A MagicBrief alternative that keeps the ads
MagicBrief shut down on 31 July 2026. PirateAds tracks every competitor ad in your category, keeps it after it stops, and lets Claude or ChatGPT read the whole library.
What carries over
- Your competitor list. Add each brand by name; most are already in the library with months of history. Anything new starts storing within hours.
- Briefs with evidence. Ask the connector for a brand’s proven winners and the angle each one runs; the brief writes itself from real ads with real run times.
- The weekly read. The Weekly Haul: launched, crossed 30 days, stopped, per brand you star.
What is different
- PirateAds keeps stopped ads with the day they stopped, so a finished test stays readable.
- Every brand carries a last-checked date, so you know how fresh a “running” is.
- The free plan is free for good, and includes the Claude and ChatGPT connector.
- PirateAds does not do saved collections and mood boards the way a swipe file does; for that, Foreplay is the better tool, and the two sit side by side.
| PirateAds | Motion | Foreplay | Atria | MagicBrief | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starts at | Free; paid from $59/mo | $750/mo (Starter, to $50k spend); $1,200/mo Pro | $59 / $175 / $459 per mo | Free; $129 / $479 / $959 per mo billed annually | Shut down 31 Jul 2026 |
| What it is | The category’s memory: every competitor ad, how long it ran, when it stopped | Creative analytics on your own ad account | Swipe file and briefs from saved ads | Ad library search and creative briefs | Ad library and briefs |
| Competitor ads kept after they stop | Yes, with the stop date | Not the focus | Only ads you saved | While indexed | — |
| Run time on every ad | Yes | Own ads only | Where visible | Where visible | — |
| Last-checked date on every brand | Yes | — | No | No | — |
| Angles proven in other categories, unused in yours | Yes | No | No | No | — |
| Claude / ChatGPT connector | Yes, every plan incl. free | Partner integrations | Yes (foreplay.co/mcp) | No | — |
| Your own ad performance | Hook, hold, store-true ROAS; arrives when Meta review clears | Yes, deep | No | No | — |
| Weekly digest email | Weekly Haul | Reports | No | Alerts | — |
| Free plan | Yes, for good | No | No (trial) | Yes | — |
Prices and features checked 6 Oct 2026 on each vendor’s public page. Tell us if one is out of date and we fix it the same day.
Start with the brands you lost
Add them today. The history Meta still shows is captured from the first pull; what already stopped is gone from everywhere, so sooner is better.
Set sail for free