AdSpy vs Birch (formerly Revealbot) in 2026: Meta ad research vs paid-media automation
AdSpy helps researchers inspect Meta creative and affiliate signals. Birch helps account owners automate, launch, analyze, and govern campaigns they already run.
AdSpy
Birch (formerly Revealbot)- AdSpy is a Meta creative-research database; Birch automates and analyzes campaigns in connected advertising accounts.
- AdSpy publishes one $149 per month subscription, while Birch’s Essential and Pro prices begin at $99 per month for up to $10K in connected monthly ad spend.
- Birch Rules supports Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snapchat, whereas AdSpy’s advertised research scope is Facebook and Instagram.
- AdSpy supports affiliate network, affiliate ID, Offer ID, and landing-page technology filters that Birch does not present as discovery features.
- Birch Stage can build batches of ads from Google Drive and Google Sheets for Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat after a preview.
- Neither product’s public material turns observed competitor ads into verified spend, conversion, or profitability data.
AdSpy and Birch answer different questions. AdSpy is a searchable Facebook and Instagram ad database with filters for creative, comments, demographics, affiliate identifiers, and landing-page technologies. Birch, formerly Revealbot, is an operations layer for active Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snapchat accounts, with rules, bulk creative launch, reports, and server-side Meta tracking. Choose AdSpy when the work is finding and interpreting observed Meta ads. Choose Birch when the work is controlling campaign activity and repeatable account workflows. A paid-social team may use both, but one does not replace the other.
The tools at a glance
AdSpy
Facebook and Instagram ad database with deep creative, comment, demographic, and affiliate-search filters
AdSpy is a focused Meta research database for people who need more than a basic advertiser lookup. Search can reach into ad text, pages, URLs, reactions, comments, media type, affiliate identifiers, and landing-page technologies.
Its most specialised workflow is affiliate research. A marketer can use an affiliate network, affiliate ID, or Offer ID to find how an offer appears in Meta ads, then inspect visible creative and the linked landing path before designing an original test.
The published subscription is $149 per month. That cost is defensible for a researcher who repeatedly uses its filters, but AdSpy does not offer campaign launch, account pacing, shared governance, or reporting for an account the buyer operates. Its observed-ad signals should remain inputs to an original test: an ad that is present, highly reacted to, or apparently long-running does not reveal the advertiser’s spend, conversion economics, or profitability.
| Feature | AdSpy subscription $149/month |
|---|---|
| Facebook and Instagram research | ✓ |
| Comment search | ✓ |
| Affiliate and Offer ID search | ✓ |
| Refund policy | Full refund within 24 hours, as published |
Birch (formerly Revealbot)
Paid-media automation, creative launch, performance analysis, and server-side Meta tracking for active ad accounts
Birch is an operating layer for account-owning teams. Its Rules product automates campaign management across Meta, Google, TikTok, and Snapchat with conditions, actions, timeframe comparisons, attribution inputs, and reviewable strategies.
Stage connects view-only Drive folders and Google Sheets to create controlled Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat launch batches. Explorer, scheduled reports, automation logs, Slack alerts, and white-label reporting address the work that follows after campaigns are live.
Pricing is tied to connected monthly ad spend, so teams should model it before onboarding a portfolio. Essential excludes the Rules, Explorer, Launcher, and custom metrics that make Birch materially different from a basic reporting view, while Pro includes them at the published entry-spend setting. Birch can suggest a rule through Birch AI, but published guidance says a user must approve a suggestion before activation. That review step is a feature, not an inconvenience, when a rule can affect a live budget or ad set.
| Feature | Essential $99/month or $49/month annually at up to $10K spend | Pro $99/month at up to $10K spend | Enterprise Custom | Hub gateway Free for 10,000 events/month, then volume based |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Automated Rules | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Explorer and Launcher | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Stage | Free version | Free version | Custom limit | ✗ |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card | 14 days, no card | Contact sales | ✗ |
Head-to-head feature comparison
| Feature | AdSpy | Birch (formerly Revealbot) |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | Competitor creative research | Campaign operations |
| Meta creative search | Yes | No published ad archive |
| Affiliate and Offer ID filters | Yes | No |
| Campaign automation | No | Yes |
| Bulk creative launch | No | Yes, with Stage |
| Networks for account operations | Facebook and Instagram research only | Meta, Google, TikTok, Snapchat |
| Reporting | No published account reporting | Yes |
| Price basis | $149/month | Connected monthly ad spend |
| Best fit | Researching Meta creative and offers | Operating active paid-media accounts |
Which should you choose?
AdSpyBirch (formerly Revealbot)Birch (formerly Revealbot)AdSpyAdSpy is the better research instrument, especially when Offer IDs, comments, landing technologies, and creative filters matter. Birch is the better operating system once a team owns the accounts and needs rules, launch controls, reporting, and logs. It is a mistake to buy Birch expecting an ad archive or to buy AdSpy expecting campaign automation. Keep the handoff deliberate: use external creative observations to propose a controlled original test, then use Birch’s preview, rules, and logs to make the execution reviewable. Neither step eliminates the need for an account owner to judge results. Before buying Birch, model the connected-ad-spend price and verify that Pro, rather than Essential, is required for the live workflow.
Bottom line
Choose AdSpy for deep Meta creative discovery and affiliate-oriented research. Choose Birch for governed account operations across its supported channels. A high-volume paid-social team can use AdSpy to shape its hypotheses and Birch to execute controlled tests, but the tools are not substitutes. AdSpy’s $149 monthly price is a research decision, while Birch’s price changes with connected spend and product tier. Do not use a visible competitor creative as proof of a winning campaign, and do not let an automation rule act without an accountable operator and a review path.
Frequently asked questions
Is AdSpy or Birch better for researching Facebook ads by Offer ID?
AdSpy is better for Facebook ad research by Offer ID because it publishes affiliate network, affiliate ID, and Offer ID search filters. Birch focuses on automation and analysis of connected accounts. An affiliate marketer should use the resulting examples to formulate an original test, rather than assuming an observed offer, creative, or landing path will have the same economics in another account.
Can Birch automatically create Meta ads from a Google Sheet?
Birch can create controlled Meta, TikTok, and Snapchat launch batches from Google Sheets and Drive through Stage, with a preview before launch. AdSpy does not publish campaign-creation features. A Stage run can use up to 1,000 Sheet rows, but the team should still verify the account, template, copy, CTA, URL, and UTM choices in the preview before releasing a batch.
Which tool should a media buyer use to find long-running Meta creative?
AdSpy is the appropriate tool for finding Meta creative through its ad research filters, including last-seen and longest-running views. Birch can analyze connected-account performance but is not presented as a competitor creative archive. A longer-running record is a reason to inspect messaging, audience assumptions, and landing-page path, not evidence that the advertiser has a profitable campaign or that copying it will work.
Does Birch replace AdSpy for affiliate marketers?
Birch does not replace AdSpy for affiliate research because it does not publish Offer ID, affiliate network, or competitor landing-page discovery features. Birch is valuable after a marketer is operating campaigns and needs controls. If the same team needs both jobs, it should preserve the boundary between external research, approved testing, and live-account rule governance instead of treating any one tool as the complete workflow.
Can either tool prove that a competitor’s Meta ad is profitable?
Neither AdSpy nor Birch can prove a competitor’s ad is profitable from public material because observed creative and account automation do not reveal a competitor’s conversion economics. Treat ad evidence as input for a test, not a performance guarantee. Birch can improve the discipline of your own test with reviewed rules, logs, and reporting, but it cannot recover a rival’s private spend or return data.
Reviewed by Filipe Lins DuarteCo-Founder & CEOVast experience talking to customers and users to understand what good software looks like. Background spans commercial and product roles.
Checked by John RiceCo-Founder & CTO15+ years building tech products and web applications. Conducted hundreds of user interviews to know what a good product looks like.
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