Ad analysis tools do two different jobs. Most connect to your own ad account and analyse its numbers: Motion from $750 a month, Superads from $125, Segwise from $250 and GoMarble from $139. Motion's own ad analysis page lists 5 metrics to track, and all 5 come from an ad account. To analyse an ad that is not yours, you need a tool that tracks competitors, like Foreplay from $175 or Atria from $129, or a tool that takes one ad as a link and says what happens in it, second by second. Of the 8 tools compared here, 5 name competitor tracking or research on their pricing page, and 2 take one ad that you paste in.
Key takeaways
- Motion's ad analysis tool page lists 5 metrics: CTR, conversion rate, CPA, ROAS and engagement. All 5 come from your own ad account.
- 5 of 8 pricing pages name competitor tracking or research. Only 2 of 8 tools take one ad that you paste in as a link or a file.
- 5 of 8 tools set their price by the ad spend they read. Motion's $750 tier stops at $50,000 of spend a month.
- Track a competitor to know which ads they run. Read the ad to know what each one does, and when.
- Start with the question you ask every week. An account tool answers which ad won. An ad reader answers why.
What is on this page and on no other
Most pages on this subject repeat the same advice and the same figures. These are the facts this one produced itself, and how each one was made.
5 of the 8 pricing pages name competitor tracking or competitor research: Foreplay, Atria, Hawky, Segwise and GoMarble. Only 2 of the 8 tools take one ad that you paste in: Playhead, and GoMarble's free analyzer, which its pricing page no longer links.
Motion's page for its ad analysis tool lists 5 metrics to track: click-through rate, conversion rate, cost per acquisition, return on ad spend and engagement. All 5 come from a connected ad account.
5 of the 8 tools set the plan by the ad spend they read: Motion, Superads, Segwise, Atria and GoMarble. 1 of the 8, Hawky, prints no price at all.
Playhead read a 28.8 second Resilia ad into 4 beats with their seconds: 4 cuts, the product on screen at 0.6 seconds, and the call to action legible for 6.1 seconds. No face appears, and the analysis says so.
In 10 product ads read frame by frame, 7 named no offer and 6 never said what the viewer gets.
How we chose these tools
- A tool is on this list when its own site says it analyses ads. A tool that only generates ads, or only reports spend, is not.
- Every price is the lowest tier on the vendor's own pricing page, read on 9 October 2026. Where a vendor prints no price, the entry says so.
- Every entry says which ads the tool can analyse: your own account, the competitors you track, or any one ad you paste in.
- Every entry names at least one limit, ours as well. Playhead is sixth, because most people who search for this want to read their own account, and Playhead does not do that.
The shortlist
Every price is the lowest published tier, read off the vendor's own pricing page. The date it was read is at the foot of this page.
| Tool | From | Best for | Watches the video |
|---|---|---|---|
Motion
Creative analytics for brands and agencies that run paid social. Motion reads the connected ad accounts, tags every creative and ranks the ads by their results.
- What it costs
- Best for
- Rated
What it actually sees in the ad
What it does
- Pre-watches, tags and analyses every creative the account has run
- A weekly leaderboard of the top ads
- Visual dashboards that compare ad variations side by side
- Daily and weekly report routines and alerts
- Full data access and MCP access on the $750 tier
Stronger at
- Unlimited seats and ad accounts on the entry tier
- Ties each creative to what it cost, because it reads the account the money went through
Where it stops
- Its own ad analysis page lists 5 metrics, and all 5 come from your ad account. A competitor's ad is outside what it reports on.
- A brand that spends $5,000 a month pays the same $750 as a brand that spends $50,000.
Atria
Ad research, account analytics and ad generation in one product, with an MCP server that brings the ad data into Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor.
- What it costs
- Best for
- Rated
What it actually sees in the ad
What it does
- Follow 50 brands on Core, with weekly email updates on their new ads
- Extract the script of a video ad
- Search assets by visual element, voice-over and on-screen text
- Sort the ad library by the longest running ads
- MCP with 600 calls a month on Core
Stronger at
- Competitor research and account analytics in one plan
- Searches inside a video by what is said and what is on screen, not only by name
Where it stops
- Core follows 50 brands with no AI insights. AI-tagged hooks and angles for followed brands start on Plus at $479.
- The pricing page does not say whether an analysis names the second something happens.
Foreplay
A swipe file, an ad search engine, a competitor tracker called Spyder and an analytics product called Lens for your own ads.
- What it costs
- Best for
- Rated
What it actually sees in the ad
What it does
- Swipe File and a Chrome extension that saves ads from the Meta Ad Library
- Discovery, a search over more than 200 million saved ads
- Spyder, which tracks every ad a competitor launches, from $175
- Lens, which connects Meta and TikTok ad accounts
- MCP and an API from the Workflow plan
Stronger at
- The lowest entry price for a library of competitor ads
- Briefs that turn a saved ad into instructions for an editor, on the $59 tier
Where it stops
- Competitor tracking and the analytics of your own ads both start on Workflow at $175.
- Foreplay stores the ad and its metadata. The pricing page does not describe a reading of what happens inside the video.
Hawky
Creative and performance dashboards with automatic element tagging, competitor tracking and agents that manage bids and budgets.
- What it costs
- Best for
- Rated
What it actually sees in the ad
What it does
- Element-level tagging of every hook, frame and CTA
- Always-on competitor tracking on every tier
- Creative and performance dashboards
- Fatigue alerts
- A copilot for questions in plain English, from the Ask tier
Stronger at
- Competitor tracking is on every tier, not an add-on
- Tags at the level of the hook, the frame and the CTA
Where it stops
- 1 of the 8 tools here that prints no price. A team that must approve a budget first cannot get a figure from the website.
- The data sources on the pricing page are Meta, Google and TikTok ad accounts. It offers no way to paste in one ad.
Superads
Ad reporting for paid social, with AI tagging and an assistant that answers questions about the connected accounts.
- What it costs
- Best for
- Rated
What it actually sees in the ad
What it does
- Unlimited reports, boards and workflows
- AI tagging of the creatives in connected accounts
- Superads AI, which answers questions about the data
- An inspiration library
Stronger at
- Covers $100,000 of monthly ad spend for $125, where Motion covers $50,000 for $750
- A free 14 day trial with no demo call first
Where it stops
- The page names no way to analyse an ad that is not in a connected account.
- The $125 figure is the yearly rate. The monthly price after the trial is not printed.
Playhead
OursPlayhead watches one ad, or up to 10, and says what happens in it second by second: the hook, every beat, every claim, the proof, the offer and the ask.
- What it costs
- Best for
- Rated
What it actually sees in the ad
What it does
- Any ad by link: Meta Ad Library, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and X, or a file
- The same fields for every ad, so a set of 10 stacks into one table
- The cuts, the shot lengths and the second the product and the brand appear
- A public teardown page you can share
- An MCP server, so the analysis runs inside Claude or ChatGPT
Stronger at
- 1 of 2 tools here that take one ad you paste in, with no ad account and no tracked brand list
- The lowest paid price on this list, with no cap on ad spend because no account is read
Where it stops
- Playhead connects to no ad account, so it holds no spend, CTR or hook rate. It says why an ad works, never how much it sold.
- No competitor tracker. You bring the ad, from the Meta Ad Library or a tracker like Foreplay or Atria.
Hook type: pain. First words at 0:00: "Don't say I didn't warn you." Product on screen at 0:00.6, brand at 0:00.6 Beats: hook 0:00, demonstration 0:04.2, turn 0:13.9, ask 0:21.4 Proof: 0:09.8, softgels poured into a hand Call to action: "Click the link below", legible for 6.1 seconds Works muted: yes Left out: a dollar price Could not answer: time to first face. No face is visible, only hands.
Segwise
AI creative analytics and tagging across ad networks and MMPs, with competitor insights and creative generation on every plan.
- What it costs
- Best for
- Rated
What it actually sees in the ad
What it does
- AI creative tagging and analytics
- 15 or more network connections and MMP integrations
- Competitor insights
- Creative fatigue tracking
- Pre-flight testing and creative generation
Stronger at
- Every feature on every plan. The plans differ only in ad spend and AI tokens.
- Network and MMP connections, which app teams need
Where it stops
- The $250 plan is only for teams that apply and spend under $50,000 a month. The open plan starts at $499.
- The pricing page names competitor insights and does not say what they hold.
GoMarble
AI agents for paid media that audit accounts, break down creatives and research competitors, from Slack, Claude or ChatGPT.
- What it costs
- Best for
- Rated
What it actually sees in the ad
What it does
- Creative breakdowns and performance audits on a connected account
- Competitor research on every plan
- Agents that launch, pause and adjust campaigns with approval, from $399
- MCP, so the agents work from Claude and ChatGPT
- A free ad library of 224,347 analysed ads
Stronger at
- Agents that can act on the account with approval
- A free plan with no card
Where it stops
- Its free AI Ads Analyzer took one ad of up to 30 seconds. In our 3 uploads on 7 October 2026 it showed 0 reports before a sign-in, and the pricing page of 9 October 2026 no longer links it.
- The plans are set by the ad spend of the accounts you connect.
What does an ad analysis tool analyse?
Your account's numbers, a competitor's ads, or the inside of one video. Most lists do not say which.
"Ad analysis" means three different things, and the tools split along them.
Your own account. The tool connects to Meta, TikTok or Google and reads the spend and the results. Motion's ad analysis page is the clearest example: it lists click-through rate, conversion rate, cost per acquisition, return on ad spend and engagement. Those numbers tell you which of your ads won. They cannot exist for an ad you did not pay for.
The competitors you track. The tool collects the ads of named brands, usually from the Meta Ad Library. Foreplay calls it Spyder, Atria calls it following a brand, Hawky calls it competitor tracking. You see which ads a competitor runs and for how long. For more on this job, read competitor ad tracking.
One ad, from the inside. The tool takes one video and says what happens in it: the hook, the beats, the claims, the offer and the call to action, each with its second. This works on any ad you can link to, yours or theirs.
| Tool | Your account | Tracked competitors | One ad you paste in | From |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Motion | Yes | No | No | $750/mo |
| Atria | Yes | Yes, 50 brands | No | $129/mo |
| Foreplay | From $175 | From $175 | No | $59/mo |
| Hawky | Yes | Yes | No | On request |
| Superads | Yes | No | No | $125/mo |
| Playhead | No | No | Yes | Free |
| Segwise | Yes | Competitor insights | No | $250/mo |
| GoMarble | Yes | Competitor research | Not linked since 9 October 2026 | $139/mo |
Out of 8 ad analysis tools
How to analyse a competitor's ad
A tracker finds the ad. A reading tells you what it does. You usually need both.
Find the ad
Search the brand in the Meta Ad Library, or open the brand in your tracker. Sort by the longest running ads, because a brand seldom keeps paying for an ad that loses.
Copy the link of one ad
Each ad in the Meta Ad Library has its own link with an id. TikTok, Instagram and YouTube ads have a link too.
Read it second by second
Paste the link into an ad reader. Write down when the product first shows, when the first benefit is said, where the proof sits, what the offer is, and how long the call to action stays on screen.
Compare it with your own ad
Read your own ad the same way. In 10 product ads we read in September 2026, 7 named no offer and 6 never said what the viewer gets. Look for those two gaps first.
For the full method, read how to analyse a competitor's ad with AI. For a direct comparison of a library and a reader, read Playhead vs Foreplay. MagicBrief also did this job until it shut down on 31 July 2026. The replacements are on our MagicBrief alternatives page.
Which ad analysis tool to choose
One question decides it: is the ad in your account, or is it somebody else's?
| Your question | The kind of tool | Start with |
|---|---|---|
| Which of my ads won, and is it tired | Account tool | Superads at $125, Motion up to $50k of spend |
| Which ads does my competitor run, and since when | Tracker | Atria at $129, Foreplay Workflow at $175 |
| What happens in this ad, second by second | Ad reader | Playhead, free to start |
| Act on the account with approval | Agents | GoMarble Operator at $399, Hawky Auto-pilot |
| Analyse ads across app networks | Network tool | Segwise from $250 |
The verdict
Pick the ad analysis tool by the ad you want to analyse. For your own account, Superads at $125 a month fits most brands, and Motion at $750 fits once the spend nears $50,000. For a competitor's ads, an account tool sees nothing: add a tracker such as Atria at $129 or Foreplay at $175 to find the ads. To know what one ad does, second by second, paste it into a reader. Only 2 of the 8 tools here take one ad that way, and on 9 October 2026 GoMarble no longer linked its analyzer from its pricing page.
Common questions
What is an ad analysis tool?
An ad analysis tool explains why an ad performs the way it does. Most connect to an ad account and read metrics like CTR, CPA and ROAS. Some track the ads of named competitors. A few take one ad as a link or a file and say what happens in it, second by second, which also works on a competitor's ad.
Can I analyse a competitor's ad without access to their account?
Yes. A tracker such as Foreplay from $175 or Atria from $129 collects the ads a competitor runs. An ad reader such as Playhead takes one ad link and says what happens in it. Of the 8 tools here, 5 name competitor tracking or research, and 2 take one ad you paste in. No tool shows a competitor's spend or CTR.
What is the cheapest ad analysis tool?
Playhead has a free plan of 50,000 credits every 4 weeks and paid plans from $19 every 4 weeks. GoMarble has a free plan for 1 ad account. Among the tools that connect to an account, Superads is the lowest at $125 a month on the yearly rate, for up to $100,000 of monthly ad spend.
What metrics does an ad analysis tool track?
Motion's ad analysis page lists 5: click-through rate, conversion rate, cost per acquisition, return on ad spend and engagement. All 5 come from your ad account. A tool that reads the video adds a second set: when the product shows, when the hook ends, the offer, the proof and how long the call to action stays on screen.
Is Motion the best ad analysis tool?
Motion fits a brand that reads its own account and spends close to $50,000 a month: $750 a month covers up to $50,000 of spend with unlimited seats. Motion does not analyse an ad that is not in your account. For that job, a tracker or an ad reader is the tool to add.
Do these tools watch the video, or only read the numbers?
Most read the numbers and write tags. Motion, Atria and Hawky say they look at the creative itself, and none of their pricing pages says whether an analysis names the second something happens. Playhead names the second for every beat, the offer and the call to action.
