Ads Transparency Scraper: Google & Meta Competitor Ads

What does Ads Transparency Scraper do?

Ads Transparency Scraper collects competitor ads from two public ad libraries in one Actor: the Google Ads Transparency Center and the Meta Ad Library (Facebook, Instagram, Messenger). Pick a source, give it brands, advertiser names, websites or Facebook Page IDs, and it returns one row per ad with format, first and last shown dates, platforms, headline, ad text, call to action, landing page and image or video URLs.

It reads the same data the library web apps use, over plain HTTP, so there is no browser and no login. Think of it as an ad library API you can call from the Apify API, schedule daily, or plug into Make, Zapier, n8n, Google Sheets and webhooks. Apify adds proxy rotation, retries and monitoring.

What data can you extract from the ad libraries?

🏢 Advertiser name and ID	✅ Verified advertiser	🌍 Advertiser country
🖼️ Ad image	🎬 Ad video	🧩 Ad format
📰 Headline	📝 Description and ad text	👉 Call to action
🔗 Landing page URL	📅 First and last shown	⏳ Days shown
🗺️ Regions	📱 Platforms	👀 Times shown (range)
💳 Funded by	🎯 Audience selection	🔢 Total ads per advertiser

Choose your source

	Google Ads Transparency Center	Meta Ad Library
Where ads ran	Search, YouTube, Display, Shopping, Maps, Play	Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, Audience Network, WhatsApp, Threads
Targets	Advertiser name, AR... ID, domain, URL	Brand or keyword, Facebook Page ID, Ad Library link
Filters	Region, format, platform, dates	Country, active or inactive, start date
Price	$1.40 to $3.50 per 1,000 ads	$1.40 per 1,000 ads

How to scrape Meta (Facebook and Instagram) ads

1. Open the Input tab and set Ad source to Meta Ad Library.
2. Add targets: a brand or keyword such as allbirds, a numeric Facebook Page ID, or a link copied from the Ad Library.
3. Choose Meta: which ads (active, inactive or both), an optional country in Region, and a date range.
4. Set max ads per advertiser and max ads in total, then click Start.
5. Download the dataset as JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML.

{
    "source": "meta",
    "targets": ["allbirds", "315953034940028"],
    "metaActiveStatus": "active",
    "region": "US",
    "maxAdsPerTarget": 200
}

A brand or keyword searches ad text and page names, so it can include ads from resellers and affiliates. For one advertiser's own ads, use its Facebook Page ID: it is the view_all_page_id number in an Ad Library link, or the advertiserId in any earlier result.

Example Meta row:

{
    "type": "ad",
    "source": "meta",
    "creativeId": "1335285412043498",
    "advertiserId": "315953034940028",
    "advertiserName": "Allbirds ME",
    "format": "image",
    "displayFormat": "DCO",
    "isActive": true,
    "firstShown": "2026-04-17T07:00:00.000Z",
    "lastShown": "2026-10-18T07:00:00.000Z",
    "daysShown": 184,
    "platforms": [
        "facebook",
        "instagram",
        "audience_network",
        "whatsapp",
        "threads"
    ],
    "headline": "{{product.name}}",
    "callToAction": "Learn more",
    "landingUrl": "https://allbirds.sa/collections/men_new-arrivals",
    "imageUrl": "https://scontent-lga3-3.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/673895020...",
    "texts": [
        "{{product.brand}}"
    ],
    "adUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?id=1335285412043498"
}

Meta does not publish spend or reach for most commercial ads, so those fields are not included. Dynamic catalog ads show template text such as {{product.name}} because that is what Meta stores.

Why use this ad library scraper?

• Competitor ad research: see every Google and Meta ad a competitor runs, and how long each has been live.
• Cross-channel view: run the same brand on both sources and compare messaging, offers and creative.
• Creative inspiration: download image and video assets and copy for a whole category.
• Brand protection: search a domain to find every advertiser pointing ads at your site.
• Market monitoring: schedule a run with "last N days" to catch new ads as they appear.
• EU reach data: for EU regions Google publishes a "times shown" range, plus who paid for the ad and its audience targeting.

How to scrape Google ads from the Transparency Center

Leave Ad source on Google Ads Transparency Center (the default).

1. Open the Input tab.
2. Add advertisers or websites: a name, an AR... ID, a Transparency Center URL, or a domain.
3. Pick a region, ad format, platform and a date range (or "last N days").
4. Set max ads per advertiser and max ads in total.
5. Click Start and download the dataset as JSON, CSV, Excel or HTML.

Input

{
    "targets": ["nike.com", "AR09597646619583447041", "Samsung Electronics"],
    "region": "US",
    "adFormat": "video",
    "platform": "youtube",
    "lastDays": 90,
    "maxAdsPerTarget": 200,
    "maxResults": 1000,
    "includeCreativeDetails": true,
    "includeAdvertiserSummary": true
}

• Names are looked up like the site's search box. A name can match several accounts, so the best match is used (raise "Advertisers per name" for more). For a specific account use its AR... ID.
• Domains return every advertiser's ads that point to that site.
• Include creative details adds regions, copy and assets. Turn it off for a faster list of IDs, dates and formats (cheaper: no details fee).

Output

You can download the dataset in various formats such as JSON, HTML, CSV, or Excel.

{
    "type": "ad",
    "creativeId": "CR07320027051652546561",
    "advertiserId": "AR16735076323512287233",
    "advertiserName": "Nike, Inc.",
    "verified": true,
    "format": "video",
    "firstShown": "2026-07-07T14:21:15.000Z",
    "lastShown": "2026-10-15T13:17:02.000Z",
    "daysShown": 85,
    "regions": ["CA", "US"],
    "headline": "Nike Factory Store - Halton Hills",
    "description": "Explore the latest running footwear and apparel at your local Nike Factory Store.",
    "callToAction": "Visit site",
    "landingUrl": "https://www.nike.com/ca/retail",
    "imageUrl": "https://tpc.googlesyndication.com/simgad/6916328398620481038",
    "videoUrl": "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=grj7FyOMWh8",
    "adUrl": "https://adstransparency.google.com/advertiser/AR16735076323512287233/creative/CR07320027051652546561?region=US"
}

Data table

Field	Description
advertiserId, advertiserName	Advertiser account
advertiserLegalName, advertiserCountry, verified	Verified identity details
creativeId, adUrl	Ad ID and Transparency Center link
format	text, image or video
firstShown, lastShown, daysShown	Run dates
regions, regionStats	Countries shown, with per-region dates
platforms, timesShownMin/Max	Google products and EU reach range
topic, fundedBy, audienceSelection	Topic, payer, targeting categories
headline, description, callToAction, displayUrl, landingUrl	Ad copy and destination
imageUrl, imageUrls, videoUrl, videoThumbnailUrl	Creative assets
source, isActive, displayFormat, pageLikeCount, pageCategories	Meta rows only: source, whether the ad is running, ad layout, page size and category

How much does it cost to scrape Google and Meta ads?

Meta Ad Library: $1.40 per 1,000 ads. One price, no extra fees.

Google Ads Transparency Center: $1.40 per 1,000 ads for the ad list (IDs, dates, format, preview image), plus $2.10 per 1,000 for rows with full creative details (regions, copy, landing page, assets, reach and targeting). A complete Google row is $3.50 per 1,000. Advertiser summary rows are free. Example: 5,000 complete Google ads cost about $17.50, and 5,000 Meta ads cost about $7.

Tips

• Use last N days with a schedule to get only new ads.
• Many text ads are stored by Google as a screenshot only. Those rows have the image but no headline text.
• Platform filters only cover ads shown since 4 Sep 2023.
• "Times shown" appears for EU regions only; Google publishes it nowhere else.
• Meta: use a Facebook Page ID for one advertiser, and a keyword to research a whole category.
• Meta: Active ads only is the default. Switch to Active and inactive to see ads a competitor has already stopped.
• Meta runs retry on a fresh connection when the library rate-limits one, so a run can take a little longer on big pulls.

Run it on a schedule

Save your input as a task, then open Schedules in Apify Console and pick how often it runs. Weekly catches new campaigns from competitors. Daily suits launch periods. Each run creates a new dataset, so you can compare runs over time.

To send results somewhere automatically, use the Integrations tab: Google Sheets, Slack, Make, Zapier, n8n and webhooks are built in. AI agents such as Claude or ChatGPT can run it as a tool through the Apify MCP server.

Related actors

Actor	What it does
Facebook Pages Email Scraper	Emails, phones and details from public Facebook business Pages.
Google Search Results Scraper	Google search results for any keyword.
Reddit Scraper	Reddit posts, comments, search results and users.
TikTok Scraper Pro	TikTok hashtags, profiles, keyword search, comments and followers.
Amazon Product Scraper	Amazon prices, stock, ratings and specs by ASIN or search.

FAQ, disclaimers and support

Is it legal? The Google Ads Transparency Center and the Meta Ad Library are public sites and this Actor reads only public ad data. You are responsible for using the data in line with applicable laws and the terms of each site.

Why do I get fewer Meta ads than I expected? The Actor stops at your max ads per advertiser and max ads in total, and it returns each distinct ad once. A keyword search also only matches ad text and page names. Raise the limits or use a Facebook Page ID for one advertiser.

Does it include ad spend and impressions for Meta? Yes for political and issue ads: set Meta: ad type to political and each row gets spend, spendLower, spendUpper, impressions, reachEstimate and currency. Meta publishes these as ranges, not exact amounts. Most commercial ads have none.

Not affiliated with Google or Meta. Found a problem or need a field added? Open an issue on the Issues tab. Custom solutions are available on request.

Does Google Ads Transparency Center or Meta Ad Library have an official API? Why use this instead? Google has no public API for the Ads Transparency Center. Meta's Ad Library API returns commercial ads only for the EU and UK and needs identity verification. This Actor reads the public ad libraries directly, for any country, and returns Google and Meta ads in one format.

What are the alternatives to this Actor? You can browse the ad libraries by hand or pay for a competitive intelligence tool. The libraries have no export, and the tools charge monthly subscriptions. This Actor gives you the raw ads with creatives and dates, and you pay only for the ads you collect.

Privacy

To see which searches are useful, this Actor sends anonymous run inputs (such as keywords, hashtags and usernames) and a hashed account ID to the developer. Tokens, cookies and proxy settings are never sent. Nothing from your results is collected.