Best Overall

4.5

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On Total Adblock's website

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Total Adblock

• Remove ads & trackers on YouTube, Facebook, and most websites
• Hands-off ad-blocking experience
• Easy to set up
• Free version excludes top 15,000 websites

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Best for Blocking Malicious Ads

4.5

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On NordVPN Threat Protection's website

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NordVPN Threat Protection

• Threat protection - Block ads, trackers, and malicious downloads
• Works on multiple devices and browsers
• 30-day money-back guarantee
• Lacks a dedicated firewall

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Best Free Ad Blocker

4.0

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On Adblock Plus's website

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Adblock Plus

• Free product works great
• Allowlist for ads to support creators
• Need paid subscription to block pop-up videos, ignore survey requests, and block site notifications

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Best System Resources Saver

4.8

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On uBlock Origin's website

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uBlock Origin

• Free and open-source
• Blocks multiple types of ads and trackers effectively
• Some features require technical knowledge

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Best for Multiple Devices

5.0

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On AdGuard Ad Blocker's website

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AdGuard Ad Blocker

• Simple interface
• Doesn’t interfere with device speed
• Ad-blocking statistics can be hard to interpret

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The best ad blockers can block annoying ads, stop slow page load times, and clean pages until only content remains. We've determined that Total Adblock, NordVPN Threat Protection, Adblock Plus, and uBlock Origin are the the best ad blockers for Chrome to access your content smoothly and without ads.

The best ad blockers for Chrome 2023

We've determined that the following popular ad blockers are best for the Chrome browser:

• Total Adblock: Best overall
• NordVPN Threat Protection: Best for blocking malicious ads
• Adblock Plus: Best free ad blocker
• uBlock Origin: Best system resources saver

Top 4 ad blockers for Chrome compared

Ad blocker	Total Adblock	NordVPN Threat Protection	Adblock Plus	uBlock Origin
Compatibility	Chrome, Firefox, Edge, iOS, Android	Chrome, Firefox, Edge, iOS, Android, macOS, Windows	Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, Opera, Yandex Browser, iOS, Android	Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera
Features	Tracker blocking, whitelisting, malware protection	Track blocking, whitelisting, malware blocking, malware scans	Tracker blocking, whitelisting, stops floating videos, blocks pop-ups and site notifications	Saves system resources, prevents tracking, open-source, configurable filters
Learn more	Get Total Adblock	Get NordVPN Threat Protection	Read Adblock Plus Review	Read uBlock Origin Review

Total Adblock: Best overall

4.5

Limited-time offer: 80% off

Learn More

On Total Adblock's website

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Total Adblock

• Remove ads & trackers on YouTube, Facebook, and most websites
• Hands-off ad-blocking experience
• Easy to set up
• Free version excludes top 15,000 websites

We think Total Adblock includes almost everything you'd want from an ad blocker. It's easy to use, works diligently in the background, and keeps tracks of ads blocked, trackers blocked, and data saved. It offers a comprehensive free version, which had impressive ad blocking test results, and a worthwhile premium plan with unlimited ad blocking potential and an antivirus. You can't go wrong with Total Adblock.

What we liked

Total Adblock only took minutes to setup and it got to blocking ads right away. We didn't have to do anything after installing the extension, but there are the options to adjust your trusted websites and ad preferences manually if you desire. 

We were impressed by Total Adblock receiving 100/100 test score from Adblock Tester, which is designed to test how effectively an ad blocker can prevent pop-ups, banner ads, and other forms of online ads. It was also successful at blocking ads on YouTube, even the pre-roll video ads. This testing was all conducted with the Total Adblock free version, so you can rest assured that you're getting a quality product at no cost to you. 

If you do wish to upgrade, Total Adblock's paid plan is only Premium, and it comes with TotalAV antivirus protection and the ability block web browser notifcations. 

What we didn’t like

As far as free ad blocker extensions go, Total Adblock can be limiting; it excludes the top 15,000 websites as listed on Alexa.com. We also found that some reviewers had trouble cancelling their subscriptions, which is worth noting if you're opting for the premium plan.

Total Adblock pros and cons

Get Total Adblock | Read Our Total Adblock Review

NordVPN Threat Protection: Best for blocking malicious ads

4.5

NordVPN Threat Protection Ad Blocker

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On NordVPN Threat Protection's website

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NordVPN Threat Protection

• Threat protection - Block ads, trackers, and malicious downloads
• Works on multiple devices and browsers
• 30-day money-back guarantee
• Lacks a dedicated firewall

As far as virtual private networks (VPNs) go, NordVPN is one of the top providers on the market. What you may not know is that NordVPN comes with plenty of features to supplement your cybersecurity. One of those features is NordVPN Threat Protection, formerly known as Cybersec.  

But Threat Protection is more than just an ad blocker — it also blocks trackers, malware, and phishing scam attempts to keep your device and your data safe as your browse online. 

What we liked

NordVPN proved that it's a formidable opponent to ads during our testing. It received a 93/100 score with AdBlock Tester. With a near-perfect ad blocking score, you can rest assured that Threat Protection will improve your browsing experience.

Unlike other ad blockers, Threat Protection also has features to scan for and block malware. It offers real-time protection, so you'll receive an alert for any suspicious activity regardless of whether you're browsing on your desktop or scrolling on your phone. Threat Protection even passed our tests for malware detection and phishing detection, so you can rest assured that Nord will reliably detect and block cyberthreats. 

We also like that you don't need to be running NordVPN to use Threat Protection. Depending on your preferences, you can turn the toggle on for Threat Protection if you want comprehensive malware, ad, and tracker blocking features, or just use Threat Protection Lite, which blocks ads and malicious sites.

What we didn’t like

NordVPN Threat Protection covers a lot of cyberthreats, but it's not the most comprehensive antivirus. Threat Protection doesn't have its own dedicated firewall, although it can be complement with a firewall that's purchased separately. 

Unfortunately, there's no free version of Threat Protection and it can only be purchased with NordVPN, which has costs ranging from $2.99–$14.99/mo. This may not be ideal if you're on a budget, or if you're only looking to invest in an ad blocker.

NordVPN Threat Protection pros and cons

Get NordVPN Threat Protection | Read Our NordVPN Threat Protection Review

Adblock Plus: The best free ad blocker

Being labeled the “best” ad blocker is subjective. But, after typing “adblockplus” into the Chrome extension search bar, this popular extension appeared close to the top of the list. It’s been downloaded more than 500 million times and tested by almost as many users, which leaves little doubt of its pedigree.

Adblock Plus is a powerful ad blocker to Chrome partially because of its ranking. The reason for that ranking is likely because its designers have used a jack-of-all-trades approach. Yes, the extension blocks ads. Without it, page load speeds would be bogged down. It also protects you from ads that contain malware. Protecting your online privacy is yet another feature, with the software breaking the tracking chains that would otherwise allow data-mining social platforms to construct a browser profile.

Finally — and this applies to all of these extensions — functionality is a feature that’s becoming increasingly desirable on ad blockers. It’s not enough to block every website. Sometimes, people want to permit ads, so a website needs to be whitelisted. Adblock Plus supports whitelisting natively.

What we liked

The Adblock Chrome extension receives a high score when compared with its peers. Next, the program sits tidily under the extension button at the top of the Chrome window. When called, it appears as a clean, intuitively laid-out panel. The number of ads blocked is high on that panel, followed by the “Block Element” control. This latter feature allows users to block individual ads.

There’s more to like, including Adblock Plus’ Whitelisting feature. With whitelisting, you can support your favorite websites and creators, or ensure you’re missing nothing from a site, while still blocking ads from most other websites. When adding website URLs to your whitelist, Adblock Plus will allow ads from those sites (including those that do not adhere to the Acceptable Ads criteria) to be displayed.

Moving over to YouTube, the extension easily blocks the tiny banners that periodically block video content. It also blocks YouTube ads, which have an annoying habit of appearing during the most entertaining moments of a video clip.

From malware contained in troublesome ads to privacy-invading trackers, Adblock Plus checks every box. This is due in part to the open-source nature of the app. If a new feature is needed by a user, it’s reported to the development team, coded and integrated, and the new feature is released to the public shortly thereafter.

What we didn’t like

The acceptable ads standard is one feature that many users have mentioned as a potential drawback. Essentially, the developers permit the extension to allow certain ads that have been labeled non-intrusive. It’s officially justified as a means of helping publishers counter revenue losses. Fortunately, the feature can be turned off in Settings.

We also didn’t like that some features of the blocker, including social media tracking, are not turned on by default. To activate tracking blocking, enter the settings panel.

Adblock Plus pros and cons

Read Our Adblock Plus Review

uBlock Origin: Best system resources saver

Browsers can slow to a crawl when large webpages are accessed. Then, there’s the addition of multiple tabs for the app to manage. uBlock Origin is designed to optimize memory and central processing unit (CPU) power usage. What does this mean for those massive pages? It means faster page loads and smoother scrolling.

uBlock Origin users can also look forward to comprehensive pop-up blocking, enhanced privacy features, tracking prevention, and a slew of customization settings. The extension relieves pressure from struggling browsers, maximizes bandwidth, and passes the benefits straight to the device. The result? Faster browsing while the ad blocker runs in the background.

When we added the uBlock Origin extension to Chrome, we found a flexible setup. In its default state, a tiny panel reports sites blocked. The “More” button at the bottom of that panel opens a page of customization settings in Chrome. Additionally, a ribbon of extra blocking buttons appears at the top of the small panel.

The free, open-source extension also blocks YouTube ads and leverages powerful filtering lists as a means of stopping tracking and malware. It’s an app bursting with features. Indeed, uBlock Origin is one of the few ad blockers that prevents the nagging “Disable Your Ad Blocker” message that some websites employ.

What we liked

uBlock Origin is a user-friendly extension; the software favors minimalist interactions but retains plenty of advanced settings. It achieves this by offering three different modes: easy, medium, and hard. As part of that easy-to-operate mandate, uBlock Origin focuses primarily on device optimization, which means its code is optimized so there’s no noticeable lag. Tabs and multipage content may push Chrome to its functioning limits, but the extension won’t incur additional resource usage.

No compromises have been made in return for the low system usage design. The developers have incorporated as much functionality as other leading ad blockers. The software blocks ads and pop-ups, stops YouTube commercials, prevents privacy-jeopardizing tracking, and adds all the latest filtering lists into the mix.

Promoting itself as a “wide-spectrum content blocker,” in the developer’s own cleverly coined terminology, this extension has tons of features to explore, yet it never overwhelms. A quick test of the “Element Zapper,” found again on the extension panel, proved this by offering an entertaining and highly functional way to “zap” page elements. When activated, a mouse over a page section highlights it, at which point a single click makes the element vanish.

In summary, the extension can be user-friendly and will sink into the background if a user isn’t technically minded. However, keen tinkerers aren’t left out, not with all those customization features available.

What we didn’t like

uBlock Origin’s advanced tools can also be perceived as drawbacks, though that depends on your technical skills. A warning would have been helpful for the advanced settings section. Otherwise, casual app adopters might experience tech-shock if they’re tempted to tinker.

And, although this extension is packed with features and can block just about everything (including ads on social media sites), it seems strange that its development team hasn’t chosen to offer a mobile version. That’s a peculiar omission, especially considering the popularity of the mobile device sector.

uBlock Origin pros and cons

Read Our uBlock Origin Review

Honorable mentions

There are lots of ad blockers on the market, especially for Google Chrome. We've compiled a list of additional ad blockers that didn't make the top three, but that may be better suited for you: 

• AdGuard: AdGuard provides a cleaner, more enjoyable browsing experience, with dismissed pop-ups and banner ads, which leaves plenty of resources for smooth page loading. The extension panel integrates a statistics tab, so you can view a simple graph that shows the number of blocked ads on a website.

  Read AdGuard Review

• AdLock: AdLock’s extension has an integrated spyware filter and a powerful block engine that filters pop-ups and banner ads with proficiency. AdLock blocks ads on YouTube, annoying audio streams playing on Chrome tabs, Facebook, Pinterest, and more.

  Read AdLock Review

• Ghostery: As powerful and customizable as any other ad blocker, Ghostery’s Chrome extension blocks ads and protects online privacy with satisfactory accuracy.

  Read Ghostery Review

Best ad blockers for Chrome FAQs

Bottom line: The best ad blockers for Google Chrome

Total AdBlock, NordVPN Threat Protection, Adblock Plus, and uBlock Origin are our four best Chrome ad blockers, and there’s good reason for their lofty positions. Beyond offering compatibility with Chrome, they're user-friendly and come with extensive features where you can customize your ad-blocking experience and protect yourself from malicious ads. 

4 best ad blockers for Chrome 2023

How we tested the best ad blockers for Chrome

All three ad blockers were chosen according to their abilities to freely block all kinds of ads on contrasting web platforms. News websites and general content sites were tested, as were social media sites and multimedia platforms. Free ad blocking ranks equally as highly as privacy here, with customization features following closely behind.

• The most important consideration was the elimination of intrusive ads.
• This was followed by privacy and tracker stoppage.
• Malicious content belongs here, so no malware code can be run.
• Key differences between free versions and subscription models should be made clear.
• Even if it is full of customizable tools, the extension should still be easy to configure.
• Finally, low system overheads go hand-in-hand with the above requirement.

4.5

Limited-time offer: 80% off

Learn More

On Total Adblock's website

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Total Adblock

• Remove ads & trackers on YouTube, Facebook, and most websites
• Hands-off ad-blocking experience
• Easy to set up
• Free version excludes top 15,000 websites

Author Details

Ryan L. Clancy

About the Author

Ryan Clancy is a freelance writer and blogger. With 5+ years of mechanical engineering experience, he's passionate about all things engineering and tech. He loves bringing engineering (especially mechanical) down to a level that everyone can understand.