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Blocks most page ads
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Includes whitelisting for acceptable ads
- Doesn’t block trackers
All About Cookies is an independent, advertising-supported website. Some of the offers that appear on this site are from third-party advertisers from which All About Cookies receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site (including, for example, the order in which they appear).
All About Cookies does not include all financial or credit offers that might be available to consumers nor do we include all companies or all available products. Information is accurate as of the publishing date and has not been provided or endorsed by the advertiser.
The All About Cookies editorial team strives to provide accurate, in-depth information and reviews to help you, our reader, make online privacy decisions with confidence. Here's what you can expect from us:
- All About Cookies makes money when you click the links on our site to some of the products and offers that we mention. These partnerships do not influence our opinions or recommendations. Read more about how we make money.
- Partners are not able to review or request changes to our content except for compliance reasons.
- We aim to make sure everything on our site is up-to-date and accurate as of the publishing date, but we cannot guarantee we haven't missed something. It's your responsibility to double-check all information before making any decision. If you spot something that looks wrong, please let us know.
AdBlock is a freemium ad blocker. You can use the free product and donate if you think it’s worth it, or you can purchase the Premium version and get advanced features. While both have their advantages, we decided to test the free version to see how well it blocks ads.
We found the free plan blocked some ads, but not trackers. The best ad blockers offer a variety of features and provide broad blocking capabilities, but AdBlock doesn’t hit every mark.
- Blocks most page ads
- Includes whitelisting for acceptable ads
- Offers broad compatibility
- Doesn’t block trackers
- Doesn’t block YouTube ads
Our experience
Paid plan
Main features
Test results
Compatibility
How to use AdBlock
Top alternatives
FAQs
Bottom line: Is AdBlock good?
AdBlock overview
Ads blocked on Forbes | 13 |
AdBlock Tester score | 68/100 |
Cover Your Tracks score | 1/3 |
Can You Block It score | 2/3 |
Does it block YouTube ads? | No |
Whitelisting available | Yes |
Blacklisting available | Yes |
Compatibility | Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, Android, iOS |
Paid version | Starts at $2.00/mo |
Learn more | Get AdBlock |
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
- Editorial score
To learn more about how we test, read our full ad blocker methodology here.
Our experience
We tested the free version of AdBlock on a MacBook Pro running an M2 chip and installed the extension on the latest version of Safari. Installing AdBlock was easy, and we had it up and running quickly.
We went to work testing it using our three ad sites, AdBlock Tester, Cover Your Tracks, and Can You Block It. We also tried bypassing paywalls and checked to see how it held up against YouTube. Overall, we were disappointed with the results.
It didn’t hide us from trackers the way we hoped, and there were still ads that popped up on YouTube when we tested it. Also, it scored only a mediocre 68/100 on the AdBlock tester site. We did find, however, that it blocked a lot of ads on regular websites we visited, although not all.
Overall, the free version of AdBlock is more useful than not having anything installed, but there are better ad blockers out there. If you think you want to try AdBlock, we’d suggest upgrading to Premium since it offers more features than the free product.
AdBlock paid plan
AdBlock maintains that you can always use it for free. If you find it useful, you can donate to AdBlock since it has a “pay what you can” model. If you want additional features like distraction control and a cookie consent cutter, you can purchase the Premium version.
AdBlock Free | AdBlock Premium | |
Price | Free | Starting at $2.00/mo |
Backup & sync | ||
Distraction control | ||
Cookie consent cutter |
The distraction control feature can prevent video ads from following you down the page, block newsletter pop-ups, and eliminate allow requests. The cookie consent cutter auto-rejects cookies, which is more useful than you might think. As you browse the web, you’ll never need to configure the cookie settings on a website again, as this will do it for you.
Main features
AdBlock is a simplistic ad blocker, but it still offers a variety of features. There are whitelisting and blacklisting capabilities — and the Premium features — which block advanced ads like video follow ads and even cookie requests.
There aren’t a lot of other features offered, although the Premium version does include a virtual private network (VPN) for the Safari extension.
AdBlock’s test results
We test ad blockers by running them through three different testing sites. AdBlock Tester includes a lot of code that mimics a variety of ads to see if the ad blocker can block them.
Cover Your Tracks sees how well the ad blocker works at hiding you from trackers and allowing you to browse anonymously online.
Finally, Can You Block It performs a series of tests to see how well ad blockers handle ads like pop-ups when a site first loads and banner ads.
AdBlock scores
AdBlock Tester | Cover Your Tracks | Can You Block It? | |
AdBlock score | 68/100 | 1/3 | 2/3 |
Test results as of 06/07/2024.
YouTube ad test
YouTube seems to be serving more and more ads, which can really ruin your viewing experience. A good ad blocker extension stops these ads from playing when you access YouTube through your browser.
We always test our ad blockers to see if they can block YouTube ads. Unfortunately, this time, AdBlock didn’t block YouTube ads. We tried configuring some of the settings, but every time we still got ads on our YouTube videos.
If you watch YouTube via its app or don’t care about blocking out ads, AdBlock may still be a good choice for you. However, if getting rid of YouTube ads is a top priority, you may need to look elsewhere.
Bypassing paywall test
Paywalls are those annoying little pop-ups that happen when you’re in the middle of reading an article that block you from finishing it without purchasing a subscription. Sometimes an ad blocker can circumvent those for you. We test each ad blocker to see if it can.
Unfortunately, AdBlock wasn’t able to block paywalls from places like The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal. It also wasn’t able to block soft paywalls (the ones that limit you to a certain number of articles in a time frame).
What browsers and software is AdBlock compatible with?
AdBlock offers broad compatibility with several browsers as well as iOS and Android devices. The free version of the ad blocker works on Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, iOS, and Android, while the Premium version only works on desktop versions of Chrome, Firefox, and Edge.
AdBlock Free compatibility:
- Chrome
- Firefox
- Edge
- Safari
- iOS
- Android
AdBlock Premium compatibility:
- Chrome
- Firefox
- Edge
How to use AdBlock
- Download AdBlock from its site.
- Run the installer
- Enable the extension on your browser
- Grant AdBlock the permissions it requires
- Enjoy
The whitelisting capabilities are fairly straightforward. When you click on the extension, you can choose to allow ads on a page or a site.
You can manage the white- and blacklists in the dashboard.
Top alternatives
We know that software is personal, so if AdBlock isn’t for you, we have a roundup of the best ad blockers on the market. Each has various features, like tracker and YouTube ad blocking.
![]() |
![]() 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 $3.09/mo (billed every two years) | Starts at $2.19/mo (billed biennially) |
Free version? | |||
Adblock Tester score | 100/100 | 93/100 | 96/100 |
Cover Your Tracks score | 2/3 | 2/3 | 0.5/3 |
Can You Block It score | 3/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 |
Blocks YouTube ads? | |||
Compatibility | Windows, Mac, Chrome, Edge, Opera, Amazon Fire, Safari, Android, iOS | Threat Protection: Windows, macOS
Threat Protection Lite: |
Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Chrome, Edge, Firefox, FireTV |
Learn more | Get Total Adblock | Get NordVPN Threat Protection | Get Surfshark CleanWeb |
FAQs
Why does AdBlock give you the option not to pay?
AdBlock believes in the right to browse the internet unencumbered, so it doesn’t require payment to use its base product. It also believes that people will purchase its Premium service if they find it worthwhile.
You can try AdBlock’s free option to see if it works for your needs. If you find it worthwhile, we suggest trying the Premium version.
What is AdBlock’s refund policy?
If you purchase the Premium version and then decide it’s not for you, the refund policy is a generous 60 days. AdBlock provides troubleshooting in case you’re still seeing ads, but the company won’t deny you a refund in any case.
Does AdBlock collect your data?
While AdBlock doesn’t collect much data, it does use tracking cookies on its website. It logs some user event data, enough to provide services. There are also instances where AdBlock will collect device data, time stamps, as well as other identifiers.
AdBlock discloses information when legally necessary, but states that it doesn’t sell your data. You can always update your privacy settings if you’re worried about how much information is available about you online.
Bottom line: Is AdBlock good?
AdBlock Free is okay, but AdBlock Premium is better. If you’re looking for a solid ad blocker with strong capabilities and a variety of features, there are better options. While this is a perfectly acceptable program, if you want the best ad blocker, you can find ones that block YouTube ads as well as stop online trackers.
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