Key takeaways
- The Facebook Ad Library, now the Meta Ad Library, is a free public search of active Meta ads that needs no login.
- Regular ads outside the EU show no spend, reach or targeting, and they disappear from the library once they stop running.
- Ads about social issues, elections or politics stay in the library for seven years with spend, impressions and audience data.
- Since August 2023, ads that reach people in the EU are archived for one year with targeting and reach data.
What is the Facebook Ad Library?
The Facebook Ad Library is Meta’s free, public database of ads running on its apps. You reach it at facebook.com/ads/library, and the basic search does not require a Facebook login, per Shopify’s May 2026 guide.
Meta now brands it the Meta Ad Library. It covers ads on Facebook and Instagram plus other Meta placements. Jon Loomer lists Facebook, Instagram, Audience Network and Messenger in the platform filter. Shopify’s 2026 guide also names Threads and WhatsApp.
For marketers, the value is simple. You can see the exact ads a competitor is paying to run today, with the copy, creative and landing page.
How do you search the Meta Ad Library step by step?
You search it in about 5 steps: country, ad category, keyword or advertiser, then filters. This is the flow as of October 2026.
- Open the library. Go to facebook.com/ads/library.
- Choose a country. Pick the market you sell in. Results change a lot by country.
- Choose an ad category. Pick “All ads” for normal business ads. The other options are issues, elections or politics, plus the special categories for housing, employment and financial products. Meta’s API documentation says financial products and services now replaces the old credit category.
- Search by keyword or advertiser. Type a brand name and pick it from the dropdown to see only that advertiser. Or type a niche term such as “protein powder” to see every advertiser using it.
- Apply filters. Narrow results by language, advertiser, platform, media type, active status and impressions by date.
- Open an ad. Click “See ad details” for the full copy, video and landing page link.
Two search tricks from Buffer’s guide save time. Put a phrase in quotation marks to match it exactly. Use the “|” symbol between words to match any of them.
You can also start from a Facebook Page. Open the Page, go to About, then Page Transparency, then click through to the Ad Library.
What does the Ad Library show for regular ads vs political and EU ads?
The data depends on the ad type and where it ran. Regular ads outside the EU show the least.
| Data point | Regular ads (outside EU) | Social issue, election or political ads | Ads that reach the EU |
|---|---|---|---|
| Creative, copy, CTA, landing page | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Start date and platforms | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Inactive ads visible | No, removed when they stop | Yes, for seven years | Yes, for one year |
| Spend | No | Yes, as a range | No |
| Reach or impressions | No | Yes | Yes, total reach by country, age and gender |
| Targeting | No | Audience size and delivery data | Yes, location, age and gender |
| Who paid | No | Yes, the disclaimer | Yes, payer and beneficiary |
Sources for the table: Jon Loomer (updated March 2025), Buffer (October 2024) and Shopify (May 2026).
Political and social issue ads
These ads stay searchable for seven years. In May 2025, Axios reported that Meta began removing political ads for the first time since the library launched in 2018. Facebook had said at launch that archived ads would be stored for seven years.
Meta also stopped delivering political, electoral and social issue ads in the EU from early October 2025. It cited the EU’s new political advertising regulation.
EU ads
In August 2023, Meta said it would display and archive all ads that target people in the EU for a year. That includes the dates an ad ran, targeting parameters such as age, gender and location, and who was served the ad. This is why searching with an EU country selected often shows more detail than searching the United States.
How do you use the Ad Library for competitor research?
Use it to answer four questions: what angles competitors use, what offers they push, which formats they favor and which ads they keep running.
Angles
Read the first line of copy and the first 3 seconds of each video. Sort ads into angles such as price, speed, quality, social proof or fear of missing out. Count which angle shows up most often.
Offers
Note every offer: percent off, free shipping, bundles, free trials or a lead magnet. Click through to the landing page to see the full offer and price. Frequent discounts can signal a brand that relies on promotions.
Formats
Filter by media type to see the split between video and image ads. Check placements in the platform filter. Buffer suggests looking for formats or platforms competitors avoid, since gaps can be worth testing.
How long ads run
Check the start date on each active ad. Buffer and Shopify both say long running ads usually point to what works for that brand. Sort the longest running ads to the top of your notes. Ads with several versions suggest the brand is testing.
A simple process:
- List 5 to 10 competitors, plus 2 brands you admire in other markets.
- Search each one with “All ads” and your main country selected.
- Screenshot the longest running ads and any ad with several versions.
- Log the angle, offer, format, start date and landing page in a sheet.
- Pick 2 or 3 patterns to test in your own account, rewritten for your brand.
- Repeat monthly, since inactive regular ads disappear from the library.
What are the limits of Ad Library data?
The biggest limit is that regular ads outside the EU show no spend or results. A long running ad is a clue, not proof. A brand may leave a weak ad on by mistake, or spend very little on it.
Other limits to keep in mind:
- No history for regular ads. Outside the EU, non political ads disappear once they stop running.
- API coverage is narrow. The Ad Library API returns ads that did not reach the EU only if they are about social issues, elections or politics.
- Keyword searches are not translated. Meta’s API docs say it does not translate keyword searches, so search in each market’s language.
- Branded content is separate. Creator partnership posts sit in their own search. It only covers posts live on or after August 17, 2023 and shows no impression data.
- No other networks. Google, TikTok and other platforms are not included.
Copying a competitor’s ad does not copy their margins. Before you scale any idea, find the return you need with the break even ROAS calculator. Then compare it to a good ROAS for ecommerce. SureSocial runs Meta ads and Google ads, and you can book a free 30 minute strategy call to talk through what you found.
FAQ
Is the Facebook Ad Library free?
Yes. The Meta Ad Library is free to use, and the basic search works without logging in to Facebook.
Can you see how much a competitor spends on Facebook ads?
Not for regular ads outside the EU. Spend ranges appear only for ads about social issues, elections or politics.
How far back does the Meta Ad Library go?
Regular ads outside the EU show only while active. Ads that reached the EU stay for one year, and political or social issue ads stay for seven years.
Can you see a competitor’s targeting in the Ad Library?
Only for ads that reached people in the EU. Those show the targeting location, age and gender, plus reach by country, age and gender.
Sources
- Meta Ads Library: 9 Ways To Use It in 2026 (Shopify)
- Meta Ad Library (Jon Loomer)
- Meta Ad Library 101: 7 Ways to Use the Facebook Ad Library to Improve Your Ads (Buffer)
- Ads Archive, Graph API Reference (Meta for Developers)
- Meta to start removing expired ads from political ad archive (Axios)
- Ending Political, Electoral and Social Issue Advertising in the EU in Response to Incoming European Regulation (Meta)
- New Features and Additional Transparency Measures as the Digital Services Act Comes Into Effect (Meta)
