TikTok ad spy tools: free libraries and paid options

A TikTok ad spy tool shows you which ads other advertisers are running on TikTok, so you can study their creative, offers and hooks. Start with TikTok's own two free tools: the Ad Library for a named competitor and the Creative Center for ideas. Pay for a spy tool only when you need ads outside Europe, product research for ecommerce, or a searchable archive.

Start with TikTok's own tools

TikTok Ad Library

The TikTok Ad Library, part of what TikTok calls its Commercial Content Library, lets you search by an advertiser's exact or partial name, or by keyword, and filter by the country an ad targeted and the date it was last shown.

Its coverage is the catch. TikTok's developer documentation lists the supported countries as the 27 EU member states, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, the UK and Switzerland. Ads stay in the library while they run and for a year after they were last shown.

Best at: checking what a named competitor is running in Europe, from TikTok's own records, for nothing.

Limits: nothing for advertisers who only run ads elsewhere, including the US.

TikTok Creative Center: Top Ads

The Top Ads section of the Creative Center showcases what TikTok calls "high-performing auction ads". You can filter by region, objective, ad language, ad format and likes, and sort by reach or click-through rate.

Best at: creative inspiration across many countries, including the US. It is the fastest way to see what formats and hooks are working in your category.

Limits: it is a curated showcase, not a record. A competitor's ads only appear if TikTok chooses them, so you cannot use it to see everything one advertiser runs.

Between the two, a European advertiser can watch competitors for free and anyone can study what works. The TikTok Ad Library guide walks through both step by step.

How we chose the paid tools

We looked for tools that say they cover TikTok ads on their own pricing page today, and read each price from that page on 4 October 2026. Several sell mainly to dropshippers, so we note where a tool is built for product research rather than competitor tracking.

TikTok ad spy tools compared

The paid tools

PiPiAds

PiPiAds is built around TikTok and also covers Facebook ads, TikTok Shop and product rankings. Plans run on credits: listing results costs one credit per item returned and opening an ad's details costs 20. Basic shows as $49 a month in a flash sale against a list price of $69, for 30,000 credits a month and one user; Advanced is $99, list $159, for 100,000 credits. Paying annually brings Basic to $411 a year at the sale price. The free trial gives 500 credits but no detail views.

Best at: ecommerce sellers hunting for products and creatives that are already working on TikTok.

Limits: credits run down faster than you expect when you open details, they do not roll over, and one account allows one device login. The sale prices have a countdown, so check what you will pay on renewal.

BigSpy

BigSpy only includes TikTok from its Growth plan at $159 a month for one seat, which also covers Facebook, Instagram, X, Google Ads, YouTube and Pangle. The $69 Starter plan is Facebook and Instagram only. Scale at $399 a month gives five seats. Annual billing is advertised at 20% to 30% off.

Best at: one search across many ad networks, if TikTok is one of several you care about.

Limits: the entry price does not include TikTok, which catches people out, and team use needs the $399 plan.

Minea

Minea's pricing page lists Facebook ads on every plan and says "Snapchat, Pinterest, TikTok ads (coming soon)". It also runs a marketing page for a TikTok ad spy. Starter is $49 a month, or $34 billed annually.

Best at: dropshippers who mainly research Meta ads and influencer product placements.

Limits: its own pricing page does not yet list TikTok ads as included, so confirm in the free account before paying for TikTok specifically.

Figo, for competitors rather than products

Ours, so judge accordingly. Figo reads the TikTok Ad Library once a week for each competitor you track, alongside the Google Ads Transparency Center and the Meta Ad Library, and sends an email and Slack alert when a new ad appears. The Monday briefing puts those ads next to the competitor's new pages, pricing, rankings, social posts and reviews. Plans start at $49 a month for 3 competitors.

Because it reads TikTok's own library, it inherits the library's coverage: ads shown in Europe, the UK and Switzerland.

Do not pick Figo for product research, for browsing ads across a whole category, or if your competitors only advertise on TikTok outside Europe. A spy tool or the Creative Center fits those jobs better.

Reading a competitor's TikTok ads

Finding the ads is the easy half. Four things to note for each competitor, every few weeks:

1. What keeps running. An ad still live after a month is probably profitable. A dozen ads gone within a week were tests that failed.
2. The first two seconds. TikTok ads live or die on the hook. Write down the opening line or visual of each long-running ad.
3. Creator or brand. Whether they use creators, staff or polished brand video tells you where they think trust comes from.
4. The offer. Discount, free trial, bundle or nothing. Offers change more often than creative and say more about how sales are going.

For the wider picture across every network, see how to see every ad a competitor is running, and for their organic TikTok, the TikTok competitor analysis guide.

Which to use

• Your competitors advertise in Europe: the TikTok Ad Library, free.
• You want creative ideas, any country: the Creative Center's Top Ads, free.
• Ecommerce product and creative research on TikTok: PiPiAds.
• TikTok is one of several networks you research: BigSpy Growth.
• Mostly Meta ads, TikTok later: Minea, once TikTok is live on its plans.
• You want to be told when named competitors launch ads on TikTok, Google and Meta: Figo.

The broader ad spy tools roundup covers Google, Meta and display tools.