GetHookd Ads Library vs Facebook Ads Library
Gethookd vs Meta Ads Library
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February 12, 2026

4 Best Free Facebook Ad Library Tools in 2026

Key Takeaways

  • Facebook's Ad Library offers essential competitor research for free, but specialized tools can enhance your intelligence gathering.
  • GetHookd provides advanced performance metrics beyond Meta's basic library, including Brand Spy, clone ads, and ad templates.
  • Free tiers of premium Facebook ad library tools like Minea and BigSpy offer insights, but strategically limit functionality to upsell paid plans.

What Can Free Facebook Ad Library Tools Actually Do?

Free Facebook ad library tools let you browse competitor ads, see what creatives brands are running, and get a general sense of what's working in your niche. Most offer basic search and filtering, so you can quickly pull up ads without paying for a subscription. 

The tradeoff is depth. Free tools typically limit the number of ads you can view, restrict advanced filters, and don't offer features such as extracting scripts and hooks from video creatives. For ongoing competitor tracking, creative production, or team collaboration, you'll eventually hit a wall.

Here are the best free Facebook ad library tools to try, along with what you can realistically expect from each.

GetHookd: Turn Competitor Intelligence Into Your Next Winning Ad

65M+ Ads Analyzed | 4.8★ G2 Rating | 4.4★ Trustpilot Rating

Stop Guessing. Start Scaling:

GetHookd reveals which ads your competitors are actively scaling—not just running. Spy on their best-performing creatives, landing pages, and traffic strategies, then turn proven concepts into testable campaigns in seconds with AI-powered script generation and creative cloning.

What You Get:
  • ✓ Brand Spy to decode competitor ad strategies in real-time
  • ✓ AI script generation and ad cloning for instant variations
  • ✓ Performance scoring based on actual ad behavior, not vanity metrics
  • ✓ Creative Analyzer to identify and scale your top performers
Replace guesswork with intelligence. Build profitable ads that actually convert.

4 Best Free Facebook Ad Library Tools to Try in 2026

1. GetHookd

Here’s how the GetHookd Explore Ads dashboard looks.

GetHookd is an ad intelligence and creative production platform built for marketers, dropshippers, and ecommerce teams. Our database includes high-quality 65M+ high-performing ads across Meta platforms, including Facebook, to help you find proven concepts fast. 

But unlike most Facebook ad library tools, GetHookd doesn't stop at research. We built tools to help you act on what you find: save ads to a permanent swipe file, extract scripts from video ads, generate hooks and angles using frameworks from 8-figure campaigns, and clone winning creatives with AI-powered variations.

We offer a 7-day free trial with full access, so you can test everything before committing. If you're serious about reducing wasted ad spend and creative guesswork, GetHookd gives you the research and production tools to scale profitably.

Key Features That Set GetHookd Apart

Brand Spy

Analyze any competitor's ad strategy in one view. See their full Facebook ad library, top converting creatives, hooks, formats, landing page destinations, and how often they're launching new ads. Know what's winning before you spend a dollar.

Explore Ads

Browse over 65 million high-performing ads on Facebook. Filter by niche, format, benchmarks, and style to find what's converting in your market. There’s also a "limit ads per brand" feature that keeps your feed clean, so there’s no endless scrolling through the same advertiser.

Save Ads & Swipe File 

Build a personal library organized by folders and boards. Your saved ads stay accessible forever, even after they disappear from the original ad library.

Ads Transcription

Convert winning Facebook video ads to text and extract the hooks, CTAs, and messaging that make them work. Skip the manual note-taking and get straight to the structure behind high performers.

AI Script Generation

Upload a winning ad, add your product details, and let the AI copywriter (trained on frameworks from marketers who've driven millions of dollars in sales) generate hooks, angles, and scripts in seconds.

Clone Ads

Turn one winning image into dozens of variations. New colors, avatars, formats, and styles, almost instantly, without touching design software.

Ad Templates & Funnel Templates

Plug-and-play designs modeled after million-dollar campaigns. Swap in your product, adjust the copy, and launch without a designer or dev team.

Connect your Meta account to GetHookd's Creative Analyzer and analyze performance in real time.

Who GetHookd Is Best For

If you've been using Meta's free Ad Library but find yourself copying links into spreadsheets, saving screenshots to random folders, or rewatching video ads just to write down the hook, GetHookd is built for you. 

Ecommerce brands, media buyers, and agencies who need more than a search bar get a full system: organized swipe files, transcriptions, competitor tracking, and AI tools to turn research into ready-to-test creatives.

2. Meta Ad Library

Meta Ad Library search results with basic filters. (Image source: Meta Ad Library)

Meta Ad Library is the official, completely free tool for browsing ads running across Facebook and Instagram. Anyone can access it without creating an account. 

You can search by advertiser name, keyword, or category, and filter by country or platform. It's the most direct way to see what a competitor is currently running, and because it's Meta's own transparency tool, the data is up to date.

Meta Ad Library is built for transparency, not research workflows. There are no folders, organization tools, transcription, or performance indicators. 

Meta Ad Library Key Features

The native Meta Ad Library provides comprehensive coverage across Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and Audience Network. You can search any brand's complete portfolio, view historical campaigns dating back several years, and download media for reference. For political and social issue ads, spending ranges and impression data are also visible.

Meta Ad Library Limitations

Meta's free library has several significant limitations that specialized tools address. The most frustrating is the lack of performance indicators. You can see every ad, but have no way to determine which ones are actually successful without external signals.

The search functionality is also quite basic, limiting your ability to find ads by specific targeting parameters, objectives, or performance metrics. This often results in time-consuming manual scrolling through large ad sets to find relevant examples. 

Once you've found ads worth studying, you'll need separate tools to transcribe scripts, generate variations, or create new concepts from what you've learned. Platforms like GetHookd eliminate that gap by combining research and creative production in a single platform.

3. Minea

Minea Meta ad library interface. (Image source: Minea)

Minea is an ad spy tool built primarily for ecommerce sellers looking to find winning products. It offers a free plan with 200 credits, providing access to its Facebook and Instagram ad database and basic filters. 

For users focused on product discovery, Minea enables browsing ads and identifying trending items. Unlike GetHookd, it does not offer creative production tools.

Minea Key Features

The free version provides access to basic product and ad discovery features, though with significant limitations. 

  • Cross-Platform Coverage: Tracks ads across Facebook and Instagram.
  • Product Focus: Organized around products rather than advertisers or creative approaches.
  • Store Analysis: Provides insights into stores running successful product campaigns.
  • Engagement Data: Shows limited engagement metrics on the free plan.
  • Trending Products: Highlights items gaining traction based on advertising activity.

Minea Limitations

The free version of Minea includes substantial limitations to showcase the platform's capabilities while encouraging upgrades. The credit system depletes quickly with regular use, particularly when accessing detailed ad information or loading more results. 

The platform also provides limited historical data on the free tier, making trend analysis difficult without upgrading. For marketers who want to study ad creatives, save them permanently, and build on them, GetHookd offers a workflow designed to support that goal.

4. BigSpy

BigSpy offers filters, but the cluttered interface takes getting used to. (Image source: BigSpy) 

For marketers who want a no-commitment way to browse competitors’ Facebook ads and get a feel for what's running, BigSpy provides basic free access.

The free plan includes up to 5 searches per day and lets you view up to 25 ads per search, which is sufficient for casual browsing but quickly runs out during serious research sessions.

BigSpy's interface is packed with filters and data, though some users find it cluttered compared to more streamlined alternatives.

BigSpy Key Features 

The free version provides limited but functional access to BigSpy's ad database. You can browse Facebook ads using basic keyword and advertiser filters, with up to 5 searches per day and 25 ads visible per search. The platform allows up to 20 ad downloads daily for offline reference, and you can sort results by country, ad type, and engagement metrics.

BigSpy Limitations

The free plan is designed more as a trial than a sustainable research tool. Five daily searches with 25 results each means you'll hit the ceiling fast if you're tracking multiple competitors or exploring different niches. 

Landing page insights, featured ads, and ad ideas are locked behind paid plans, so you're seeing creatives without the context of where they're driving traffic.

For marketers who want organized research, saved swipe files, and tools to actually build from what they find, BigSpy's free tier leaves significant gaps that platforms like GetHookd are designed to fill.

Best Free Facebook Ad Library Tools At a Glance

Tool Free Access Key Features Limitations Best For
GetHookd 7-day Free trial (full access) 65M+ ads, Brand Spy, Ads Transcription, Save Ads & Swipe File, AI Script Generation, Clone Ads, Ad & Funnel Templates Trial period only Marketers, dropshippers, and ecommerce teams who want to research, save, and create ads from one platform
Meta Ad Library Completely free Search by advertiser/keyword, filter by country and platform, view active ads, and download media No save or organize features, no performance data, ads disappear when campaigns end, manual tracking required Quick competitor checks and verifying what's currently running
Minea 200 free credits Facebook ad search, basic filters, Chrome extension, trending products Credits deplete quickly, product-focused, not creative-focused, no swipe file or AI tools, limited historical data Teams focused on product discovery
BigSpy Free plan (5 searches/day, 25 ads per search) Facebook ad search, basic filters, ad downloads, engagement metrics Strict daily limits, cluttered interface, no landing page insights on free plan, data freshness delays Casual browsing and beginners testing ad research tools

Why GetHookd Outperforms Free Facebook Ad Library Tools

Facebook ad library tools serve a general purpose: they let you browse what competitors are running and get a surface-level view of the market. But browsing isn't a strategy. Eventually, you're left with screenshots scattered across folders, URLs copied into spreadsheets, and no clear system for turning research into results. 

GetHookd solves this problem. We built a platform where research and creative production happen in the same place. You're not just looking at Facebook ads. You're also saving time by analyzing what works and creating new variations without switching tools or hiring a designer.

Every feature is designed to move you from insight to execution faster than your regular Facebook ad library tools allow. For ecommerce brands, media buyers, and marketing teams tired of jumping between ad libraries, transcription tools, and design software, GetHookd brings everything under one roof. 

Try GetHookd Now →

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Are Facebook Ad Library tools completely free to use?

Meta Ad Library is free and requires no account, but it only lets you browse and search for ads. There's no way to save, organize, or analyze what you find, and ads disappear once campaigns stop running. For marketers who need more than basic browsing, GetHookd offers a 7-day free trial with full access to research tools, video transcription, and AI-powered creative features.

What features should I prioritize in a Facebook ad library tool?

Look for search filters that let you narrow results by niche, format, and engagement. A save-or-swipe file feature is essential for organizing research without relying on screenshots and spreadsheets. Transcription tools help you quickly extract hooks and CTAs from video ads. And if you're running ads at volume, AI-powered creative tools save hours of manual work.

What are some of the best tools for Facebook/Meta Ads currently?

The best tool depends on whether you want to browse ads or take action on what you find. Most free options stop at search; you can view ads, but there's no system for analyzing or building on them. If you're looking for a tool that supports the full workflow from research to usable ad creatives, GetHookd is built for that.

*Note: Pricing and/or product availability mentioned in this post are subject to change. Please check our website for current pricing and stock information before making a purchase.