# The best ad intelligence sources see what competitors run.

> Facebook ads from Meta's Ad Library, the LinkedIn Ad Library and Google search, ranked for ad intelligence in 2026: creatives, copy, dates, links.

Canonical: https://apiforagents.dev/best/best-ad-intelligence-data-sources · Updated 2026-10-21

The best ad intelligence sources are the Facebook ads operation, which reads every ad a page runs in Meta's Ad Library, and the LinkedIn Ad Library operation, because both return the creative, the copy, the dates and where the ad links. Google search then shows which pages rank for the same words, though it returns organic results, not ads.

- Facebook ads: $0.0045 per record
- LinkedIn Ad Library: $0.002 per record
- Google search: $0.0009 per record
- Free trial: $0.10

## The ranking

| # | Source | What you get | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Facebook ads | Creative, headline, CTA, link, dates, platforms, advertiser, EU reach | Consumer brands on Meta | $0.0045 per record |
| 2 | LinkedIn Ad Library | Headline, body, format, media, click URL, impressions, targeting location, days active | B2B advertisers | $0.002 per record |
| 3 | Facebook page cards | Ads status, followers, category, contact | A quick check of who advertises | $0.009 per record |
| 4 | Google search | Ranked links, titles, snippets, related questions | Landing pages and organic rivals | $0.0009 per record |

List prices are per record and some calls carry a minimum. Quote any call first with "estimateOnly": true: the quote is free and is the most the call can cost.

## Each source, in order

- **[1. Facebook ads](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/facebook/ad-library-api).** Every ad up to five pages run in Meta's Ad Library, active or stopped. Rows carry the creative, headline, call to action, link, dates, the platforms it ran on and EU reach.
- **[2. LinkedIn Ad Library](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/linkedin/ads-library-api).** All live ads on an advertiser's Ad Library page, or one ad's detail, by Ad Library URL. Rows carry the impressions, targeting location, start and end dates and days active. You need the Ad Library URL, not a company handle.
- **[3. Facebook page cards](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/facebook/page-api).** Each page card says whether the page is running ads, so you can check ten competitors in one call before reading their ads in full.
- **[4. Google search](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/google/search-api).** Web results for a query with rank, filtered by country, site, date range or file type. It returns organic results, not paid search ads. Billed per page of about ten results.

## How to choose

- Selling to consumers: Facebook ads first, page cards to see who is active.
- Selling to businesses: the LinkedIn Ad Library for each competitor.
- After the ad: open the click URLs and run Google search on the offer to see who else ranks.

## The operations on this list

- [Facebook Ad Library API](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/facebook/ad-library-api): Consumer brands on Meta
- [LinkedIn Ad Library API](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/linkedin/ads-library-api): B2B advertisers
- [Facebook Page API](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/facebook/page-api): A quick check of who advertises
- [Google Search API](https://apiforagents.dev/platforms/google/search-api): Landing pages and organic rivals

## Questions

### Can I see how much a competitor spends on ads?

There is no spend field. LinkedIn ad rows carry impressions and days active; Facebook ad rows carry EU reach and the dates.

### Can I see ads that have stopped running?

Yes on Facebook: set status to inactive. LinkedIn ad rows carry start and end dates.

### Does this cover paid Google search ads?

No. Google search here returns organic results: links, titles, snippets and rank.

### How much does it cost?

Facebook ads $0.0045 per record, LinkedIn Ad Library $0.002 per record. Quote first with "estimateOnly": true.

## Why API for Agents

- One key for 26 platforms: social, commerce, jobs, places, search and contacts, with one request shape and one response shape.
- A free quote before any spend: add "estimateOnly": true to any call and see the most it can cost.
- Pay per record in US dollars. No subscription, nothing expires, top-ups from $5.
- $0.10 free to try, no card. An AI agent can sign itself up in one request; a person claims it later.
- Measured, not estimated: every answer says when each row was measured, whether it was fresh or a recent capture, and how sure to be of each field.
- Partial success is success: anything that could not be fetched is named with a reason, and the charge settles to what came back, never above the quote.
- Typed fields that keep their names whichever source answered, and a details object last with everything else the source sent, under our own field names.
- Try any endpoint in the playground and download the answer as CSV or JSON.

## Start

The playground runs any endpoint by hand: pick a platform and what you want from it, fill a short form named in plain words (or press Use sample input), see the free quote on the Run button, run it, then read the answer as a table or JSON and download it as CSV or JSON. The same call is written out as cURL, Python and Node while you type. Open it at https://apiforagents.dev/dashboard/run (sign in first).

Agents register at https://apiforagents.dev/auth.md (one POST, $0.10 free). People: https://apiforagents.dev/docs#start. Prices: https://apiforagents.dev/pricing.md