Facebook Ad Library Scraper: every Meta ad a brand runs, with days running

This Facebook ad library scraper returns every ad a brand runs on Facebook and Instagram, with the copy, the picture or video, the start date, how many days the ad has been running, and for ads shown in the EU the reach by country, age and gender. You pay $5 per 1,000 ads delivered, and rows export to JSON, CSV or Excel.

Limits before you run it: no Facebook account or cookies, and you search by keyword or advertiser page; each search returns up to 5,000 ads (maxAdsPerSearch, default 100). Meta publishes reach, targeting and payer only for ads shown in the EU, and no spend at all except for political and social-issue ads, which this Actor does not target. No impressions, clicks, conversions or bids, and no removed ads.

It reads the same public library Meta also calls the Facebook Ads Library, so Instagram and Messenger ads come back too. Sort by daysRunning to find the ads a brand has kept paying for, or schedule monitor mode to get only what launched since last time, what crossed 30, 60 or 90 days, and what stopped.

What you get

Each row is one ad. Every field comes from the Meta Ad Library.

Field	What it is
adId, libraryUrl	The ad's Library ID and its page in the Ad Library
advertiserName, advertiserId, advertiserUrl	The Facebook page that runs the ad
startDate, endDate, daysRunning, isActive	When it started, when it was last seen, how many days it has run, whether it is still running
platforms, displayFormat	facebook, instagram, messenger or audience_network; IMAGE, VIDEO, DCO or DPA
headline, body, linkDescription, ctaText, landingUrl, landingDomain	The ad copy as text, and where the ad sends people
imageUrls, videoUrls, thumbnailUrl, collationCount	The creative, and how many versions Meta groups together
euTotalReach, euReachByCountry, euReachByAgeGender	People reached in the EU, by country and by age and gender
targetAges, targetGender, targetLocations, payerName, beneficiaryName	Targeting and payer Meta publishes for EU ads
searchTerm, searchAdvertiser	The search that found this ad
isNew, milestone, stopped	Monitor mode: new, crossed 30, 60 or 90 days running, or stopped since your last run
charged, reason, scrapedAt	Whether the row was charged and why, and when

This Actor computes daysRunning for every ad, reads the EU reach breakdown Meta only shows behind a second click, and tells you in monitor mode what changed since your last run.

Try it in 30 seconds

1. Open the Store page and click Try for free.
2. Enter a page name in Advertisers, for example Nike, or a keyword in Search terms, for example protein powder, then click Start.
3. Open the Ads table when the run finishes, or download JSON, CSV or Excel.

{ "advertisers": ["Nike"], "country": "ALL", "activeStatus": "active", "maxAdsPerSearch": 50 }

Every Apify account gets $5 of free credit a month, about 1,000 ads at this price.

Example output

One record from a real Nike run, collected on 2026-10-02. The CDN links are shortened and euReachByCountry is cut to 6 of its 33 countries here. The run was made before pricing was set, so charged, isNew and milestone are left out.

{
  "adId": "1382287983621487",
  "advertiserId": "15087023444",
  "advertiserName": "Nike",
  "advertiserUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/nike/",
  "collationCount": 1,
  "startDate": "2026-09-30",
  "endDate": "2026-10-02",
  "isActive": true,
  "daysRunning": 2,
  "platforms": ["facebook", "instagram"],
  "displayFormat": "DCO",
  "headline": "Festive Sale",
  "body": "Up to 40% off* is here. Get an extra 15% off from now till 5 October. Use code GEARUP",
  "linkDescription": "Nike - Official Online Store for Athletic Shoes, Clothing & Sports Gear. Shop the latest Nike products and enjoy free shipping.",
  "ctaText": "Shop now",
  "landingUrl": "https://www.nike.in/lp/eoss-mweb",
  "landingDomain": "nike.in",
  "imageUrls": [],
  "videoUrls": ["https://video-hou1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/o1/v/t2/f2/m366/AQO96AbQbm...", "https://video-hou1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/o1/v/t2/f2/m366/AQNptjGKuE..."],
  "thumbnailUrl": "https://scontent-hou1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.35426-6/832745501...",
  "libraryUrl": "https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?id=1382287983621487",
  "euTotalReach": 22032,
  "euReachByCountry": { "PT": 3701, "IT": 2842, "ES": 2821, "GR": 1465, "RO": 1315, "FR": 1030 },
  "euReachByAgeGender": {
    "18-24": { "male": 709, "female": 290, "unknown": 247 },
    "25-34": { "male": 2725, "female": 1160, "unknown": 412 },
    "35-44": { "male": 3163, "female": 1707, "unknown": 368 },
    "45-54": { "male": 2551, "female": 1741, "unknown": 301 },
    "55-64": { "male": 1653, "female": 1650, "unknown": 238 },
    "65+": { "male": 1281, "female": 1749, "unknown": 162 }
  },
  "targetAges": null,
  "targetGender": "All",
  "targetLocations": null,
  "payerName": null,
  "beneficiaryName": null,
  "searchTerm": null,
  "searchAdvertiser": "Nike",
  "stopped": false,
  "reason": "ad with advertiser, start date and content",
  "scrapedAt": "2026-10-02T09:56:34.247Z"
}

Pricing

Pay per event. No monthly fee.

Event	Price	When you pay
Actor start	$0.00005	once per run
Ad	$0.005	an ad is delivered with its advertiser, its start date and its creative

Worked example: 1,000 ads cost 1,000 x $0.005 = $5, plus $0.00005 for the run start. Rows without a start date or a creative still arrive, with charged: false, and cost $0. EU reach, targeting and payer are included in the ad price. In monitor mode you pay for ads that are new since your last run and for ads that crossed 30, 60 or 90 days running (milestone). Stopped rows are free.

Input

Field	Type	Default	Description
searchTerms	array		Keywords, for example protein powder. Add at least one search term or advertiser
advertisers	array		Facebook page names, IDs or URLs, for example Nike
country	string	ALL	Two-letter code such as US, GB or DE. Only ads shown in that country are delivered
activeStatus	string	active	active, inactive or all
mediaType	string	all	all, image, video, meme or none
minDaysRunning	integer	0	Deliver only ads running at least this many days. 0 turns the filter off
maxAdsPerSearch	integer	100	Stop after this many ads per search term or advertiser, up to 5,000
fetchEuDetails	boolean	true	Read reach, targeting and payer for EU-eligible ads
onlyNewSinceLastRun	boolean	false	Monitor mode. Later runs deliver only new, milestone and stopped ads
proxyConfiguration	object	Apify residential	The Ad Library blocks datacenter addresses

Monitor mode

Set onlyNewSinceLastRun to true and schedule the run weekly. The first run delivers current ads and remembers them. Each later run delivers and charges for ads that appeared since, marked isNew, and for ads that crossed 30, 60 or 90 days (milestone). Rows for ads that disappeared (stopped) are free.

Use cases

• Competitor ad monitoring. Schedule monitor mode weekly on ten competitors and get only the new ads, the ones that proved themselves by running 90 days, and the ones that got cut.
• Winning-ad research. Set minDaysRunning to 30 and search a category. Ads a brand keeps paying for are the ads that work.
• Agency pitches. Pull a prospect's rivals' active ads and open the pitch with their copy and creative.

Integrations

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/agnes.developer.queen~meta-ad-library-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=YOUR_APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"advertisers": ["Nike"], "maxAdsPerSearch": 50}'

The same call works from Python and Node.js with the Apify client, and from Make, n8n or Zapier with the Apify node.

Any MCP client can also call the Actor as a tool at https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=agnes.developer.queen/meta-ad-library-scraper. Ask which of a competitor's ads have run longest this quarter. The assistant should read daysRunning, headline, body and libraryUrl.

FAQ

Is the Meta Ad Library free?

Yes. Meta runs it as a free public website at facebook.com/ads/library. It has no export and its official API covers only political and social-issue ads. This Actor turns the same public data into rows you can export, with no account or cookie needed.

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

No. Meta publishes spend only for political and social-issue ads. For everyone else you get the ads, their start dates, how long they have run, and for EU ads the people reached. An ad that has run 90 days and reached 20,000 people in the EU is a strong signal of where the budget goes.

What does days running mean, and why do some rows have no EU reach?

daysRunning is the days between the ad's start date and the day the row was collected, or its end date if it stopped. Brands keep paying for ads that work, so long runners are usually the winners. EU reach, targeting and payer exist only for ads shown in the EU, so euTotalReach is null on the rest.

Does it get video ads, and why was an ad not charged?

Video ads return the file links in videoUrls and a still in thumbnailUrl, and mediaType set to video filters to those. An uncharged row means the Library gave no start date or no creative, usually a card still loading. It still arrives with charged: false, a reason and a libraryUrl that opens it.

Why did an advertiser name return nothing, and can I monitor a brand weekly?

The name must match a Facebook page exactly, so use the name as it shows on the page, or paste the page URL or ID. To monitor, turn on onlyNewSinceLastRun and add a weekly schedule: the first run sets the baseline, and each later run charges for new ads and for ads that crossed 30, 60 or 90 days (milestone). Stopped rows are free.

Is it legal to scrape the Meta Ad Library?

It reads only public pages Meta publishes for anyone to see and collects no personal data. You are responsible for how you use the data and for the laws and terms that apply to you.

Related Actors

• LinkedIn Ad Library Scraper does the same job for LinkedIn, with impressions by country and targeting.
• Google Ads Transparency Scraper returns the ads a brand runs on Google, with creatives and shown dates.
• LinkedIn Company Scraper turns a company name, LinkedIn slug or URL into industry, size and headquarters facts.

Support

Open an issue on the Issues tab of the Store page. Bug reports with a run ID get fixed fastest.