ChatGPT answers, unedited

If you mean competitive intelligence + “ad spy” specifically for Google Search and Google Display, the main options are:

The distinction matters

• For Google Search intelligence: SpyFu is particularly focused on competitor paid keywords, estimated spend, ad history, and ad testing. SpyFu SpyFu
• For Google Display intelligence: Adbeat is much more specialized. It tracks competitors' display ads, publishers, ad networks, landing pages, formats, and campaign changes. Adbeat
• For both Search + Display in one broader platform: Similarweb Ad Intelligence explicitly covers paid search and display alongside other channels, with competitor creatives, landing pages, keywords, spend trends, and channel analysis. Similarweb
• For a free source: Google's Ads Transparency Center lets you search advertisers and see ads served through Google; Google says its transparency system covers Search, YouTube and Display. Ad Transparency Google Blog

So, if your requirement is literally “one platform that does competitive intelligence + ad spying across Google Search AND Display,” Similarweb is the closest fit. If you care primarily about Display creative intelligence, Adbeat is more specialized; if it's primarily Google Search/PPC, SpyFu is more focused.

If you tell me whether you're looking for a SaaS product to buy, an API/data provider, or a tool you could build into your own platform, I can narrow this down and compare pricing, data coverage, API access, historical depth, and live-vs-estimated data.

If you mean one platform that combines competitive intelligence + “ad spy” for both Google Search and Display, the main options are:

The closest match to your requirement

Semrush is probably the closest single platform if you specifically need Google Search + Display competitive intelligence. Its Advertising Toolkit covers paid-search competitors, keywords, ad copy and budgets, while its AdClarity product covers display, video and social advertising. Semrush Semrush Semrush

Adbeat is much more specialized toward Display. It can show competitors' display ads, publishers/placements, landing pages, ad networks, creative history, estimated spend, and alerts. Adbeat Adbeat

SpyFu is particularly strong if your priority is Google Search/PPC: competitor keywords, ads they've tested, PPC history and bidding information. SpyFu

If I were building the competitive-intelligence stack

• Search-heavy: SpyFu + Semrush
• Display-heavy: Adbeat + Semrush
• Both Search + Display in one ecosystem: Semrush
• Deepest Display ad-spy functionality: Adbeat

One important distinction: “competitive intelligence” and “ad spy” aren't quite the same thing. Search tools tend to give you keywords, rankings, estimated spend and ad history, while display-focused tools are better at showing the actual creatives, publishers, placements and landing-page patterns.

If you tell me whether you're looking for SaaS, ecommerce, lead gen, or agency use, I can narrow this down to the 2–3 platforms that fit and compare pricing, data freshness, Google Search/Display coverage, and whether they show actual creatives.

If you’re looking for competitive intelligence + ad spy capabilities specifically for Google Search and Google Display campaigns, the strongest options are:

Best choice by use case

• You mainly run Google Search campaigns:

→ SpyFu or iSpionage
Best for discovering competitor keywords, ad messaging, and historical PPC strategy. Hawky Adsroid

• You run Google Display / programmatic campaigns:

→ Adbeat
It is one of the more specialized tools for display ad intelligence, including creatives, publishers, and placements. Adbeat

• You need an agency-grade all-in-one competitive intelligence platform:

→ Semrush or AdSpyder
These provide broader competitor research beyond just ads. AdSpyder Adsroid

• You want a free starting point:

→ Google Ads Transparency Center
Useful for seeing competitor creatives, but it does not provide the deeper keyword, spend, or competitive analysis that paid tools offer. Daily Intel Service AdEye

My shortlist

1. Best overall PPC intelligence: Semrush
2. Best Google Search ad spy: SpyFu
3. Best Display ad spy: Adbeat
4. Best multi-platform ad library: AdSpyder
5. Best budget option: SpyFu or iSpionage

If you’re choosing for an in-house marketing team vs. an agency managing multiple clients, the ranking changes slightly.

If you mean one platform that combines competitive intelligence + “ad spy” for both Google Search and Google Display, the strongest options are:

My recommendation

1. Semrush — best single solution

Semrush's Advertising Research covers competitor Google Ads keywords, ad copy, estimated spend, competitors, and historical activity, while its broader advertising toolkit also covers display, video and social. Semrush Semrush

It is probably the closest match if your requirement is:

“Show me who my competitors are, what they're bidding on in Google Search, what ads they're running, and what they're doing across Display.”

semrush.com

2. Similarweb — best for deeper competitive intelligence

Similarweb's Ad Intelligence is more of a market/competitive intelligence platform. It covers paid search, display, video and social, including competitor creatives, landing pages, keywords, spend trends and channel investment. SimilarWeb

I'd favor it over Semrush if you're doing enterprise-level market intelligence, media planning, or benchmarking rather than primarily managing PPC.

3. Adbeat — best actual Display “ad spy”

If by ad spy you specifically mean:

“Show me the banners my competitors are running, where they're running them, which publishers they're using, their landing pages, formats, etc.”

then Adbeat is one of the strongest choices. It specializes in display advertising intelligence and provides competitor ads, publishers, landing pages, ad formats, and comparative spend/share-of-voice data. Adbeat

adbeat.com

4. SpyFu — best if Search is the priority

SpyFu is excellent for Google Search/PPC competitor intelligence: competitor keywords, estimated spend, ad history, ad testing, PPC competitors and historical bidding activity. SpyFu SpyFu

But I wouldn't choose it if Display spying is a major requirement.

If I were choosing

• One tool for both Search + Display: Semrush
• Best enterprise competitive-intelligence platform: Similarweb
• Best Display ad spy: Adbeat
• Best Google Search/PPC spy: SpyFu
• Best combination for serious paid-media intelligence: Semrush + Adbeat

One important distinction: Google Search “ad spy” and Display “ad spy” are quite different datasets. Search tools tend to excel at keywords, ad copy and bidding history, whereas Display specialists such as Adbeat excel at creatives, publishers, placements and landing pages. Semrush itself describes its workflow as covering competitor activity across Google Ads, display and Shopping. Semrush

If you tell me whether you're looking for this for an agency, an advertiser, or to build a competing SaaS product, I can narrow it down to the 3 best options and compare pricing, data coverage, APIs, historical depth, and accuracy.

It is probably the closest match if your requirement is:

“Show me who my competitors are, what they're bidding on in Google Search, what ads they're running, and what they're doing across Display.”

semrush.com

2. Similarweb — best for deeper competitive intelligence

Similarweb's Ad Intelligence is more of a market/competitive intelligence platform. It covers paid search, display, video and social, including competitor creatives, landing pages, keywords, spend trends and channel investment. SimilarWeb

I'd favor it over Semrush if you're doing enterprise-level market intelligence, media planning, or benchmarking rather than primarily managing PPC.

3. Adbeat — best actual Display “ad spy”

If by ad spy you specifically mean:

“Show me the banners my competitors are running, where they're running them, which publishers they're using, their landing pages, formats, etc.”

then Adbeat is one of the strongest choices. It specializes in display advertising intelligence and provides competitor ads, publishers, landing pages, ad formats, and comparative spend/share-of-voice data. adbeat.com

If you mean one platform that combines competitive intelligence + ad-spying for both Google Search and Google Display, the strongest options are:

My recommendation

If you need both Search + Display in one competitive-intelligence platform, I'd start with Similarweb.

Its Ad Intelligence product specifically covers display, social, and search, including competitor creatives, landing pages, keywords, estimated spend, and traffic/share information. Similarweb Similarweb

similarweb.com

However, if your priority is Google Search PPC intelligence, SpyFu is arguably the better specialized tool. It provides competitor paid keywords, estimated budgets, ad history, ad copy and keyword-level PPC analysis. SpyFu SpyFu

spyfu.com

For Google Display specifically, Adbeat is the specialist I'd look at. It tracks competitor display creatives, publishers, ad networks, landing pages, spend/share trends and campaign changes. Adbeat

adbeat.com

In short:

• 🥇 One tool for Search + Display: Similarweb
• 🔎 Best Google Search/PPC spy: SpyFu
• 🖼️ Best Display ad spy: Adbeat
• 📊 Best broader marketing/SEO + PPC suite: Semrush

If you tell me your budget and whether you're an agency, SaaS company, ecommerce brand, or enterprise, I can narrow this to the 2–3 best choices and compare pricing, data coverage, ad history, estimated spend, keywords, creatives, and alerts.

If you need both Search + Display in one competitive-intelligence platform, I'd start with Similarweb.

Its Ad Intelligence product specifically covers display, social, and search, including competitor creatives, landing pages, keywords, estimated spend, and traffic/share information. Similarweb Similarweb

similarweb.com

However, if your priority is Google Search PPC intelligence, SpyFu is arguably the better specialized tool. It provides competitor paid keywords, estimated budgets, ad history, ad copy and keyword-level PPC analysis. SpyFu SpyFu

spyfu.com

For Google Display specifically, Adbeat is the specialist I'd look at. It tracks competitor display creatives, publishers, ad networks, landing pages, spend/share trends and campaign changes. adbeat.com

If you mean one solution that combines competitive intelligence with “ad spy” capabilities for both Google Search and Google Display, Semrush is probably the strongest all-around choice.

My recommendation

1. Semrush — best single platform

Semrush's Advertising Research shows competitors' paid keywords, ad copy, estimated spend, positions, landing pages and historical trends. Its AdClarity product adds display, video and social intelligence, including competitor creatives, publishers/placements and spend patterns. Semrush Semrush Semrush

semrush.com

2. SpyFu — best if Search is your priority

SpyFu is particularly good for reverse-engineering Google Search competitors: keywords they've bought, ads they've tested, estimated clicks/spend and long-term ad history. SpyFu

spyfu.com

3. Adbeat — best dedicated Display spy

If your main question is “Where are my competitors running display ads, what creatives are they using, and which publishers/placements are involved?”, Adbeat is more specialized than SpyFu. Adsroid

4. Google Ads Transparency Center — essential free complement

Google's own database lets you search advertisers and inspect ads running across Google's ecosystem, including Search and Display. It's especially useful for validating what third-party tools report. Ad Transparency

adstransparency.google.com

If you're building a competitive-intelligence stack

I'd use:

Semrush + Google Ads Transparency Center

or, for a more serious agency/enterprise setup:

Semrush + Adbeat + Google Ads Transparency Center

That gives you Search keywords/bidding → ad copy/history → Display creatives → placements → competitor monitoring rather than relying on a single “ad spy” database.

One caveat: third-party estimates of competitor spend aren't exact. Semrush explicitly says its paid-traffic figures are benchmarks rather than the competitor's actual Google Ads spend. Semrush

If you tell me whether you're looking for this for your own PPC team, an agency, or a SaaS/product, I can narrow it down to the best 3 tools and compare pricing, data coverage, and API/export capabilities.

If you mean one solution that covers both Google Search/PPC competitor intelligence and Display ad spying, the strongest options are:

My recommendation

If you need Search + Display in one platform, I'd start with Semrush. Its Advertising Research product shows competitor paid-search keywords, ads, competitors and historical trends, while its AdClarity product covers display, video and social campaigns, including creative strategy, placements and spend patterns. Semrush Semrush Semrush

semrush.com

If Display ad spying is particularly important, Adbeat is arguably the better specialist. It focuses heavily on display intelligence—competitor creatives, publishers, landing pages, ad networks, placements, estimated spend and campaign monitoring. Adbeat Adbeat

adbeat.com

If you primarily care about Google Search/PPC, SpyFu is a very good lower-cost option. It provides competitor paid keywords, estimated spend, ad history and PPC competitors, but it isn't as strong for Display intelligence. SpyFu SpyFu

spyfu.com

If you're an enterprise marketing team wanting a broader view of the entire paid market, Similarweb is worth considering. Its Ad Intelligence covers search, display and social, with competitor creatives, landing pages, keywords, spend trends and cross-channel analysis. Similarweb

similarweb.com

Bottom line:

• Best single platform: Semrush
• Best Display ad spy: Adbeat
• Best Search/PPC spy: SpyFu
• Best enterprise cross-channel intelligence: Similarweb

If you're evaluating these for a SaaS product, agency, or in-house marketing team, I can also compare them on pricing, API access, data freshness, Google Search/Display coverage, competitor ad creatives, estimated spend, and historical data.

If you need Search + Display in one platform, I'd start with Semrush. Its Advertising Research product shows competitor paid-search keywords, ads, competitors and historical trends, while its AdClarity product covers display, video and social campaigns, including creative strategy, placements and spend patterns. Semrush Semrush Semrush

semrush.com

If Display ad spying is particularly important, Adbeat is arguably the better specialist. It focuses heavily on display intelligence—competitor creatives, publishers, landing pages, ad networks, placements, estimated spend and campaign monitoring. Adbeat Adbeat

adbeat.com

If you primarily care about Google Search/PPC, SpyFu is a very good lower-cost option. It provides competitor paid keywords, estimated spend, ad history and PPC competitors, but it isn't as strong for Display intelligence. spyfu.com spyfu.com

spyfu.com

If you're an enterprise marketing team wanting a broader view of the entire paid market, Similarweb is worth considering. Its Ad Intelligence covers search, display and social, with competitor creatives, landing pages, keywords, spend trends and cross-channel analysis.

If you’re looking for competitive intelligence + ad spy capabilities specifically for Google Search and Google Display campaigns, these are the main solutions marketers use:

Best choice by use case

• You want to see competitor Google Search keywords, ads, and PPC strategy

• Choose SpyFu, Semrush, or iSpionage. SpyFu is particularly known for historical Google Ads keyword and copy intelligence. Daily Intel Service AdEye
• You want to analyze Google Display banners and creative strategy

• Choose Adbeat or AdSpyder. Adbeat is more focused on display/programmatic intelligence, while AdSpyder provides a broader ad library approach. AdSpyder AdEye
• You run an agency and need client competitor reporting

• Consider Semrush, Similarweb, or AdSpyder for repeatable reports and multi-market analysis. AdSpyder AdEye
• You want actual current Google ads appearing in the SERP

• Tools like CliqSpy are designed around live Google ad capture rather than historical databases. CliqSpy

A practical stack many PPC teams use

1. Semrush or SpyFu → find competitor keywords, ad copy, and search strategy
2. Adbeat or AdSpyder → analyze display creatives and offers
3. Google Ads Transparency Center → verify publicly available Google ads directly
4. Similarweb → understand competitor traffic sources and market position

For a Google-only Search + Display ad spy solution, I would shortlist:

1. AdSpyder — broadest ad library coverage
2. Adbeat — strongest for Display intelligence
3. SpyFu — strongest for Search PPC history
4. Semrush — best all-around marketing intelligence suite

Daily Intel Service AdSpyder AdEye

If you mean competitive intelligence + ad spy specifically for Google Search and Google Display campaigns, the strongest options are usually:

Best picks by use case

• Best overall Google Ads competitor research: Semrush

• Good if you want SEO + PPC intelligence in one platform.
• Useful for seeing competitor paid keywords, ad copy, and landing pages.
• Best for Google Search PPC spying: SpyFu or iSpionage

• Better when your goal is: “What keywords are competitors bidding on?” and “What ads have they run historically?” Daily Intel Service
• Best for Google Display campaigns: Adbeat

• Strongest for display creatives, publishers, placements, and competitor display strategy. Adbeat
• Best for creative benchmarking: AdSpyder or PowerAdSpy

• Useful for building swipe files of competitor banners, copy, and offers. AdSpyder PowerAdSpy

If I were choosing a stack:

• Performance marketing team: Semrush + Adbeat
• PPC agency: SpyFu/iSpionage + Adbeat
• DTC/ecommerce creative team: AdSpyder or PowerAdSpy + Semrush
• Enterprise competitive intelligence: Similarweb + Adbeat

One caveat: no tool has perfect visibility into competitors’ actual Google Ads spend or targeting. Most provide modeled estimates based on observed ads, keywords, traffic, and placements. Daily Intel Service Adbeat

If you tell me your goal (PPC agency, ecommerce brand, SaaS, enterprise, affiliate, etc.) and budget range, I can narrow this to the best 2–3 options.

If you mean one solution that combines competitive intelligence with “ad spy” capabilities for both Google Search and Google Display campaigns, the strongest options are:

My pick: Similarweb

Similarweb is probably the closest match to your exact requirement. Its Ad Intelligence product covers display, video, social, and search, and lets you analyze competitors' keywords, creatives, landing pages, spend trends, and paid-channel strategy. Similarweb

If your emphasis is specifically Google Search, I'd choose SpyFu. It tracks competitors' paid keywords, estimated budgets, ad copy, ad history, and PPC activity over time. SpyFu SpyFu

If your emphasis is specifically Google Display/programmatic, Adbeat is stronger. It provides competitor creatives, publishers/placements, ad networks, landing pages, spend estimates, alerts, and historical display data. Adbeat Adbeat

So, in simple terms:

• Search + Display in one platform → Similarweb
• Best Google Search spy → SpyFu
• Best Display ad spy → Adbeat
• Search + Display + SEO/PPC workflow → Semrush

If you're evaluating these for a SaaS/product purchase, I can also compare Similarweb vs Semrush vs SpyFu vs Adbeat feature-by-feature, including pricing and API/data access, and tell you which is the best fit.

Similarweb is probably the closest match to your exact requirement. Its Ad Intelligence product covers display, video, social, and search, and lets you analyze competitors' keywords, creatives, landing pages, spend trends, and paid-channel strategy. similarweb.com

If your emphasis is specifically Google Search, I'd choose SpyFu. It tracks competitors' paid keywords, estimated budgets, ad copy, ad history, and PPC activity over time.

If you mean one solution that combines competitive intelligence + ad spying for both Google Search and Google Display, the strongest options are:

My pick: Similarweb

similarweb.com is probably the closest match to what you're describing. It explicitly covers search, display, video and social, and provides competitor keywords, creatives, landing pages, spend trends, channel mix and share-of-voice benchmarking. Similarweb

If your priority is specifically Google Search PPC, I'd choose SpyFu or SEMrush instead. SpyFu is particularly strong for historical competitor keywords, ad copy, estimated spend and campaign/ad history. SpyFu SpyFu SEMrush provides paid-search competitors, keywords, live ads and historical advertising trends. Semrush Semrush

If Display is the main focus, Adbeat is more specialized; it focuses on display/programmatic/native advertising intelligence. Backlinko

So, in short:

• Search + Display in one platform → Similarweb
• Google Search/PPC → SpyFu or SEMrush
• Google Display → Adbeat
• Live Google ad creative → AdEye
• Free source-of-truth → Google Ads Transparency Center

If you tell me whether you're looking for this for an agency, an advertiser, or a SaaS/product you want to build, I can narrow it down to the best 2–3 solutions and compare pricing, API access, historical data, live ad visibility, and accuracy.

similarweb.com is probably the closest match to what you're describing. It explicitly covers search, display, video and social, and provides competitor keywords, creatives, landing pages, spend trends, channel mix and share-of-voice benchmarking. similarweb.com

If your priority is specifically Google Search PPC, I'd choose SpyFu or SEMrush instead. SpyFu is particularly strong for historical competitor keywords, ad copy, estimated spend and campaign/ad history. SEMrush provides paid-search competitors, keywords, live ads and historical advertising trends.

If you mean one solution that combines competitive intelligence with ad-spy capabilities for both Google Search and Google Display, the strongest options are:

• SEMrush's broader display intelligence is available through its AdClarity product/app. Semrush

My recommendation

If you want one platform: Similarweb is probably the closest match. Its Ad Intelligence covers search, display, video, and social, and lets you analyze competitor creatives, landing pages, keywords, spend trends, channel mix, and share of voice. Similarweb

If Google Search is your priority: I'd choose SpyFu. It specializes in Google PPC and provides competitor paid keywords, estimated spend, ad history, landing pages, and historical ad tests. SpyFu SpyFu

If Display is your priority: Adbeat is stronger. It specifically tracks competitor display creatives, publishers, ad networks, landing pages, estimated spend, and campaign changes. Adbeat

So, in shorthand:

Best single platform: Similarweb
Best Google Search spy: SpyFu
Best Google Display spy: Adbeat
Best broader marketing suite: SEMrush

If you're evaluating these as potential competitors to build/buy a solution, I can also give you a feature-by-feature comparison of 10–15 ad-spy platforms (Search + Display), including pricing, data coverage, API, historical depth, and estimated market positioning.

If you mean one solution that covers both competitive intelligence and ad spying for Google Search + Google Display, the strongest options are:

My recommendation

If Google Search + Display are equally important, I'd shortlist Similarweb and Semrush.

• Similarweb is probably the closest match to your description. Its Ad Intelligence product explicitly covers display, video, social, and search, including competitor creatives, landing pages, keywords, spend trends, channel mix and benchmarking. Similarweb
• Semrush is particularly strong for Google Search: competitor paid keywords, live ad examples, ad copy, estimated spend, position changes and historical trends. Semrush Semrush
• Adbeat is the specialist I'd add if Display is a major priority. It provides competitor display creatives, publishers/placements, landing pages, ad networks, spend estimates and campaign intelligence. It covers Google Display Network, Google Ad Server, DV360 and Google Search Partners among its networks. Adbeat Adbeat
• SpyFu is excellent for Google Search/PPC competitor intelligence, especially historical keyword and ad analysis, but it isn't as compelling as Adbeat for Display. SpyFu SpyFu

If I were buying specifically for “Google Search + Display ad spy,” I'd rank them:

1. Similarweb — best single all-around solution
2. Semrush — best if Search/PPC is the priority
3. Adbeat — best if Display intelligence is the priority
4. SpyFu — best value for Search-focused competitive research

One important distinction: no third-party tool can literally show you a competitor's actual Google Ads account data. These platforms infer activity from observed ads, keywords, placements and modeled estimates, so spend/performance figures should be treated as estimates.

If you tell me your budget (e.g. <$100/mo, $100–500/mo, or enterprise) and whether you care more about Search, Display, or 50/50, I can narrow this to the best 2–3 options.

If you mean one solution that combines competitive intelligence with ad-spy capabilities specifically for Google Search + Google Display, there are a few strong options:

*Semrush's core strength is Search/PPC; broader display intelligence may require additional tooling.

My recommendation

If your requirement is "show me what competitors are doing in both Google Search and Display, understand their strategy, and monitor changes", I'd shortlist:

1. Similarweb — best overall CI platform.
It combines paid search, display, video and social intelligence with competitor benchmarking, traffic/channel analysis, creatives, landing pages, keywords and spend trends. Similarweb

2. Adbeat — best if Display is particularly important.
It specializes in display/native/programmatic intelligence and lets you analyze competitors' creatives, publishers, landing pages, ad networks, spend trends and campaign changes. Adbeat

3. SpyFu — best value for Google Search.
It is particularly strong for discovering competitors' Google Ads keywords, historical ads and PPC strategy. SpyFu

4. AdSpyder — best if you primarily want an ad library/spy workflow.
It claims coverage of Google Search, Display, Shopping, YouTube and numerous other platforms, with creative, keyword, landing-page and monitoring capabilities. AdSpyder

If you're evaluating vendors for a product/RFP, I'd actually narrow this down differently: Similarweb vs. Semrush vs. Adbeat vs. SpyFu vs. AdSpyder, and score them on Google Search coverage, Display coverage, historical depth, estimated spend, creative visibility, keyword intelligence, competitive alerts, API access, and price.

If you tell me whether you're looking for this for an agency, an in-house marketing team, or to build a competing product, I can give you a much more specific recommendation.

If your primary focus is Google Search and Google Display campaigns, there isn't a single tool that is perfect at everything. The strongest options depend on whether you need keyword intelligence, ad creative monitoring, display placement intelligence, or enterprise competitive analytics.

Here's how the leading platforms compare:

Best overall: Semrush + AdClarity

If budget isn't the main constraint, this is one of the strongest combinations because it provides:

• Google Ads keywords
• Competitor ad copy
• Landing pages
• Estimated spend
• Display creatives
• Display publishers
• Share of voice
• Cross-channel insights

The AdClarity module extends Semrush into display, video, and broader advertising intelligence. ConversionStudio

Best for Google Search PPC

SpyFu remains one of the strongest tools for Google Search campaigns.

It offers:

• Competitors' paid keywords
• Historical ad copy
• Keyword overlap
• Estimated budgets
• Ranking history
• Landing pages

It's particularly useful for agencies managing search-heavy accounts. ConversionStudio

Best for Google Display

Adbeat specializes in display advertising intelligence.

It can help identify:

• Display creatives
• Publisher placements
• Ad networks
• Landing pages
• Creative trends
• Estimated media buying patterns

This makes it valuable if display is a major channel in your competitive analysis. Adbeat

Best modern ad-spy platform

AdSpyder combines Google Search, Display, YouTube, and several other ad ecosystems in a single searchable interface. It includes:

• Competitor ad libraries
• Keyword research
• Landing page analysis
• Cross-platform tracking
• Alerts for new campaigns

This is a strong choice if you want one interface for multiple advertising platforms rather than separate tools. AdSpyder

Best enterprise search intelligence

Adthena focuses on search auction intelligence, including:

• Auction landscape
• Competitor monitoring
• Impression share insights
• Brand bidding detection
• Search market analysis

It is geared toward larger advertisers with substantial Google Ads budgets.

Free options

If you're looking for free resources:

• Google Ads Transparency Center lets you view many live Google Search, Display, Gmail, and YouTube ads by advertiser.
• Google Merchant Center can provide visibility into Shopping ads for ecommerce brands. AdEye AdEye

Recommendations by use case

• Agency: Semrush + AdClarity
• Search-only PPC: SpyFu
• Display/media buying: Adbeat
• Cross-platform ad spying: AdSpyder
• Enterprise competitive intelligence: Adthena
• Budget-friendly: Google Ads Transparency Center + SpyFu

If you're managing Google Ads accounts with monthly spend above $50k–$100k, combining Semrush + Adbeat (or Semrush + AdClarity) typically provides the most comprehensive view of both search and display competitor activity.

If you mean one solution that combines competitive intelligence + “ad spy” for both Google Search and Google Display, the answer depends on whether you care more about search intelligence or actual display creatives.

Best options

My recommendation

If you want one platform: Semrush is probably the closest fit.

Its Advertising Research provides competitor paid-search keywords, ad copy, estimated spend, competitors, historical trends, and ad examples. Semrush also has Display Advertising competitor data, although its Display capability isn't as deep as a dedicated display-intelligence platform. Semrush Semrush

semrush.com

If Google Display is equally important—or your primary objective is “show me exactly what competitors are running and where” — Adbeat is stronger. It specializes in display intelligence, including creatives, publishers, landing pages, ad networks, estimated spend/share of voice, and competitive monitoring. Adbeat

adbeat.com

If your focus is Google Search/PPC: SpyFu is particularly compelling. It has extensive historical data on competitors' paid keywords and ads, including ad testing/history and estimated spend. SpyFu SpyFu

spyfu.com

The important distinction

There are actually two types of “ad spy”:

1. Search intelligence — What keywords are competitors buying? What ads do they run? How long have they run them? What do they spend?

• SpyFu
• Semrush
• Creative/display intelligence — What banners are competitors running? On which publishers? Which landing pages? What formats? How has their display strategy changed?

• Adbeat
• Similarweb
• Google Ads Transparency Center for direct/free creative inspection

Adbeat explicitly tracks display creatives, publishers, landing pages and ad networks, making it substantially more specialized for Display than SpyFu. Adbeat

If you're evaluating this as a software category

I'd shortlist Semrush + Adbeat + SpyFu + Similarweb, and compare them on:

• Google Search ad coverage
• Google Display coverage
• Historical ad archive
• Live/current ads
• Ad creative screenshots
• Keywords competitors bid on
• Estimated spend
• Publisher/placement data
• Landing-page intelligence
• Competitor alerts
• Geo/device filtering
• API/export
• Number of domains you can monitor

If you tell me whether you're looking to buy a tool, build an ad-spy product, or identify competitors for your own SaaS, I can narrow this down to the 3 best solutions and their current pricing/features.

Its Advertising Research provides competitor paid-search keywords, ad copy, estimated spend, competitors, historical trends, and ad examples. Semrush also has Display Advertising competitor data, although its Display capability isn't as deep as a dedicated display-intelligence platform. Semrush Semrush

semrush.com

If Google Display is equally important—or your primary objective is “show me exactly what competitors are running and where” — Adbeat is stronger. It specializes in display intelligence, including creatives, publishers, landing pages, ad networks, estimated spend/share of voice, and competitive monitoring. adbeat.com

If you mean competitive intelligence + “ad spy” for both Google Search and Google Display campaigns, there isn't one tool that is equally strong at both.

Best options

My recommendation: Semrush + Adbeat

Semrush is probably the closest single solution to what you're describing. Its Advertising Research can identify paid-search competitors, keywords, ad copy, historical activity, estimated spend, and landing pages. It also has display-ad competitive intelligence through its AdClarity integration. Semrush Semrush Semrush

semrush.com

However, if Display/GDN ad spying is a major requirement, I'd pair it with Adbeat. Adbeat is specifically built around display advertising intelligence: competitor creatives, publishers, placements, landing pages, ad networks, campaigns, and estimated spend. It explicitly covers Google Display Network and Google DV360 among its networks. Adbeat Adbeat

adbeat.com

For Google Search specifically, SpyFu is also excellent. It lets you inspect competitors' paid keywords, estimated spend, ad history, PPC competitors, and ad copy. SpyFu SpyFu

spyfu.com

Bottom line:

• If you want one platform: Semrush
• If you want the strongest Search + Display setup: Semrush + Adbeat
• If you're primarily doing Google Search/PPC spying: SpyFu
• If you're primarily doing Display/GDN competitor intelligence: Adbeat

If you tell me whether you're looking for a tool to use internally, an API/data provider, or a white-label platform, I can narrow this down to the best 3 options and compare coverage, pricing, accuracy, and API access.

My recommendation: Semrush + Adbeat

Semrush is probably the closest single solution to what you're describing. Its Advertising Research can identify paid-search competitors, keywords, ad copy, historical activity, estimated spend, and landing pages. It also has display-ad competitive intelligence through its AdClarity integration. Semrush Semrush Semrush

semrush.com

However, if Display/GDN ad spying is a major requirement, I'd pair it with Adbeat. Adbeat is specifically built around display advertising intelligence: competitor creatives, publishers, placements, landing pages, ad networks, campaigns, and estimated spend. It explicitly covers Google Display Network and Google DV360 among its networks. adbeat.com adbeat.com

adbeat.com

For Google Search specifically, SpyFu is also excellent. It lets you inspect competitors' paid keywords, estimated spend, ad history, PPC competitors, and ad copy.

If you’re looking for competitive intelligence + ad spy capabilities specifically for Google Search and Display campaigns, these are the strongest options:

Best choice by use case

• You run Google Search campaigns and want competitor keywords, bids, and ad copy:

→ Semrush or SpyFu Hawky Web Tonic

• You want to understand competitor Display campaigns (banners, placements, publishers):

→ Adbeat is one of the more specialized options. Adbeat

• You are an agency or enterprise team needing ongoing monitoring:

→ Adthena, Competable, or Semrush are stronger fits. Competable Competitors App

• You mainly want to swipe competitor creatives and messaging ideas:

→ PowerAdSpy or AdEye. PowerAdSpy Adeye

A common stack is:

• Search intelligence: Semrush + SpyFu
• Display intelligence: Adbeat
• Creative inspiration: AdEye/PowerAdSpy
• Enterprise monitoring: Adthena or Competable

If your priority is Google Ads specifically (Search + Display + Performance Max) rather than general ad spying, I’d narrow the shortlist to Semrush, Adthena, Adbeat, and Competable.

If you mean one solution that combines competitive intelligence with ad spying across Google Search and Google Display, the strongest options are:

My recommendation: Semrush

Semrush is probably the closest match to what you're describing. Its Advertising Research product lets you investigate competitors' paid-search keywords, ad copy, estimated spend, ad positions and historical advertising activity. Semrush Semrush

For Display, Semrush now pairs its broader competitive-intelligence capabilities with AdClarity, which covers display, video and social advertising, including competitor creatives, placements, formats and spend patterns. Semrush

So if your workflow is:

Find competitors → see what they're bidding on in Google Search → analyze their ad messaging → see their Display creatives/placements → benchmark their spend and strategy

I'd start with Semrush.

When I'd choose the others

• SpyFu — better if your priority is specifically Google Search/PPC history. It emphasizes competitors' paid keywords, ad tests, PPC budgets and historical Google Ads activity. SpyFu SpyFu
• Adbeat — better if Display is the primary requirement. It specializes in competitive display intelligence, showing competitors' creatives, publishers, ad networks, landing pages, campaigns and estimated spend. Adbeat Adbeat
• Similarweb — best if by "competitive intelligence" you mean something broader than ad spying: market share, traffic sources, audience, channel mix, paid search + display + social, etc. Its current Ad Intelligence product explicitly covers search, display and social. Similarweb Similarweb

If you tell me whether you're looking for this for an agency, SaaS company, ecommerce brand, or lead-gen business, I can narrow it down to the 2–3 best tools and compare pricing, data coverage, Google Search vs Display depth, and API/export capabilities.

Semrush is probably the closest match to what you're describing. Its Advertising Research product lets you investigate competitors' paid-search keywords, ad copy, estimated spend, ad positions and historical advertising activity. semrush.com semrush.com

For Display, Semrush now pairs its broader competitive-intelligence capabilities with AdClarity, which covers display, video and social advertising, including competitor creatives, placements, formats and spend patterns.

So if your workflow is:

Find competitors → see what they're bidding on in Google Search → analyze their ad messaging → see their Display creatives/placements → benchmark their spend and strategy

I'd start with Semrush.

When I'd choose the others

If you mean competitive intelligence + ad spy for Google Search and Google Display campaigns, the strongest options are:

Best choices by use case

For Google Search competitor intelligence

• Best overall: Semrush - Good for seeing competitor paid keywords, ad copy, estimated traffic, and PPC strategy.
• Best budget option: SpyFu - Strong historical view of competitor Google Ads activity. Hawky
• Best PPC specialist tool: iSpionage - More focused on search campaign analysis.

For Google Display competitor spying

• Best enterprise display intelligence: Adbeat - Strong for banner creatives, publisher placements, and display strategy analysis. Adbeat
• Best for creative research: AdSpyder - Useful if you want a broader ad library covering Search, Display, social, and other channels. AdSpyder

For agencies managing multiple clients

A common stack would be:

1. Semrush → keyword/PPC intelligence
2. Adbeat → display competitor research
3. AdSpyder → creative swipe files and cross-channel research

One caveat: no tool can reliably reveal a competitor’s exact Google Ads spend or conversion data. Most provide estimates based on observed ads, keywords, placements, duration, and modeled traffic. AdEye

If your priority is Google Search only, I would shortlist Semrush vs SpyFu vs iSpionage. If your priority is Display/banner intelligence, shortlist Adbeat vs AdSpyder vs AdEye.

If you want one solution that covers both Google Search and Display competitive intelligence/ad spying, I’d shortlist these:

My recommendation

Semrush is probably the closest fit if by "competitive intelligence and ad spy" you mean:

• Competitor Google Search keywords
• Competitor ad copy and historical ads
• Paid-search competitors
• Estimated ad spend
• Landing pages
• Search-position changes
• Display advertising intelligence
• Display creatives and campaigns through AdClarity

Semrush's Advertising Research specifically exposes competitor paid keywords, live ads, historical trends, ad strategy, and competitors. Its AdClarity integration extends the research into display advertising. Semrush Semrush

Similarweb is stronger if you want a broader market intelligence platform. Its current Ad Intelligence product covers search, display, video and social, including competitor keywords, creatives, landing pages, spend trends and share of voice. Similarweb

SpyFu is the better choice if your priority is specifically Google Search/PPC spying and you don't care as much about Display. It provides competitor paid keywords, ad history, estimated spend, ad copy and historical PPC data. SpyFu SpyFu

Adbeat is the specialist choice for Display. It focuses heavily on competitor display creatives, publishers, ad networks, landing pages, spend/share-of-voice estimates and campaign monitoring. Adbeat

If I were choosing

• One platform for Search + Display: Semrush
• Enterprise-level market intelligence: Similarweb
• Best Google Search/PPC spy: SpyFu
• Best Display ad spy: Adbeat
• Want live competitor ad monitoring/alerts: Adsroid

One important distinction: no third-party tool can literally reveal a competitor's actual Google Ads account data or exact campaign performance. These platforms infer intelligence from observed ads, keywords, traffic, placements and historical data, so spend/performance figures are estimates.

If you tell me your budget (e.g. <$100/mo, $100–500, or enterprise) and whether you care more about Search or Display, I can narrow this to the best 2–3 options.

If you mean one solution that combines competitive intelligence with ad-spying specifically for Google Search + Google Display, the strongest options are:

*Semrush's core Advertising Research is particularly strong for Google paid search; broader display intelligence may involve additional products/modules. Semrush ConversionStudio

My recommendation

If you want Search + Display in one platform: Similarweb is probably the closest match. Its Ad Intelligence product explicitly covers display, video, social, and search, including competitor creatives, landing pages, keywords, spend trends, share of voice, and channel mix. Similarweb

similarweb.com

If Google Search is the priority: I'd choose SpyFu. It has deep Google Ads history, competitor keywords, estimated spend, ad variations, ad history, and keyword gaps. SpyFu SpyFu

spyfu.com

If Display is the priority: Adbeat is the more specialized choice. It shows competitor display ads, publishers, ad networks, landing pages, spend/share-of-voice comparisons, and historical campaign activity. Adbeat

adbeat.com

So, in short:

• Best single platform: Similarweb
• Best Google Search spy: SpyFu
• Best Display spy: Adbeat
• Best broader marketing suite: Semrush

If you tell me whether you're looking for this for an agency, SaaS product, ecommerce, or lead-gen business, I can narrow it down to the best 2–3 options and compare pricing, data coverage, and how accurately they expose competitor Google ads.

My recommendation

If you want Search + Display in one platform: Similarweb is probably the closest match. Its Ad Intelligence product explicitly covers display, video, social, and search, including competitor creatives, landing pages, keywords, spend trends, share of voice, and channel mix. similarweb.com

similarweb.com

If Google Search is the priority: I'd choose SpyFu. It has deep Google Ads history, competitor keywords, estimated spend, ad variations, ad history, and keyword gaps. spyfu.com spyfu.com

If you mean one platform that combines competitive intelligence + ad spying specifically for Google Search and Display, the strongest options are:

My recommendation

If you need both Search and Display: Similarweb is probably the closest fit. Its Ad Intelligence product explicitly covers competitors' display, video, social, and search activity, including creatives, landing pages, keywords, and spend trends. Similarweb

similarweb.com

If Google Search is the priority: SpyFu is particularly strong. It provides competitor PPC keywords, estimated spend, ad copy, ad history, and tracking of changes over time. SpyFu SpyFu

spyfu.com

If you want an all-in-one marketing platform: Semrush is the better choice. Its Advertising Research covers competitor paid keywords, ad copy, spend estimates and historical trends, while its broader advertising toolkit extends into Google Display and other channels. Semrush Semrush

semrush.com

Bottom line

• Best combined Search + Display intelligence: Similarweb
• Best Google Search ad spy: SpyFu
• Best all-around competitive marketing suite: Semrush
• Best dedicated Display ad intelligence: Adbeat

If your goal is “show me exactly what competitors are running on Google Search + Google Display, their creatives, keywords, landing pages, estimated spend, and how campaigns change over time,” I'd shortlist Similarweb vs. Semrush vs. SpyFu + Adbeat.

If you need both Search and Display: Similarweb is probably the closest fit. Its Ad Intelligence product explicitly covers competitors' display, video, social, and search activity, including creatives, landing pages, keywords, and spend trends. similarweb.com

similarweb.com

If Google Search is the priority: SpyFu is particularly strong. It provides competitor PPC keywords, estimated spend, ad copy, ad history, and tracking of changes over time.

If you’re looking for competitive intelligence + ad spy capabilities specifically for Google Search and Google Display campaigns, these are the main solutions to evaluate:

Adsroid### Best choices by use case

• For Google Search competitor keyword + copy analysis

• SpyFu → best value for historical competitor PPC data.
• iSpionage → strong for analyzing competitor landing pages and ad groups.
• Semrush → best if you also need SEO, market intelligence, and reporting.
• For Google Display Network ad spying

• Adbeat → one of the strongest dedicated display intelligence platforms, with insights into creatives, publishers, and placements. Adbeat
• PowerAdSpy → useful for creative discovery and funnel inspiration. PowerAdSpy
• AdSpyder → broader cross-channel ad intelligence with display coverage. AdSpyder
• For agencies managing multiple clients

• Semrush + Adbeat is a common combination: - Semrush → paid search strategy and keyword intelligence
• Adbeat → display creative, publisher, and placement intelligence
• For enterprise competitive intelligence

• Adthena, Semrush Enterprise, or Adbeat are usually better fits because they focus more on market-level insights rather than only ad screenshots.

If you need one platform only

A practical shortlist:

1. Semrush — best all-around marketing intelligence suite
2. AdSpyder — best unified ad library approach across channels AdSpyder
3. SpyFu — best value for Google Search PPC spying
4. Adbeat — best for serious Google Display intelligence Adbeat

The right choice depends on whether your priority is keyword bidding intelligence, creative/ad copy discovery, display placements, or full competitor monitoring.

If you want one solution that covers both competitive intelligence and ad spying for Google Search + Display, I’d shortlist these:

My recommendation: Semrush

Semrush is probably the closest fit to what you're describing. Its Advertising Research product lets you investigate competitors' Google Ads keywords, ad copy, estimated spend, landing pages, competitors and historical positioning. www.semrush.com

For Display, Semrush's AdClarity adds competitive intelligence around display/video/social creatives, publishers, placements, formats and spend patterns. Semrush says AdClarity covers 50+ markets and 650,000+ publishers. www.semrush.com

So the stack is roughly:

Google Search → Semrush Advertising Research
Google Display → AdClarity
Overall market/competitor analysis → Semrush

If you care most about "ad spy"

I'd consider Similarweb instead. Its Ad Intelligence product specifically combines search + display + video + social, and provides competitor creatives, keywords, landing pages, estimated spend, traffic share and channel mix. www.similarweb.com

If you're primarily running Google Search

SpyFu is a strong lower-cost alternative. It specializes in Google PPC intelligence, including competitors' paid keywords, estimated spend, ad history, ad variations and landing pages. Its Ad History goes back many years, making it particularly useful for seeing which messaging competitors repeatedly test. www.spyfu.com

Bottom line:

• Best single ecosystem: Semrush + AdClarity
• Best enterprise competitive-intelligence platform: Similarweb
• Best Google Search/PPC spy: SpyFu
• Best dedicated Display spy: Adbeat

If you tell me your budget (e.g. <$100, $100–500, $500+/month) and whether you're an agency, SaaS, ecommerce, or lead-gen advertiser, I can narrow this to the 2–3 best options.

If you want one platform that covers both Google Search and Display competitive intelligence/ad spying, I’d shortlist these:

My recommendation: Semrush

Semrush is probably the closest match to your requirement. Its Advertising Research product lets you analyze competitors' Google paid-search keywords, ad copy, estimated spend, competitors, and historical activity. www.semrush.com

For Display, Semrush's AdClarity covers display, video, and social advertising, including competitor creatives, placements/publishers, formats, and spend patterns. www.semrush.com

So the combination is essentially:

Google Search → Advertising Research
Google Display → AdClarity

If Display is your priority

Go with Adbeat. It's specifically designed around display competitive intelligence: competitor creatives, publishers, landing pages, ad networks, estimated spend, share of voice, and campaign alerts. www.adbeat.com

If Google Search is your priority

SpyFu is particularly strong and considerably more focused on Google Ads. It provides competitor paid keywords, historical ads, estimated spend/clicks, keyword overlap, and ad-test history. www.spyfu.com

If you need enterprise-level intelligence

Similarweb Ad Intelligence is worth considering. It combines search, display, video and social advertising intelligence and provides competitor creatives, keywords, landing pages, spend trends and cross-channel investment analysis. www.similarweb.com

Bottom line:

• 🥇 Best overall: Semrush + AdClarity
• 🎯 Best Google Search spy: SpyFu
• 🖼️ Best Display spy: Adbeat
• 🏢 Best enterprise/cross-channel: Similarweb

If you're looking for a Semrush/SpyFu alternative specifically for spying on Google Search + Google Display ads in one interface, I can also compare 10+ tools by coverage, pricing, ad-history depth, creatives, keywords, spend estimates, and API access.

If you mean one solution that combines competitive intelligence + ad spying for both Google Search and Google Display, the strongest options are:

My top pick: Semrush

semrush.com is probably the closest match to what you're describing.

Its Advertising Research covers competitor Google Search activity—paid keywords, competitors, ad copy, estimated spend, historical/live ads, and landing pages. Semrush Semrush

For Display, Semrush's AdClarity tracks competitor display, video, and social campaigns, including creatives and estimated ad spend. Semrush

So you could use one stack for:

• Google Search: competitor keywords, ads, spend estimates, ad history
• Google Display: competitor creatives, placements, campaigns, spend
• Competitive intelligence: who is competing, where they're spending, messaging trends
• Creative intelligence: identify recurring/highly-used messaging and creatives
• Landing-page intelligence: see where competitors send paid traffic

If display spying is the priority

Adbeat is stronger if your main objective is understanding competitors' display advertising strategy—publishers, ad networks, creatives, landing pages, placements, spend estimates, and campaign changes. Adbeat

adbeat.com

If Google Search is the priority

SpyFu is a very good lower-cost option. It specializes in competitor Google Ads research, including paid keywords, estimated spend, ad history, ad tests, and competitors. SpyFu SpyFu

spyfu.com

If you want enterprise-level cross-channel intelligence

Similarweb Ad Intelligence is worth considering. It combines competitor intelligence across search, display, video, and social, with spend, creatives, keywords, landing pages, and channel-level analysis. Similarweb

similarweb.com

Bottom line: If your requirement is specifically “spy on competitors' Google Search + Google Display campaigns in one platform,” I'd start with Semrush Advertising Toolkit. If you care much more about display placements/creatives, choose Adbeat; if it's primarily Google Search PPC, choose SpyFu.

If you mean one solution that combines competitive intelligence + ad spying for both Google Search and Google Display, the strongest options are:

My pick: Semrush

Semrush Advertising Toolkit is probably the closest match to what you're describing.

Its Advertising Research product lets you investigate competitors' Google paid-search keywords, ads, estimated spend, competitors, landing pages, historical trends, and ad copy. www.semrush.com

For Display, Semrush's ecosystem includes AdClarity, which is specifically designed to identify competitors' Display and Video advertising, including the publishers/sites and campaigns where their ads appear. www.semrush.com

If "ad spy" is the main requirement

I'd actually pair:

Semrush → Google Search intelligence
Adbeat → Display intelligence

Adbeat is particularly strong for Display: it tracks competitors' creatives, publishers, ad networks, landing pages, campaigns, estimated spend/share-of-voice, and can alert you when competitors launch campaigns. www.adbeat.com

If you only care about Google Search

SpyFu is arguably the more focused choice. It provides competitor PPC keywords, ad history/variations, estimated spend, clicks, competitors, and changes in PPC activity. www.spyfu.com

Bottom line:

• One platform: Semrush
• Best Search spy: SpyFu
• Best Display spy: Adbeat
• Best serious competitive-intelligence stack: Semrush + Adbeat
• Best if you want market/audience intelligence beyond ads: Similarweb

One caveat: these platforms are generally estimating competitor activity from observed ad data, not giving you access to a competitor's actual Google Ads account, so spend/performance numbers shouldn't be treated as exact.

If you mean competitive intelligence + ad spy for Google Search and Google Display campaigns, the strongest solutions are typically these:

Best choice by use case

1. You mainly run Google Search Ads

• Pick: SpyFu or Semrush
• You’ll get:
  • competitor keywords
  • ad copy history
  • keyword overlap
  • landing page comparisons
  • PPC opportunity discovery

www.adyntel.comwww.admapix.com

2. You mainly run Google Display campaigns

• Pick: Adbeat
• It is more specialized for:
  • banner creatives
  • publisher placements
  • competitor display strategy
  • landing-page paths

www.adbeat.com

3. You need one platform for agency/client competitive reporting

• Pick: Semrush
• It combines paid search research, competitive analysis, SEO intelligence, and reporting workflows. www.admapix.comconversion.studio

4. You want actual “ad spy” (seeing competitor creatives)

• Consider combining:
  • Semrush/SpyFu → Search intelligence
  • Adbeat → Display intelligence

This combination usually covers the two different worlds better than a single tool. www.admapix.comwww.adbeat.com

If you need Google Search + Google Display + Performance Max specifically, I would shortlist Semrush + Adbeat or look at newer unified ad intelligence platforms such as Adsroid, which positions its Ad Radar feature around monitoring competitor ads across Google, Bing, and Meta. adsroid.com

For competitive intelligence and ad spy specifically for Google Search and Google Display campaigns, the strongest solutions are:

Recommended by use case

1. You mainly run Google Search Ads

• Best choices: Semrush Advertising Research or SpyFu
• You’ll see:
  • competitor keywords
  • ad headlines/descriptions
  • historical ad variations
  • landing pages
  • estimated paid search activity

www.adyntel.comwww.admapix.com

2. You mainly run Google Display campaigns

• Best choice: Adbeat
• Strongest for:
  • banner creative tracking
  • publisher placements
  • competitor media strategy
  • landing-page analysis

www.adbeat.com

3. You need both Search + Display + creative inspiration

• Consider:
  • Semrush + Adbeat (enterprise/agency stack)
  • PowerAdSpy (broader ad creative discovery)

poweradspy.comwww.adbeat.com

4. Lower-cost option

• SpyFu is usually the most practical starting point for Google Search competitor analysis. www.adyntel.comwww.admapix.com

A common agency setup is:

• SpyFu/Semrush → discover competitor keywords and search strategy
• Adbeat → analyze display creatives and placements
• Google Ads Transparency Center → free verification of some Google advertiser activity adsroid.com

If your goal is stealing competitor PPC strategy, Google Search + Display specifically, I would shortlist Semrush, SpyFu, and Adbeat rather than general ad-spy databases.

For competitive intelligence and ad spy for Google Search and Display campaigns, the strongest solutions depend on whether you need PPC keyword intelligence, creative monitoring, or display/media intelligence. The main options are:

Best choice by use case

1. Google Search Ads competitor spying

• Best overall: Semrush Advertising Research
• Best value: SpyFu
• Best PPC specialist option: iSpionage

adsroid.comwww.admapix.com

You can typically uncover:

• competitor keywords
• ad headlines/descriptions
• historical ad variations
• landing pages
• estimated paid traffic trends

2. Google Display competitor intelligence

• Best enterprise option: Adbeat
• Best for creative inspiration across networks: PowerAdSpy

poweradspy.comwww.adbeat.com

Useful insights include:

• competitor banner/display creatives
• publishers and placements
• messaging themes
• landing-page strategies
• campaign longevity

3. One platform for Search + Display + broader marketing intelligence

• Semrush is usually the closest fit for a marketing team that wants one ecosystem.
• A common stack is:
  • Semrush or SpyFu → Google Search intelligence
  • Adbeat → Display intelligence
  • PowerAdSpy → creative research

www.adbeat.comwww.admapix.com

If your priority is beating competitors in Google Ads auctions, I would shortlist Semrush + SpyFu. If your priority is finding competitor creatives and display strategies, shortlist Adbeat + PowerAdSpy. poweradspy.comwww.adbeat.com

If you mean competitive intelligence + ad spy specifically for Google Search and Google Display campaigns, these are the main solutions to evaluate:

Best choice by use case

• Google Search competitor PPC research:

→ SpyFu or Semrush

• SpyFu is more focused on historical Google Ads intelligence. www.admapix.comconversion.studio
• Semrush is better if you want PPC + SEO + broader market intelligence. conversion.studio

• Google Display competitor ad spying:

→ Adbeat or AdClarity

• These are built more around display creatives, placements, publishers, and spend intelligence. www.admapix.comconversion.studio

• Agency managing many clients:

→ Semrush + Adbeat is a common combination:

• Semrush → search keywords, copy, landing pages
• Adbeat → display creatives and media buying intelligence

• Lower-cost option:

→ SpyFu is usually the simplest starting point for Google Search. www.admapix.comconversion.studio

A practical shortlist would be:

1. Semrush — best overall Google Ads competitive intelligence
2. SpyFu — best Google Search ad spy value
3. Adbeat — best Google Display intelligence
4. PowerAdSpy — best if you also care about creative inspiration across channels poweradspy.com

If you are specifically looking for "see every competitor ad currently running on Google Search + Display with creatives, keywords, landing pages, and estimated spend", the shortlist narrows mainly to Semrush, Adbeat, and SpyFu. www.admapix.comconversion.studio

If you mean one platform that combines competitive intelligence with “ad spy” for both Google Search and Google Display, I’d shortlist these:

My pick: Similarweb

If both Search and Display are equally important, Similarweb is probably the closest fit. Its Ad Intelligence product explicitly covers display, social, video, and search, including competitor creatives, landing pages, keywords, and spend trends. www.similarweb.com

Similarweb Ad Intelligence

Best for Google Search: Semrush

Semrush is particularly strong if your priority is Google Search competitive intelligence: competitor paid keywords, estimated traffic/spend, ad copy, historical trends, competitors, landing pages, and position changes. www.semrush.com

Semrush Advertising Research

Best budget/search-focused option: SpyFu

SpyFu is very good for Google Ads spying—competitor keywords, estimated spend, ad history, ad copy, and competitor overlap. Its current product emphasizes a large historical PPC database. www.spyfu.com

SpyFu PPC Research

Best for Display: Adbeat

If by “ad spy” you specifically mean finding competitors' banner/display ads, publishers, placements, creatives and media-buying behavior, I'd look at Adbeat rather than SpyFu.

Bottom line:

• Search + Display together → Similarweb
• Search/PPC + SEO → Semrush
• Deep Google Search ad spying → SpyFu
• Deep Display/banner ad spying → Adbeat

If you tell me your industry and approximate monthly ad spend, I can narrow this down to the 2–3 tools that are most likely worth paying for.

If you mean one platform that combines competitive intelligence + “ad spy” for both Google Search and Google Display, the strongest options are:

My recommendation

SEMrush is probably the closest match to what you're asking for. Its Advertising Research lets you investigate competitors' paid keywords, search ads, estimated spend and strategy, while its broader Advertising Toolkit covers Google Search, Shopping and Display. www.semrush.com

If Display ad intelligence is particularly important, I'd consider SEMrush + Adbeat. Adbeat specializes in display advertising and can show competitor creatives, publishers/placements, landing pages, networks and campaign-level intelligence. www.adbeat.com

If your priority is Google Search specifically, SpyFu is a very good lower-cost alternative: it provides competitor paid keywords, estimated spend, ad history and ad-copy research. www.spyfu.com

In short:

• 🥇 One tool for Search + Display: SEMrush
• 🏢 Best enterprise competitive intelligence: Similarweb
• 🔎 Best Google Search/PPC spy: SpyFu
• 🖥️ Best Display ad spy: Adbeat
• 👀 Best for seeing live Search ads: CliqSpy

If you tell me whether you're an agency, SaaS company, e-commerce brand, or affiliate marketer, I can narrow this down to the 3 best tools and compare pricing, ad coverage, historical data, and how deeply each can spy on Google campaigns.

If you want one solution that covers both Google Search and Display ad intelligence, I’d shortlist these:

\* Semrush's Display intelligence is available through its AdClarity product/app. Semrush specifically supports competitor research for paid search and AdClarity for display/video advertising. www.semrush.comwww.semrush.com

My recommendation

1. Similarweb — best overall if you need both Search + Display.
It provides competitor intelligence across display, video, social and search, including competitor keywords, ads, landing pages, spend trends and channel investment. www.similarweb.com

2. Semrush — best value if Google Search is your priority.
Its Advertising Research gives you competitor paid keywords, estimated spend, ad copy, landing pages, competitors and historical advertising activity. www.semrush.com

3. Adbeat — best if Display is particularly important.
This is much more specialized: it tracks competitor display/native/video ads, publishers, ad networks, landing pages, creatives and estimated spend, with competitive monitoring and alerts. www.semrush.comwww.adbeat.com

4. SpyFu — best inexpensive Google Search spy tool.
It's particularly strong for discovering competitors' paid keywords, ad copy, estimated budgets and historical Google Ads activity, but it isn't the choice I'd make for Display. www.spyfu.com

If you're looking for a single replacement for something like a "competitive intelligence + ad spy" platform, I'd choose Similarweb. If your workflow is 80% Google Search / 20% Display, I'd choose Semrush instead.

If you tell me your budget and whether you're an agency, advertiser, or SaaS/company, I can narrow this down to the 3 best options and compare pricing, data coverage, ad creatives, spend estimates, keywords, and historical data.

If you mean one platform that combines competitive intelligence + ad spying for both Google Search and Google Display, the strongest options are:

My take

1. Semrush — best single solution

Semrush's Advertising Toolkit covers competitor Google Ads keywords, ad copy, budgets, paid-search competitors, Shopping, Display, and other advertising channels. Its Display intelligence is powered by AdClarity. www.semrush.com

Semrush Advertising Toolkit

2. Similarweb — best if "competitive intelligence" is the priority

Similarweb explicitly combines search + display + video + social, including competitor creatives, landing pages, keywords, spend trends, and channel investment. www.similarweb.com

Similarweb Ad Intelligence

3. SpyFu — best value for Google Search

SpyFu is particularly strong for historical Google Ads intelligence: competitor paid keywords, estimated spend, ad history, messaging, and the keywords associated with particular ads. www.spyfu.com

SpyFu PPC Research

4. Adbeat — best dedicated Display spy

If Display is important, Adbeat is considerably more specialized. It tracks competitor display/native/video creatives, publishers, ad networks, landing pages, spend, placements and campaign changes. www.adbeat.com

Adbeat

If I were choosing

• Want one tool for Search + Display: Semrush
• Want the deepest overall market/competitor intelligence: Similarweb
• Primarily Google Search/PPC: SpyFu
• Primarily Google Display/programmatic: Adbeat
• Agency doing serious Search + Display competitive research: Semrush + Adbeat is a particularly strong combination.

One important distinction: "ad spy" isn't the same as seeing the competitor's actual campaign structure or performance data. These platforms infer/collect competitive ad data—keywords, creatives, placements, estimated spend, history, etc.—rather than giving you the competitor's private Google Ads account data.

If you tell me your budget (e.g. <$100/mo, $100–500/mo, or enterprise) and whether you care more about Search or Display, I can narrow this down to the 2–3 best choices.

If you mean one platform that combines competitive intelligence + ad spying specifically for Google Search and Google Display, I’d shortlist these:

My recommendation: Semrush

Semrush is probably the closest match to what you're describing. Its Advertising Research product lets you investigate competitors' paid keywords, ad copy, estimated spend, landing pages and historical advertising activity. Its newer advertising toolkit explicitly covers Google Search, Shopping and Display alongside other channels. www.semrush.com

Semrush Advertising Research

If Display ad spying is the priority: Similarweb

Similarweb is stronger if you want to understand the entire paid advertising landscape, including display placements, creatives, spend trends, landing pages, search and other channels. Its Ad Intelligence product specifically positions itself around seeing competitor activity across display, video, social and search. www.similarweb.com

Similarweb Ad Intelligence

If Search/PPC is the priority: SpyFu

SpyFu is particularly good for Google Search competitor research. It provides competitors' paid keywords, estimated spend, ad history and historical ad tests; its current product claims more than 18 years of PPC history. www.spyfu.com

SpyFu PPC Research

If you're mainly trying to spy on Display campaigns: Adbeat

I'd look at Adbeat alongside Semrush/Similarweb if your primary question is "Where are my competitors running their display ads, what creatives are they using, and which publishers/placements are they buying?" It's more specialized toward display intelligence than the general-purpose PPC platforms.

Bottom line:

• One tool for both Search + Display: Semrush
• Most comprehensive cross-channel intelligence: Similarweb
• Best value for Google Search/PPC spying: SpyFu
• Deepest Display-focused research: Adbeat

If you tell me whether you're looking for this for an agency, SaaS, ecommerce, or lead-gen business, I can narrow it down to the 2–3 best tools and compare their actual features/pricing.

If you mean one platform that combines competitive intelligence + ad spying for both Google Search and Google Display, I’d shortlist these:

My recommendation: Semrush

Semrush Advertising Toolkit

Semrush is probably the closest match if your priority is Google Ads competitor intelligence. Its Advertising Research can expose competitors' paid-search keywords, ad copy, estimated spend, competitors, historical trends, and live ads. Its newer advertising toolkit also covers display, video, social, and search through its broader ad-intelligence capabilities. www.semrush.com

If Display is especially important: Similarweb

Similarweb Ad Intelligence

Similarweb is stronger if you want to understand the entire paid-media strategy—search + display + video + social—including competitor creatives, landing pages, keywords, estimated spend, traffic contribution, placements, and channel mix. www.similarweb.com

If you mainly care about Google Search: SpyFu

SpyFu

SpyFu is particularly good for Google Search/PPC spying: competitor keywords, historical ads, ad copy, landing pages, estimated spend, and long-term ad history. It tracks extensive historical PPC data, making it useful for seeing which messaging competitors repeatedly use. www.spyfu.com

If you specifically want Display ad spying: Adbeat

Adbeat is more specialized around display/programmatic advertising, whereas SpyFu is much more search-oriented. If you're trying to answer "What display creatives, publishers, placements, and campaigns are my competitors running?", I'd look at Adbeat alongside a search-focused platform.

Bottom line:

• One tool for both: Semrush
• Best overall market/paid-media intelligence: Similarweb
• Best Google Search/PPC spy: SpyFu
• Best dedicated Display intelligence: Adbeat

One important caveat: competitor-spy platforms provide estimated/observed intelligence, not competitors' actual Google Ads account data. For example, Semrush explicitly says its paid-traffic figures are benchmarks rather than the advertiser's actual spend, and some locally targeted or narrowly targeted ads may not be captured. www.semrush.com

If you tell me your budget (e.g. <$100/mo, $100–500/mo, or enterprise) and whether Search or Display is more important, I can narrow this to the best 2–3 options.