Comparison

AdSpy vs Free Ad Diagnosis Tool in 2026: Competitor creative research vs guided account diagnosis

AdSpy searches observed Facebook and Instagram advertising with deep creative and affiliate filters. Free Ad Diagnosis Tool turns a marketer’s entered Google Ads or Meta Ads figures into a practical first-pass funnel investigation.

Updated October 21, 2026
AdSpy
Free Ad Diagnosis Tool
Key takeaways
  • AdSpy is a $149-per-month Facebook and Instagram advertising database, while Free Ad Diagnosis Tool is free to use with no published paid tier.
  • Free Ad Diagnosis Tool has separate Google Ads and Meta Ads paths and does not require an ad-account connection.
  • AdSpy publishes filters for ad text, comments, URLs, reactions, demographics, affiliate networks, affiliate IDs, Offer IDs, and landing-page technologies.
  • The free tool can derive directional CPC, CPL, and conversion-rate figures, plus Meta CTR, CPM, frequency, and video signals where those inputs are supplied.
  • AdSpy observations cannot establish a competitor’s targeting settings, conversion rate, spend, or profitability.
  • The diagnosis tool can print a result and compare it locally with a prior result, but it does not publish a shared workspace, scheduled report, or account sync.

These products answer different questions. AdSpy starts outside an account, helping a researcher inspect observed Facebook and Instagram ads, public comments, affiliate identifiers, and visible landing-page paths. Free Ad Diagnosis Tool starts with the advertiser’s own numbers and asks adaptive questions about a Google Ads or Meta lead funnel. Choose AdSpy when the open question is how a category, offer, or affiliate campaign is being marketed on Meta. Choose the free tool when a campaign is producing expensive or weak leads and the immediate decision is whether to inspect traffic, tracking, conversion, qualification, creative, or audience exposure first. Neither connects to a live account, changes a campaign, or proves performance. They can complement one another only after the account diagnosis identifies a creative or audience hypothesis worth researching.

The tools at a glance

ToolStarting priceBest for
AdSpy$149/monthAffiliate marketers and paid-social researchers who repeatedly need to interrogate Meta creative, public comments, visible landing pages, and offer identifiers before planning original tests.
Free Ad Diagnosis Tool$0, free to useSmall advertisers and generalists with their own funnel figures who need a no-cost, structured starting point before a manual Google Ads or Meta Ads audit.

AdSpy

Facebook and Instagram ad research for affiliate offers, creative angles, comments, and visible landing-page paths

Full review →
AdSpy screenshot

AdSpy is a Meta advertising research database. Its core search controls cover ad copy, advertiser name, URL, reactions, media type, last-seen timing, and ads that appear to have run longest. The company publishes a collection figure of more than 213 million ads, 30 million advertisers, 88 languages, and 225 countries. Those vendor-published coverage figures are not a guarantee that every campaign or market will appear, but they explain why the product is built for broad discovery rather than monitoring a short saved list.

The specialist filters are the reason to choose it over a basic advertiser lookup. A researcher can search public comment keywords, affiliate network, affiliate ID, Offer ID, and landing-page technologies, then inspect visible ads and offer paths. That is useful when an affiliate marketer receives an offer and wants to understand how others frame it, or when a paid-social strategist wants to compare recurring claims, formats, reactions, and market patterns before writing an original brief.

AdSpy does not authenticate into the buyer’s ad account, publish campaign-management controls, or expose competitor results. Its demographic and market-oriented fields are research leads because the public materials do not state the source or accuracy of underlying targeting data. At $149 monthly, it earns its place only when deliberate creative research is recurring. A single troubled lead campaign is normally better served by first diagnosing first-party funnel data.

Pricing
Feature
AdSpy subscription
$149/month
UsageVirtually unlimited, as published
Facebook and Instagram ad research✓
Public comment search✓
Affiliate and Offer ID search✓
Refund policyFull refund within 24 hours, according to the information page
Best for: Affiliate marketers and paid-social researchers who repeatedly need to interrogate Meta creative, public comments, visible landing pages, and offer identifiers before planning original tests.

Free Ad Diagnosis Tool

Free guided Google Ads and Meta Ads funnel diagnosis that identifies the first area to investigate

Full review →
Free Ad Diagnosis Tool screenshot

Free Ad Diagnosis Tool is a first-pass troubleshooting aid for advertisers who have campaign figures but lack a clear investigation order. It begins with the stated problem: poor-quality leads, high cost per lead, a performance drop, high CPC, enough leads but insufficient sales, or uncertainty about the problem. Follow-up questions change according to earlier answers, so a website lead path receives landing-page questions while an instant-form path is asked about qualification.

The Google path distinguishes Search, Performance Max, Shopping, Display, YouTube, and other campaign types. It asks about intent fit, Quality Score for Search, location targeting, conversion tracking, and post-click clarity. The Meta path asks about creative format, objective, and audience approach. For short video or Reels it also asks for three-second views and ThruPlays. From supplied figures, it can derive CPC, CPL, conversion rate and, for Meta, CTR, CPM, and frequency when the inputs allow it.

The result shows a health score, confidence percentage, a first focus area, funnel stages, and up to four suggested actions. That is useful framing, not an account audit. It inherits the quality of entered figures and cannot inspect settings, query terms, placement reports, or actual lead quality. A printable result and browser-local comparison help a small team, but there is no published paid plan, shared workspace, account connection, or automated change capability.

Pricing
Feature
Free Ad Diagnosis Tool
$0, free to use
Google Ads diagnostic path✓
Meta Ads diagnostic path✓
Ad-account connection required✗
Printable result✓
Published paid tiersNone published
Best for: Small advertisers and generalists with their own funnel figures who need a no-cost, structured starting point before a manual Google Ads or Meta Ads audit.

Head-to-head feature comparison

Feature
AdSpy
Free Ad Diagnosis Tool
Primary jobCompetitor creative researchGuided funnel diagnosis
Price$149/monthFree
Evidence sourceObserved Meta advertisingUser-entered metrics and answers
Facebook and Instagram creative searchYesNo
Google Ads diagnosisNoYes
Meta funnel calculationsNoYes, where inputs support it
Affiliate Offer ID researchYesNo
Account connectionNoNo
Live account editingNoNo

Which should you choose?

Affiliate marketer researching a Meta offerAdSpy
Small advertiser unsure whether traffic, tracking, or conversion is the first issueFree Ad Diagnosis Tool
No-cost pre-auditFree Ad Diagnosis Tool
Researcher needing public comments or landing-page technology filtersAdSpy
Buyer seeking live account changesNeither
Team seeking proof of competitor profitabilityNeither

Free Ad Diagnosis Tool is not a cut-down AdSpy. It gives an account owner a disciplined way to ask what needs checking next, while AdSpy gives a researcher external examples and offer signals. Start with the free tool if the business has a live performance problem and cannot yet name the bottleneck. Use AdSpy once the team has a defensible hypothesis about creative, positioning, audience fatigue, or an affiliate offer and needs references for an original test. The combination is useful only if the final decision remains grounded in the advertiser’s own account and conversion data.

Bottom line

Choose AdSpy for recurring Meta creative and affiliate research, especially when comment, Offer ID, or landing-page-technology filters will change what the team investigates. Choose Free Ad Diagnosis Tool when the immediate need is an ordered, free review of your own Google Ads or Meta funnel. Neither replaces a live account audit, and neither should be used to make claims about a competitor’s targeting precision, spend, conversion rate, or profitability.

Frequently asked questions

Can Free Ad Diagnosis Tool search Facebook ads and comments like AdSpy?

Free Ad Diagnosis Tool cannot search Facebook ads or comments because it diagnoses numbers and answers entered for the user’s own Google Ads or Meta campaign. AdSpy is the option here for searching observed Facebook and Instagram ads, including public comment keywords.

Is AdSpy worth $149 per month for a small business with one troubled Meta campaign?

AdSpy is usually not the first purchase for a small business with one troubled Meta campaign because it researches external creative rather than diagnosing the business’s own funnel. The free diagnosis tool is a better first step when the team needs to identify whether traffic, tracking, conversion, lead quality, creative, or audience exposure is the likely issue.

Does Free Ad Diagnosis Tool connect to Google Ads or Meta Ads before calculating a result?

Free Ad Diagnosis Tool does not connect to Google Ads or Meta Ads because it derives a directional diagnosis from metrics and answers entered by the user. It cannot inspect live campaign settings, query terms, placements, or lead records, and it cannot modify an account.

Which tool helps an affiliate marketer find an Offer ID promoted on Instagram?

AdSpy helps an affiliate marketer investigate an Offer ID promoted on Instagram because its published filters include affiliate network, affiliate ID, and Offer ID research for Facebook and Instagram ads. Free Ad Diagnosis Tool has no competitor-ad database or affiliate search surface.

Can either tool tell me why a competitor’s Meta ad is profitable?

Neither AdSpy nor Free Ad Diagnosis Tool can establish why a competitor’s Meta ad is profitable because observed creative and self-entered funnel figures do not reveal the competitor’s full targeting, costs, conversion data, or margin. Use the material to form an original test, then judge that test with your own account data.

Photo of Filipe Lins DuarteReviewed by Filipe Lins DuarteCo-Founder & CEO

Vast experience talking to customers and users to understand what good software looks like. Background spans commercial and product roles.

Photo of John RiceChecked by John RiceCo-Founder & CTO

15+ years building tech products and web applications. Conducted hundreds of user interviews to know what a good product looks like.

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