Facebook Ad Library Scraper API: Research Competitor Ads at Scale

The Facebook Ad Library contains millions of ads running across Meta's platforms. This guide shows you how to scrape and analyze competitor advertising strategies.

Facebook Ad Library Endpoints

Endpoint	Description
Search	Search ads by keyword
Company Ads	Get all ads from a company
Ad Details	Get single ad details
Search Companies	Find companies in the library

Search Ads by Keyword

Find ads related to a topic:

const response = await fetch('https://api.sociavault.com/facebook-ad-library/search', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    query: 'saas software'
  })
});

const ads = await response.json();

Response

{
  "ads": [
    {
      "id": "123456789",
      "pageId": "987654321",
      "pageName": "TechCompany",
      "adCreativeBody": "Streamline your workflow with our all-in-one platform...",
      "adCreativeLink": "https://techcompany.com/signup",
      "callToAction": "Sign Up",
      "startDate": "2026-01-01",
      "endDate": null,
      "status": "ACTIVE",
      "impressions": {
        "lowerBound": 50000,
        "upperBound": 100000
      },
      "spend": {
        "lowerBound": 1000,
        "upperBound": 5000,
        "currency": "USD"
      },
      "platforms": ["facebook", "instagram"],
      "mediaType": "image",
      "mediaUrl": "https://..."
    }
  ],
  "hasMore": true
}

Get Company Ads

Get all ads a company is running:

const response = await fetch('https://api.sociavault.com/facebook-ad-library/company-ads', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    companyName: 'Nike'
  })
});

const companyAds = await response.json();

Search Companies

Find companies in the Ad Library:

const response = await fetch('https://api.sociavault.com/facebook-ad-library/search-companies', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    query: 'Nike'
  })
});

const companies = await response.json();

Response

{
  "companies": [
    {
      "id": "123456789",
      "name": "Nike",
      "pageUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/nike",
      "activeAdsCount": 450,
      "verified": true
    }
  ]
}

Ad Details

Get comprehensive information about a single ad:

const response = await fetch('https://api.sociavault.com/facebook-ad-library/ad-details', {
  method: 'POST',
  headers: {
    'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
    'Content-Type': 'application/json'
  },
  body: JSON.stringify({
    id: '123456789'
  })
});

const adDetails = await response.json();

Use Cases

Competitor Ad Analysis

Track what competitors are advertising:

async function analyzeCompetitorAds(companyName) {
  const { ads } = await getCompanyAds(companyName);
  
  const analysis = {
    totalActiveAds: ads.filter(a => a.status === 'ACTIVE').length,
    platforms: [...new Set(ads.flatMap(a => a.platforms))],
    avgSpend: calculateAvgSpend(ads),
    callToActions: countCallToActions(ads),
    mediaTypes: countMediaTypes(ads)
  };
  
  return analysis;
}

function countCallToActions(ads) {
  const ctas = {};
  ads.forEach(ad => {
    ctas[ad.callToAction] = (ctas[ad.callToAction] || 0) + 1;
  });
  return ctas;
}

Creative Research

Study ad creative trends:

async function studyCreatives(keyword) {
  const { ads } = await searchAds(keyword);
  
  // Group by media type
  const byType = {
    image: ads.filter(a => a.mediaType === 'image'),
    video: ads.filter(a => a.mediaType === 'video'),
    carousel: ads.filter(a => a.mediaType === 'carousel')
  };
  
  // Analyze performance by type
  const performance = Object.entries(byType).map(([type, typeAds]) => ({
    type,
    count: typeAds.length,
    avgImpressions: typeAds.reduce((s, a) => s + a.impressions.upperBound, 0) / typeAds.length
  }));
  
  return performance;
}

Track Spend Over Time

Monitor competitor ad spend:

async function trackSpend(companyName) {
  const { ads } = await getCompanyAds(companyName);
  
  const totalSpend = ads.reduce((sum, ad) => {
    return sum + ((ad.spend.lowerBound + ad.spend.upperBound) / 2);
  }, 0);
  
  await saveMetric({
    company: companyName,
    estimatedSpend: totalSpend,
    activeAds: ads.length,
    timestamp: new Date()
  });
}

Copy Research

Analyze winning ad copy:

async function analyzeCopy(keyword) {
  const { ads } = await searchAds(keyword);
  
  // Sort by impressions
  const topAds = ads
    .sort((a, b) => b.impressions.upperBound - a.impressions.upperBound)
    .slice(0, 20);
  
  // Extract copy patterns
  const copyPatterns = topAds.map(ad => ({
    headline: ad.adCreativeBody.split('.')[0],
    cta: ad.callToAction,
    length: ad.adCreativeBody.length,
    hasEmoji: /[\u{1F300}-\u{1F9FF}]/u.test(ad.adCreativeBody),
    hasNumbers: /\d/.test(ad.adCreativeBody)
  }));
  
  return copyPatterns;
}

Platform Strategy Analysis

See where competitors advertise:

async function analyzePlatforms(competitors) {
  const platformData = {};
  
  for (const company of competitors) {
    const { ads } = await getCompanyAds(company);
    
    const platforms = {};
    ads.forEach(ad => {
      ad.platforms.forEach(p => {
        platforms[p] = (platforms[p] || 0) + 1;
      });
    });
    
    platformData[company] = platforms;
  }
  
  return platformData;
}

Related Endpoints

• Google Ad Library - Google ads research
• LinkedIn Ad Library - LinkedIn ads
• Facebook Scraper - Facebook pages & posts

Frequently Asked Questions

What regions are covered?

The Facebook Ad Library covers ads running globally. You can filter by country in your analysis.

How far back does the data go?

The Ad Library contains ads that have run in the last 7 years. Historical ads remain accessible.

Can I see ad targeting?

The Ad Library shows general targeting info (age ranges, locations) but not detailed custom audiences.

Are all ads included?

Active and inactive ads from Pages that run social issue, electoral, or political ads are included. Other ads must meet transparency requirements.

How current is the data?

Ad Library data updates in near real-time. New ads appear within hours of launching.

Get Started

Sign up free and start researching Facebook ads.

Documentation: /docs/api-reference/facebook-ad-library/search