Competitor ads: how to see every ad a rival app runs, and which ones work

Where competitor ads show up, and where to search for each

There is no single place that shows everything a rival app pays for. Each platform keeps its own public library, and each one leaves out something. For an app, four places cover most of it.

• Meta Ad Library: every ad currently running on Facebook, Instagram and Meta's other apps. It is free. It shows no spend, reach or installs for normal ads. This is where most app ads live: Cal AI had 230 active ads, AI Cleaner 359 and Learna 2,250 when we collected them.
• Google Ads Transparency Center: ads on Search, YouTube and Display, searchable by advertiser or website, with the region and the last date each ad ran. Story apps buy heavily here. It listed 200 ads for DramaBox's site and 900 for DramaWave's, while DramaBox had only 2 Meta ads.
• TikTok's ad library: it covers only ads shown in the EU, the EEA, the UK and Switzerland, so most US campaigns are missing, and an app name search often returns other companies' ads.
• Creator posts: paid TikToks and Reels from creators are ads in every way that matters to you, but they sit in no library. You find them by searching the app name, its promo codes and its hashtag on TikTok and Instagram.

Apple Search Ads has no public library at all, so a competitor's paid App Store search ads cannot be checked anywhere.

Why a competitor's ad library is empty even when they grow fast

The most common surprise is searching an app you know is huge and finding nothing. That usually does not mean they spend nothing. It means they pay creators instead of buying ads.

• Umax: 0 Meta ads and 0 Google ads, yet 54 creators found posting about it. The founder says they spent $200,000 on influencers in launch month.
• RIZZ: the app says a pay per view network of faceless creators drove 5b+ views and 15m downloads. No paid app ads were found in the public libraries, and 56 creators were found.
• Verbi: 0 Meta ads. It grows through TikTok skits where the AI tutor scolds wrong answers, from its own account at 27.1K followers and 26 creators.
• Swipewipe: only 13 active Meta ads, but its creator agency says it delivered over 200 TikTok Spark ads per month. Spark ads run from the creator's own post, so they look like normal TikToks.

So when the libraries come back nearly empty, the competitor's real ads are the creator videos. That matters for an indie developer: this is also the cheaper route, because a small creator post costs less than a week of Meta tests that bring almost no installs.

UmaxSee how Umax gets its usersRIZZSee how RIZZ gets its usersVerbiSee how Verbi gets its usersSwipewipeSee how Swipewipe gets its users

Competitor ad analysis: how to tell which ads work

No library shows a competitor's installs or return on spend. Two signals stand in for them, and both are visible for free.

• Days running. An advertiser stops paying for an ad that loses money. An ad still live after months is almost always making money. One Plant Parent ad had run 213 days, and one LazyFit ad 361 days.
• Versions. When an ad works, the team cuts it into many copies with new hooks, sizes and languages. Cal AI's top ad, a cartoon mascot explaining calories with real phone footage, had 80 versions after 169 days. Suno's top ad, a screen demo of its studio, had 208 versions.
• Distinct videos, not ad count. Learna's 2,250 active ads come from only 65 distinct videos with 5,150 versions. A huge ad count often means a few winners rebuilt many times, which is the part worth studying.

Ads that are new and have one version tell you nothing yet. They are tests. DramaWave's top ads in our sample had run 7 days or less, so they show what the team is trying, not what works. Sort by the oldest ads with the most versions, and ignore the rest.

What to write down for each winning competitor ad

Watching ads is not the work. Writing down the same few things for each winner is, because the pattern only shows across ten or more ads. For each long running ad, note:

• The first words or on screen text. AI Cleaner's most versioned ad opens on "Many people have iPhones and don't know they can download a free cleaner" and had 91 versions in 26 days.
• The format: a person talking to camera, a screen demo, a voiceover over clips, a before and after, a skit. Praktika runs one format almost only: 25 of its 27 analysed ads are creators talking to camera.
• The length. Cal AI's two most versioned talking head ads run 21 and 15.7 seconds. AI Cleaner's top ad is 27.7 seconds.
• The promise. LazyFit's long runner is a plain outcome line: "How to lose 30 pounds in 28 days".
• The language and country. Learna runs its videos in Spanish, Vietnamese and Turkish. Plant Parent buys users with Spanish language ads. Speak runs Spanish focused Meta ads for US learners.

After ten ads from three competitors you will see the same two or three hooks and formats repeat. Those are what your category's buyers respond to.

What competitor ads look like by kind of app

Where to look first depends on the kind of competitor you have. In our data the apps fall into three groups.

• Ads first: utility and tool apps such as AI Cleaner, Learna, Plant Parent and LazyFit put almost everything into Meta video ads with a few scripts rebuilt many times. Start in the Meta Ad Library.
• Creators first: social and self improvement apps such as Umax, RIZZ, Verbi and GoTall grow through creator posts. GoTall has 40 creators found posting about it and only 10 active Meta ads. Start on TikTok.
• Both, in order: Cal AI built a network of 65 creators found posting, 20 with promo codes, and then copied the creator style into its Meta ads. Suno and Praktika do the same. Check creators first, then see which of their videos became ads.

AI CleanerSee how AI Cleaner gets its usersLearnaSee how Learna gets its usersCal AISee how Cal AI gets its usersPraktika – AI Language TutorSee how Praktika – AI Language Tutor gets its users

How to copy a competitor's ads on a small budget

Copy the format and the hook pattern, never the video itself, the brand or the creator's face. Then test it where it costs least.

• Pick the three oldest, most versioned ads or creator posts from two or three competitors.
• Rewrite each hook for your app, keeping the structure. "Many people don't know they can" works for any app with a hidden benefit.
• Film it yourself or pay small creators to post it as a normal TikTok, which is what Umax, RIZZ and Swipewipe did.
• Only when one post clearly beats your others, put money behind it as an ad and make versions of it, the way Cal AI turned its creator style into Meta ads.
• Check the competitor's ads again every two weeks. New ads that survive past a month are their next winners.

Questions

How do you see competitor ads on Facebook and Instagram?

Open the Meta Ad Library at facebook.com/ads/library, set the country to All and the category to All ads, and search the app name and the publisher's name. It shows every ad currently running on Facebook and Instagram, with its start date and how many versions exist, but no spend for normal ads.

How do you see competitor ads on Google?

Search the competitor's website or company name in Google's Ads Transparency Center. It covers Search, YouTube and Display, with the region and the last date each ad ran. Some apps buy heavily there: it listed 200 ads for DramaBox's site and 900 each for DramaWave's and Speak's.

How do you see competitor ads on TikTok?

TikTok's ad library only covers ads shown in Europe, so for the US search the app name, its promo codes and its hashtag in TikTok itself. Many apps pay creators instead of running ads. Umax shows 0 Meta ads but 54 creators posting about it.

Can you see how much a competitor spends on ads?

Not in the public libraries. Meta shows spend only for political and social issue ads, and none of the libraries show spend for app ads. Use how long an ad has run and how many versions it has as the signal instead.

What is competitor ad analysis?

Collecting a competitor's long running ads and writing down the same things for each one: the first words, the format, the length, the promise and the language. After ten or more ads, the hooks and formats that repeat are the ones that work in your category.

Is it legal to copy competitor ads?

Copying a format or a hook structure is normal practice. Reusing their actual video, music, brand name or a creator's face without permission can break copyright and trademark rules and the platforms' ad policies, so film your own version.