Is the Facebook Ad Library free to use?

Yes. Meta publishes it for public transparency and anyone can search it for free. This tool is free too and does not need an account.

Can I see any brand's ads?

You can see ads that are currently active for any advertiser that runs ads on Meta. Ads that have stopped running are generally not shown in this tool.

How do I tell which ads are working?

You cannot see sales, but the number of days an ad has been running is a good proxy. Advertisers tend to switch off ads that do not pay back, so long-running ads are the ones to study first.

What is the difference between this and the Meta Ad Library website?

This tool gives you one brand's live ads in a single list, sorted by how long they have run, and links straight back to each ad in the Ad Library. It saves the filtering.

Can I download the ads?

You can download an ad's image for reference. Please use competitor ads as research and inspiration, and do not reuse their creative or copy in your own advertising.

Ads

Facebook Ad Library search

Type a brand name or website and see the Meta ads it is running right now, with the longest-running ads first. No login, no sign-up.

How to use the Facebook Ad Library search

1Type a brand name or a website, such as gymshark or gymshark.com.
2If several pages match, pick the right one from the list.
3Scroll the live ads. The ones that have run the longest are shown first.
4Open any ad in the Meta Ad Library, download the image, or have Gimme Gimme make ads like these for your brand.

What the Meta Ad Library is

Meta publishes every ad that is currently running across Facebook, Instagram and its other apps in a public database called the Ad Library. Anyone can look up any advertiser, and no account is needed to see the ads themselves.

This tool searches that library for you. Instead of working through filters and pages, you type a brand and get its live ads in one list.

Why the longest-running ads matter

Advertisers do not keep paying for ads that lose money. An ad that has been live for 60, 90 or 200 days is usually one the brand is happy with, which makes run time one of the few public signals of what is working for a competitor.

That does not prove an ad is profitable, because you cannot see sales. But when a brand has run the same angle for months while retiring others, it is a strong hint worth learning from.

How to use what you find

Look for patterns, not single ads. Which hooks does the brand repeat? Does it lead with the product, a result, a testimonial or an offer? Are the long-runners all one format?

Copy the thinking, never the creative. Take the angle that keeps appearing and make it your own with your brand, your product and your words. Studying five or six competitors this way gives you a stack of angles to test.

Competitor research without the copy-paste

Gimme Gimme does this research for you. Give it your website and it studies your brand and your competitors' longest-running Meta ads, then designs distinct, on-brand static ads. Your first ads are free and need no sign-up.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Facebook Ad Library free to use?: Yes. Meta publishes it for public transparency and anyone can search it for free. This tool is free too and does not need an account.
Can I see any brand's ads?: You can see ads that are currently active for any advertiser that runs ads on Meta. Ads that have stopped running are generally not shown in this tool.
How do I tell which ads are working?: You cannot see sales, but the number of days an ad has been running is a good proxy. Advertisers tend to switch off ads that do not pay back, so long-running ads are the ones to study first.
What is the difference between this and the Meta Ad Library website?: This tool gives you one brand's live ads in a single list, sorted by how long they have run, and links straight back to each ad in the Ad Library. It saves the filtering.
Can I download the ads?: You can download an ad's image for reference. Please use competitor ads as research and inspiration, and do not reuse their creative or copy in your own advertising.

Want finished ads, not just numbers?

Drop in your website and Gimme Gimme studies your brand and your competitors' longest-running Meta ads, then designs distinct, on-brand ads for you. Your first ads are free.