Best Ad Blockers of 2024

Have you noticed how the internet is slowly turning into a shopper’s magazine, often with more ads than actual content? And what about the fact that most of these ads seem specifically targeted toward you? Tracking ads are the bread and butter for a lot of websites out there, but they can really hinder your web browsing experience. So, how do you make it better? With an ad blocker.

Now, there are just as many ad blockers as there are ad providers, so choosing the right one might be a bit difficult, especially if you’re new to this. But we can help you make that decision. It mainly depends on how you use the internet. Is your browser of choice Chrome or Firefox? Do you want to block ads on your PC or phone? Are you looking for an ad blocker for your browser, or do you need a more system-wide solution? Or maybe you’re just looking to get rid of YouTube ads. In this guide, we’ll look into the best ad blockers of 2024, compare them, identify the best options for different scenarios, and help you find the one that’s perfect for you.

Our Top Pick For Best Overall Ad Blocker of 2024

Now let’s cut to the chase. You need something that’s going to be an all-rounder, working on all your devices, effectively blocking ads, trackers, malicious links, and annoyances without requiring any technical know-how. We have a top pick for you: AdGuard.

AdGuard is an open-source ad-blocking tool with the widest compatibility we’ve ever seen. You can use it on your computer, phone, browsers, and even set it up directly on your router. It has aced all our tests, securing a 9.6 out of 10 score. Recently updated to support the Manifest V3 extension platform, it’s future-proof for Chrome users. During our tests, it scored a perfect 100 on Adblock Tester. Its only shortcoming is a slow response in customer support. Other than that, it’s a solid recommendation for all users.

Read our full review of AdGuard here.

Comparing The Top 5 Ad Blockers of 2024

Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s explore a little. Our top five contenders for the best ad blocker are AdGuard, uBlock Origin, Ghostery, Stands AdBlocker, and Total AdBlock. While we picked AdGuard as the best overall, each of these has unique features and value propositions that make them stand out. Let’s have a brief look.

While AdGuard leads in score and compatibility, uBlock Origin might be a better choice if you’re a Firefox user who likes to customize your experience by picking and choosing filters or adding your own custom rules and scripts. Total Adblock offers ease of use and security features, including an antivirus bundled with its plans. Ghostery focuses on privacy features like anti-tracking and provides detailed ad-blocking statistics. Stands Ad Blocker stands out by blocking ads on YouTube and Facebook and by allowing acceptable ads so you can support websites that comply with their fair ads policies.

How Do We Test Ad Blockers?

Before we recommend an ad blocker, we put it through an elaborate five-stage testing process. This helps us assign an objective score based on our results.

Stage 1: Compatibility and Installation

We first check the ad blocker’s compatibility. We figure out how many devices it supports and to what extent. Does it only offer browser extensions, or does it provide system-wide protection? Does it have Android and iOS apps? Is it compatible with Chrome’s Manifest V3 platform? Since most ad blockers have a Chrome extension, that’s where we usually install it first. But if it lacks support on Chrome, we move on to Firefox or see if it offers system-wide ad blocking. The ad blocker gets scored based on how widely compatible it is and how easy and quick the installation process is.

Stage 2: Ease of Use and Customizability

After installation, we explore the user interface to see how easy it is to use. Ideally, an ad blocker should work with just one click. Then we dive into the settings to see how much control the user has. Can they change custom filters, allow lists, custom rules, or manually block elements? Ease of use and customizability are often contrasting elements. When not done right, one needs to be sacrificed for the other. We assign scores for both based on our criteria.

Stage 3: Pricing and Customer Support

Next, we evaluate the pricing. Is it completely free, or does it offer a paid tier? What are the available plans? Is there a free-to-use version or just a free trial? Does the free trial require a credit card? How usable is the free version? Does it lack essential features that may render it unusable or give poor performance? After assigning a score for pricing, we move on to customer support. We usually look for a live chat option as that usually leads to fast response. But most ad blockers offer email or phone support, while some have none, just a knowledge base. The response time and quality of the support also affect the score here.

Stage 4: Real-World Testing on Websites

Then, we test the ad blocker on specific websites. Starting with YouTube, then moving on to news sites, social media, and e-commerce platforms. This helps us assess how effective the ad blocker is at blocking ads and annoyances. It also lets us evaluate its features and see if it lives up to its claims. Based on how many ads it blocks and how effectively it does so, we assign two separate scores: one for YouTube and another for other websites.

Stage 5: Independent Benchmark Tests

After the real-world testing, we move on to third-party tests that serve as benchmarks. Our platforms of choice include 

• AdBlock Tester: Checks how many ads and scripts each ad blocker can block.
• D3ward Ad Block Test: Tests ads from different providers to see if the ad blocker can block them all;
• Can You Block It: Runs various ads and annoyances throughout their website to see if the ad blocker can block them;
• Cover Your Tracks: Checks if your ad blocker protects you from trackers and fingerprinting. Based on the overall performance of an ad blocker on all these tests, we assign it a score.

Once we’re done with all five stages, we put all the scores together and calculate the final score. Each category carries a different weight in the final score, so we sum up the weighted averages to come up with a final score out of 10. And that’s where our testing ends.

What is Manifest V3 and Why Should You Care?

Manifest V3 is a new platform with a set of rules that decide how extensions work in Google Chrome. While Google claims it will enhance the security, privacy, and performance of your browser, it could also impact how ad blockers will work. MV3 places strict limits on what browser extensions can do, especially when it comes to blocking ads and trackers. 

Since Google runs both one of the most popular browsers and one of the largest advertising networks, these changes could present a conflict of interest. And if you are someone who uses ad blockers, this transition could lead to a bad web browsing experience. 

What can you do about it? Stay informed and consider your options. Look for MV3 compliant ad blockers that work the best. Our reviews can help you with that. Alternatively, you could switch to a different browser like Firefox, that prioritizes privacy without limiting ad blockers.

Best Ad Blocker for Chrome

Top Pick: Ghoster Tracker & Ad Blocker (8.8/10)

Specifications:

• Browsers: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari
• Price: Free

Pros

• Advanced tracker database
• User-friendly interface
• Auto-rejects cookie consent notices
• Free and open-source
• Provides in-depth analytics

Cons

• No system-wide ad blocking
• Limited customer support
• Poor results in Cover Your Tracks

With over 100 million downloads across platforms, Ghostery stands out as one of the best ad blockers for Chrome due to its powerful ad blocking, user-friendly interface, and solid privacy features. It blocks ads effectively across various sites, from YouTube to Reddit, and even handles cookie consent prompts with its “Never-Consent” feature. Ghostery’s secret weapon is its community-maintained, constantly updated tracker database. Unlike many ad blockers, Ghostery lets you see exactly what’s being blocked and offers extensive customization options, including regional and experimental filters. It’s also open-source, ensuring transparency. And the best part is that it’s completely free to use. 

Read our full review of Ghostery Tracker & Ad Blocker. (link)

Best Ad Blocker for Firefox

Top Pick: uBlock Origin (9.4/10)

Specifications:

• Browsers: Chrome, Edge, Vivaldi, Firefox
• Price: Free

Pros

• Excellent ad blocker
• Free and open-source
• CPU and memory efficient
• Highly customisable dynamic filters
• Trustworthy

Cons

• Advanced features need technical knowledge
• Only available as browser extensions
• No customer support

uBlock Origin is a fully free and open-source ad blocker that is actively maintained by its developer and a community of contributors. It is a very lightweight extension that speeds up your page loading times significantly. It also gives users the flexibility to add or remove filter lists, create custom filters, and adjust settings to suit their needs. Its lack of MV3 compliance makes it a difficult recommendation for Chrome. As Firefox itself is a free and open-source browser that runs on minimal resources, the users will likely appreciate what uBlock Origin has to offer. 

Read our full review of uBlock Origin.

Best For Blocking YouTube Ads

Top Pick: Stands Free Ad Blocker (8/10)

Specifications:

• Browsers: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge
• Operating Systems: iOS, iPadOS
• Price: Free

Pros

• Manifest V3 compliant
• Can block Facebook ads and sponsored posts
• User-friendly interface

Cons

• No accessible filters list
• Can’t avoid detection
• No support over live chat

Stands effectively removes all forms of ads from YouTube. During our tests we looked for skippable and non-skippable in-stream ads, in-feed video ads, bumper ads, masthead ads, and YouTube Shorts ads. With Stands AdBlocker enabled we got none of them interrupting our viewing experience. While a lot of ad blockers have lost key functionalities after their switch to Manifest V3, Stands has still retained most of its functionalities. Moreover, it is extremely user-friendly, and allowed manual element blocking, which is rare in most ad blockers. Stands is also great at blocking Facebook ads. 

Read our full review of Stands Free AdBlocker. (link)

Best Ad Blocker for Android

Top Pick: AdGuard

Specifications:

• Browsers: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, and Edge
• Operating Systems: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, iPadOS
• Price: $29.88/year, or $79.99/lifetime

Pros

• Free and open-source
• Blocks scripts, analytics, and trackers
• Allows whitelisting and invert whitelisting
• Compatible with a wide range of devices including Raspberry Pi

Cons

• Can’t avoid detection
• No 24/7 live chat support

For system–wide ad blocking, AdGuard is one of the best solutions not just for Android, but also for iOS, macOS, and Windows users. While it is not available on Google Play Store, sideloading the app from the official website is fairly safe. The app creates a VPN to block ads everywhere on your system. It should cover all apps, browsers, games, and websites. You can also pick and choose from dozens of filters to customize your experience. And if you don’t care about customizing filters, or monitoring, you can just add dns.adguard.com as a private DNS from your phone’s connection settings and it will block almost all ads system-wide without any app or VPN profile.

Best Ad Blocker for iOS

Top Pick: 1Blocker

Specifications:

• Operating Systems: macOS, iOS, iPadOs
• Price: $2.99/month, $14.99/year, and $38.99/lifetime

Pros

• System-wide ad blocking on all Apple devices
• Great value for money
• Has a firewall

Cons

• Limited ad blocking on free tier

1Blocker’s extensive features include regional filters for specific countries, a customizable firewall that blocks in-app trackers, and options to hide annoyances like mobile app banners and crypto miners.The app works seamlessly with all Apple devices. It has an easy to navigate user interface with Siri integration. And it does a great job at blocking YouTube ads on iPhones. 

How to Choose the Right Ad Blocker for You

We have already covered a few scenarios and the best ad blockers for that. But based on your needs and preferences, you may want to go a different route. Let’s help you figure out which ad blocker to choose when.

• System-Wide Protection: For system-wide protection on all devices with the widest compatibility, you can’t go wrong with AdGuard. But if you are deep into the Apple ecosystem and own multiple iOS, macOS devices, 1Blocker may be a better option for you. AdLock is also an option worth considering for all users. 
• Value for Money: As a free option, even most paid ad blockers cannot beat uBlock Origin. But if you are looking for best value for money, AdGuard definitely gives you the most bang for buck among the paid options.
• Customer Support: During our tests, we got the best customer support from Ghostery. But in general, most ad blockers do not have good customer support.
• Performance Test: In our real-word tests, and independent benchmarks, Total Adblock and AdGuard are tied for first position, and uBlock Origin is a close second. 
• Privacy: If your main concern is privacy, we recommend uBlock Origin. But Ghostery also has a few great anti-tracking features that make it a privacy focused ad blocker.

If you are still unsure about which one to pick, our top recommendation is AdGuard. It is an allrounder with a wide range of compatibility. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Free Ad Blockers Safe?

Most free and open-source ad blockers like uBlock Origin, Ghostery, and AdGuard are safe. However some closed source ad blockers like Stands Free Ad Blocker have questionable data collection practices mentioned on their privacy policy. It is always best to read the fine print (I.e. privacy policy) before installing an ad blocker. User reviews, forums, and subreddits are also a good place to find out more about ad blockers and their trustworthiness.

Is Ad Blocking Illegal?

No, Ad Blocking is not illegal. It may be against the terms of service of many websites and online platforms, however it is not against the law. Moreover, denying access for using an ad blocker may actually be illegal in the EU. But as an internet user it is well within your rights if you want to use an ad blocker.

How To Block Ads on the Phone?

There are a few ways to block ads on a phone. On Android, Firefox, Samsung Browser, and Yandex Browser support extensions. On iOS most ad blocking ads work with Safari. But if you are looking for a system-wide ad blocking solution. You can install an ad blocking DNS like AdGuard or NextDNS on both Android or iOS. Or you can install an ad blocking app like AdGuard, AdLock, 1Blocker, and Total AdBlock.