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Hands-off ad-blocking experience
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Easy to set up
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Free version excludes top 15,000 websites
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There are a few important reasons to consider using ad blockers, like being able to browse the internet anonymously, protecting your digital privacy, and enjoying ad-free web surfing experiences. Total Adblock is an effective, easy-to-use ad blocker that delivers all these benefits.
The software is easy to set up and provides hands-off ad-blocking without disrupting your web surfing. It gets top results from ad blocker test sites, and its free version comes with a decent amount of ad- and tracker-blocking features. Its paid version offers all the ad-blocking you could want, in addition to award-winning antivirus protection.
Below, we dive into Total Adblock to share details about how it works, what it offers, and whether it’s worth the cost.
Total Adblock features
Total Adblock test results
Our Total Adblock experience
Total Adblock compatibility
Total Adblock paid plan
Total Adblock FAQs
Bottom line: Is Total Adblock good?
Total Adblock overview
Ads blocked on Forbes homepage | 6 ads and 15 trackers |
Adblock Tester score | 94/100 |
Cover Your Tracks score | 3/3 |
Does it block YouTube ads? | Yes |
Compatibility | Chrome, Edge, Firefox, iOS, Android |
Paid version | Starts at $29/first yr |
Total Adblock pros and cons
- Easy to set up
- Hands-off ad-blocking experience
- Options to manage websites and ad preferences
- Free version excludes top 15,000 websites
- Reviewers note issues canceling payments
- Annoying pop-ups prompt you to upgrade to premium
Total Adblock features
Total Adblock Free comes with an array of features, including:
- Blocking unwanted ads from a selection of sites
- Protection from malicious websites
- The ability to manage trusted websites and ad preferences
- Whitelisting to ensure you see certain ads or pop-ups (enable if you want to support certain content creators, like YouTubers living off advertising revenue)
- Third-party tracker blocking
Additionally, information in the drop-down browser extension lets you know how many ads and trackers you have blocked — among other data points.
The paid version (more on that below) also comes with the ability to remove unwanted browser notifications and block all ads from any site, as well as TotalAV antivirus protection.
Total Adblock test results
We tested Total Adblock using the AdBlock Tester and EFF’s Cover Your Tracks tools. AdBlock Tester tests how the ad blocker works by testing its ability to block:
- Contextual advertising, the most common form of advertising and tracking on the internet
- Analytics tools, which monitor your actions and collect information about you
- Banner advertising, used on large websites that sell ad space
- Error monitoring, used to track and measure website errors
Total Adblock scored a 94/100 on AdBlock Tester, failing only the error monitoring test.
Cover Your Tracks tests your browser to see how trackers view your browsing activity and test your fingerprint — a “list of characteristics that are unique to a single user, their browser, and their particular hardware setup.”[1]
Cover Your Tracks said Total Adblock effectively blocked tracking ads and invisible trackers; however, it let us know that our browser has a “nearly-unique fingerprint” (meaning our activity is somewhat identifiable).
Total Adblock scores
AdBlock Tester | Cover Your Tracks | |
Total Adblock score | 94/100 | 3/3 |
Does Total Adblock block YouTube ads?
Total Adblock says it can block ads on YouTube “within your browser” but cannot “remove ads within the YouTube app.” We visited 20 videos to test Total Adblock’s ability to block YouTube ads, aiming for popular videos more likely to display ads.
Not a single video showed an ad; however, it was difficult to tell if we had chosen videos that would otherwise display ads. YouTube didn’t indicate whether the videos would have shown us ads if not for Total Adblock, so we can’t definitively say whether you’ll see YouTube ads using this ad blocker.
We should note that two videos seemed to glitch during Total Adblock testing on YouTube. We got three-quarters of the way through one video when YouTube paused and took us back to the beginning. Since this has never happened to us before while using YouTube, we assume the issue is attributed to Total Adblock.
While YouTube ads are undoubtedly annoying, YouTube video publishers and media creators often earn their living through advertisements. If you want to support certain YouTubers, consider turning off Total Adblock when watching your favorite channels.
Not only did Total Adblock not disclose these pop-up ads, but it feels ironic that a service designed to block pop-up ads repeatedly showed us a pop-up ad.
Our Total Adblock experience
Total Adblock is an easy-to-use ad blocker app that blocks ads and pop-ups without intruding on the web surfing experience. Setting up Total Adblock couldn’t be simpler, with prompts explaining exactly how to install the extension on Chrome and get started.
Upon installing the extension, Total Adblock starts working right away. Click on the extension at any time to view what the software is blocking.
During the setup process, Total Adblock ushers you through a couple of steps — all of which took less than five minutes to complete. In one step, it’ll ask how you want to manage your search history (with options to clear browsing history, junk images and files, and download history). Deleting this data can improve your browsing experience and improve page load speed.
We chose to only clear our download history, and the software moved us forward to a step where we hand-selected which adverts to block. Total Adblock has a whitelist of acceptable ads to ensure it allows useful alerts, but despite this reliably blocks unnecessary pop-up ads that could be phishing scams.
The program then tells you Total Adblock is on. If you want to take advantage of the mobile version, Total Adblock provides a QR code to scan so you can start blocking ads on your mobile device.
We did not experience any glitching websites while using Total Adblock (aside from the two YouTube videos mentioned above), and no ads made their way through the blocker. It began working immediately, and we didn’t have to do anything after installing the extension. It’s quite a hands-off experience.
However, if you want a more hands-on approach to your ad-blocking, Total Adblock allows you to manage your trusted websites and ad preferences manually.
Total Adblock compatibility
Total Adblock is compatible with the following browsers and devices:
- Google Chrome
- Microsoft Edge
- Mozilla Firefox
- iOS (iPhone and iPad)
- Android (with a Chrome extension)
Total Adblock paid plan
Total Adblock offers a paid plan option starting at $29 a year for first-time users. After your first year, it jumps to $119 a year. We recommend the paid version for a few reasons:
- Total Adblock’s free version excludes the top 15,000 websites as listed on Alexa.com, so your ad-blocking is limited. The paid version blocks unlimited ads from everywhere.
- The paid version comes with TotalAV’s antivirus protection, which we highly recommend.
- The paid version also removes unwanted browser notifications.
Total Adblock paid plan prices
Free plan | Paid plan | |
Price | Free | $29/first year ($119/year after) |
Block ads | Limited | |
Block trackers | ||
Website and ads whitelist | ||
Block browser notifications | ||
Antivirus protection | ||
Details | Learn More | Learn More |
Total Adblock FAQs
Is Total Adblock a legitimate app?
Yes, it is real software published by TotalAV, which also publishes malware and antivirus protection software.
How much does Total Adblock really cost?
As a first-time user, you can benefit from a discount and pay $29 for the first year. After that, you will pay $119 a year.
How do I stop Total Adblock payments?
Navigate to “Manage Billing Preferences” when logged in to your Total Adblock account and cancel your subscription. You can also contact billing support by emailing [email protected] or by calling 833-201-8682.
Which is better, Total Adblock or Adblock Plus?
Adblock Plus advertises many of the same features as Total Adblock, with the addition of disabling social media buttons so social networks can’t create profiles about you based on the websites you visit.
Adblock Plus also offers different pricing for its premium version, which includes a monthly subscription (rather than Total Adblock’s yearly plan). Adblock Plus specifically notes that its free version only blocks ads and pop-ups and stops trackers, whereas its yearly paid version also blocks site notifications, stops floating videos, hides newsletter pop-ups, and more.
Total Adblock does not mention those individual blockers, but it does seem to offer more with its free version than Adblock Plus.
Bottom line: Is Total Adblock good?
Total Adblock is one of the best ad blockers, especially for those who want a “set it and forget it” experience while browsing anonymously. With a 94/100 score from Adblock Tester, you can’t get much better.
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Hands-off ad-blocking experience
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Easy to set up
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Free version excludes top 15,000 websites
Even if you don’t opt for the paid version, you’ll still receive a solid amount of protection from trackers and a smoother web-surfing experience from Total Adblock Free. The downside to using the free version is the exclusion of the top 15,000 websites as listed on Alexa.com.
The paid version provides access to TotalAV’s renowned antivirus protection, which — coupled with Total Adblock — is worth the money if you are willing to pay. One downside: Some reviewers noted difficulty canceling their subscriptions.
But based on our testing, anyone looking for a simple yet powerful way to get rid of annoying ads need to look no further than Total Adblock.
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