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 overview

Total Adblock pros and cons

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

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.

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

Total Adblock FAQs

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.

Learn More

On Total Adblock's website

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• Hands-off ad-blocking experience
• Easy to set up

• 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.

Author Details

Juliana Kenny

About the Author

Juliana Kenny is a freelance writer with 13 years of experience specializing in cybersecurity topics. Her expertise includes endpoint security, cloud security, and networking technologies like secure access service edge (SASE). She has written for technology giants, including Oracle, Hitachi Vantara, and Comcast. When she's not diving deep into security news, you can find her bird-watching or baking.