AdBlock Review 2025: Is the Premium Version Worth It?

AdBlock is another free blocker that works well against ads but doesn't offer much protection against trackers. It's a shame, considering its unique premium features, such as the ability to block distractions and cookie consent banners instantly.

AdBlock Premium did ace both the AdBlock Tester and Can You Block It tests, so we do feel confident about its ad-blocking abilities. You'll also be able to watch videos on YouTube with AdBlock, eliminating the annoyances of annoying video ads. 

However, we didn't think the premium cost was worth the extra features overall. 

The best ad blockers offer a variety of standout features and provide broad blocking capabilities, but AdBlock doesn’t hit every mark. We'll review its performance.

AdBlock overview

Ads blocked on Forbes	52 (Premium)
AdBlock Tester score	100/100
Cover Your Tracks score	1/3
Can You Block It score	3/3
Does it block YouTube ads?	Yes (Premium)
Whitelisting available	Yes
Blacklisting available	Yes
Compatibility	Android, iOS, Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari (AdBlock Free only)
Paid version	Starts at $3.33/mo (billed annually)
Learn more	Get AdBlock

We last tested AdBlock on September 9, 2025.

Our experience

We tested AdBlock Premium on Google Chrome. Installing AdBlock was easy, and we had it up and running almost instantly.

When testing ad blockers, we navigate to the Forbes homepage to see how well they work, considering how riddled with ads the page can be. AdBlock Free removed only 20 ads.

But AdBlock Premium removed over 50 ads during our latest round of testing. 

We went to work testing it using our three ad sites, AdBlock Tester, Cover Your Tracks, and Can You Block It. Initially, AdBlock Premium underperformed, barely blocking more ads than free ad blockers. Then, we turned on the Premium Filters to block distractions and cookies to see if it would make a difference. Although the poor tracking test results remained the same, AdBlock Premium aced the ad blocking tests. 

We also experimented with the list of additional filters, but AdBlock warned us that enabling too many filters could slow down our browsing experience. We appreciate the heads up, but wish we could utilize all the extras.

The free version of AdBlock is more useful than having nothing installed, but there are better free ad blockers available. If you're considering paying for AdBlock, we recommend looking elsewhere for more premium perks at a lower price.

AdBlock paid plan

AdBlock can cost Free or $4.00/mo for its premium plans, but maintains that you can always use it for free (albeit with limited features and ad blocking capabilities). 

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 $4.00/mo
Backup and sync
Block distractions
Block cookie consent pop-ups
Image swap
VPN
Learn more	View plan	View plan

Main features

AdBlock is a simplistic ad blocker, but it still offers a variety of features. In the settings, you'll find custom filter lists and customization options. 

The whitelisting capabilities are fairly straightforward. When you click on the browser extension, you can choose to allow ads on a page or a site.

Premium features

AdBlock offers some unique features with its Premium plan. For one, 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, AdBlock will remove these, so you’ll never need to configure the cookie settings on a website again.

There's also Image Swap, a silly feature that lets you replace ads with images of more pleasant things, such as kittens and dogs. However, we couldn't get this paid feature to work. 

Finally, AdBlock offers a VPN with its Premium plans, but this feature was not located on the dashboard. We had to download the app via an email link to set up the VPN. 

AdBlock’s test results

We test ad blockers by running them through three different testing sites. AdBlock Tester includes a significant amount of code that mimics various intrusive ads to test the ad blocker's ability to block them.

Cover Your Tracks examines how effectively the ad blocker hides you from trackers, enabling you to browse anonymously online.

Finally, Can You Block It performs a series of tests to see how well ad blockers handle ads, such as pop-ups when a site first loads and banner ads.

AdBlock scores

	AdBlock Tester	Cover Your Tracks	Can You Block It?
AdBlock score	100/100	1/3	3/3

We started by navigating to the AdBlock Tester site, and our score was originally 77/100. 

After navigating to the options (AKA settings), we enabled all the Premium Filters, and AdBlock Premium passed the test with flying colors. 

However, we didn't have the same luck with Cover Your Tracks. It mostly failed to block tracking ads and invisible trackers. Also, it didn't obscure our fingerprint at all (which is typical of even the best ad blockers). 

Finally, AdBlock Premium also received a perfect score with Can You Block It, easily taking down ad blocker detectors, interstitial ads, and banner ads. 

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.

That's why we always test our ad blockers to see if they can block YouTube ads. Fortunately, AdBlock Premium blocked all YouTube ads during our most recent tests. 

We first queued up our video in incognito mode to see the ads.

Then, we watched through an entire Tiny Desk concert and received no pre-roll ads, mid-video ads, or banner ads cluttering the page. 

Bypassing paywall test

Paywalls are those annoying pop-ups that appear when you’re in the middle of reading an article, blocking 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 block paywalls.

Unfortunately, AdBlock wasn’t able to block paywalls from places like The New York Times or The Wall Street Journal. It also couldn’t block soft paywalls (those that limit you to a certain number of articles within a specific time frame).

What browsers and software is AdBlock compatible with?

AdBlock offers broad compatibility with major 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 Premium

Select the "options" cog from the AdBlock widget to access the dashboard. From there, scroll down to Premium to check out the paid features. 

Note that the AdBlock VPN is not featured on the dashboard. We navigated through the Help Desk, but later found an email with a link to download the VPN app for Windows. 

AdBlock Themes

Select your desired theme.

AdBlock Image Swap

Unfortunately, this paid feature did not work for us. AdBlock claims to work for select ads, but we visited several websites with various ad types and never saw our sweet cat. 

AdBlock Backup & Sync

This feature helps sync settings across devices and isn't a real show stopper.

AdBlock Premium Filters

Enabling the Premium Filters heightened AdBlock's capabilities. We saw the AdBlock Tester score jump from 77 to 100 after enabling these extra features.

AdBlock VPN

Setting up AdBlock VPN was easy after we received the activation email. We were prompted to install the Windows app. From there, we used our email to sign in and confirm with a code. There were no advanced features to the VPN service. 

In fact, the only feature was connecting to either the nearest location or a server of your choice.

Surprisingly, AdBlock VPN offers a decent number of servers and locations for a basic VPN service. There are nearly 50 servers across 35 countries, which is way more than free VPNs offer. 

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. Although uBlock Origin is a popular free ad blocker alternative, it is no longer compatible with Chrome. 

FAQs

Bottom line: Is AdBlock good?

AdBlock offers an okay free ad blocker, but AdBlock Premium is better. However, both products excel only at blocking standard ads. If you’re looking for a blocker with strong tracker blocking capabilities and a variety of features, there are better options, such as Total Adblock.

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.