In this article
Key takeaways
- The Meta library shows a commercial ad only while it is active, sorts by impressions or most recent, and gives no count for websites, no store page and no budget.
- For TikTok ads in the Gulf there is no complete official library: TikTok's library covers Europe only, and the alternative is Top Ads in its Creative Center, a curated selection.
- The global paid tools run from about $49 a month (Minea, BigSpy, Pipiads, Foreplay) to about $149 (AdSpy), at the published prices of October 2026, with an English index.
- For Arabic Gulf stores: GccFY keeps ads after they stop and sorts them by running time with the store page, from $19 dollars a month and 20 free searches a day.
What the Meta Ad Library does not give
Before you look for an alternative, name what you are missing. The library is a transparency tool, not a market research tool, and its limits are clear and well known:
| What the library gives | What it does not |
|---|---|
| Every ad active now, with copy, images and videos | A commercial ad after it stops (outside the EU it is dropped) |
| The start date, and sorting by impressions or most recent | Sorting by running time |
| Search by keyword, Page and country | A filter for the store platform (Salla, Zid, Shopify) or for WhatsApp ads |
| An approximate count ("~") of a Page's active ads | A count for a specific website, any history of that count, or a ranking of Pages by it |
| The link the ad leads to | A saved copy of the landing page, or the ad's budget and sales |
Add to that mixed country results: "Saudi Arabia" means the ad was delivered there, so you also see ads in other languages for other markets. The full guide to the library and its filters is in Facebook Ad Library; the active ads counter and its limits in Active ads count.
The free official alternatives: another platform, not another feature
If what you miss is the ads of a platform other than Facebook and Instagram, the official alternatives are free, but each has its limits in the Gulf:
- Google Ads Transparency Center: any advertiser's Search, YouTube and Display ads, with a region filter (including Saudi Arabia and the UAE). It genuinely covers the Gulf. The guide: Google Ads Transparency Center.
- TikTok's official library: covers only ads delivered in the European Economic Area, Switzerland and the UK; no Saudi or UAE ads there. The Gulf alternative is Top Ads in TikTok Creative Center: a curated set of the best-performing ads with region and industry filters, not every ad. Read TikTok ads library.
- Snapchat: its library covers political ads plus a gallery of EU ads; there is no official library of Snapchat's commercial ads in the Gulf. How to tell whether a competitor advertises on Snapchat.
- LinkedIn: its library covers every country and keeps an ad for a year after its last impression; more useful for B2B and services than for stores. X: its Ads Repository is EU only.
The full table of every library is in Ad libraries compared. The bottom line: no official library keeps a Gulf commercial ad after it stops or sorts it by running time; that gap is what specialised tools fill.
The global paid tools: what they add, at what price
Ad "spy" tools collect publicly published ads and add what the libraries do not: keeping stopped ads, filters and sorting. Prices as their sites published them in October 2026; they change with offers:
| Tool | Published price (October 2026) | What it adds over the Meta library | Weakness in the Gulf |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minea | From about $49 a month | Facebook, TikTok and Pinterest, influencers, AI analysis | English index, no per-country Gulf filter, no store page |
| AdSpy | About $149 a month | The largest Facebook and Instagram archive, with comments and URL search | The priciest; weak Arabic search; does not tell Salla from Zid |
| BigSpy | From about $49 a month | Many platforms, a limited free plan | Thin Arabic coverage, sometimes stale data |
| Pipiads | From about $49 to $199 a month | TikTok first, global winning products | Nearly TikTok only; the Gulf is not its market |
| Foreplay | From about $49 a month | Saving and organising ads, writing briefs | An organiser, not a search; no Gulf data |
These tools fit you if you sell globally in English, or if TikTok is your market. The comparison by criteria is in Ad spy tools; for whoever wants a cheaper alternative specifically, AdSpy and Minea alternatives.
The alternative for Gulf stores: filling the same gap
For whoever sells in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman with Arabic ads, the gap is not the platform but the four things we named first. That is what GccFY was built for, on the same public data the Meta library publishes:
- Stopped ads kept: 1,290,000+ Arabic ads from 87,000+ advertisers; you see what was tried and stopped.
- Sort by longest running in one click, with a filter for each of the six countries.
- The store page captured behind every ad, the pixels it carries, and the store platform (Salla, Zid, Shopify, YouCan, WooCommerce, EasyOrders, LightFunnels, WhatsApp).
- A count per advertiser and per domain: total ads and ads running now, which the library never gives for websites.
- Media on the card: the ad's image or video is kept with the ad, so you never need a download button the library does not have.
From $19 dollars a month, and the free plan gives 20 searches a day with no card. What it does not do, plainly: TikTok and Snapchat (see the alternatives above), markets outside the Gulf, and non-Arabic ads.
Which alternative, by what you are missing
| What you miss in the Meta library | The alternative |
|---|---|
| You follow one or two advertisers only | No alternative needed: the library itself, and save what you find (Saving Ad Library ads) |
| A competitor's Google and YouTube ads | Google Ads Transparency Center (free) |
| TikTok ads in the Gulf | Top Ads in TikTok Creative Center (free, curated), then Pipiads if you want more |
| Snapchat's commercial ads in the Gulf | No official alternative; follow competitors' accounts and look for the same video on Instagram |
| Stopped ads, running time and store pages, for global markets | Minea or AdSpy, by budget |
| The same for Gulf stores in Arabic | GccFY, starting with the free plan |
Whatever the alternative, the method matters more: the ad that has run for weeks is the signal, not the ad with the most likes. Read Ad running time.
