Competitor Ad Spend: How to Analyze Rivals’ Budgets

Mar 19, 2026 05:06 PM - 1 month ago 43796

It’s imaginable to get an meticulous estimate of your competitors’ advertisement spend. You don’t person to guess.

Beyond satisfying your curiosity, knowing really overmuch your rivals walk connected ads helps you make amended decisions astir your fund allocation to support your trading efforts effective.

This guideline shows really to estimate competitor advertisement walk crossed display, social, video, and paid hunt ads. And what you tin do pinch that information.

How to See Competitors’ Estimated Ad Spend pinch AdClarity

The AdClarity app lets you estimate competitors’ integer ad spend, spot wherever their ads appear, and measure really their investments alteration complete time.

AdClarity provides accusation connected advertisement walk crossed display, social, and video ads. And you tin spot results by advertiser, publisher, campaign, and keyword.

With AdClarity, you can:

  • Compare aggregate competitors to spot differences successful estimated spend, impressions, and advertisement placement successful 1 dashboard
  • Track spending trends complete time utilizing a assortment of filters
  • Analyze advertisement walk distribution crossed placements and programmatic vs. nonstop buying
  • Identify top-performing ads and campaigns based connected belief volume
  • Export reports for stakeholders to review

When you participate an advertiser’s domain into AdClarity, you’ll spot a study that shows an wide position of advertisement walk crossed each devices and channels. 

The Advertiser study connected the Ad Clarity instrumentality showing metrics for illustration estimated expenditure, advertisement types, and advertisement buying methods.

Here’s how to usage AdClarity to estimate advertisement walk connected each main channel:

Estimate Display Ad Spend

Use AdClarity to estimate really overmuch your competitors are spending connected their display ads by entering a rival domain successful the hunt barroom pinch the “Advertisers” tab selected, clicking the “All channels” drop-down, and selecting “Display.”

This filtered Advertiser study shows that Costco spent $489,100 for 162.1 cardinal impressions connected show ads successful the past 3 months. The study besides shows that Costco’s show ads mean 12.5 cardinal play impressions, costs $37,400 per week, and look crossed 287 publishers per week.

Display advertisement study showing metrics for illustration estimated expenditure, advertisement placement, advertisement buying methods, and expenditure trends.

Further down successful the Advertiser report, you tin spot that Costco’s apical advertisement by impressions is an advertisement for a Lenovo PC.

Top show ads sorted by impressions connected AdClarity.

When you click connected immoderate advertisement successful the “Top ads” section, you tin entree much specifications astir the ad, including the advertisement type (e.g., banner) and dimensions, erstwhile the advertisement ran, the ad’s CPM, and more.

AdClarity besides gives you the action to spell from an individual advertisement to a afloat run study and the campaign’s landing page. And you tin export accusation from AdClarity for presentations and soul notes.

Display advertisement specifications for illustration dimensions, CPM, impressions, spend, and apical publishers.

Back successful the main Advertiser report, scroll down to spot that Costco’s apical run accounts for 18.95% of the company’s full show advertisement impressions. And that they spent $87,360 connected this campaign, which is 17.86% of their full show advertisement budget. 

Top show advertisement campaigns pinch the impressions and walk for the apical run highlighted.

Even further down successful the Advertiser report, you spot which publishers relationship for astir of Costco’s advertisement placements and Costco’s advertisement buying methods for show ads. 

Below, you tin spot that Costco spent $187,510 done advertisement networks, totaling 38.34% of their show advertisement fund during this period.

Top show advertisement buying methods showing advertisement networks arsenic the superior transportation method for "costco.com."

Estimate Social Media Ad Spend

Choose “Social” from the channels drop-down astatine the apical of the Advertiser study to spot accusation astir the entered competitor’s advertisement walk connected social.

"Social" selected from the transmission drop-down connected apical of the Advertiser report.

In the first statement of widgets, you’ll spot estimated expenditure, societal advertisement placement, and societal advertisement types. 

You tin besides spot that Costco averaged 10.6 cardinal play mean impressions for societal ads, spent an mean of $66,900 per week connected societal ads, and appeared crossed an mean of 4 publishers. This makes consciousness fixed societal ads only look connected societal media platforms. 

Advertiser expenditure trends showing metrics for illustration mean impressions, spend, and publishers.

Scrolling down the Advertisers study shows that Costco’s apical advertisement connected societal media successful the past 3 months was for MegaFood vitamins, which costs them $250,500 to tally and earned 45.7 cardinal impressions.

The apical societal advertisement for "costco.com" being an advertisement for MegaFood vitamins that costs $250.5K & earned 45.7 cardinal impressions.

When you click connected the ad, AdClarity shows that it was published connected Facebook. You tin besides position different metrics astir the advertisement and the run it was a portion of.

Social advertisement specifications for illustration dimensions, CPM, impressions, spend, and apical publishers.

The bottommost of the Advertiser study shows specifications astir Costco’s apical societal media campaigns and distribution crossed platforms. 

"Social networks" connected the Advertiser study showing that 99.82% of Costco's societal advertisement impressions were from Facebook.

Estimate Video Ad Spend

To usage AdClarity to estimate really overmuch your competitors are spending connected their video ads, prime “Video” from the channels drop-down.

"Video" selected arsenic the transmission connected apical of the Advertiser report.

The Advertiser study will past show estimated expenditure, video advertisement placement, and video advertisement buying methods. Here, we tin spot that Costco spent $685,600 for 77.8 cardinal impressions complete the past 3 months and relied chiefly connected programmatic arsenic their advertisement buying method.

The video advertisement study connected AdClarity showing metrics for illustration estimated expenditure, video advertisement placement, and advertisement buying methods.

As pinch the erstwhile 2 sections, the “Advertiser expenditure trends” conception shows trends and averages related to Costco’s advertisement impressions, spend, etc.

Further down successful the Advertiser report, you tin spot the apical video ads for Costco. And you tin click into immoderate advertisement to spot much specifications astir it and the larger run it belongs to. 

Top video ads for "costco.com" on pinch metrics for illustration advertisement spend, impressions, and video magnitude for each.

Once again, the “Top campaigns” conception shows Costco’s highest-performing advertisement campaigns—this clip specifically for video advertisement campaigns. And the “Top publishers” conception confirms that Costco’s highest advertisement walk and belief count came from YouTube video ads. 

Top video advertisement publishers pinch the impressions and walk for the apical publisher, YouTube, highlighted.

If you click connected the “YouTube” statement successful the “Top campaigns” section, you’ll spot YouTube-specific information. The “YouTube channels” conception shows which YouTube channels Costco’s video ads appeared on. Which is useful for creating a competitive advertisement strategy.

"YouTube channels" connected the Advertiser study showing the apical channels utilized by Costco for their video ads.

Compare Ad Spend Across Channels

Now, you tin spot that Costco’s advertisement walk connected each transmission complete the past 3 months is arsenic follows:

  • Display ads: $489,100 for 162.1 cardinal impressions
  • Social ads: $880,400 for 139.6 cardinal impressions
  • Video ads: $685,600 for 77.8 cardinal impressions

Use this breakdown to comparison your ain advertisement transmission distribution against your competitors’. And make decisions astir wherever you whitethorn want to put and wherever you whitethorn want to propulsion back. 

Review your existent fund divided and set based connected your goals, competitor insights, and disposable resources.

How to See Competitors’ Estimated Paid Search Ad Spend pinch Advertising Research

Estimate competitors’ paid hunt advertisement walk utilizing Semrush’s Advertising Research tool, which besides shows the keywords your rivals’ ads look for.

Enter a competitor’s domain and spell to the “Positions” tab successful Advertising Research. This study shows specifications astir the competitor’s paid keywords, estimated traffic, costs per click, paid hunt positions, and more.

The Advertising Research instrumentality showing metrics for illustration keywords, traffic, postulation cost, paid hunt trends, & paid hunt positions.

The “Traffic Cost” metric is the estimated mean monthly costs to show successful Google for the listed keywords based connected cost per click (CPC) and position data. It gives you a applicable estimate of what a competitor whitethorn beryllium spending connected paid search.

Knowing what a competitor is paying for hunt ads gives you a benchmark for your pay-per-click (PPC) budget. To springiness you ideas connected really to set your PPC strategy.

In the illustration below, the Advertising Research instrumentality estimates that Costco would person to walk $140,100 to show for each its listed keywords. 

The "Traffic Cost" of $140.1K for "costco.com" highlighted connected the Advertising Research tool.

If we multiply $140,100 by three, we tin estimate that Costco spent astir $420,300 connected Google hunt ads during the aforesaid three-month play we analyzed successful AdClarity. 

Use Competitor Ad Spend Data to Refine Your Strategy

Use competitor ad walk information to:

  • Benchmark your advertisement spend: Compare full walk to spot really overmuch competitors are investing and whether you request to set to compete
  • Find transmission opportunities: Analyze really competitors administer their advertisement budgets among channels to place wherever title is strongest aliases wherever location whitethorn beryllium opportunities
  • Track spending trends complete time: View information complete clip to spot seasonal spikes aliases sustained increases successful finance that whitethorn beryllium worthy addressing
  • Determine keyword-level competition: Look for precocious costs that bespeak highly competitory terms. And determine whether it’s much advantageous to compete straight aliases prosecute little competitory opportunities. 

Keep successful mind that AI-powered hunt experiences for illustration Google’s AI Overviews tin power click behavior. Our ain research shows that the number of hunt motor results pages (SERPs) containing some ads and AI Overviews grew dramatically successful 2025. 

While immoderate marketers interest that AI Overviews whitethorn lessen visibility for and clicks connected ads, much opportunities for paid hunt are emerging. Google is already testing ads straight wrong AI Overviews. 

FAQs About Doing a Competitor Ad Spend Analysis

How Accurate Are Semrush’s Competitor Ad Spend Estimates?

The AdClarity app and Advertising Research instrumentality supply highly meticulous estimates based connected advertisement placements, impressions, CPC data, and position tracking. These figures aren’t nonstop budgets, but they connection reliable estimates for benchmarking and inclination analysis.

Can I See My Competitors’ Actual Ads successful Semrush?

Yes, AdClarity shows display, social, and video ads, on pinch accusation astir placements and performance. And Advertising Research shows a competitor’s existent hunt ads successful the “Ads Copies” tab.

What’s a Good Ad Spend Benchmark for My Industry?

There’s nary cosmopolitan benchmark for advertisement spend—it varies by industry, maturation stage, and competitory pressure. Analyze competitors successful your manufacture to found a baseline, past set based connected your goals and resources.

How Often Should I Monitor Competitor Ad Spend?

Monthly monitoring of competitors’ advertisement walk is capable for astir businesses, though you whitethorn want to do it much often during important times for illustration merchandise launches and seasonal peaks.

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