Key Takeaways

• Ad budgets shrink fast when creative decisions rest on instinct, so competitor research is the cheapest form of insurance you can buy before launching.
• Three habits carry most of the weight: run a dedicated ad intelligence tool, work the Meta Ad Library by hand, and match your format choice to what your niche rewards.
• The four platforms worth your time are GetHookd, Windsor.ai, AdSpyder, and BigSpy.
• GetHookd pairs the deepest competitor research on this list with creative production, while Windsor.ai suits attribution reporting, AdSpyder saves post-click pages, and BigSpy sorts by engagement.
• GetHookd turns competitor findings into launch-ready scripts and variations, so research and production happen in one place.

The Fastest Way to Find Winning Facebook Ads

There are two ways to find winning Facebook ads. You can search the Meta Ad Library by hand, brand by brand, or use an ad intelligence tool that surfaces proven performers in seconds. Either way, what you find becomes the shortlist of formats you test next.

The difference matters because ad spend is unforgiving. Every campaign built on guesswork burns budget you could have put behind a concept already proven in your market. Studying what works first shortens your testing cycle and gives each creative a real reason to exist.

That research gets faster with GetHookd. Our library holds 23 million high-performing ads across Facebook, TikTok, and Google, filterable by niche, format, engagement, and run time. You can spot the patterns your competitors are scaling, then build your own version without leaving the platform.

Tips for Finding Best Performing Facebook Ads

Before jumping into tools, it helps to understand the research behaviors that separate high-performing advertisers from those who just guess and spend. These practical approaches will sharpen your process regardless of which tools you use. 

1. Use a Dedicated Ad Intelligence Tool

Ad intelligence tools are purpose-built for one thing: showing you what’s winning. Platforms like GetHookd pull from massive databases of real ads and surface the ones with the strongest engagement signals. You can filter by industry, ad format, platform, and run time, allowing you to see ads that have been running long enough to prove they’re profitable. 

When using these tools, look beyond the creative itself. Pay close attention to the hook (the first three seconds or first line of copy), the call to action, and whether the ad drives to a landing page or directly to a product. These structural patterns repeat across winning ads and give you a replicable framework for your own campaigns.

2. Browse Through Meta Ad Library

Meta’s Ad Library is free, global, and updated in real time. Go to facebook.com/ads/library, select your country, choose “All Ads” as the category, and search by brand name or keyword. You’ll see every active ad that advertiser is running, including the creative, copy, and the date it launched. 

While you won’t get click-through rates or ROAS data, you can infer performance from how long an ad has been running and whether it appears across multiple placements.

3. Experiment with Various Ad Formats

For Facebook ads, what works in one niche may fall flat in another. The most consistently high-performing formats include:

• Video ads: Especially short-form with strong hooks in the first 3 seconds
• Carousel ads: Ideal for e-commerce, letting you showcase multiple products or benefits in a single unit
• UGC-style creatives: User-generated content that mimics organic posts tends to outperform polished, brand-heavy visuals
• Single image ads: Still effective when paired with direct, benefit-driven copy and a clear CTA
• Collection ads: Best for mobile shopping experiences, combining video with product catalog integration

Studying top-performing ads in your niche will quickly reveal which formats dominate. Use that intel to prioritize your creative production before you launch.

Best Tools to Find Top Performing Facebook Ads

1. GetHookd

GetHookd is one of the most comprehensive ad intelligence platforms available, giving marketers access to over 23 million high-performing ads across Facebook, TikTok, and Google. Its Ad Spy Tool lets you filter by niche, format, engagement level, and run time so you can zero in on exactly the kind of ad creative that’s working in your market. 

What makes GetHookd particularly powerful is the combination of a massive ad database with an AI Ad Generator, meaning you can go from research to ready-to-launch creative without switching platforms. For teams that need to move fast and test frequently, this kind of end-to-end workflow is a genuine competitive edge.

Reviewers on Trustpilot praise the ad spy feature, size of the ad library, how much faster it is than manual Meta Ad Library searching, and a responsive support team.

2. Windsor.ai

Windsor.ai handles Facebook Ads from the analytics side rather than the creative research side. It pulls your own Facebook Ads data into a single dashboard alongside other channels, which suits marketers tracking cross-channel attribution and campaign-level ROI.

For advertisers running Meta, Google, and TikTok at the same time, it maps which touchpoints contribute to conversions. It supports advanced Facebook Ads Insights fields beyond the standard set, and connects to spreadsheets, BI tools, and data warehouses.

Windsor.ai holds a 4.4 G2 rating. Reviewers commonly cite the breadth of connectors, flat-rate pricing, and responsive support. Common criticisms include a learning curve when first configuring a destination, and reviewers noting the gap between the entry tier and the next plan up feels steep.

3. AdSpyder

AdSpyder is an ad research tool covering Facebook alongside several other ad networks, including Google Search, display, and ecommerce ads. Its Facebook features let you search by keyword, advertiser, country, and ad type, with filters spanning more than 30 parameters, including domain and destination URL.

The tool also captures landing pages, saving the post-click destination next to the ad creative. That lets you review the full funnel rather than the creative alone, which is useful if you study offer structure and hooks.

AdSpyder holds a 3.8-star rating on Trustpilot. Positive reviews mention accessible setup for beginners and useful landing page and funnel insights. Recurring complaints center billing, cancellations, and support. 

4. BigSpy

BigSpy is an ad database covering Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, Twitter, and other platforms. A free tier allows limited daily searches, with deeper filters and export options on paid plans.

Its main Facebook feature is engagement-based sorting, which ranks ads by likes, shares, and comments. Since ROAS data is not public, engagement combined with a long run time acts as a rough proxy for performance, though it does not confirm profitability.

BigSpy holds a 4.6 rating on G2. Reviewers note the global database size, filtering system, and clear data organization. Criticisms include useful features locked behind higher-tier plans and loading delays with large result sets. Some reviewers also report ads marked active that have already stopped running.

Tools for Finding Winning Facebook Ads: Summary Table

Tool	Best For	Key Strength
GetHookd	Ad research plus creative production	23M+ ad library, Brand Spy, AI script and ad cloning
Windsor.ai	Cross-channel attribution and ROI	Connects Meta, Google, TikTok data into one dashboard
AdSpyder	Full-funnel research	Saves landing pages next to ad creatives
BigSpy	Broad multi-platform browsing	Engagement-based sorting, free tier available

Unlock Winning Facebook Ads with GetHookd

Finding winning Facebook ads comes down to research. The Meta Ad Library shows you what’s running, and run time plus engagement hints at what’s actually working. The real decision is how much time you spend digging manually before you turn those findings into campaigns worth testing.

We pull 23 million high-performing ads into one searchable library, then let you filter by niche, format, and engagement to see what your competitors are scaling. From there, our AI tools turn proven concepts into your own scripts and variations. Start your free GetHookd search today.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What are the best Facebook ads to use?

The best Facebook ads depend heavily on your industry, offer, and audience, but video ads with a strong hook in the first three seconds, UGC-style creatives, and carousel ads showcasing multiple products consistently outperform other formats across most niches. The most reliable way to find what works specifically for your market is to study what your competitors are running using a tool like GetHookd, then test and iterate from there.

Is the Meta Ad Library free to use?

Yes, the Meta Ad Library is completely free. You can access it at facebook.com/ads/library without an account and search any active advertiser by name or keyword to see every ad they’re currently running. 

What is the best performing content on Facebook?

Across the platform broadly, short-form video content drives the highest engagement, particularly content that feels native to the feed rather than overly produced. For paid ads specifically, the highest-performing content tends to share a few consistent traits: a strong hook, social proof elements (testimonials, reviews), a clear CTA, benefit-led copy, and mobile-first formatting. 

What are the best days to run Facebook ads?

There is no universal best day, since results depend on your audience, industry, and offer. Midweek often performs well for B2C campaigns, but the more reliable approach is to run without dayparting at first, then check your own Ads Manager breakdown by day and time.

What does GetHookd do?

GetHookd is an ad intelligence and creative platform for Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and Google ads. It combines a searchable ad library with competitor research through Brand Spy, plus AI tools for ad scripts, transcriptions, and image variations. 

*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.