TL;DR
- AdSpy is one flat plan at $149/month. There is no starter tier. The pitch is virtually unlimited usage of the largest searchable Facebook and Instagram ad database: 207M+ ads, 225 countries, 88 languages1. AdSpy notes this is an introductory price that may change.
- It covers Meta only. Facebook and Instagram are its home ground and its boundary. If your research depends on TikTok, compare a specialist such as Pipiads.
- There is no store layer, by design. AdSpy is a search and analysis instrument. Brand, catalog, pages, launch: all yours.
- MintMerchs inverts the order. You get the store built first, from live signals, and you add a specialist ad library later if creative research turns out to be your edge.
The Price Is the Real Decision
$149 a month is not expensive for someone running profitable campaigns, where one good angle pays for the year. It is very expensive as a first purchase, before a single sale, and that is the situation most people searching for an AdSpy alternative are actually in.
Worth naming plainly: paying for ad intelligence before you have a store is paying to research a business you have not started. The search box is not the bottleneck at that stage.
Different Instruments, Different Jobs
 AdSpy |  MintMerchs | |
|---|---|---|
| Core job | Search and analyse Meta ads | Turn a product signal into a live store |
| Platform coverage | Facebook and Instagram | Continuously refreshed ecommerce signals via TrendTrack |
| Output | Search results and ad detail | A storefront, catalog, brand and pages |
| Store creation | Not in scope | The whole point |
| Depth of ad data | Its speciality: 207M+ ads, 225 countries | Enough to act on, not to browse |
| Entry price | $149/month, one plan only | Free to start, with included credits |
Core job
AdSpySearch and analyse Meta adsMintMerchsTurn a product signal into a live storePlatform coverage
AdSpyFacebook and InstagramMintMerchsContinuously refreshed ecommerce signals via TrendTrackOutput
AdSpySearch results and ad detailMintMerchsA storefront, catalog, brand and pagesStore creation
AdSpyNot in scopeMintMerchsThe whole pointDepth of ad data
AdSpyIts speciality: 207M+ ads, 225 countriesMintMerchsEnough to act on, not to browseEntry price
AdSpy$149/month, one plan onlyMintMerchsFree to start, with included credits
MintMerchs reads continuously refreshed ecommerce signals through TrendTrack2, and competitor funnels through BrandSearch3. That is a different use of ad data: not a library you search, but an input your agent team acts on.
When AdSpy Is Worth Every Dollar
- You are a media buyer or creative strategist. Reading hooks, comments and demographic targeting at volume is the job. Nothing here replaces the depth of a dedicated library.
- You need comment and affiliate data. AdSpy's comment search and affiliate tracking are unusual features and genuinely hard to replicate1.
- You already sell profitably. At that point $149 is a rounding error against ad spend, and better angles compound.
AdSpy is the right tool once ads are your job. Before that, it is a $149 monthly search box attached to a business that does not exist yet. Build the store first, then decide whether you need the library.
The Honest Version of the Comparison
MintMerchs and AdSpy are not substitutes, and we are not going to pretend our signal layer matches the depth of a dedicated Meta archive. What we replace is the reason most people buy AdSpy: they think research is the missing step. Usually the missing step is a live store that can produce real market feedback, which is a better signal than any library.
What is the best AdSpy alternative?
It depends on what you are replacing. For the Meta ad library itself, nothing cheaper matches AdSpy's scale, and Pipiads is the closer swap when TikTok matters more than Facebook. If what you actually need is a store rather than a search box, MintMerchs is the alternative: it turns live market signals into a built storefront, catalog and brand, and you add a specialist ad library later if creative research turns out to be your edge.
AdSpy or Minea?
AdSpy for depth on Meta, Minea for a cheaper entry and a wider surface. AdSpy is one flat plan at $149/month with no starter tier. Minea starts at $49/month and covers products, shops and brand tracking alongside Meta ads, but caps AI analysis credits per tier. If TikTok is the priority, neither is the answer — see Pipiads.
Does AdSpy have a free plan or cheaper tier?
No. One plan at $149/month at the time of writing, July 20261. AdSpy describes it as an introductory price, so check the source.
Does MintMerchs include ad data?
Can I use both?
That is the sensible order: build and launch with MintMerchs, and add AdSpy when creative research becomes the thing that moves your numbers.
What does MintMerchs cost?
You can start free with included credits. See pricing for current plans.