Native ad spy tools for Taboola, Outbrain and MGID

Native ad spy tools collect the sponsored "recommended for you" ads that Taboola, Outbrain, MGID, Revcontent and similar networks place under articles, and let you search them by advertiser, keyword or landing page. The main ones are Anstrex, AdPlexity Native, SpyOver, Native Ad Buzz and Adbeat, with PowerAdSpy covering native on its upper plans. Most are built for affiliate marketers and media buyers; Adbeat is the one aimed at brand advertisers.

You need a paid tool here more than for Google or Meta ads, because native networks publish no ad library. The guide to public ad libraries lists every official library, and none of them covers native.

How we chose

Every tool below was checked on its own site on 4 October 2026 to confirm it is live, which native networks it names and what it charges. Tools that only mention native in passing were left out. Prices below were read from each vendor's own pricing page on 4 October 2026, in US dollars.

If you searched for Anstrat: anstrat.com is a Spanish-language digital agency, not an ad tool. The native spy tool is Anstrex.

Native ad spy tools compared

The tools

Anstrex Native, the widest coverage for the price

Anstrex Native covers 27 or more native networks, including Taboola, Outbrain, MGID, Revcontent, Yahoo, Content.ad and Dianomi, across about 65 countries. It is priced per user: $79.99 a month for Native alone, $139.99 bundled with push ads and $219.99 with push and pop ads.

Limits. No free trial and no refunds; you get a free demo instead. Its own FAQ says it does not cover Facebook or display banner ads, so it is a native specialist and nothing else.

AdPlexity Native, for affiliate and arbitrage work

AdPlexity Native shows ads on Outbrain, Taboola, MGID "and many more", and its filters are built around affiliate work: filter by affiliate network (it names MediaForce, ClickBank and BuyGoods) and see top ads on arbitrage networks such as Tonic and Sedo. It is $249 a month, or $208 a month on yearly billing, which the page labels 20% off.

Limits. No free trial, by its own FAQ. Each AdPlexity product (native, desktop, mobile, push) is a separate subscription, so covering more than native adds up quickly.

SpyOver, for coverage outside the usual markets

SpyOver monitors 11 networks, including Outbrain, MGID, Taboola, Yahoo, Revcontent and smaller ones such as AdNow and Engageya, in 150 countries. You can filter by more than 70 affiliate networks and 8 trackers, and download ads and landing pages. Professional is $149 a month for two simultaneous sessions; Corporate is $299 for six. Free demo access gives a limited slice of the data.

Limits. The site and data lean towards affiliate and arbitrage campaigns. Brand advertisers will find less to learn from.

Native Ad Buzz, the cheapest entry

Native Ad Buzz starts at $47 a month for Taboola and Outbrain only, desktop ads, one month of data and two countries (UK and US). Pro, at $97, adds 8 more networks, mobile, all history and 12 countries. Every plan starts with a $7, 7 day trial.

Limits. The site has not been redesigned in years (its footer still links to Google+), so use the trial to check how fresh the ads are before paying for a month.

Adbeat, for brand advertisers

Adbeat covers display, programmatic and native ads together, on desktop and mobile in 35 countries, and shows which publishers and networks an advertiser uses. Standard is $249 a month or $200 a month on yearly billing, with 90 days of data; Advanced is $399 ($315 yearly) with a year of data. There is a free basic account and a 30 day satisfaction guarantee on paid plans.

Limits. Native is one slice of its coverage, and its strength is the publisher and placement view rather than affiliate funnels. Adbeat alternatives covers what else is in its space.

PowerAdSpy, if you also need social

PowerAdSpy is a social ad spy tool first. Native appears only from the Platinum plan, at $279 a month or $1,004 billed yearly, alongside YouTube and Google Search. Below that, Basic covers Facebook and Instagram, and Standard adds Pinterest and the Google Display Network.

Limits. The page does not say which native networks it covers. If native is your main channel, a specialist will serve you better. See PowerAdSpy alternatives.

The free checks to run first

Look for native pixels on their site. Open a competitor's landing page, then the browser's developer tools, and search the network requests for taboola or outbrain. A conversion pixel suggests they buy native traffic now or did recently.

Browse where the widgets live. Open a few large news sites in your target country in a private window and read the sponsored units under articles. Slow and patchy, but free, and it shows you the ads in context.

Follow the landing page. If you find one of their native ads, the landing page URL often carries tracking parameters that name the network and campaign.

None of this gives you history or volume. That is what the paid tools are for.

Who should pick what

• Affiliate or arbitrage media buyer on a budget: Anstrex Native.
• Affiliate team that also works arbitrage networks such as Tonic and Sedo: AdPlexity Native.
• You run campaigns outside the US and UK: SpyOver.
• You want to test the category for $7: Native Ad Buzz.
• Brand or B2B advertiser checking a competitor's display and native buys: Adbeat.

Our own tool, Figo, does not cover native ads. It reads the Google, Meta and TikTok ad libraries, which is useful for the rest of a competitor's advertising, but for Taboola and Outbrain you need one of the tools above. For the wider category, see the ad spy tools roundup.