BigSpy vs AdSpy: networks, limits and prices
BigSpy vs AdSpy compared: BigSpy covers 11 ad channels with a free plan, AdSpy goes deep on Facebook and Instagram for $149. Limits, prices and who suits which.
BigSpy vs AdSpy is breadth against depth. BigSpy covers 11 ad channels, including Facebook, TikTok, Google, YouTube and mobile ad networks such as AppLovin, has a free plan, and starts at $69 a month for Facebook and Instagram. AdSpy covers Facebook and Instagram only, for one published price of $149 a month, and goes deeper on search: ad comments, affiliate networks and offer IDs. Pick BigSpy for creative research across several networks. Pick AdSpy if Facebook and Instagram are your whole market, especially for affiliate and ecommerce work.
Prices below were read from each vendor's own pricing page on 4 October 2026. AdSpy's price comes from its homepage, because its pricing URL returned an error.
BigSpy vs AdSpy at a glance
| BigSpy | AdSpy | |
|---|---|---|
| Networks | 11 channels, including Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Google, YouTube and AppLovin | Facebook and Instagram |
| Database (vendor's claim) | 1 billion+ ad creatives, 80+ countries, 26 languages | 211.9 million+ ads, 30.2 million+ advertisers, 225 countries, 88 languages |
| Free plan | Yes: Facebook only, 5 searches and 20 downloads a day | None stated |
| Entry price | Starter, $69/mo (Facebook and Instagram) | $149/mo, one plan |
| Multi-network price | Growth, $159/mo | Not offered |
| Seats | 1 per plan, except Scale at $399/mo with 5 | Not stated |
| Annual billing | Yearly option at 20 to 30% off; prices not shown | Not shown |
| Search strengths | Creative charts, copy research, TikTok Shop and ecommerce product data | Ad comments, affiliate network and ID, offer ID, landing page technology |
The database figures come from BigSpy's homepage and AdSpy's homepage. They count different things, ads versus creatives, so do not compare them directly.
What each costs
BigSpy
| Plan | Monthly | Networks | Downloads a day | Tracked creatives |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $69 | Facebook, Instagram | 50 | 100 |
| Growth | $159 | Adds X, TikTok, Pangle, Google Ads, YouTube | 300 | 500 |
| Scale | $399 | As Growth, 5 seats | Growth limits per seat | Growth limits per seat |
| Ultimate | $499 | Adds Pinterest, Yahoo, Unity Ads | 3,000 | 1,000 |
All paid plans include unlimited queries and TikTok Shop data, and they auto-renew. The free plan sits below Starter. BigSpy shows a yearly option at 20 to 30% off, but the yearly prices did not appear in what we could read. BigSpy alternatives covers its rivals.
AdSpy
One plan at $149 a month with "virtually unlimited usage". AdSpy's homepage calls it "an introductory offer" that "will not be the same for long". No annual option, free plan or trial is shown, and the checkout page was not read, so confirm the price before you pay. More on AdSpy pricing.
The limits that bite
BigSpy Starter is two networks. The moment you need TikTok or YouTube you are on Growth at $159, more than AdSpy.
BigSpy is one seat per plan. Two or three people sharing the research means Scale at $399.
BigSpy's daily caps. Fifty creative downloads a day on Starter runs out quickly in a research sprint.
AdSpy is Facebook and Instagram only. If TikTok, YouTube or Google matter in your market, AdSpy cannot help at any price.
AdSpy's price is labelled temporary. Budget for it to change.
Where BigSpy wins
- Networks. TikTok, YouTube, X and Google, plus app and game networks such as AppLovin, Unity and Pangle. If you advertise a mobile app or game, BigSpy covers places AdSpy does not.
- A free plan to test the interface on Facebook before paying.
- Ecommerce extras. TikTok Shop data and product research across 40 ecommerce sites, including Shopify and Amazon, according to its homepage.
- Trend views. Creative charts for popular, rising and new creatives, useful for spotting formats that are taking off.
Where AdSpy wins
- Search depth on Facebook and Instagram. Ad text, URL and page name, plus a comment search: as AdSpy puts it, "social media users are labelling ads for you".
- Affiliate filters. Filter by affiliate network, affiliate ID, offer ID and landing page technology. AdSpy says it was built by affiliates for affiliates.
- Audience filters. Location, gender and age range.
- One flat price. "Virtually unlimited usage" against BigSpy's daily download caps.
BigSpy vs AdSpy: who should pick which
Pick BigSpy if you advertise on TikTok, YouTube or app networks, want to start free, or research creative trends across several platforms.
Pick AdSpy if Facebook and Instagram are your whole ad world, you run affiliate offers or ecommerce, and you want to search comments and filter by offer.
When neither is the right tool
If you want to see what a specific competitor is running, the free libraries already do it. The Meta Ad Library shows every active Facebook and Instagram ad, and Google and TikTok run their own. How to see every ad a competitor is running covers all three. Spy tools earn their fee when you are searching across thousands of advertisers for patterns, not when you are watching five rivals. The best ad spy tools lists more options.
For knowing what named competitors changed each week, Figo reads the Meta, Google and TikTok ad libraries for each rival and emails you when new ads appear after its weekly check. The same Monday briefing covers their pages, pricing and reviews, and plans start at $49 a month. Ours, so judge accordingly. It does not search across advertisers, rank ads by engagement or estimate spend, so it is not an ad spy tool.
Questions people ask
Is BigSpy free?
There is a free plan, shown on BigSpy's homepage. It covers Facebook only, with 5 searches and 20 creative downloads a day, and no ad copy, creative charts or page analysis. Paid plans start at $69 a month.
Does AdSpy have a free trial?
None is stated on its site. The only published price is $149 a month, which AdSpy calls an introductory offer.
Do these tools show how much a competitor spends on ads?
Neither publishes spend figures on the pages we read. BigSpy's examples show impression figures, popularity and how long an ad has run; AdSpy filters by likes, reactions and when an ad was last seen. Treat all of these as signals, not budgets.
What is the best free alternative to both?
The Meta Ad Library for Facebook and Instagram, the Google Ads Transparency Center for Google, and the TikTok Ad Library. They show a named advertiser's ads for free, though coverage varies by platform and region, and they lack the engagement filters and multi-network search that spy tools add.
See it on your own competitors
Figo checks their ads, pages, rankings and reviews every week, then tells you what to do in plain words. Set up in two minutes.
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