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How to find working creatives of competitors: spy services for TikTok, Facebook, Instagram 2026

March 28, 2026

Creating creatives from scratch without knowing what is already working in your vertical is like shooting in the dark. Spy services solve this problem: they show which competitor commercials are running right now, how many days they are in rotation, what engagement metrics they are gaining - and which GEOs they are targeting. In 2026, the market for spy tools became mature: AdSpy, BigSpy, Pipiads, Minea, SpyHero - each service covers its own niche, from Facebook and Instagram to TikTok and Pinterest. In this article, we analyze all the tools, build a complete work flow from finding a winning creative to scaling - and explain why the ideas found cannot be copied directly, but need to be adapted and unique.

Why spy services are needed: competitive intelligence in affiliate marketing

Traffic arbitrage is a business where the speed of iteration determines profit. Whoever finds a working approach faster skims the cream. Spy services provide a competitive advantage at the very first stage of the funnel - at the stage of creating creatives.

What exactly do spy tools give to arbitrage traders:

Review of top spy services 2026: detailed comparison

The market for spy tools has grown significantly over the past two years. Let's look at each service in detail: platform coverage, analytical capabilities, cost and real strengths/weaknesses.

AdSpy is a market veteran with the largest base of Facebook and Instagram

AdSpy is one of the oldest and most famous spy tools in affiliate marketing. Its main strength is the huge database of advertisements Facebook and Instagram, accumulated over the years of work.

Suitable for: affiliate traders who work primarily with Facebook and Instagram. If your primary source is Meta, AdSpy remains the industry standard.

BigSpy - multi-platform tool with an affordable price

BigSpy covers more platforms than any other spy service, while costing significantly less than its competitors. This makes it an excellent choice for those who work with multiple traffic sources simultaneously.

Suitable for: beginner affiliate marketers and those who work with multiple platforms. Ideal as a “first spy service” - try it for free, understand the basic principles of operation, decide on the main platform.

Pipiads - specialist in TikTok-advertising

Pipiads focuses on TikTok and does it better than anyone else. If TikTok is your main or priority traffic source, Pipiads is a must-have tool.

Suitable for: affiliate marketers for whom TikTok is the main source of traffic. Especially valuable for e-commerce, nutra and all verticals where TikTok provides the main volume.

Minea - universal spy with an emphasis on e-commerce

Minea combines spy functions for advertising platforms with monitoring of influencer marketing and marketplaces. This makes it a unique tool for those who work with product offers.

Suitable for: affiliate marketers in e-commerce and dropshipping. If you are looking not only for creative products, but also for winning products, Minea covers both tasks.

SpyHero - quick analysis and download TikTok/Facebook-creo

SpyHero is a relatively new player that quickly gained popularity thanks to its user-friendly interface and focus on practicality: minimum analytical noise, maximum action.

Who is it suitable for: affiliate marketers who need quick and inexpensive access to TikTok advertising without excessive analytics. Good as an addition to free tools.

Summary table of spy services

Free tools: Facebook Ad Library and TikTok Creative Center

Before spending money on paid spy services, master the free tools from the platforms themselves. They will not replace full-fledged spy services, but they provide valuable data that does not require a subscription.

Facebook Ad Library (Meta Ad Library)

Official Meta Advertising Library is a completely free tool that shows all active advertisements on Facebook and Instagram. Meta is required to provide this information as part of its advertising transparency policy.

What's available:

What is missing: engagement metrics, cost data (for regular advertising), audience assessments. This is why Ad Library does not replace full-fledged spy services, but is an excellent starting point.

Life hack: look for advertisers who have 10+ ads active at the same time - this is a sign of a large-scale flood. These ads are highly likely to include winning creatives. Pay attention to ads with a launch date more than 2 weeks ago - if the creo is still active, it is making a profit.

TikTok Creative Center

The official TikTok tool for advertisers - and at the same time a powerful spy tool if you know how to use it.

What's available:

TikTok Creative Center is the only tool that provides official data from the platform itself. Spy services parse data from outside and may make mistakes; Creative Center shows you the real picture. Use it in conjunction with Pipiads or SpyHero: find trends in Creative Center, then look for specific implementations of these trends in the spy service.

Instagram: how to spy without a special tool

There is no separate free spy tool for Instagram Reels, but Meta Ad Library covers Instagram advertising. Additionally:

What metrics to look at: how to distinguish a winning creative from a failure

Spy service is a database. It is only as useful as your ability to interpret what you see. Let's look at the key metrics that separate winning creatives from garbage.

Rotation duration - metric number one

If an advertisement has been running for more than 14 days, it is highly likely to be a winning creative. Nobody will pay for advertising for two weeks if it doesn't make money. Ads that run for 30+ days are confirmed winning links that are worth paying maximum attention to.

How to filter: Pipiads and SpyHero have a direct filter based on rotation duration. In AdSpy use the filter “First Seen” and “Last Seen” - the difference between them will give the duration. In Facebook Ad Library, look at the launch date: if the ad was launched 3+ weeks ago and is still active, this is a signal.

Dynamics of involvement

Absolute numbers (10,000 likes vs 500 likes) are less informative than dynamics. A creative that gets 3,000 likes in 3 days is significantly stronger than a creative that gets 10,000 likes in 3 months. Look for ads with rapidly growing engagement - this is a sign that the advertiser is actively scaling.

Pay attention to the ratio of types of reactions: comments are more valuable than likes, shares are more valuable than comments. A high percentage of shares is an indicator of virality: people share advertisements with friends, which means that the creative touches a nerve.

Multiple ads from one advertiser

If an advertiser simultaneously runs 5-10 variations of one creative, it scales. This is confirmation that the approach works. Study all its variations: which elements it changes (hook, CTA, color, model) and which it leaves unchanged. Immutable elements are the core of the winning approach.

Indirect budget indicators

Spy services do not show the exact expenses of the advertiser, but can be estimated indirectly:

Analysis of winning creatives: hooks, structure, CTA

Finding winning creative is half the battle. The second half is understanding why it works. Structural analysis of a successful video gives you a formula that you can apply to your own content.

Hook - the first 1-3 seconds decide everything

In the feed TikTok, Reels and Stories the video has 1-3 seconds to stop scrolling. Winning creatives use proven hook types:

When analyzing winning creatives, write down the hook type of each successful video. After 20–30 analyses, you will see a pattern: which hooks dominate in your vertical and GEO.

Roller structure

Most winning creatives in affiliate marketing follow one of three structures:

Determine what structure your competitor’s winning creative uses and adapt it to your content. Don't copy the visual - copy the logic of presentation.

CTA - the last seconds that convert

A call to action in a video creative is more than just a “Buy” button. Analyze how winning creatives complete:

Successful affiliate marketers usually combine 2-3 CTA elements: “23,000 people have already tried - 50% discount only today, link in description.” This works better than one element.

Workflow: from spy service to scaling

Theory without practice is useless. Here is a specific step-by-step process that turns data from a spy service into a profitable advertising campaign.

Step 1: Search and selection of winning creatives

Allow 2-3 hours for research. Open the spy service (or combination: Pipiads for TikTok + AdSpy for Facebook) and apply filters:

Select 15–20 creatives that meet the winning creative criteria. Save them in a separate folder - screenshots, links, downloaded videos. This is your reference pool.

Step 2: In-Depth Analysis

For each of the 15–20 selected creatives, fill out the analysis card:

After filling out 15-20 cards, you will see patterns: which hooks, structures and CTAs dominate the winning creatives in your vertical. These patterns are your competitive intelligence.

Step 3: Adaptation - creating your own creatives

Key rule: adapt the approach, don’t copy the execution. If winning-creo uses the “result → process → CTA” structure with a shock hook, take this formula, but create your own visual, your own text, your own CTA.

Ways to create customized creatives:

Create 5-10 variations using 2-3 different formulas from your analysis. This is your test pool.

Step 4: Uniquization before filling

You created 5-10 creatives, adapting the winning approaches of your competitors. Now is the critical stage that many people miss - and they pay for it with bans and burned grids.

Each creative must be unique via 360° Uniquizer before uploading to the account grid. Why is this required:

360° Uniquizer creates from each base video as many unique versions as needed: 20, 50, 100. Each version differs in perceptual hashes, audio fingerprints, metadata and neural network analysis - the platform sees each as original content. Uniqueness for TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts works equally effectively.

Step 5: Testing

Upload unique versions to test accounts. Test formula:

Out of 10 creatives, usually 2-3 show metrics significantly above average - these are your winners.

Step 6: Scaling

Winner creatives are sent for re-unique via 360° Uniquizer - no longer for test accounts, but for the full mesh. If you have 50 accounts, create 50 unique versions of each winning creo. If there are 200, create 200. The software processes this in minutes.

At the same time, return to spy services: monitor whether new winning approaches have appeared in your vertical. The cycle “spy → analysis → adaptation → uniqueness → test → scaling” is repeated continuously - this is the pipeline of profitable arbitrage.

Ethics and legality: do's and don'ts

Spy services are a legal tool. But the line between competitive intelligence and infringement is blurred, and it is important for an affiliate marketer to understand where it lies.

What is legal and ethical

What is illegal and risky

The right approach: adaptation + uniqueness

Formula for safe work with spy services: study → understand the formula → create your own → uniquize. Spy service gives you data and formulas. You create original content inspired by these formulas. 360° Uniquizer turns your original content into dozens of unique versions for scale. At each stage, you work with your own content - legally clear and safe for accounts.

This approach is not only ethical, but also more effective than direct copying: adapted creative, taking into account the specifics of your audience and offer, converts better than a blind copy of someone else’s video. And the unique versions pass all platform checks - unlike the copied original, which moderation will delete in the first hours.

Video uniquization for the grid: 360uniquizer.com - up to 200 unique versions from one video

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