# Meta Ad Library vs TikTok Creative Center

> Meta Ad Library looks up any brand's live ads on Meta. TikTok Creative Center shows top TikTok ads and trends. What each shows. Checked 20 Oct 2026.
- **Author**: Marxx
- **Published**: 2026-10-31
- **Category**: Tools
- **URL**: https://marxx.ai/library-compare/meta-ad-library-vs-tiktok-creative-center

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Use the Meta Ad Library to look up what one brand is running right now on Facebook and Instagram. Use TikTok Creative Center to see which TikTok ads and trends are doing well. They answer different questions: Meta's is a lookup of one brand's live ads, and TikTok's is a list of top ads. For Indian brands, Meta's matters more because TikTok is blocked in India.

## Side by side

| | Meta Ad Library | TikTok Creative Center (Top Ads) |
|---|---|---|
| What you do | Search a brand or keyword and see its ads | Browse top ads and trends |
| Ads shown | All active ads on Meta products | Top ads, not every ad |
| Filters | Country, brand or keyword, and more | Not checked on 20 Oct 2026 |
| Performance data | None for most ads | Not checked on 20 Oct 2026 |
| After an ad stops | Gone, except political and issue ads (7 years) and EU ads (1 year) | Not checked on 20 Oct 2026 |
| Trends | None | Not checked on 20 Oct 2026 |
| India | Yes, covers ads in India | TikTok is blocked in India |

Source for Meta: [Meta's Ad Library tools page](https://transparency.meta.com/researchtools/ad-library-tools/) (checked 20 Oct 2026). We could not open TikTok's pages on 20 Oct 2026, so the TikTok cells say Not checked.

## What Meta's Ad Library gives you

- Every active ad from any page, in the country you choose
- Ad text, media, start date and platforms
- For ads about social issues, elections or politics: spend range, reach and who paid. Meta keeps these for 7 years.
- For ads shown in the EU, extra data while active and for one year after the last impression

For most ads, you do not get spend, reach or results. Use start dates and how many versions run as clues. See [what the Meta Ad Library is](/glossary/meta-ad-library) and [how to find out how long an ad has been running](/guides/how-to-find-out-how-long-an-ad-has-been-running).

## What TikTok's Creative Center gives you

We could not open TikTok's pages on 20 Oct 2026, so we have not rechecked its filters, sort options or how long it keeps ads. Open it and read what it lists today. Read [how to use TikTok Creative Center](/guides/how-to-use-tiktok-creative-center) for the steps.

## A worked example

Say you sell protein powder in India and the Gulf.

1. **Meta Ad Library:** search your three nearest rivals in India. One runs 24 active ads, and six have run for over 60 days. Those long runners are the ideas to study.
2. **TikTok Creative Center:** open Top Ads and pick the market and industry you sell in. Note the first second of the top ten. Say seven open with a person speaking to camera.
3. **Next step:** write two scripts that open with a person speaking to camera, then test them as Instagram Reels. Check [hook rate](/glossary/hook-rate) after three days.

## Other ways to research

Neither tool replaces a tracker that follows competitors for you over time. See [what an ad spy tool is](/glossary/ad-spy-tool) and [how to find winning ads](/guides/how-to-find-winning-ads). Marxx tracks competitor ads on Meta and Google, with an AI search over 100M+ ads back to 2022, and its browser extension adds a Save button to the Meta Ad Library, TikTok's Creative Center and Ad Library, the LinkedIn Ad Library, Pinterest and Google Images. We make Marxx, so weigh that.

## FAQ

### Can I see a competitor's TikTok ads in Creative Center?

Creative Center lists top ads, so it is not built to show every ad from one brand. We could not recheck TikTok's pages on 20 Oct 2026, so look up your market on TikTok's own site.

### Does the Meta Ad Library show how much a competitor spends?

Not for most ads. Spend ranges appear only for ads about social issues, elections or politics.

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