How to estimate what competitors spend on social ads

Key takeaways

You cannot see competitor social media ad spend directly for ordinary commercial ads in the UK, but you can estimate it. Public ad libraries show which ads are running, since when and in how many versions. Long-running ads, many variations and steady new launches signal a serious, sustained budget.

• Meta Ad Library shows every active ad a page is running.
• LinkedIn Ad Library shows ads run on LinkedIn by company.
• Ads running 60+ days usually mean they are profitable.
• Copy their offer research, not their budget.

Where can you see competitors' social ads?

Search the business name in the Meta Ad Library to see active ads across Facebook and Instagram, with start dates and versions. The LinkedIn Ad Library and Google's Ads Transparency Center do the same for their platforms. TikTok has a creative library for inspiration. All are free and need no login for basic searches.

• Social media budget for a UK small business
• Social media competitor analysis in one afternoon

Which clues point to a bigger budget?

Look for ads that have run for months, several versions of the same message, new ads every few weeks and ads in several formats. Each points to a team testing and spending steadily. One boosted post from three months ago points to occasional, small spend, whatever their follower count suggests.

• Ad age: long-running ads are usually working.
• Variations: many versions mean active testing.
• Frequency of launches: new ads monthly mean an ongoing budget.
• Formats: video, carousel and lead forms suggest an agency or specialist.

Can you turn the clues into a pound figure?

Only roughly. As a GBL rule of thumb, a local competitor running two or three ads continuously is likely spending £300–£1,000 a month, and one running ten or more variants across formats is likely spending several thousand. Treat these as ranges for planning, not facts to quote.

• Paid social budgets for UK small businesses

Why should you not just match their spend?

Their margins, close rate, customer value and goals are different from yours. A competitor may be overspending, testing a new service or buying awareness they can afford. Matching their budget copies their risk without their reasons. Set your figure from your own sales target and cost per enquiry.

• Share of voice on social media for small businesses

What does this look like in practice?

A pattern we see: an owner assumes a rival must be spending heavily because they appear everywhere, yet the ad library shows two long-running ads. The useful lesson is usually the offer they keep running, which tells you what their buyers respond to, not the size of their budget.

• See client work
• Social Media Marketing for UK businesses

Competitor spend checklist

• Search your top three competitors in the Meta Ad Library.
• Note each ad's start date and number of versions.
• Check the LinkedIn Ad Library if you sell B2B.
• Record the offers that run longest.
• Set your own budget from your numbers, not theirs.

• Work out a social media budget from your sales target
• Fixed or flexible: how to hold a social media budget

Next step

Spend 20 minutes in the ad libraries this week. Write down the three longest-running competitor offers and compare them with what you are promoting.