Alternatives to Adblock Plus
An ad-blocking browser extension with customizable filter lists for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera and Safari. The listings below can replace it for an important use case. Each note says what changes if you switch.
The original
Adblock Plus
An ad-blocking browser extension with customizable filter lists for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera and Safari.
Replacements
Listings that take over the same core job as Adblock Plus.
uBlock Origin
A free, open-source content blocker for browsers that blocks ads, trackers and malware domains with a small footprint.
uBlock Origin is also GPL-3.0 open source, adds advanced per-site dynamic filtering, and is built for low CPU and memory use, but it is losing Chrome and Edge support.
AdGuard Browser Extension
A browser extension that blocks ads, pop-ups and trackers, with cosmetic filtering of page elements.
AdGuard Browser Extension is open source under GPL-3.0 and adds cosmetic filtering, but has no Safari or iOS version listed, unlike Adblock Plus.
uBlock Origin Lite
A Manifest V3 content blocker from the uBlock Origin project that filters ads and trackers.
uBlock Origin Lite is a Manifest V3 blocker for Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Safari that needs no broad site permissions, but it is not open source.
AdBlock
A browser extension that blocks ads, pop-ups and third-party trackers, with a paid Premium tier.
AdBlock is a closed-source freemium extension that allows Acceptable Ads by default and requires the paid Premium tier for cookie banner blocking.
Ghostery
Ad and tracker blocker that shows what each page was trying to load.
Ghostery switches to an MPL-2.0 licensed blocker that names the trackers on each page and also blocks cookie consent dialogs.
Malwarebytes Browser Guard
A free browser extension from Malwarebytes that blocks malicious sites, scams, trackers and unwanted ads.
Malwarebytes Browser Guard is free and closed source, combining ad blocking with scam and malicious site protection for Chrome, Firefox, Safari and Edge.
AdGuard Ad Blocker
System-wide ad and tracker blocker apps for Windows, macOS, Android and iOS with DNS filtering.
AdGuard Ad Blocker replaces the extension with freemium closed-source apps that filter ads system-wide on Windows, macOS, Android and iOS.
AdNauseam
A browser extension built on uBlock Origin that blocks ads and quietly clicks them to pollute tracking profiles.
AdNauseam is based on uBlock Origin and clicks blocked ads to pollute tracking profiles, which creates extra background traffic.
Also worth comparing
These listings name Adblock Plus as their own alternative, so the relationship runs both ways.
1Blocker
Safari content blocker that strips ads, trackers, and cookie popups on-device.
Adblock Plus is free and open source under the GPL, with a Safari version for iOS and extensions for other desktop browsers, using customizable filter lists.
Privacy Badger
Learns and blocks trackers by watching their behaviour across sites.
Adblock Plus is a GPL-licensed ad blocker with customizable filter lists across major browsers, focusing on ads rather than learning tracker behaviour.
Similar software
Related functionality, not a direct replacement.
Disconnect
Tracker-blocking privacy software that stops invisible trackers and shows which sites follow you online.
Privoxy
A non-caching web proxy that filters HTTP headers and page content to remove ads and trackers.
Hush
A Safari content blocker for Mac, iPhone and iPad that hides cookie consent nags and trackers.
NoScript Security Suite
Blocks scripts and active content except on sites you trust.
