uBlock Origin Review 2024: Is It the Best Free Ad Blocker?

uBlock Origin is a free, open-source content filtering extension with countless features so you can customize your ad blocker experience. Overall, it performed as promised and worked effectively to block ads, but some features require technical knowledge that may go over beginners' heads. 

Read on to learn about how we tested the uBlock Origin browser extension, its features, and more.

uBlock Origin overview

4.8

AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Editorial Rating

Learn More

On uBlock Origin's website

uBlock Origin

• Free and open-source
• Compatible with multiple browsers
• Some features require technical knowledge

Our experience 

For us, uBlock Origin was effective at blocking ads across most websites. It was easy to install and effectively blocked ads from initial deployment. 

uBlock Origin functions by filtering out elements on webpages that would otherwise interrupt your viewing experience. When you load a page, it checks it against a database of filters and removes anything that might cause issues, such as ad trackers and other ad placements. 

uBlock also doesn’t receive payments to allow what’s known as “acceptable ads:” ads deemed by other ad blockers like Adblock Plus to not interfere with your content.^[2]

For more advanced users, you can whitelist certain sites. To do this, we had to mark a website as trusted to allow ads on it. This works great if you want to support your favorite creators on sites like YouTube. You can also remove specific buttons and ad placements. 

If you decide to use uBlock Origin, you need to install the extension on all your web browsers to fully protect your privacy. For Google users, the extension will only successfully block ads on that browser profile. 

For example, if you have multiple browser profiles for various members of your household, you will need to download the extension for each browser profile. Additionally, uBlock Origin isn't available for Android or iOS, except if you use it as an add-on for Firefox.

Main features

uBlock Origin labels itself as a wide-spectrum content blocker with several features to block ads, tracking, malware, and other annoyances. It was created by Raymond Hill in 2014 and continues to be maintained and actively developed by him as an free and open-source extension. 

Ad blocker counter

The ad blocker counter tells you the number of ads and trackers blocked on the website and individual webpages. Its block counter also shows you the number of ads blocked to date and on the current browser page. uBlock Origin also provides warnings if you navigate to websites that are malicious, have spyware, or have notable privacy and tracking issues.

Advanced filtering

uBlock Origin has several different filters lists that you can enable depending on your preferences. 

The EasyList is the primary filter list that removes most ads from from webpages, inclding unwanted frames, images, and objects. The EasyPrivacy list tackles blocking trackers like web bugs, tracking scripts, and information collectors. There's also the Online Malicious URL Blocklist, Peter Lowe's ad tracking list, and countless others. 

Customizable blocking modes

The extension offers easy, medium, and hard blocking modes for all levels of users. Elevated features for more advanced users include the element zapper, which removes specific social media icons and buttons from webpages, and the element picker, which can permanently remove these elements.

uBlock Origin user resources

Along with uBlock Origin’s beneficial features, it also offers several resource libraries. uBlock’s repository of help for installation includes a dedicated Github and a subreddit.

Although this ad blocker can work effectively for less tech-savvy users, more advanced users may want to create custom filters or change privacy settings. In addition to the Github site, which offers guides on these customizations, the uBlock subreddit designed to help users connect and share their experiences with this tool.

uBlock Origin's test results

To review uBlock Origin, we used ad-block website testers, including AdBlock Tester, Cover Your Tracks, and Can You Block It. Each of these tools tested several factors to determine whether uBlock Origin works effectively. 

We also tested uBlock Origin Lite, the newer version of uBlock, after Google disables older extensions built with Manifest V2. 

AdBlock Tester tested uBlock Origin against contextual advertising, traffic analytics tools, banner advertising, and error monitoring. Contextual advertising collects data about users in order to find the right ads for you. Traffic analytics tools are used to monitor your actions on a website and collect information about you. Finally, error monitoring is used to track and measure errors on websites.^[3]

uBlock Origin and uBlock Origin Lite both got perfect scores from AdBlock Tester. With uBlock Origin Lite, it initially received a 96/100 score. Once we bumped up the filtering mode from basic to complete, it received 100/100.

Cover Your Tracks tests for blocking ad tracking, invisible tracking, and fingerprinting. Invisible tracking is when data tracking elements are hidden in websites to obtain information on you. Fingerprinting is the term for how tracking sites piece together user data to form a “fingerprint” of your device.^[4]

We were pleased that both uBlock Origin and uBlock Origin Lite received a 2/3 Cover Your Tracks score, providing strong protection against tracking ads and invisible trackers. 

Can You Block It is an easy-to-use browser test that lets you know the different types of advertisements blocked. These include the "disable adblocker" warning, banner ads, and interstitial ads (or ads that pop up before the page actually loads).^[5] uBlock Origin successfully blocked all the ads. How do we know? Because we didn't see any. That's how simple the test is. 

uBlock Origin scores

YouTube ad test

Advertisers and content creators have been able to monetize on YouTube thanks to ads and sponsored content. However, it can make the viewing experience annoying for YouTube users. That's why we also check the ad blockers we review based on their ability to block YouTube ads.

From our research and testing, we determined uBlock Origin was effective at blocking banner ads and even many video ads on the YouTube website. This is especially impressive following YouTube's recent crackdown on ad blockers, making uBlock Origin one of the best ad blockers for YouTube. 

However, you won’t find as much success while using the YouTube mobile app, as uBlock Origin is currently only available as an extension for web browsers.

Bypassing paywall test

No, uBlock Origin won't bypass hard paywalls like the ones prevalent in popular news sites like Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and The Atlantic. We tested uBlock Origin against all three but had no luck accessing the restricted content. 

However, uBlock can bypass soft paywalls, like the ones common in local news sites. We tested the ad blocker against Reading Eagle and were able to fully access subscriber-only content. All we did was navigate to the news site and click on the articles of interest while the ad blocker was enabled. 

What browsers and software is it compatible with?

uBlock Origin is compatible with multiple popular browsers, and the following browsers are supported:

• Google Chrome
• Mozilla Firefox
• Safari (prior to 13)
• Microsoft Edge
• Opera
• Chromium

Unfortunately, uBlock Origin is only a browser extension, so there's no app to download for your iPhone or Android.

How to use uBlock Origin

Adding the uBlock Origin extension is easy. Here’s how to get the browser extension for Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.

For Google Chrome:

• Head to the uBlock Origin website.
• Select Get uBlock Origin.
• Click Add to Chrome.
• Click to Add extension to Google Chrome.

For Microsoft Edge:

• Head to the uBlock Origin website.
• Select Get uBlock Origin.
• In the Microsoft Edge Add-ons store, click Get uBlock Origin.
• Click to Add extension to Microsoft Edge.

Top alternatives

uBlock Origin is a top-notch content blocker, but it may not be right for you. We've compiled a list of some alternative ad blockers for you to consider. Plus, all of these tested services block YouTube ads as well as ads on major streaming platforms. 

Adblock Tester score	100/100	93/100	92/100
Cover Your Tracks score	2/3	2/3	1/3
Does it block YouTube ads?
Compatibility	Android, iOS, Chrome, Edge, Safari, Opera	Threat Protection: Windows, macOS Threat Protection Lite: Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, Chrome, Edge, Firefox	Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, Chrome, Safari, Firefox
Free version?
Price	Starts at $1.99/mo (billed annually)	Starts at $3.39/mo	Starts at $1.05/mo
Details	Get Total Adblock	Get NordVPN Threat Protection	Get AdLock

If you want an effective ad blocker that you can “set and forget,” look no further than Total Adblock. There’s a free version for Android and iOS devices, though the free version is limited and excludes the top 15,000 websites. It removes ads and trackers on YouTube, social media sites, and more. The premium plan includes award-winning antivirus protection with TotalAV.

NordVPN offers more than a virtual private network (VPN) — it also comes with Threat Protection, a feature to block ads, trackers, and malware for comprehensive cybersecurity protection. In addition to safeguarding your privacy and digital security, the ad-blocking feature blocks ads, trackers, malicious websites, and even YouTube video ads.

AdLock is another effective free ad blocker, though the free extension failed to block invisible trackers during testing. It can block tracking ads, banner ads, YouTube video ads, annoying follow-along videos, and more.

FAQs

Bottom line: Is uBlock Origin good?

Whether you're looking to block ads on YouTube or reduce ad tracking, uBlock Origin is a great selection for a free ad blocker. It can remove ads from YouTube videos and social media sites, as well as website takeover ads. In addition to removing ads on most websites, uBlock Origin also prevents pop-up windows and other distractions from interfering with your web browsing experience.

The ad blocker works effectively from installation, so you can set it once and trust it will work for you. The only downfall to this ad blocker is that it's not compatible with all browsers and does not have a mobile app. It could also require more technical knowledge, depending on what features you want to use. But if you want a good ad blocker for the most widely used browsers, uBlock Origin delivers on its promises.

If you need more advanced security features or are looking for the ultimate streaming ad blocker, learn more about other top-rated ad blockers we've tested and reviewed. 

Featured ad blockers to consider

Ad blocker
Best For	Best for blocking YouTube ads	Best overall	Best for blocking streaming ads
Price	Paid plan costs $1.99/mo (billed annually)	Starts at $3.99/mo	Starts at $2.29/mo (billed biennially)
Blocks YouTube ads
Learn more	Get Total Adblock	Get NordVPN Threat Protection	Get Surfshark CleanWeb

4.8

AllAboutCookies writers and editors score products based on a number of objective features as well as our expert editorial assessment. Our partners do not influence how we rate products.

Editorial Rating

Learn More

On uBlock Origin's website

uBlock Origin

• Free and open-source
• Compatible with multiple browsers
• Some features require technical knowledge

Author Details

Amanda Scheldt

About the Author

Amanda is a technical content writer based in Illinois, USA. She has a Master of Science in Cybersecurity. After years of working in the tech and cybersec field, she pivoted her career to content marketing and writing within these industries.

Kate Quinlan