Ads Lighthouse vs PowerAdSpy in 2026: brand-search evidence vs multi-network creative research

Ads Lighthouse is purpose-built for brand-search monitoring, not broad ad discovery. A project specifies a brand, domains, keywords, markets, devices, and schedule; the product then checks paid results on Google and Bing. Growth and higher plans also capture sponsored Google Shopping listings. Each saved result ties an advertiser domain and ad copy to the search, location, device, source, time, and destination URL that produced it. That specificity makes it useful for a brand-protection team that needs more than an inspirational ad example.

The workflow goes further than a screenshot folder. Paid Results groups observed domains and supports advertiser, keyword, copy-change, and destination drilldowns. Teams can declare affiliate URL parameters and known IDs, flag unfamiliar IDs, trace eligible destinations, and open policy cases for issues such as forbidden terms, direct linking, or unauthorized IDs. Alerts can go to email, Slack, or a webhook, while exports are available as CSV and Excel. An observation shows an ad appeared on a configured search, not what somebody bid, spent, or infringed.

Starter is a controlled entry point at $49 per month, but its one project, 20 keywords, two locations, and daily schedule make allowance planning important. Growth costs $99 and adds Shopping plus more checks and a six-hour schedule. Scale begins at $299 and is the first plan with REST API access and white-label PDFs. It is the sharp choice for a recurring brand-search evidence process, not for finding social creative or surveying every advertising channel.

PowerAdSpy approaches competitive work as a searchable ad archive. Its plans progress from Facebook and Instagram on Basic, through Pinterest and Google Display Network on Standard, to YouTube, Native, and Google Search on Platinum, then LinkedIn, TikTok, Quora, and Reddit on Palladium. A user can query a keyword, advertiser, or domain and refine results by category, call to action, country, placement, engagement, age, format, and other plan-dependent fields. That is a different job from checking whether a particular brand term was occupied at a particular moment.

Standard is where continuing research becomes practical. It adds targeting filters and unlimited ad trackers, while the product describes folders, watched competitors, saved searches, team sharing, and alerts for new creative. Platinum adds device, affiliate, ecommerce, marketing, and funnel filters, alongside an estimated ad-budget field. The classified AI Metadata Filters can help find creative by intent, hook, colour, ad type, offering type, or offer type. Those fields help a team form a testable creative hypothesis; they are not access to a rival's account or verified performance data.

Pricing is explicit: Basic is $69 monthly, Standard $99, Platinum $279, and Palladium $399. The site lists introductory three-day trials at $1 for Basic and $7 for the other tiers. The jump to Platinum is meaningful if Google Search or YouTube is the reason for buying, and it is not rational to pay it merely to duplicate Ads Lighthouse monitoring. Choose PowerAdSpy for multi-network research and ongoing advertiser watchlists, then use first-party data for campaign decisions.