As an e-commerce store owner who has spent countless late nights agonizing over low conversion rates and creative fatigue, I can confidently say that BigSpy has been an absolute game-changer for my business. Before using this tool, my product research process was essentially a guessing game. I was burning through budget testing products that had no market traction and running ads that simply didn't click with my audience. BigSpy completely flipped the script.

Here is why I rate it so highly:

Uncovering Winning Creatives: The filtering options are robust. I can search by "Most Liked" or "Most Shared" to see which ad creatives are actually going viral right now. This helped me identify a specific video hook style for my niche that I never would have thought of on my own.

Product Discovery: I’ve found at least three "winning products" in the last quarter solely by analyzing rising ad trends on BigSpy. Seeing an ad that has been running for weeks with high engagement is a surefire signal that the product is selling.

Cost-Effectiveness: Compared to other ad spy tools I’ve tried (some of which charge exorbitant monthly fees), BigSpy offers incredible value for money. For a small business owner watching margins, this is crucial. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

While BigSpy has been a massive asset for my product research, I’d be lying if I said it was perfect. If you strip away the marketing hype, there are some genuine frustrations that any "real" user—especially a solo store owner or small team—will eventually run into.

Here is the unvarnished truth about what I dislike about BigSpy:

1. The "Pricing Cliff" is Brutal

This is my biggest gripe. The pricing structure makes zero sense for a growing business.

The Basic Plan ($9) is practically useless for serious research. You get capped at 20 queries a day, which I can burn through in 15 minutes of deep research.

The Pro Plan ($99) is the only "real" option, but it is a massive jump in cost. There is no middle ground. You either pay "coffee money" for a demo version or you pay "enterprise money." For a bootstrapper, a $90/month price gap is hard to swallow.

2. The Interface Feels "Old School"

If you are used to modern SaaS tools like Shopify or Canva, BigSpy feels like it is stuck in 2016.

Clutter: The dashboard can get messy. It often feels like you are wading through a spreadsheet rather than a visual discovery tool.

Speed: It can be sluggish. When I’m trying to load 100+ creative assets to spot a pattern, the lag kills my momentum.

Search Noise: You have to be very good at filtering. If you just type "dog toys," you will sift through pages of irrelevant garbage, spam ads, and broken links before you find a winning creative. It requires a lot of manual digging. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It is fully featured and powerful, yet simple and fast to operate—making it very easy to get started with. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

This is my first time using this—I’ve never encountered software like this before. It feels like I’ve discovered a whole new world; so far, I haven't found any downsides. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I find BigSpy to be a pretty comprehensive tool. It's got a huge database of all commercials all over Facebook, which is really pretty useful. It also provides a breakdown for different types of ads and geographic locations. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I can't say I found something I really dislike. There are subscription plans from the very beginning, which might be an issue for affordability. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Pros:

Filter ads by impressions

Download the video and thumbnail

Access key performance metrics

View different versions and formats of the ad

See the full ad script

Overall, a very solid tool Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Search features aren’t very flexible

It doesn’t make it easy to quickly find similar brands or products Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

BigSpy offers a massive database of ads across multiple platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. The filtering system is very powerful and helps quickly find high-performing creatives in any niche. It’s especially useful for competitor research and generating new ad ideas.

The platform continuously updates its database with a large volume of ads, making it easy to stay on top of trends and discover what’s working in real time. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

The UI/UX can feel slightly overwhelming for new users, and some features are locked behind higher-tier plans. Also, the free version has limitations in terms of searches and access, so to fully benefit, a paid plan is required Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I can find a lot of the advertising materials which I need and also see how effective the ad placements are, which is very suitable for my current work needs. BigSpy is particularly convenient for searching, and its material library is quite comprehensive. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Because I haven't used it deeply enough yet, I'm not sure about the aspects that aren't very useful to me. The biggest drawback might be that I can't filter to see only images or videos. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

BigSpy makes it easy for me to search and review ads from major brands on various platforms like Facebook, TikTok, or Instagram. The intuitive interface, fast loading speed, and numerous detailed filters (language, country, type of ad...) help me save a lot of time when researching marketing campaigns. Additionally, statistics such as impressions, popularity, and ad run dates are also very useful for trend analysis. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Some data is hidden (e.g., Page ID or long caption content), making in-depth analysis somewhat limited. The free package also has quite a few limitations — it's difficult to view all ads or download high-quality videos. Occasionally, the tool loads slowly when searching for many results at once. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I like the feature that allows me to see all ads across all social media platforms, and especially the ability to download those ads. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Perhaps the monthly subscription fee is a bit high. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I love how BigSpy helps me find scaled ads, especially in the dropshipping sector for Europe. The tool offers me a broad perspective of the market and what is selling well, which is valuable for my cash on delivery operations. I like the detailed data on ad performance, such as CTR rate, likes, and engagement. This helps me a lot to understand what is working and the linking of the ads. Additionally, the vast range of available data keeps me updated on market trends, which is crucial to not miss opportunities. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

I would like BigSpy to offer a free plan for a longer period. When I started, I felt practically obliged to pay from the beginning to test the tool, which is not ideal. This creates a barrier for new users who may not be willing to pay for a service they have never used or heard of. I believe that an extended free plan would allow more people to experience the benefits of BigSpy. This would improve the customer relationship, as they would have the opportunity to evaluate the service before committing financially. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

Speed and have huge capabilities to spy on competitors' ads Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.

It's not always accurate and requires more effort to find, and it doesn't support Arabic as a filter during the search. Review collected by and hosted on G2.com.