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Best for pop-ups and tracker blocking
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Instantly blocks distracting ads on millions of websites, including YouTube video ads
Blocks third-party trackers to protect your privacy and information
Improves page load times and enables faster browsing
Best for blocking YouTube ads
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Free product blocks ads, pop-up, trackers, push notifications, social media icons tracking, and even YouTube video ads
Open-source software allows for custom filtering and community-based support
Total Adblock and Adblock Plus are two ad-blocking services that scan websites as they load, identify potential ads, and remove these annoyances from your screen. Both services do that well, blocking ads on YouTube, Forbes, and other popular websites.
We’ve determined that Total Adblock is a better service for its lower monthly rate, having passed all of our block tests with near-perfect scores, and even offering antivirus protection. If you’re looking for a more pared down ad blocker, Adblock Plus works great against YouTube ads.
Ad blockers can help minimize your risk of interacting with cyberthreats by blocking online advertisements, banners, pop-up notifications, and more. The best ad blockers block trackers that monitor your online activity just as well.
For the best overall ad and tracker blocking, we recommend Total Adblock. However, we were impressed by Adblock Plus’s ability to block YouTube ads. It blocked ads at the beginning and prevented ads from loading in the middle of a video.
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| Best for | Best for pop-ups and tracker blocking | Best for blocking YouTube ads |
| Price | From $1.59/mo (billed annually) | From $3.33/mo (billed annually) |
| Ads blocked on Forbes | 12 | 56 |
| Does it block YouTube ads? | ||
| Compatibility | Windows, Mac, Chrome, Edge, Opera, Amazon Fire, Safari | Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Edge, Yandex |
| Mobile compatibility | Android, iOS | Android, iOS |
| Learn more | Get Total Adblock | Get Adblock Plus |
Our Pick |
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| Price range | Free or $1.59/mo (billed annually) | Free to $4.00/mo |
| Best value plan | Total Adblock Pro for $1.59/mo (billed annually) | Adblock Plus Premium Yearly for $3.33/mo (billed annually) |
| Free version available | ||
| Money-back guarantee | Yes — 30 days | Yes — 120 days |
| Learn more | Get Total Adblock | Get Adblock Plus |
Both services offer free plans, but those leave something to be desired. Total Adblock’s free plan excludes the top 15,000 websites from ad blocking while Adblock Plus’s free plan doesn’t block specific ad types like pop-ups and video ads.
As such, we think investing in the premium plan is well worth the price. Total Adblock Pro costs $1.59/mo (billed annually) for the first year, and it can block unlimited ads. It also comes with TotalAV antivirus protection.
Adblock Plus Premium costs $1.59/mo (billed annually), which is about double the price of Total Adblock. Its additional features include the ability to block floating videos, site notifications, and cookie consent pop-ups.
Total Adblock and Adblock Plus both offer money-back guarantees to give you time to determine if the service is a good fit for you. Total Adblock’s money-back guarantee is good for 30 days, while Adblock Plus offers a hefty 120-day guarantee.
| Feature | Our Pick |
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| Whitelisting | ||
| Blacklisting | ||
| Ads blocked counter | ||
| Bypasses paywalls | ||
| Block pop-up ads | ||
| Block tracking | ||
| Block video ads | ||
| Block banner ads | ||
| Block push ads | ||
| Learn more | Get Total Adblock | Get Adblock Plus |
On paper, Total Adblock and Adblock Plus are nearly identical in features. They both offer whitelisting; block YouTube ads, pop-up ads, notifications, and banner ads; and protect your device from trackers that monitor your activity.
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However, we found Adblock Plus to be lacking in performance. Our testing proved that it actually failed at blocking trackers.
Trackers are installed to keep tabs on you and your online habits, usually for advertising or analytical purposes. While Adblock Plus performed the function it’s designed to do — block ads — we were disappointed in the functionality of the tracker blocker.
But, we were impressed with Adblock’s ability to block ads on YouTube. It blocked pre-roll ads and eliminated any ads that could interrupt our video stream.
Total Adblock offers an additional layer of security in offering antivirus protection called TotalAV. TotalAV offers real-time antivirus protection, encrypted web browsing, and data breach monitoring. Extra security features are always a win in our opinion.
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We test the ad blockers we review with AdBlock Tester, the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s (EFF’s) Cover Your Tracks, and Can You Block It tools.
AdBlock Tester looks at contextual advertising, banner ads, analytics tools, and more. Cover Your Tracks tests ad blockers for effectiveness against trackers, and Can You Block It checks ad blockers against banner ads, interstitial ads, and ad blocker detection warnings.
Our Pick |
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| Adblock Tester score | 100/100 | 100/100 |
| Cover Your Tracks score | 2/3 | 0/3 |
| Can You Block It score | 3/3 | 3/3 |
| YouTube ads blocked | ||
| Paywalls blocked | ||
| Learn more | Get Total Adblock | Get Adblock Plus |
Total Adblock got top marks with both ad blocker tests. It also successfully blocked tracking ads and invisible trackers, having only failed the fingerprinting test.
With Adblock Tester, Adblock Plus initially scored 77/100, passing the tests for contextual and banner advertising while failing some tests for error monitoring and failing to load. After we enabled the Block additional tracking and Block social media icons tracking features, we received a 100/100 score.
However, the Cover Your Tracks test results indicated that Adblock Plus can’t protect our browser from any form of tracking. This could be a deterrent for anyone wanting to browse online anonymously.
Our Pick |
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| Windows | ||
| macOS | ||
| Android | ||
| iOS | ||
| Linux | ||
| Browser extensions | Samsung Browser, Microsoft Edge, Chrome, Opera, Safari | Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera, Edge, Yandex |
| 24/7 customer support | ||
| Customer support options | Live chat, email, phone, online guides | Forums, online guides, submit a ticket |
| Learn more | Get Total Adblock | Get Adblock Plus |
Total Adblock was easy to install and use. We quickly installed the extension on Chrome by following the prompts. It’s a great option for a “set it and forget it” ads-free experience. Once installed, you can click on the extension at any time to see what ads the software is blocking.
Overall, our experience was pleasant. However, Total Adblock sends pop-up banners and notifications letting you know you’ve reached your ad limit or your trial has expired, which can become annoying.
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Similarly, Adblock Plus was also user friendly. We installed Adblock Plus on a Safari browser on macOS and iOS and tested the Chrome extension. Ads were blocked, and we had a clean, ad-free browsing experience.
We especially liked the Acceptable Ads feature. This allows you to add certain sites to your Allowlist to prevent ads from being blocked. That way, you can support your favorite creators who rely on ad revenue.
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However, customer support for Adblock Plus is lacking. It only offers an email address and online guides. We would love more support options here like a live chat or a phone number.
Total Adblock includes live chat and a phone number you can call, along with email and online guides. We were only able to find this information in Total Adblock’s terms of service, so we wish it was more forthcoming about our options.
Despite similar names and similar ad blocking features, Total Adblock and Adblock are different services with different pricing, features, and customer service options.
The main disadvantage of Total Adblock is its free plan. While it is a good ad-blocking service, the free version excludes 15,000 of the most popular websites and incessantly issues pop-up notifications and banners saying your trial has expired.
There are many other ad blockers that offer additional features, coupled with ad blocking benefits. If you’re looking for bundled protection, it might be worth looking into one of our alternatives or our list of the best ad blockers.
We consider Total Adblock to be one of the best ad blockers. It scored perfectly on our tests and provides a hands-off ad-blocking experience to enjoy anonymous browsing. If you opt for the premium plan, Total Adblock has added security measures like antivirus protection.
Total Adblock is an above-average ad blocker. While the free plan leaves some to be desired, the premium plan is well worth the money. It provides ad blocking, tracker blocking, and real-time antivirus protection, so you can have an enjoyable browsing experience free of ads and trackers.
Adblock Plus is a good ad blocker, but our testing left us wondering if it was a system error or a browser error that yielded less-than-perfect ad-blocking test results.
Although both ad-blocking services offer good features and passed our ad-blocking tests, we think Total Adblock is the better option for the price and extra features.
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Instantly blocks distracting ads on millions of websites, including YouTube video ads
Blocks third-party trackers to protect your privacy and information
Improves page load times and enables faster browsing
In the duel between Total Adblock vs. Adblock Plus, our winner is Total Adblock. But, if neither of those is the right fit for you, there are other ad-blocking services you may want to look into.
Our guide to the best ad blockers can help you find the best ad blocker for you. Here are some other options to consider.
 Threat Protection |
 CleanWeb |
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| Best for | Best overall | Best for blocking streaming ads | Best for block social media trackers |
| Price | Starts at $1.59/mo (billed annually) | Starts at $3.39/mo (billed every two years) | Starts at $3.50/mo |
| Free version? | |||
| Adblock Tester score | 93/100 | 96/100 | 92/100 |
| Cover Your Tracks score | 2/3 | 0.5/3 | 2.5/3 |
| Can You Block It score | 2/3 | 3/3 | 2/3 |
| Blocks YouTube ads? | |||
| Compatibility | Threat Protection: Windows, macOS
Threat Protection Lite: |
Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Chrome, Edge, Firefox, FireTV | Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Chrome, Firefox, Safari |
| Learn more | Get NordVPN Threat Protection | Get Surfshark CleanWeb | Get AdLock |
Instantly blocks distracting ads on millions of websites, including YouTube video ads
Blocks third-party trackers to protect your privacy and information
Improves page load times and enables faster browsing
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