is the huge ad library, with over a billion creatives collected across major platforms.

It also supports e-commerce sites, which makes it useful for dropshippers tracking product trends. With a free tier available and Pro plans starting under $100, BigSpy is a solid choice for anyone just getting started or looking for a budget-friendly alternative to premium spy tools.

Anstrex ad spy tools

3. Anstrex

  • Platforms: Native, push, pop, dropshipping.
  • Features:
    • Landing page “ripper” for quick funnel replication
    • AI-assisted ad creation
    • Wide database with real-time updates
  • Pricing: Starts at ~$69.99/month for single format; combined packages up to ~$219.99
  • Best For: Affiliates focused on native and push ad creatives and funnels.

Anstrex is a powerful tool for affiliates who run campaigns on native and push traffic sources. One of its standout features is the landing page ripper, which lets you instantly copy and customize competitor funnels for testing. On top of that, it includes AI-assisted ad creation to speed up the process of building variations.

The platform’s real-time database is consistently updated, so you’re always looking at fresh campaigns. With flexible pricing depending on which ad formats you focus on, Anstrex is a strong choice for affiliates scaling on native and push networks.

AdPlexity ad spy tools

4. AdPlexity

  • Platforms Covered: Native, mobile, desktop, push, adult, YouTube, and more.
  • Highlights:
    • Advanced filters (by keyword, advertiser, traffic source)
    • One-click landing page downloads (complete assets)
    • Competitor alerts when new campaigns launch
  • Pricing: From $124/month to $208/month; depending on the platform
  • Best For: Experienced affiliate marketers who need deep insights across diverse ad types.

AdPlexity is one of the most recognized ad spy tools in affiliate marketing. It has built its reputation by offering wide coverage across multiple ad formats, making it a go-to solution for professionals who run campaigns on different networks.

The ability to instantly download and analyze landing pages is a huge time-saver, while competitor alerts ensure you never miss a new campaign launch.

Although it comes with a higher price tag than some alternatives, the depth of data makes it worth the investment for serious marketers.

Foreplay ad spy tools

5. Foreplay

  • What It Does: Instead of simple spying, it streamlines your creative workflow using saved ads and AI tools.
  • Key Features:
    • Swipe File: Save ads from TikTok, Facebook, Instagram with one click via Chrome extension
    • Spyder Ad Spy: Real-time monitoring of competitors’ ads, with unlimited history
    • AI Briefs & Storyboards: Generate creative assets directly from ad inspiration
  • Pricing:
    • Inspiration plan: $44/month (core features)
    • Full Workflow: $89/month (AI features included)
    • 7-day free trial available and ~15% discount on annual plans
  • Best For: Teams or creative marketers focused on efficient ad ideation and execution.

Foreplay is less about traditional ad spying and more about building and organizing creative inspiration.

The standout feature is the swipe option: whenever you see an ad you like, you can save it with one click and it’s automatically stored on the Foreplay platform. What makes this unique is that every saved ad becomes part of a shared library, meaning you can access ads other users have swiped since the platform launched – even if those ads are no longer live.

This creates a massive, community-driven archive of ads across social platforms, making Foreplay an invaluable tool for creative research and brainstorming.

PowerAdSpy ad spy tool

6. PowerAdSpy

  • Coverage: Facebook, Instagram, Google ads.
  • Strengths:
    • Real-time engagement data
    • Advanced filters (geo, keywords, competitor domain)
    • Ad bookmarking and inventory management
  • Pricing: 3 day trials available for $1 or $7, depending on the plan; full feature plans range from ~$69 to ~$399/month
  • Best For: Social affiliate marketers focusing on responsive filtering and insights.

PowerAdSpy is built with social ad research in mind, especially for Facebook and Instagram campaigns. It provides detailed engagement data in real time, so you can see exactly how audiences are responding to an ad.

The platform also has strong filtering options, allowing you to search by keywords, competitor domains, or geographies to find relevant ads. With features like bookmarking and inventory management, it’s also great for organizing and tracking the creatives you want to test. Its tiered pricing makes it accessible whether you’re just starting out or running larger campaigns.

VidTao ad spy tool

7. VidTao

  • Platform: YouTube ad intelligence.
  • Capabilities:
    • Access to unlisted YouTube ads
    • Download transcripts with timestamps
    • See estimated daily ad spend and performance data
    • Keyword search and daily updated database
  • Pricing:
    • Offers free usage, plus a 7-day free trial for advanced features, depending on group-buy options
  • Best For: Affiliates running YouTube campaigns or scouting video ad strategies on a budget.

VidTao is designed specifically for YouTube advertisers and affiliates who want to analyze video campaigns.

It gives you visibility into both live and unlisted ads, so you can track competitor strategies in detail. Features like ad transcripts and estimated daily spend provide valuable insights into how much is being invested into each campaign.

Since VidTao also offers a free plan, it’s one of the easiest ways to start researching YouTube ads without a big upfront investment.

Semrush advertising research

8. Semrush

  • Type: Full-service marketing suite with ad spy components.
  • Capabilities:
    • Competitor ad analysis, PPC keyword research, backlink/SEO tools
  • Pricing: Pro $139.99/month; Guru $249.99; Business $499.99
  • Best For: Affiliates needing integrated advertising and SEO insights.

Semrush is more than just an ad spy tool – it’s a comprehensive marketing suite. While its advertising research features let you analyze competitor ads and keywords, the real value comes from combining those insights with SEO, content, and backlink data. This makes it especially useful for affiliates who manage both paid and organic campaigns.

It’s not the cheapest option, but for marketers looking for a single platform that covers ad intelligence and full digital marketing needs, Semrush stands out as a complete solution.

AdBeat ad spy tool

9. AdBeat

  • Focus: Display, native, programmatic ad networks.
  • Features:
    • Real ad spend data across 120+ networks
    • Reporting alerts, campaign benchmarking by country/device
  • Pricing: Standard $249/month; Advanced $399; custom for Enterprise
  • Best For: Affiliates and agencies specialized in display/native strategies.

AdBeat is one of the most established tools for analyzing display and native ads. It provides detailed breakdowns of how much competitors are spending across more than 120 ad networks, which is a big advantage if you’re working with programmatic traffic.

The platform also includes benchmarking tools that let you compare campaigns by device, country, or network. While the price point is higher than some other spy tools, AdBeat is ideal for affiliates and agencies that rely heavily on display and native ads and want to track competitor budgets and placements with precision.

SpyPush ad spy tool

10. SpyPush

  • Formats Covered: Push, native, popunder, adult ads.
  • Offering:
    • Flexible individual plans at $49/month each format, or combined package at $99/month
    • Free trials available for all formats
  • Best For: Affiliates targeting diverse, niche ad formats like push and popunder.

SpyPush is a specialized tool built for affiliates who run campaigns in push and popunder traffic, as well as native and adult formats. Its biggest advantage is flexible pricing – you can choose to subscribe only to the formats you use, or bundle them together at a discount.

The tool also offers free trials, which makes it easy to test before committing.

For affiliates working outside the mainstream Facebook and Google channels, SpyPush provides reliable visibility into less common ad formats where competition is often lower but still profitable.

Bonus: Free Ad Libraries

Meta Ads Library

Meta’s Ads Library is a free tool that shows all active ads running on Facebook and Instagram. You can search by keyword, advertiser name, or page to see creative variations and placements. While it doesn’t provide engagement stats or funnel insights, it’s still valuable for a quick look at what competitors are currently running.

Google Ads Transparency Center

The Google Ads Transparency Center lets you see ads running across Google properties, including YouTube, Search, and Display.

You can search by advertiser or region to see the creative and copy being used. It doesn’t include performance data, but it’s useful for confirming what campaigns are live on Google’s network.

TikTok Creative Center (Ads Library)

TikTok’s Creative Center includes an Ads Library where you can see top-performing ads on the platform. You can filter by industry, region, and campaign objective to find relevant examples.

While it’s not as comprehensive as paid tools like PiPiADS, it’s an easy, free way to track trends and get inspiration directly from TikTok.

Final Thoughts on Ad Spy Tools

The competition in affiliate marketing is fierce, but the right ad spy tools make it easier to stay ahead. From TikTok-focused platforms like PiPiADS to multi-channel giants like AdPlexity, each tool brings something unique to the table.

Even the free ad libraries from Meta, Google, and TikTok can provide useful insights if you’re on a budget.

The key is choosing the tool that fits your traffic sources and goals. With the right ad intelligence, you’ll save time, spot trends faster, and make smarter decisions about which campaigns to launch next.

Explore More Affiliate Marketing Tools

Udonis

About Udonis

Udonis is an independent full-service mobile marketing agency that acquired more than 300,000,000 users for mobile games since 2018.

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