Ad Library APIs Compared: Meta, Google, LinkedIn and TikTok

November 8, 2026

Every major ad platform now runs a public ad library, mostly because of the EU's Digital Services Act. They look similar on the surface. Underneath, coverage, retention and API access differ a lot. This comparison uses only each platform's own pages.

Side by side

	Meta	Google	LinkedIn	TikTok
Public website	All active ads across Meta products	Ads Transparency Center: advertisers and ads on Search, Display, Gmail, YouTube	Ads that ran after 1 June 2023	Ads library at library.tiktok.com
Official API	Ad Library API	API access for ads served in the EEA	Help page names an Ad Library API, no details	Commercial Content API
API coverage	Political and issue ads worldwide, plus ads delivered to the EU	EEA ads; outside the EEA only regulators and self-regulatory bodies may get access	Not documented publicly	EU countries only
Retention	Political ads 7 years; EU ads 1 year after last impression	Not stated on the help page	1 year after last impression	While running and 1 year after last shown
Extra detail for EU ads	Reach, target ages	Targeting, recipients, subject label	Impressions, targeting, run dates	Targeting, people reached, dates

Sources: Meta Ad Library tools and ads_archive; Google Ads transparency help; LinkedIn Ad Library help; TikTok Commercial Content API.

Google

Google's help page describes the Ads Transparency Center as a "searchable repository of advertisers and the ads they've served" and shows the advertiser's name, location and the entity paying. It says Google provides API access to data about ads served in the EEA, under the Center's terms source. Best for: seeing every format a competitor runs on Search and YouTube. Weak for: spend, which is not shown for commercial ads.

LinkedIn's Ad Library includes ads that ran after 1 June 2023 and keeps them "for one year after their last impression". You can search by advertiser, payer, keyword, country and date range. For ads targeted to the EU it shows impressions, targeting and run dates. Restricted ads hide the preview, advertiser and payer source. The page links an Ad Library API but says nothing about access. Best for: B2B messaging research.

TikTok

TikTok's Commercial Content API is available to applicants in any country, but currently includes only data from EU countries. It covers paid ads (published date, last seen date, targeting, number of people reached), advertiser metadata and other commercial content. TikTok says it replies to applications within 2 working days source. Best for: EU ad research with an official, documented API.

Which to use when

"What is my competitor running right now?" Every platform's website answers this, in every country, for free.
"Give me a year of EU ads with reach, in bulk." Meta and TikTok official APIs.
"US commercial ads over time." No official API covers this. You need to snapshot the public library regularly and keep your own history.
"Spend." Only for political and issue ads, on Meta.

A tracking routine that works across all four

List competitors and their advertiser ids on each platform.
Every week, pull active ads and store ad id, first seen, last seen, format, headline and landing URL.
An ad that disappears is stopped. Its run length is last seen minus first seen.
Report new ads, stopped ads, and long runners each month.

How to do it with ScrapeIO

One key covers all four libraries: Meta Ad Library search, Google company ads (25 credits a call), LinkedIn ads search and TikTok ad library search, each with a matching ad details endpoint. Most calls are 1 credit, and failed calls are free.

Sources

Checked on 8 November 2026 from each vendor's own pages. Prices and limits change; follow the links before you decide.

100 free credits, no card. Credits never expire.

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