In affiliate marketing, the competition is intense, and the key to success often lies in your ability to monitor your rivals and adjust your strategies accordingly.
A new wave of ad spy tools is emerging in 2025, allowing marketers to move past simple data tracking.
These advanced tools provide in-depth insights into competitor tactics, revealing aspects like ad designs, keyword usage, traffic sources, and audience interactions.
Whether you’re into affiliate marketing or native advertising, knowing which spy tool aligns with your goals is essential.
This article will analyze the top 9 ad spy tools in 2025: Adplexity, SemRush, SimilarWeb, Anstrex, AdSpy, PowerAdSpy, BigSpy, AdBeat, and SpyPush.
Each tool has its unique strengths, but we’ll break down how each can empower you to outperform the competition in key areas like ad campaigns, keyword strategies, and landing page optimization.
What is an ad spy tool?
An ad spy tool is a type of software that allows marketers, advertisers, and businesses to monitor and analyze competitors’ ads. It does this by collecting data from different advertising networks; users can see what type of ads their competitors are running, on different platforms, and what their performance metrics are.
This is our list of the best spy tools for affiliate marketing:
1) Adplexity
AdPlexity is considered the OG of spy tools, as it has been on the market for over 10 years now, and with a database of millions of ads, it is the perfect choice If you’re serious about running profitable ad campaigns.
It’s perfect for affiliate marketers and advertisers who crave detailed, actionable insights. What sets Adplexity apart is its ability to spy on various channels, including desktop, mobile, native ads, push notifications, YouTube ads, and even adult campaigns.
If you’re searching for profitable display ads, AdPlexity’s Adult and Desktop solutions have you covered.
Whether you’re an affiliate trying to replicate successful funnels or a business owner keeping an eye on your competitors, Adplexity simplifies the process of discovering what’s effective so you can replicate that success for yourself.
Key Features of Adplexity:
– Multi-Channel Coverage:
Most spy tools focus on one or two channels, but Adplexity offers data across desktop, mobile, native, adult ads, YouTube ads, and push ads, covering a broad spectrum of digital advertising platforms. It doesn’t just show you ads, it reveals the entire campaign architecture behind them including landing pages.
– Global Reach:
Adplexity tracks ads from over 75 countries, making it ideal if you’re running international campaigns or looking to expand your reach globally.
– Advanced search filters:
One of Adplexity’s standout features is the search filters where you can search for a specific advertiser, search ads by keyword, etc.
– Download Landing Pages: You can download any landing page in just one click.
– Set Alerts on Competitors: You can set an alert on any competitor and get notified whenever they post a new campaign.
Adplexity’s Integration with LanderLab: A Game-Changer for Conversion Optimization
Adplexity stands out from other spy tools thanks to its smooth integration with LanderLab. Thanks to this integration you can import any landing page you find on AdPlexity directly to LanderLab.
Picture this: you can quickly snag your rival’s top-performing landing pages, tweak them a bit, and test different versions.
The LanderLab integration offers a two-way workflow, allowing you to create or duplicate a landing page and immediately test different variations with various traffic sources to find out which ones perform best.
This integration between Adplexity’s ad intelligence and LanderLab’s landing page cloning helps marketers save time and money by minimizing the need for a developer or designer for your landing pages and boosting conversion rates through testing based on real data. You can try LanderLab free for 7 days.
Why Adplexity Works for You:
– Superpower for Affiliate Marketers: The ability to track ads, networks, and landing pages together makes this tool indispensable for anyone running paid traffic, especially in competitive niches.
Cons:
– The price point might be too high for startups or those just starting out with smaller budgets.
Pricing:
AdPlexity has different branches so to see all the details, visit the pricing page.
2) SemRush
SemRush stands out from tools that only concentrate on ads because it’s like a Swiss Army knife for marketers. While it’s famous for its SEO capabilities, SemRush has grown into a versatile platform that offers everything from keyword research to backlink monitoring and insights on display advertising.
In 2025, it’s an ideal choice for businesses looking to manage both their organic and paid marketing strategies at the same time.
Standout Features:
– Keyword Gap Analysis:
SemRush helps you identify what keywords your competitors are ranking for that you might be missing, providing immediate opportunities to refine and expand your content strategy.
– Competitor PPC Monitoring:
SemRush doesn’t stop at organic insights. Its ad research features help you track and analyze your competitors’ display advertising efforts, giving you a glimpse into their bidding strategies, ad creatives, and spending patterns.
SemRush’s versatility makes it ideal for agencies or businesses with multiple touchpoints in their marketing funnel—from SEO to PPC and beyond.
Cons:
– The sheer volume of tools within SemRush can be overwhelming for smaller teams looking for a more streamlined process.
3) SimilarWeb
If you’re all about traffic insights, SimilarWeb is definitely the way to go. Unlike those ad-focused spy tools, SimilarWeb really digs into the traffic sources and audience behaviors that help your competitors thrive.
It’s an awesome choice if you’re curious about where your competitors are getting their traffic—be it organic, paid, or referral—and which channels are bringing in the most engagement.
Top Features:
– Traffic Analysis:
SimilarWeb gives you a complete breakdown of your competitors’ traffic sources, allowing you to identify the best-performing channels.
– Audience Insights:
You can also analyze demographic information, which is invaluable for identifying potential market segments that your competitors are targeting but you’ve overlooked.
What Makes It a Good Choice:
SimilarWeb’s holistic view of traffic makes it the go-to tool for marketers focused on refining and expanding their top-of-the-funnel strategies. It’s less about spying on specific ads and more about understanding the bigger picture of digital marketing ecosystems.
Cons:
– Less actionable when it comes to specific ad creatives or keyword strategies compared to Adplexity or SemRush.
4) Anstrex
Anstrex is the go-to tool for anyone focused on native or push advertising.
For marketers eager to master native advertising, Anstrex provides an extensive collection of native ad data that offers much more than just a glimpse at the creatives.
Key Features:
– Comprehensive Ads Database:
With thousands of ads across industries, Anstrex enables marketers to filter by publisher, advertiser, and network.
Example to use Anstrex:
Imagine you’re a health supplement brand. With Anstrex, you can find native ads that are converting in your niche, analyze the landing pages tied to them, and pinpoint exactly what messaging or offers are driving clicks.
Cons:
– Focuses heavily on native and push, so you’ll need additional tools for social, display ads.
– Not as intuitive for beginners compared to AdPlexity.
5) AdSpy
If you’re looking to dominate Facebook and Instagram ads, AdSpy is the ultimate tool for you. It boasts the biggest collection of social ads out there, letting you really dig into what your competitors are doing. You can spot the ads that are killing it, analyze how they’re targeting their audience, and use those insights to boost your own campaigns.
Key Benefits:
– Massive Ad Database:
AdSpy offers more than 100 million Facebook and Instagram ads, covering every imaginable vertical, giving you the ability to search by ad text, audience, or engagement metrics.
– Filter by Engagement:
Looking to see which of your competitors’ ads are getting the most likes, shares, and comments? AdSpy lets you filter ads by these metrics so you can prioritize the ones that are truly driving results.
Cons:
Limited to social media ads, lacking broader insights into other platforms.
6) PowerAdSpy
PowerAdSpy stands out as a top-notch spy tool in the realm of social media advertising, providing detailed insights into ads across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Google.
Its unique feature is the integration of data from social media and search engines, which makes it an incredibly flexible option for anyone managing campaigns across multiple channels.
PowerAdSpy remains a favorite among marketers looking to keep an eye on their competitors’ social and search advertising efforts from a single dashboard.
Key Features:
– Real-Time Ad Insights:
With PowerAdSpy, you can track live ads as they are launched by your competitors. This gives you an up-to-the-minute look at the creative trends that are working in your niche, allowing you to stay one step ahead.
– Google Ads & YouTube Integration:
Besides social media, PowerAdSpy gives you access to insights into Google Search and YouTube ad campaigns. This makes it ideal for marketers with multi-channel ad strategies who want to see how their competitors are splitting their budgets between social media and search engines.
Cons:
– Learning curve: The user interface can be a bit clunky for those unfamiliar with advanced filters.
7) BigSpy
Marketers on a budget can find a great solution in BigSpy, which offers plenty of features without the hefty price tag. It covers a variety of platforms like Facebook, Instagram, X, and Pinterest, making it perfect for small businesses and startups that want to keep an eye on their ad campaigns across different social media without overspending.
Key Features:
– Affordable Pricing:
BigSpy’s pricing makes it a solid choice for marketers on a budget, offering comprehensive insights into social and display ads at a fraction of the cost of other tools.
– Cross-Platform Coverage:
BigSpy covers a wide range of ad networks, including Facebook, Instagram, X, and even TikTok. This makes it versatile for marketers targeting younger audiences across social platforms.
– Search by Ad Type:
Whether you want to see carousel ads, video ads, or static images, BigSpy allows you to filter ads by format, helping you find inspiration or insights tailored to your preferred medium.
Cons:
– Limited to social and display ads: If you’re looking for in-depth insights into native or push ads, you’ll need another tool.
– Smaller ad database: While affordable, BigSpy’s ad database isn’t as extensive as premium options like AdSpy or Adplexity, making it less suitable for those looking for ultra-deep dives into specific niches.
8) AdBeat
AdBeat stands out as the go-to tool for marketers who specialize in display advertising. It provides comprehensive insights into the world of display ads, analyzing a vast array of websites and ad networks.
Whether you’re targeting direct responses or building brand awareness, the detailed information from AdBeat can guide you in identifying the most successful display campaigns within your sector.
Key Features:
– Detailed Display Ad Insights:
AdBeat allows you to see exactly which display ads are running on different websites, how long they’ve been running, and how much budget competitors are likely spending. This is incredibly useful for brands running programmatic or direct-bought display ads.
– Competitor Ad Spend Data:
One standout feature of AdBeat is its ability to estimate how much your competitors are spending on their display ads. This helps you gauge the budget commitment your competitors are making and adjust your own ad spend accordingly.
Cons:
– Higher pricing: AdBeat is on the premium side when it comes to pricing, which may make it less accessible for smaller businesses.
9) SpyPush
If you’re diving into push notification ads or thinking about it, SpyPush is one of the rare tools that zeroes in on this fast-evolving ad format. Push ads have always been essential for advertisers since they can connect with users directly via their browsers or mobile alerts.
With SpyPush, you get valuable insights into your push ad campaigns, helping you identify which notifications are really taking off and driving conversions.
Standout Features:
– Comprehensive Push Ad Tracking:
SpyPush provides a detailed look into the creative, landing pages, and networks behind successful push ad campaigns, helping you replicate high-performing strategies.
– Top Networks Insights:
The tool also offers insights into the top ad networks driving push notifications, allowing you to identify which networks might be best for your own campaigns. They also cover native, adult, and pop ads.
Cons:
– Hard to navigate interface: Unlike AdPlexity the platform is hard to navigate especially for a beginner.
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Criteria for Choosing the Right Ad Spy Tool in 2025
Finding the right ad spy tool to meet your marketing requirements can be difficult especially when there are thousands of options.
Platform Coverage:
The right tool should cover the platforms you’re targeting. For instance, AdPlexity covers a lot of major platforms such as desktop, mobile, native, adult, YouTube, and push ads, making it an ideal tool for marketers who work across multiple ad channels.
Data Freshness and Frequency:
Staying competitive requires up-to-date ad insights. Ad spy tools maintain freshness through frequent data refreshes to keep users updated with the latest ad creatives and trends.
Advanced filtering options:
It will be great if the tool has some strong filtering options, which can save you much time in ad analysis. AdPlexity is the best in this aspect, based on the reviews of hundreds of affiliates, because it offers the most accurate results when you filter by country, device, affiliate network, and traffic source.
Landing Pages:
Some ad spy tools, like AdPlexity and Anstrex, go beyond just ad insights they let you import high-performing competitor landing pages directly into LanderLab’s editor. This feature makes it easy to customize and test successful pages without starting from scratch, giving you a competitive edge in your campaigns.
Conclusion On The Top 9 Ad Spy Tools in 2025
In 2025, marketers and affiliates have plenty of spy tools at their disposal, for various needs, whether you’re into social media ads, display ads, push notifications ads, or native advertising.
The best choice for you lies in your advertising strategy, the platforms you’re targeting, and your budget.
Based on the analysis above, we conclude that Adplexity stands out as the most used ad spy tool among affiliates, because of its large database with over 100 million ads, many filtering options, and the easy-to-use interface.
With these leading ad spy tools in your toolkit, you’ll be well-prepared to stay ahead and outshine your competitors’ ads in 2025.
