SpyFu vs Use Poach in 2026: PPC intelligence vs a local-first Meta creative capture tool
SpyFu researches Google SEO and PPC history, keywords, estimated spend, rankings, and reports. Use Poach captures selected Facebook Ad Library ads locally for free or into the buyer’s Notion workspace through a $67 lifetime Pro license.
SpyFu
Use Poach- SpyFu Basic costs $39 monthly and focuses on historical PPC and SEO competitor data, keyword gaps, and weekly rank tracking.
- SpyFu Pro + AI costs $119 monthly and adds API access, white-label reports, 15-minute rank updates, and AI-powered recommendations.
- Use Poach Free saves a selected Facebook Ad Library ad’s image or video and a metadata screenshot card to local disk.
- Use Poach Pro is a $67 lifetime license that creates a 13-column database in the customer’s own Notion workspace and syncs captures as native rows.
- Use Poach only works from public Facebook Ad Library and does not publish its own discovery database, alerts, competitor monitoring, or coverage for TikTok and Google Ads.
- SpyFu has no AI-model visibility tracking, so neither product is a tool for monitoring mentions in ChatGPT or Gemini.
SpyFu and Use Poach sit at opposite ends of the research workflow. SpyFu discovers and analyses SEO and PPC competitor patterns, including historical ad data, keyword gaps, estimated spend, backlinks, rank tracking, API access, and white-label reports. Use Poach does not discover anything: it captures an individual ad that the researcher has already found in the public Facebook Ad Library, then preserves the media and a metadata card locally or, on Pro, in the customer’s own Notion database. Choose SpyFu when entering a market, building a search or Google Ads brief, or producing repeatable competitor analysis. Choose Use Poach when the practical problem is losing useful Meta creative references after a manual Ad Library search. The $67 lifetime price makes Use Poach an easy specialist tool for a Notion-based strategist, but it cannot replace SpyFu’s research database, monitoring surface, or reporting workflow.
The tools at a glance
SpyFu
SEO and PPC competitor intelligence with historical ad records, keyword gaps, fast rank updates, API access, and white-label reports
SpyFu is a research platform rather than a clipping tool. Its central job is to show a competing domain’s SEO and PPC strategy: organic keywords, paid keywords and ads, estimated spend, ranking history, and historical campaign patterns. That makes it useful before a campaign exists, when a marketer is trying to understand which terms competitors target and which messages persist. Backlink analysis and keyword gaps add context that a Facebook creative capture cannot provide, especially for a team whose paid and organic search work share a roadmap.
The plan ladder is clear. Basic is $39 per month for one user, with weekly rank updates and no API or white-label reports. Pro + AI is $119 monthly and adds API access, white-label reporting, 15-minute rank updates, and AI-powered recommendations. Team/Agency is $249 monthly for five users and retains those capabilities. A consultant can use Basic for self-serve discovery, but the paid jump is justified only if client-ready reports, programmatic data, or near-real-time rank tracking are a real operating requirement.
SpyFu does not solve every intelligence problem. Its profile says the keyword database is smaller than Semrush or Ahrefs, it does not supply AI model visibility tracking, and its interface can feel dated. It is also a Google-search and PPC research product, not a tool for preserving individual Meta Ad Library records in a personal workspace. Use it when the output is a competitive analysis or a recurring search programme. Pair it with a capture tool only when the team has a separate need to retain Meta creative examples.
| Feature | Basic $39/month | Pro + AI $119/month | Team/Agency $249/month |
|---|---|---|---|
| API access | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| White-label reports | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Rank updates | Weekly | 15 min | 15 min |
| Users | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| AI-powered recommendations | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| AI model tracking | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
Use Poach
Chrome capture tool for saving selected Facebook Ad Library ads locally or as native rows in a customer-owned Notion database
Use Poach starts where SpyFu does not: on a public Facebook Ad Library page containing an ad the user has already found. Free saves the selected image or video and a screenshot card to local disk. The vendor says that card carries the visible headline, primary copy, CTA, advertiser, landing URL, dates, and the researcher’s own tags, with metadata embedded in the PNG for ExifTool reading. It is a local creative reference workflow, not a subscription dashboard claiming to know the whole ad market.
Pro costs $67 once, with no renewal, and adds direct Notion sync. The extension creates a 13-column database in the customer’s workspace, then saves each selected capture as a native row with its screenshot. Researchers can apply niche, awareness-stage, and lead-type tags before capture, and the vendor describes Notion records as searchable, taggable, and deduplicated. The privacy policy says captured ads, screenshots, Notion content, and Notion tokens are not sent to the licensing service, while the token is used only for user-triggered Notion actions.
That narrow scope is the trade-off. Use Poach does not publish a proprietary archive, advertiser search, alerts, monitoring, team workspace, approval system, reporting layer, API, or integration catalogue beyond the direct Notion connection. It is restricted to Facebook Ad Library and does not cover TikTok, Google Ads, display, native, or other networks. Buy it when a personal or small-team swipe file needs a durable home in files or Notion. Do not buy it expecting SpyFu-style discovery, Google competitor intelligence, or a hosted campaign research system.
| Feature | Free $0 | Pro $67 lifetime |
|---|---|---|
| Capture Facebook Ad Library ads to disk | ✓ | ✓ |
| Save image or video | ✓ | ✓ |
| Metadata screenshot card | ✓ | ✓ |
| Research tags | ✓ | ✓ |
| Notion sync | ✗ | ✓ |
| 13-column Notion database | ✗ | ✓ |
| Recurring subscription | ✗ | ✗ |
Head-to-head feature comparison
| Feature | SpyFu | Use Poach |
|---|---|---|
| Primary job | SEO and PPC competitor intelligence | Capture after manual Facebook Ad Library discovery |
| Discovery database | Yes, for its search and PPC research workflow | No |
| Network focus | Traditional Google search and PPC research | Public Facebook Ad Library only |
| Historical PPC and keyword research | Yes | No |
| Local ownership of captures | Not its documented purpose | Yes, local media and metadata cards |
| Notion workflow | Not established in reviewed profile | Pro creates a customer-owned 13-column database |
| API access | Pro + AI and Team/Agency | Not published |
| White-label reporting | Pro + AI and Team/Agency | Not published |
| Entry price | $39/month | Free; Pro is $67 lifetime |
| Best fit | Search marketers and agencies producing competitive analysis | Notion-based paid-social creative research |
Which should you choose?
SpyFuChoose based on the missing step in your workflow. SpyFu solves discovery and analysis for SEO and PPC competition, while Use Poach solves preservation after a researcher has found one useful Facebook Ad Library ad. SpyFu has the higher ongoing cost because it maintains a competitive research product and supports reports, API access, and rank tracking. Use Poach is nearly frictionless for the Notion use case because the $67 payment is one-time, but its limits are structural rather than temporary: no discovery archive, no competitor alerts, and no network coverage beyond the public Facebook Ad Library.
Bottom line
Use SpyFu for a search or PPC competitive programme, particularly when historical ad and keyword intelligence, 15-minute rank updates, API access, or white-label reports have a real place in the work. Use Poach Free to keep valuable Facebook Ad Library captures as local references, then buy Pro only if native Notion rows will be actively tagged and reused. These products can coexist, but only because one finds the market pattern and the other preserves a selected Meta creative example.
Frequently asked questions
Is SpyFu or Use Poach better for a freelancer researching Google Ads competitors?
SpyFu is better for a freelancer researching Google Ads competitors because it provides historical PPC and SEO competitor data, keyword gaps, estimated spend context, and rank tracking. Use Poach only captures selected ads that the user has already found in public Facebook Ad Library, so it does not discover Google Ads competitors.
Can Use Poach replace a Meta ad spy tool for monitoring competitors?
Use Poach cannot replace a Meta ad spy tool for monitoring competitors because it does not publish an advertiser-search database, saved-search alerts, or automatic watchlists. It improves the capture and organisation step after manual Facebook Ad Library discovery.
What does Use Poach Pro add to the free Facebook Ad Library capture workflow?
Use Poach Pro adds one-click sync into a 13-column database created in the customer’s own Notion workspace, where each captured ad becomes a native row with its screenshot. Free already saves selected ad media and a metadata screenshot card to local disk, so the paid value is the Notion workflow rather than basic capture.
Which SpyFu plan includes API access and white-label reports for a small agency?
SpyFu Pro + AI includes API access and white-label reports for $119 per month, while Basic costs $39 per month but has neither feature. Pro + AI also changes rank updates from weekly to every 15 minutes and adds AI-powered recommendations. Team/Agency costs $249 monthly and extends the same capability to five users.
Can either SpyFu or Use Poach track how a brand appears in ChatGPT or Gemini?
Neither SpyFu nor Use Poach tracks how a brand appears in ChatGPT or Gemini according to the reviewed profiles. SpyFu explicitly has no AI-model visibility tracking, and Use Poach is a Facebook Ad Library capture extension rather than an AI visibility product.
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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