Meta Ad Library Scraper

Export public Facebook and Instagram advertising creatives from Meta Ad Library. Search by keyword or specify exact advertiser Page IDs, then inspect stable ad IDs, text, source links, dates and media URLs. Export to JSON, CSV or Excel, run on a schedule, call via API, or connect to Make, Zapier or n8n.

Quick start

Start with a tested example for an advertiser creative feed:

• Nike ads in Germany with verified advertiser IDs

Open the example and choose Try for free to copy its input into your account. Check the input and set a maximum run charge before starting; Actor fees still follow the pricing below. When the run finishes, open the run's dataset and select the Overview view and download JSON for nested fields or CSV/Excel for a table.

Your goal	Input to use
Research a known advertiser	pageIds with a country
Explore keyword matches	Omit Page IDs and supply keyword
Observe newly seen ad IDs	onlyNew with a stable monitorId

The real output example shows the record shape. The Python workflow saves your own export to a local JSON file with a $0.30 maximum Actor charge.

What does this scraper extract?

This Actor uses the public Ad Library search in a browser, without supplying a Facebook login or purchasing data from another Actor. It reads search results and subsequent result pages, checks advertiser identity in Page-ID mode and removes repeated ad IDs. A keyword search can return multiple advertisers; those results retain their actual Page names and IDs.

Meta sometimes groups several ads or creative variants in one result card. The Actor exports distinct ad archive IDs, preserves the creative variants exposed in each snapshot and reports the number of unique source ads observed. A displayed group count is not treated as a count of exportable ads.

Use it to monitor a known advertiser's new creatives, collect advertising examples for research, compare public messaging in a market, or build a repeatable feed of newly observed ads. Facebook, Instagram and other publisher platforms are reported exactly as the source supplies them; an ad can run on several platforms.

Input

Input	Default	Behavior
keyword	"Nike"	Meta keyword search. Explicit Page IDs take precedence, including over the default keyword.
pageIds	"optional"	Up to ten numeric Page ID strings. Every returned ad must match the requested advertiser. Overrides keyword.
country	"DE"	Two-letter country code such as DE, US or GB; ALL searches all available countries.
activeStatus	"active"	Select active, inactive or all ads available in the public library.
maxResults	10	Cap on matching ads inspected across all searches, including already-seen ads in monitor mode. Not a guarantee of this many new results.
maxPages	5	Bounded source pages. SUMMARY reports the actual stop reason and incomplete coverage.
strictKeyword	false	Checks every whitespace-separated keyword word locally. Ignored in exact advertiser mode.
startDateFrom	"optional"	Optional inclusive YYYY-MM-DD UTC date. Filters the scanned window, not the entire library.
startDateTo	"optional"	Optional inclusive YYYY-MM-DD UTC date. Ads with missing dates are excluded when a date bound is used.
onlyNew	false	Persist seen IDs in your account and export new ones on later runs of this monitor.
monitorId	"optional"	Optional stable monitor name. Use a distinct value for each search; otherwise derived from search filters.
firstRunMode	"emitAll"	Seed-only establishes a baseline; later runs export only new IDs within the scanned window.
resetState	false	Reset only this monitor state. Switch off again for subsequent scheduled runs.
proxyConfiguration	German residential proxy	Verified cloud route; public static bundles load directly.

Example input

{
  "pageIds": [
    "15087023444"
  ],
  "country": "DE",
  "activeStatus": "active",
  "maxResults": 10,
  "maxPages": 3,
  "onlyNew": false,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ],
    "apifyProxyCountry": "DE"
  }
}

This requests ads for Nike's Page ID in Germany. Page IDs override the keyword, so the default Nike keyword cannot contaminate an exact-advertiser request. You can obtain a public Page ID from Ad Library or the Facebook Pages Actor. Supplying a personal profile ID does not turn it into an advertiser.

For keyword research, omit Page IDs. Enable strictKeyword if every keyword word must appear in the returned advertiser or creative. This is a local word check, not a semantic relevance score. Date bounds use the ad's start date in UTC and include both boundary dates. They filter the scanned window; they do not guarantee discovery of every historical match.

Example output

One complete record from a verified September 9, 2026 cloud run. Values and public media URLs can change or expire; this is a dated sample.

{
  "ad_id": "28093431340342783",
  "ad_url": "https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?id=28093431340342783",
  "page_id": "15087023444",
  "page_name": "Nike",
  "page_url": "https://www.facebook.com/nike/",
  "creative_page_id": "15087023444",
  "creative_page_name": "Nike",
  "creative_page_url": "https://www.facebook.com/nike/",
  "is_partnership_ad": false,
  "is_active": true,
  "start_date": "2026-08-10T07:00:00+00:00",
  "source_end_date": "2026-09-09T07:00:00+00:00",
  "body": "Vom ersten Training bis zum Schlusspfiff: Entdecke Basketball-Essentials für einen starken Auftritt bei jeder Partie.",
  "title": "Finde deinen Flow",
  "caption": "fb.com",
  "link_url": "https://fb.com/canvas_doc/1678531143227828",
  "link_description": null,
  "cta_text": "Shop now",
  "display_format": "VIDEO",
  "creative_variants": [],
  "image_urls": [],
  "video_urls": [
    "https://video-fra3-1.xx.fbcdn.net/o1/v/t2/f2/m366/AQPSADM-Enxo3uSlcLMidGPDSWBtXcDQ1m2ppKuyoQj2i17yj7QKhxvkoRjy5rsJjs8sVtLCxTyNUCDFou2m4q4F5Lbcijd7waYLnBYikH8cOg.mp4?_nc_cat=103&_nc_sid=b66105&_nc_ht=video-fra3-1.xx.fbcdn.net&_nc_ohc=5KW-9OtPbW8Q7kNvwHNOdnS&efg=eyJ2ZW5jb2RlX3RhZyI6Inhwdl9wcm9ncmVzc2l2ZS5WSV9VU0VDQVNFX1BST0RVQ1RfVFlQRS4uQzMuNzIwLmRhc2hfaDI2NC1iYXNpYy1nZW4yXzcyMHAiLCJ4cHZfYXNzZXRfaWQiOjI3OTg0MjM0NjI3ODU5NjQ2LCJhc3NldF9hZ2VfZGF5cyI6MzQsInZpX3VzZWNhc2VfaWQiOjEwMTM5LCJkdXJhdGlvbl9zIjo2LCJ1cmxnZW5fc291cmNlIjoid3d3In0%3D&ccb=17-1&vs=d02e3e3efcf778d8&_nc_vs=HBksFQIYRWZiX2VwaGVtZXJhbC85ODQ4OTlBQTUxRkIyNjY5QzVFNjE1M0FEN0UyQjc5RF9tdF8xX3ZpZGVvX2Rhc2hpbml0Lm1wNBUAAsgBEgAVAhhAZmJfcGVybWFuZW50L0NBNDEzNzcwOEE1RTY0RTdBOUFBOEExMEQ1RUJGM0I4X2F1ZGlvX2Rhc2hpbml0Lm1wNBUCAsgBEgAoABgAGwKIB3VzZV9vaWwBMRJwcm9ncmVzc2l2ZV9yZWNpcGUBMRUAACb8kvDE6-C1YxUCKAJDMywXQBgAAAAAAAAYGWRhc2hfaDI2NC1iYXNpYy1nZW4yXzcyMHARAHUAZbaeAQA&_nc_gid=wMFTuOq8MfMOcXGgH5Apsg&_nc_ss=7f289&_nc_zt=28&oh=00_AQK9EbJJvxfMkw19hox9IvRZuUc0cMDv0IGvpcA0lZa7rQ&oe=6AA77655"
  ],
  "publisher_platforms": [
    "FACEBOOK",
    "INSTAGRAM",
    "AUDIENCE_NETWORK",
    "MESSENGER",
    "THREADS"
  ],
  "spend": null,
  "reach_estimate": null,
  "currency": null,
  "targeted_or_reached_countries": [],
  "spend_reach_scope": "Search response only; null means not supplied, not zero.",
  "search_url": "https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/?active_status=active&ad_type=all&country=DE&media_type=all&view_all_page_id=15087023444&search_type=page",
  "country": "DE",
  "scraped_at": "2026-09-09T19:38:39.979239+00:00",
  "is_new": false,
  "monitor_id": null
}

Partnership ads keep the advertiser in page_id/page_name and the creative owner in creative_page_id/creative_page_name/creative_page_url. A different creative owner is accepted only when Meta explicitly attributes branded content to the requested advertiser. is_partnership_ad marks this case.

Each dataset row also includes the Page URL; creative title, caption, call to action and destination URL; image/video URLs; creative text variants; publisher platforms; search URL and country; and UTC extraction timestamp. spend, reach_estimate, currency and targeted/reached countries contain only values present in the public search response. Null means unavailable, never zero. This release does not open an ad's separate detail panel or infer spend/reach for unsupported regions.

source_end_date preserves Meta's source timestamp. For an active ad, that value can be the source observation boundary rather than the date an advertiser stopped the ad. Use is_active to interpret it. Media links can expire, and this Actor exports URLs rather than downloading media files. Dynamic creatives may keep template text in the main body while exposing text variants separately in creative_variants.

The Output tab links to the default dataset and the SUMMARY key-value record. Summary fields include per-search pages, unique source IDs, rejected rows and stop reasons, plus matching/exported totals, skipped known ads and coverage_complete. Result/page limits or the run's time bound produce an explicitly incomplete scan. A missing source connection or stalled pagination marks the run failed while preserving any exported rows and diagnostic summary. Inspect this before treating a partial export as a complete archive.

Only-new monitoring

Enable onlyNew and reuse a stable monitorId on an Apify schedule. The first run normally exports matching ads; choose seedOnly to establish a baseline without dataset rows. Later runs omit previously observed IDs within the scanned window. Seen IDs live in a named key-value store in the caller's account, isolated by monitor key.

The monitor retains up to 5,000 IDs observed within 90 days. It detects new IDs, not edits to existing creatives or ad shutdowns. A changed search with the same explicit monitor ID intentionally shares state; use separate IDs for separate searches. maxResults counts matching ads inspected, including known IDs. Increase the scan bounds if old ads fill the first pages. A schedule is not an exhaustive historical archive.

The Actor marks an ID after successful dataset storage and the result charge, so a spending-limit stop leaves unexported ads eligible for a later run. No result events are created for known ads or a seed-only baseline. If storage fails, retry and reconcile by ad_id; an interrupted run can leave a partial dataset. Use resetState only for an intentional fresh baseline, then turn it off again before scheduling.

Pricing

This Actor charges for scanning and for exported ads. On Free, a keyword search or advertiser costs $0.08 to initialize, $0.03 per parsed source page, and $0.002 per exported ad ID. A start event adds $0.00005 per GB, minimum one; default 2 GB adds $0.00010. A single-page search exporting ten ads is therefore $0.13010 on Free. A repeated one-page monitor with no new ads is $0.11010.

Search, page and ad events are 10% lower on Bronze, 15% lower on Silver and 20% lower on Gold. The currently saved Platinum and Diamond rates equal Gold. The start event also has plan discounts: $0.000045 per GB on Bronze, $0.000040 on Silver, and $0.000035 on Gold, Platinum and Diamond. The Store pricing panel is authoritative. Exported ads alone are $2/1,000 on Free; scan and start charges are additional. Do not treat this as the total price of an arbitrary search.

A search initialization event is charged only after the first public result connection loads. Each supplied advertiser is a separate search. Seed-only runs, date-filtered pages and pages containing already-known IDs still consume resources and incur scan charges. They create no result events unless an ad is exported. A source attempt that never reaches a result connection creates no search/page events.

The verified cloud route uses residential proxies. Public static bundles load directly to reduce proxy traffic. There is no paid upstream API key. Use result/page caps and Apify's maximum charge control; a small charge cap may stop after scan fees with no exported ads. The run summary reports that stop. This is a maintained browser and monitoring workflow, with different costs from a bulk-only ad feed.

Python API workflow

Copy the first input JSON above into input.json and save this code as export.py. In a Python virtual environment, install apify-client with python -m pip install apify-client. Set APIFY_TOKEN to your own Apify token in your environment, then run python export.py. Keep the token out of source files and shared screenshots.

import json
import os
from decimal import Decimal
from pathlib import Path

from apify_client import ApifyClient

client = ApifyClient(os.environ["APIFY_TOKEN"])
run = client.actor("benthepythondev/meta-ad-library-scraper").call(
    run_input=json.loads(Path("input.json").read_text(encoding="utf-8")),
    max_total_charge_usd=Decimal("0.30"),
    memory_mbytes=2048,
    timeout_secs=300,
)
if not run or run["status"] != "SUCCEEDED":
    raise RuntimeError(f"Inspect the run before retrying: {run and run['id']}")

rows = list(client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items())
Path("nike-ad-creatives.json").write_text(
    json.dumps(rows, ensure_ascii=False, indent=2), encoding="utf-8"
)
print(f"Saved {len(rows)} records from run {run['id']}")

This starts a run in your account, waits for completion and saves nike-ad-creatives.json. The $0.30 limit bounds Actor charges; it is not a promised bill or result count. Check the printed run ID and server log if the result is shorter than expected. If your client loses its connection, inspect the existing run in Console before starting another one. See the official Python client for other run options.

Import by ad_id and retain advertiser and creative-owner IDs separately. The example exports a snapshot. To monitor new IDs, use your own saved Task and the only-new settings below. Search/page charges still apply when no new ad is exported; an empty repeat is not evidence that a campaign stopped.

For recurring runs without writing a scheduler, copy a tested public Task into your account and attach an Apify Schedule to that copy. Keep its maximum-charge limit and avoid overlapping runs when using monitor state. The Python example above is also suitable for an existing scheduler; run it from the directory containing input.json and provide the token through that scheduler's secret settings.

FAQ

Does it need a Facebook account? No account or session cookie is supplied. Access still depends on Meta making the public search available from the run environment.

Does it cover Instagram ads too? Yes, when Ad Library returns them. Check publisher_platforms; this is not an Instagram profile or organic-post scraper.

Why are there fewer ads than Meta displays? Displayed groups, visibility restrictions, filtering and scan limits can all differ from exported unique IDs. Read SUMMARY rather than assuming complete coverage.

Can I get advertiser spend? Only if the search response supplies it. This release does not fetch separate transparency-detail records and does not estimate missing values.

Can I retrieve every deleted or inactive ad? No. Country and category retention rules control source availability. Selecting inactive or all cannot recover records the public source does not expose.

Will a zero-result monitor run mean the advertiser stopped advertising? No. It can mean all scanned IDs were already known or no matching record appeared in the bounded search. It is not evidence of a campaign shutdown.

Can I use it from n8n or an API? Yes. Run a saved Task, read its dataset and retain ad_id as your downstream key. Seed-only and repeated monitor runs may intentionally return an empty dataset.

How should I use the data? Follow applicable law and platform terms. Public ad visibility does not grant permission to reuse copyrighted creative assets for unrelated campaigns.

Related Actors

Facebook Pages supplies organizational Page metadata and public contacts. LinkedIn Company Scraper exports verified public company snapshots.

Keywords: Meta Ad Library scraper, Facebook ads scraper, Instagram ads, advertiser monitoring, ad archive ID, creative research, new ad alerts, Page ID search, advertising data, ad start dates, creative variants, marketing research, JSON export, scheduled ads feed.