👉 Test a Facebook Ads Library scraper free on Apify ($5/month, no card) →
🎯 The short version
| My pick for reliability | The one I'd test to save money | |
|---|---|---|
| Actor | Facebook Ads Library Scraper (apify) | Facebook Ad Library Scraper (curious_coder) |
| Price | $5.00 / 1,000 ads on Starter ($5.80 on Free) | Advertised at $0.75 / 1,000 ads |
| Rating / users | 4.0 (59) · 39K users · 6.5K active monthly | 4.8 (110) · 42K users |
| Maintained by | Apify | Independent developer |
| My real cost | 3,216 ads = $16.48 | Same volume would be about $2.40 at the advertised price |
I've used the official Apify Actor all month and it did the job perfectly. But writing this review made me realize I paid about 7 times more than I could have. Here's everything I learned.
Disclosure: this page contains affiliate links. If you subscribe through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This site is independent and not operated by Apify or Meta.
🤔 Why scrape the Facebook Ads Library?
The Meta Ad Library is public: anyone can see which ads a page is running. But browsing it by hand is slow and you can't export anything. A scraper turns it into a spreadsheet you can filter and reuse. The most common uses:
- B2B prospecting: a business that pays for ads has a marketing budget. That's the list I build.
- Competitor research: see every creative, message and landing page a competitor tests, and for how long.
- Creative inspiration: collect the ads that run the longest in your niche (long-running ads are usually the ones that work).
- Market monitoring: track new advertisers in a category or country week after week.
🧾 My real usage and costs
Over this billing period, the official Facebook Ads Library Scraper ran dozens of times from my n8n workflows:
- 3,216 ads scraped in total, for $16.48 ($0.0051 per ad).
- Typical runs: 10 ads for $0.05 in under 40 seconds, 100 ads for $0.50 in about a minute.
- No failed requests on my runs.
It's reliable, but it's also 86% of my monthly Apify bill. That's what pushed me to look at the alternatives below.
🔍 The official Apify Actor: what you get
Inputs: one or more Facebook page URLs or Ad Library search URLs. You can pre-filter by brand, keyword, country, language, media type, active or inactive status, ad type (including political and housing ads) and creative format.
Output: the ad itself, the advertiser (page), texts, links, images and videos, start dates and IDs, plus reach estimates and impressions when Meta publishes them (mainly for EU-delivered and political ads). An e-commerce add-on can also pull the products and prices behind the ads.
Pricing:
| Per 1,000 | Free | Starter | Scale | Business |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ads | $5.80 | $5.00 | $4.20 | $3.40 |
| E-commerce enrichment (optional) | $5.70 | $3.20 | $2.80 | $2.40 |
With the free $5, you can scrape about 860 ads per month with this Actor.
⚔️ All Facebook Ads Library scrapers compared
Search "facebook ads library scraper" in the Apify Store and you get a dozen results:
| Actor | Price (as shown) | Rating | Users | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| apify/facebook-ads-scraper | $5.00 / 1,000 (Starter) | 4.0 (59) | 39K | Official, maintained by Apify, all Meta platforms |
| curious_coder/facebook-ads-library-scraper | $0.75 / 1,000 | 4.8 (110) | 42K | Best rated and most used alternative |
| azzouzana/meta-facebook-instagram-ads-library | $0.50 / 1,000 | 5.0 (7) | - | Cheap, small review base |
| memo23/facebook-ads-library-scraper-ppe | from $0.30 / 1,000 | 4.5 (4) | 752 | Spend and EU reach data |
| scrapestorm/facebook-ads-library-scraper | - | 4.3 (34) | - | Page details, reach, impressions |
| automation-lab/facebook-ads-library | - | 4.5 (3) | 1.8K | Competitor monitoring focus |
| easyapi/facebook-ads-library-scraper | - | 1.8 (6) | 1.8K | Low rating, I'd skip it |
Figures shown in the Apify Store on September 29, 2026. Prices for third-party Actors are as advertised by their developers: check the Pricing tab before running.
✅ Which one should you pick?
- You need it to just work, every week, in an automation: the official Apify Actor. Maintained by Apify, covers all Meta platforms, fast support. You pay for that peace of mind.
- You scrape thousands of ads a month: test curious_coder's Actor on the same search, side by side. It has more users and a better rating than the official one, at a fraction of the price. At my volume, that's about $14 saved every month.
- You want spend or reach data specifically: read each Actor's output tab first, because fields differ from one Actor to another.
My plan: run both on the same 5 searches next billing cycle, compare the fields and the number of ads returned, and switch my n8n workflow if the results match. I'll update this page with the results.
💡 Tips to keep costs down
- Filter at the source: country, active ads only, media type. You pay per ad returned.
- Cap the number of ads per page or search (10 to 100 is enough for prospecting).
- Only enable the e-commerce add-on if you really need product data: it nearly doubles the price.
- Set a custom usage limit in Billing, so an automation loop can't drain your credits.
🔥 Both Actors can be tested with the free $5: enough for about 860 ads with the official one, thousands with the cheaper one. Open a free Apify account →
❓ FAQ
Is it legal to scrape the Facebook Ads Library?
The Ad Library is a public transparency tool, and ads data is business information. Respect Meta's terms, don't use the data for spam, and apply GDPR rules when you contact people. This isn't legal advice.
Do I need a Facebook account or cookies?
Not with the Actors listed here: they scrape the public Ad Library.
Can I scrape Instagram ads too?
Yes. The official Actor covers Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Threads, Messenger and Audience Network ads.
How much does it cost to scrape 10,000 ads?
About $50 on Starter with the official Actor, or around $7.50 at the price advertised by the cheaper alternative.
Can I get ad spend?
Only when Meta publishes it (mainly political and some EU ads). Check the Actor's output fields.
Can I automate it?
Yes, all my runs are triggered from n8n through the Apify API. Schedules and webhooks work too.
🏁 My verdict
Apify is the easiest way I know to turn the Meta Ad Library into a usable lead or research list. The official Actor is rock solid and I recommend it if you want zero maintenance. If you work at volume, test the cheaper, better-rated alternative before you scale: on my own numbers, the difference is about 7x. 👇
Read next: What Google Maps leads really cost · Apify pricing with my real bill · My full Apify review
This article reflects my own use of Apify. It contains affiliate links: if you subscribe through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. This site is independent and not affiliated with Meta. Prices change, check each Actor's Pricing tab.
Sources
- Facebook Ads Library Scraper (Apify) pricing: https://apify.com/apify/facebook-ads-scraper/pricing
- Meta Ad Library: https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/
- Apify Store search results, Apify console, September 29, 2026