Adblock Plus Review 2025: This Free Extension Secures Your Data

Browsing the internet can be a clutter-filled and even dangerous experience, but Adblock Plus is trying to change all that with its free service.

Adblock Plus is one of the most well-known blockers available, but is it the worth the hype? We liked that it is a powerful free tool and its open-source. Plus, Adblock Premium successfully passed all ad blocker tests, including against YouTube. 

We didn't like that AdBlock Plus failed to block trackers, even with the Premium subscription. For privacy protection, you should pair Adblock Plus with another blocker or consider the best ad blockers instead.

Let’s take a closer look at Adblock Plus's main features, premium offerings, blocking test results, and more. 

Pros
  • Free product blocks ads, pop-up, trackers, push notifications, and more 
  • Allowlist for ads to support creators
  • Blocks YouTube ads consistently 
Cons
  • Provides no protection against trackers

Want To Block Ads AND Trackers? Total Adblock Scored High on All Tests
4.9
Editorial Rating
Learn More
On Total Adblock's website
Ad Blocker
Total Adblock
  • Instantly blocks distracting ads on millions of websites, including Facebook and YouTube ads
  • Blocks third-party trackers to protect your privacy and information
  • Improves page load times and enables faster browsing

In this article
Overview
Our experience
Paid plan
Features
Test results
How to use
Alternatives
Compatibility
FAQs
Bottom line

Overview

Ads blocked on Forbes homepage 30
AdBlock Tester score 100/100
Cover Your Tracks score 0/3
Can You Block It1/3
Does it block YouTube ads? Yes
Whitelisting available Yes
Blacklisting available Yes
Compatibility Android, iOS, Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Safari
Paid version Starts at $4.00/mo
Learn more Get Adblock Plus

How we test and rate ad blockers

Each ad blocker we review goes through a standardized test designed to push the limits of what the software is capable of. This includes vigorous third-party testing using websites like adblock-tester.com, coveryourtracks.eff.org, and canyoublockit.com. We also visit popular websites to test the ad blocker’s day-to-day capabilities, including watching YouTube videos and browsing Forbes.

Once we’ve completed the testing, we calculate our editorial rating by taking into account key features you’d expect from a good product. We score each ad blocker in the following categories and use a weighted average to calculate the final rating out of 5 stars: price, test scores, features, browser support, and editorial score.

To learn more about how we test, read our full ad blocker methodology here.

We last tested Adblock Plus on July 10, 2025.

4.3
Editorial Rating
Learn More
On Adblock Plus's website
Ad Blocker
Adblock Plus
  • Free product blocks ads, pop-up, trackers, push notifications, social media icons tracking, and even YouTube video ads
  • Open-source software allows for custom filtering and community-based support
  • Provides no protection against trackers

Our experience

Adblock Plus provided a great set and forget ad blocker experience. We tested Adblock Plus on the Chrome extension for desktop. 

Adblock Plus Premium welcome page with extra settings to enable

Adblock Plus quickly got to work removing all the ads on heavily populated webpages like Forbes. 

Forbes homepage with Adblock Plus extension open

Initially, Adblock Plus received an 83/100 with Adblock Tester. We went into the filter settings and enabled all the free feature toggles, then tried again. After this, Adblock Plus received a perfect score. 

This may seem daunting for new Adblock Plus users, but Adblock Plus has a user-friendly and basic interface, so you shouldn't feel overwhelmed trying to toggle on more filters. 

Adblock Plus also aced the Can You Block It test and successfully blocked YouTube ads. It just failed all the Cover Your Tracks test, so you might need to bundle with a tracker blocker like Privacy Badger for maximum protection. 

We did like that you could enable or disable Acceptable Ads. These are noninvasive advertisements on a site, and add certain sites to our "allowlist" so that the ads display. 

This gives back to creators, like your favorite blogger, who rely on ad revenue for the content they create. 

Adblock Plus Acceptable Ads settings

Adblock Plus paid plan

Adblock Plus offers a free tool and a premium option that runs between $3.33-$4.00/mo.

 Adblock Plus Premium allows for even more options, like blocking site notifications and floating videos. Anyone who’s visited a recipe blog knows that these can overwhelm the page to the point of making it nearly unreadable.

The paid Adblock Plus plans are on the higher end compared to other ad blockers:

  • Adblock Plus: $3.33/mo (billed annually)
  • AdLock: $3.50/mo
  • AdGuard: $2.49/mo (billed annually)
  • Total Adblock: $1.59/mo (billed annually)

The Premium subscription also supports the work the Adblock Plus crew is doing so they can continue to bring a powerful and useful tool to all internet users. 

Free Premium
Price Free
  • Yearly: $3.33/mo (billed annually)
  • Monthly: $4.00/mo
Blocks ads and pop-ups
Blocks trackers
Blocks push notifications
Blocks social media icons tracking
Blocks site notifications
Blocks survey requests
Blocks floating videos
Blocks cookie consent pop-ups
Details View plan View plan

Adblock Plus promises that it exists solely on paid subscriptions and donations. This means your data is never for sale. 

eyeo, the company behind Adblock Plus, even notes in its privacy policy that you’re practically invisible to the company as well. Adblock Plus does note that it shares aggregated anonymous information with some third parties, but that info cannot be traced back to you.

Main features

Adblock Plus is a web browser extension that comes with a clean, user-friendly interface and increased functionality. The free version may be all you need to enhance your webpage experience. 

Not all the features worked perfectly on every browser. Per usual, the Apple option, Safari, had far fewer features available than Chrome or Edge. However, Adblock Plus still held up by blocking ads on Safari.

Ad blocking

Adblock Plus blocks floating video ads, display ads, and banner ads. The paid version can even get rid of those annoying videos that pop up as you’re scrolling. 

Adblock Plus extension showing number of items blocked and toggles

While this is great for convenience, it also helps protect you from ads or pop-ups that may contain malware. 

Anonymous browsing

Adblock Plus also allows you the freedom to browse anonymously without trackers creating a profile of you. You can select which trackers you want enabled or disabled.

Adblock Plus anti-tracking features
Adblock Plus anti-tracking features

Allowlisting (whitelisting)

One of the more helpful features is the allowlisting toggle. You can whitelist a site to always allow ads or toggle off the blocker for a specific page. There’s no need to create a block list, as the plugin does that for you. 

There are even options to disable tracking features on social media sites so they can’t build a profile of you. This is all extremely useful, especially for a free product.

Adblock Plus Allowlisted websites tab

Custom filtering

Because Adblock Plus is open-source software, users have the ability to use custom filters. In addition to using the built-in filter lists, you can add community-trusted filters, create your own filters, or add filters based on the URL.  

Adblock Plus customer filter lists
Adblock Plus custom filter lists

Adblock Plus test results

To test Adblock Plus, we used AdBlock Tester, Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (EFF’s) Cover Your Tracks, and Can You Block It. 

AdBlock Tester looks at specific forms of ads like contextual advertising, banner advertising, analytics tools, and more. Adblock Plus scored a clean 100/100, blocking all the ad types thrown at it. 

Adblock Plus's AdBlock Tester results (100/100)

The Cover Your Tracks test results indicated that Adblock Plus provided no protection from tracking ads and invisible trackers, which can be dissuading if you prefer to be anonymous online. 

We also went into the settings to turn on the Block additional tracking and Block social media icons tracking features, but the result was the same.

Adblock Plus's Cover Your Tracks results (0/3)

It also determined that our browser has a unique fingerprint. Fingerprints online are much like real fingerprints: a collection of data regarding hardware, location, usage, and other very specific information that helps profile you.

The more unique your fingerprint, the easier it is to build a profile of you. Adblock Plus didn’t help with generalizing our fingerprint.

Finally, the Can You Block It test is designed to check if your ad blocker actually works. We opted for the simple test and Adblock Plus passed all the tests this time around. 

Adblock Plus's Can You Block It test results (3/3)

Previously, Adblock Plus failed to block the banner ads and it showed us an interstitial ad, so this was a much improved score. 

Adblock Plus scores

AdBlock Tester Cover Your Tracks Can You Block It
Adblock Plus score 100/100 0/3 1/3
Test results as of 07/10/2025.

YouTube ad test

YouTube videos have increasingly become filled with advertisements in the company’s efforts to push its subscription-based services. It can be frustrating when you’re trying to watch a longer video or follow a recipe, and an ad interrupts your flow.

Although Adblock Plus struggled during our last YouTube test, this time it passed with flying colors. We watched a Tiny Desk concert without interruptions from pre-roll ads and mid-roll ads. There were also no banners cluttering the page. 

End of a YouTube video with Adblock Plus extension open in the foreground

If you want to support your favorite content creators on YouTube, you can disable the browser extension when you watch their videos. This is especially true of creators who make content that you find valuable — like teaching skills, streaming engaging content, or providing other useful information.

Bypassing paywall test

Ad blockers, free or paid, typically can't bypass hard paywalls like the ones you'd see on national news sites. But some of the most powerful ad blockers can bypass soft paywalls like the ones you'd see on local news sites. 

That's why we put all the ad blockers we review to the test on sites like The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg. Unfortunately, Adblock Plus wasn't able to bypass any paywalls. 

How to use Adblock Plus

Adblock is easy to use. After navigating to the website to download the extension on our preferred browser, we just needed to enable it. Open the extension in your browser and toggle to enable/disable. 

To set up more advanced features, select the settings icon in the upper right-hand corner of the extension management view.

Select the settings icon to customize Adblock Plus

In Settings, you have the option to enable/disable special tracking features, show acceptable ads, add "allowlisted" websites, create custom filter lists, and get in touch with customer support. 

Top alternatives

If you’re not sold on Adblock Plus, there are plenty of options for ad blocking software. Here are some of the best ad blockers you can consider instead. Plus, all of these tested and recommended ad blockers can block YouTube ads. 


Threat Protection

CleanWeb
Best for Best for blocking YouTube ads Best overall Best for blocking streaming ads
Price Starts at $1.59/mo (billed annually) Starts at $3.39/mo (billed every two years) Starts at $1.99/mo (billed every two years)
Free version?
Adblock Tester score 100/10096/10096/100
Cover Your Tracks score 2/32/30.5/3
Can You Block It score3/3 2/3 3/3
Blocks YouTube ads?
Compatibility Windows, Mac, Chrome, Edge, Opera, Amazon Fire, Safari, Android, iOS Threat Protection Pro:
Windows, macOS

Threat Protection:
Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Chrome, Edge, Firefox


Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Chrome, Edge, Firefox, FireTV
Learn more Get Total Adblock Get NordVPN Threat Protection Get Surfshark CleanWeb

Compatibility

Adblock Plus has a decent offering of browser compatibility. It would be nice to see additional browsers included as well, but these are a great start:

  • Google Chrome
  • Mozilla Firefox
  • Safari
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Opera
  • Yandex Browser

Additionally, you can download the Adblock Browser for Android from the Google Play Store and for iPhone or iPad from the Apple App Store. The Android app has a 4.0-star rating and over 220,000 reviews while the iOS app has a 4.4-star rating and over 15,000 ratings. 

The developers of Adblock Plus advise that you only download the extension from a reputable extension store or from the Adblock Plus website. They mention downloads from other sites may contain malware.

FAQs

Is Adblock Plus really free?

Yes, Adblock Plus is a free extension that can block most ads. There's also a Premium subscription, with bonus features like blocking cookie consent pop-ups and other distractions.

Is Adblock Plus safe to use?

Yes, Adblock Plus is safe to use. Just be sure to download Adblock Plus from the official site or an official browser extension store. If you download Adblock Plus from any other location, it could contain malware.

How does Adblock Plus make money?

Adblock Plus makes money from donations as well as its Premium subscription, which costs $3.33-$4.00/mo.

Is there anything better than Adblock Plus?

Total Adblock, NordVPN Threat Protection, and AdLock are all better than Adblock Plus because they can successfully block trackers. Out of the three, our top recommendation is Total Adblock.

Bottom line: Is Adblock Plus good?

Adblock Plus is solid, especially for a free ad blocker. It allows you to browse the internet without having a million distractions — and possibly malicious files — overwhelming you.

Using Adblock Plus was easy and made browsing the web, watching videos, and visiting blogs much more enjoyable. You don’t realize how annoying visual clutter is until you don’t have to worry about it anymore. 

However, we were disappointed that it failed to block any trackers and struggled with our other ad tests, notably blocking ads on YouTube. Many of the best ad blockers can tackle both ads and trackers with ease. See how Adblock Plus compares to these other options

Featured ad blockers to consider

Ad blocker
Best for Best for blocking YouTube ads Best for streaming Best overall
Price Paid plan costs $1.59/mo (billed annually) Paid plans start at $1.99/mo (billed every two years) Starts at $3.39/mo (billed every two years)
Blocks YouTube ads
Learn more Get Total Adblock Get Surfshark CleanWeb Ad Blocking Get NordVPN Threat Protection

4.3
Editorial Rating
Learn More
On Adblock Plus's website
Ad Blocker
Adblock Plus
  • Free product blocks ads, pop-up, trackers, push notifications, social media icons tracking, and even YouTube video ads
  • Open-source software allows for custom filtering and community-based support
  • Provides no protection against trackers
Author Details
Mary is a seasoned cybersecurity writer with over seven years of experience. With a B.S. in Liberal Arts from Clarion University and an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from Point Park University, she educates audiences on scams, antivirus software, and more. Her passion lies in educating audiences on helpful ways to protect their data.
Kate is an Editor at All About Cookies. She has a decade of digital publishing experience and a background in EdTech. As a digital security expert, she leverages her passion for helping people to create authentic, well-researched content on a wide-range of digital privacy and security topics.