Ads Manager
Free
and you still need it to run your campaigns
Facebook Ads Manager alternative
What Facebook Ads Manager can't show you
A straight answer first: adintel does not replace Ads Manager, because it cannot create, edit or launch an ad. What it adds is the part Ads Manager leaves out: what your competitors are running.
Competitor ads in Ads Manager
0
it only reports accounts you have access to
adintel entry price
$49
for 5 tracked competitors, on top of Ads Manager
Where Facebook Ads Manager is ahead
- It runs your ads, and adintel never will
- It is free and the source of your own numbers
- Budgets, audiences, placements and full campaign control
Where adintel is ahead
- A saved view of each competitor's active ads
- An alert when they launch something new
- An AI read of the hook, angle and offer on each ad
- Read-only access to your account, so it cannot change your ads
Who should pick which
A straight answer.
Keep Ads Manager. Add adintel if you currently check competitors by hand in the Ad Library and want it done for you. If you want to run ads from a different screen, adintel is the wrong tool.
adintel and Facebook Ads Manager, side by side
Facebook Ads Manager facts checked on October 30, 2026 from the sources below. Prices change, so check its site before you buy. "Not compared" means we have not tested it, not that it is missing.
| adintel | Ads Manager | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $49 a month ($39 on annual), 1 seat, 5 tracked brands, 500 AI credits | Free; you pay for the ads you run |
| Create, edit and launch ads | – | ✓ |
| Your own spend and ROAS | Eye, on every plan: your own Meta ad accounts, read-only, with spend, ROAS, CPA, CTR, hook and hold rate | Yes, in full. This is the source of those numbers |
| See competitors' ads | On every plan. Each brand is checked every 48 hours, or daily if you switch that on, with an alert for each new ad | No. Meta's separate Ad Library shows them one search at a time |
| Alerts when a competitor launches | Yes | No |
| AI read of each ad | Hook, angle, emotion, persona, offer and production style on every creative, plus video transcripts | No competitor analysis |
| Competitor landing pages | Full-page desktop and phone screenshots for each ad, and an on-demand AI teardown with a 0 to 100 score | No |
| Team boards and briefs | Boards, briefs with AI drafts, Slack and email digests and MCP for Claude and ChatGPT (Team, $149) | No swipe file |
| Competitor spend | No. The Ad Library does not publish it for ordinary ads, so we do not show a number | Not shown for commercial ads outside Meta's political and EU disclosures |
Questions
Can adintel run or edit my Facebook ads?
No. adintel's connection to your ad account is read-only. It never creates, edits or pauses anything.
Can Ads Manager show competitors' ads?
No. It reports the ad accounts you have access to. Competitors' ads are in Meta's public Ad Library, which adintel reads for you.
Can adintel show a competitor's spend?
No. The Ad Library does not disclose it for ordinary commercial ads, so no tool can measure it. Any figure you see elsewhere is an estimate.
Sources:
- Meta Ads Manager and Meta Ad Library, public product pages, read October 30, 2026
- adintel facts: the pricing page and the product as shipped
Other alternatives: Foreplay · Motion · TikTok Creative Center · AdCreative.ai · AdPlexity · BigSpy · Dropispy · PiPiAds · PowerAdSpy
Try adintel on your own competitors
Seven days free, nothing charged until day 8. Keep Facebook Ads Manager while you compare.