Best Free Ad Blocker

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On Adblock Plus's website

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• 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

Best System Resources Saver

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On uBlock Origin's website

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• Free and open-source
• Blocks multiple types of ads and trackers effectively

• Some features require technical knowledge

Best for Multiple Devices

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On AdGuard Ad Blocker's website

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• Simple interface
• Doesn’t interfere with device speed

• Ad-blocking statistics can be hard to interpret

Designed to deal with annoying ads, the best ad blockers for the Chrome browser can stop website slowdowns and clean pages until only content remains. For example, Adblock Plus speeds up browsing by blocking everything from website pop-ups to YouTube ads. uBlock Origin does the same job while conserving precious system resources.

Promises of bandwidth savings are one thing; the ability to select the best ad-blocking application for a given user’s preferences is another. This review is intended to provide the best options for Chrome users to access their content smoothly and without ads.

The best ad blockers for Chrome 2023

Three popular ad-blocking extensions will be compared for best-in-class features and their likelihood to satisfy common user scenarios.

• Adblock Plus: The best free ad blocker
• uBlock Origin: Best system resources saver
• AdGuard: Best for multiple devices

Top 3 ad blockers for Chrome compared

Ad blocker	Adblock Plus	uBlock Origin	AdGuard
Compatibility	Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Safari, iOS	Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Safari (Ver. 13 or before)	Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Yandex, Safari
Features	Tracker blocking, whitelisting, stops floating videos, blocks pop-ups and site notifications	Saves system resources, prevents tracking, open-source, configurable filters	Large filter list, slick design, prevents tracking, stand-alone computer program available
Learn more	Get Adblock Plus	Get uBlock Origin	Get AdGuard

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 users 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

Pros
• Stops tracking
• Whitelisting feature
• YouTube and social media ad blocking
• Clean interface
Cons
• Its Acceptable Ads standard is questionable
• The extension doesn’t block social media tracking by default

Get Adblock Plus | 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

Pros
• Open-source and completely free
• Advanced customization settings are available
• Designed to optimize device resources
• Blocks privacy tracking
Cons
• Customization settings aren’t meant for casual users
• No mobile version

Get uBlock Origin | Read Our uBlock Origin Review

AdGuard: Best for multiple devices

Considering the need for mobile ad blocking, the next entry in the featured big three has to be a modern extension that works on multiple platforms. The AdGuard extension installs quickly on desktops and laptops, as expected, and it functions on Android and iOS devices, too.


Besides an exceptional degree of cord-cutting functionality, the software is also designed to work smoothly with very little memory. Again, this feature benefits less powerful devices. Not everyone has access to the latest gaming laptop or flagship mobile device, after all.

AdGuard also 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 users can view a simple graph that shows the number of blocked ads on a website. Dropdowns can even be selected to display blocked ads during the course of a single day, a full month, or an entire year.

Everything feels intuitively and thoughtfully laid out here, with tabs under the gear settings icon calling up concealed advanced settings, such as whitelisting and the slider-controlled filters.

What we liked

AdGuard simply feels more modern. It’s not just the minimal panel design, nor the thoughtfully offered mobile device links. Personal data, in an age of malicious intent, is the top priority of AdGuard’s designers. At least that’s how the extension is promoted. That statistics graph is visually appealing, as is the included filtering log. For busy users, those who don’t want to spend ages messing with ad blocker controls, AdGuard for Chrome just works.

AdGuard blocks pop-ups, YouTube videos, and Facebook ads, leaving users free to enjoy their content and social interactions. Phishing and malware protection are incorporated too, so fraudsters should be left out in the cold thanks to the software’s browsing security module.

What we didn’t like

The extension, though free, doesn’t offer all the functionality of the desktop app. The Welcome page for AdGuard says the app speeds up page loading times. It’s the same with individual page element removals, with partial functionality promoted. To get access to full functionality, users must purchase and download the full app, not the extension.

Although not exactly false advertising, the fact that the protection and blocking functionality of the extension is described as “partly” effective isn’t encouraging. Furthermore, technical support is available only for paying users. If you’re using the free version of AdGuard, you won’t have access to any form of technical help or assistance if something goes wrong.

AdGuard pros and cons

Pros
• Offers mobile apps for Android and iOS
• Consumes less system memory than comparable ad blockers
• Offers graphs and logs of ad-blocking statistics
• Blocks privacy tracking
Cons
• AdGuard extension is lacking full features and functionality
• Technical support is only available for paying users

Get AdGuard | Read Our AdGuard Review

Ad blockers that didn’t make the cut

Ghostery and AdLock didn’t quite make the grade. When AdLock was added to Chrome, it didn’t run predictably. As for Ghostery, it’s a highly rated extension but it simply doesn’t score quite as highly as our three featured ad blockers.

AdLock

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

What’s the catch? AdLock is a fine ad-blocker extension, but the free version of the software is stripped down significantly. To get AdLock’s spyware and social media filtering, you need the paid version. Incidentally, only the subscription version adds privacy protection, a feature that’s offered for free on many ad blockers.

Ghostery

As powerful and customizable as any other ad blocker, Ghostery’s Chrome extension blocks ads and protects online privacy with satisfactory accuracy. That observation, however, does come with a few caveats.

Ghostery has a few gaps in its defenses. Although undeniably powerful and full of customizable settings, advertisers have figured out new ways to circumvent its blocking engine. By participating in the developer tracker database program and updating to the paid subscription model, those gaps can and have been plugged.

Best ad blockers for Chrome FAQs

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Is there a free ad blocker for Chrome?

All three ad blockers reviewed in this article are free. They also offer paid subscriptions. For example, Adblock Plus adds floating video blocking to its feature set. These features can be especially helpful if you’re trying to avoid being tracked by advertisers or if you want to block certain types of ads, such as removing pop-up ads.

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Does uBlock Origin work on Chrome?

uBlock Origin is a browser extension that is compatible with several popular browsers, including Chrome. It works by blocking unwanted ads, trackers, and other malicious content from appearing on webpages.

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Does Adblock Plus have a Chrome extension?

Adblock Plus does offer a free extension for Google Chrome. The extension works out of the box and features customizable settings, such as allowing ads from designated accepted advertisers, disabling social media buttons and tracking, and whitelisting specific websites to view their ads.

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What is the safest ad blocker for Chrome?

For the safest ad blocker for Chrome, use Adblock Plus, which is a highly-rated extension that’s been tested by millions of users. You should also always download it directly from the Chrome Web Store. AdBlock Plus is reliable, powerful, and easy to use. It has advanced features such as malware protection, tracking prevention, and a wide variety of custom settings that can be turned on or off.

Bottom line: The best ad blockers for Google Chrome

AdBlock Plus, uBlock Origin, and AdGuard Blocker are our three featured ad blockers, and there’s good reason for their lofty positions.

They’re high-pedigree pieces of software, so they’re constantly being improved and developed. Well-supported and easy to update, the extensions listed here find new and better ways to keep ahead of unscrupulous advertisers. Ghostery also has this edge, which is why it was so close to making the cut.

3 best ad blockers for Chrome 2023

	Best for	Compatibility	Learn more
Adblock Plus	Best free ad-blocker	Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Safari	Get Adblock Plus
uBlock Origin	Best system resources saver	Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Safari (Ver. 13 or before)	Get uBlock Origin
AdGuard Blocker	Best for multiple devices	Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Opera, Safari	Get AdGuard

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.

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.