Imagine you are in some new town/country right now. At midday, you suddenly crave a mochaccino or latte and sit down to search for the best cafes in town. You click on a link that says, “10 best cafes you should visit.” But alas! The page throws a full-screen ad on your face when you open it. Worse, you can’t find any buttons to escape the ad and get to the list.
Irritating, isn’t it?
This is where a free ad remover and ad blockers come into play. This blog will take you through the 11 best free ad blockers to check out and improve your user experiences while browsing or searching over the internet. So, let’s get started.
Quick Comparison between Free Ad Blockers
| Ad Blocker | Platforms | Custom Filtering | Video Ads | Script Blocking | Browser Extension | Mobile App |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stands Fair AdBlacker | Chrome, Firefox, Edge | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Adblocker Ultimate | Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, Windows, Android, iOS | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| AdLock | Chrome, Safari, YouTube, Windows, macOS, iOS, Android | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| uBlock Origin | Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| AdGuard | Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, Windows, Mac, Android, iOS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Poper Blocker | Chrome, Firefox | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
| Ghostery | Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, Android, iOS | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| AdBlock Plus | Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, Android | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free Windscribe Proxy and Ad Blocker | Chrome, Firefox, MacOS, Windows, Android, iOS | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| Opera Ad Blocker | Opera (dekstop & mobile) | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
| NoScript Security Suite | Firefox | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
1. Stands Fair AdBlocker
Website: https://www.standsapp.org/
This one is a low-impact that efficiently blocks absolutely any type of ad. The ad blocker can remove any ads, pop-ups, trackers, and malware.
It will also decide how many ads are okay to be viewed on a webpage while preventing website owners and companies from leveraging your data for selling purposes. It is one of the best free ad blockers since it protects you from all the dangerous forms of adware and trackers. The free ad remover enjoys 900K installs and a rating of 4 out of 5 on Trustpilot.
Pros
- Extremely adaptable blocking settings
- Blocks all online ads of any kind
- Dependable access control tools
Cons
- Works only in Chrome, Firefox and Microsoft Edge
2. Adblocker Ultimate
Website: https://adblockultimate.net/
This is one of the most recommended and popular free ad removers. This ab blocker is widely used. And it boasts a 4.8 out of 5 rating on Google from Chrome users with over 900K downloads.
Adblocker Ultimate lets you take control of websites on your browser and block all unwanted pop-ups, trackers, malware, etc., at once. It allows you to filter trustworthy websites and create your whitelist. This free ad remover has more than 900K downloads.
Pros
- No exceptions when blocking ads
- All services for free
- The app is available for all OS: Android, iOS, Chrome, Windows, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, Mozilla, Opera, etc.
- Features to block individual website components.
- Considerable support for a large number of web browsers.
Cons
- Guess what? No cons. This is indeed the best free ad blocker you will find.
3. AdLock
Website: https://adlock.com/
AdLock is one of the best tools to block ads not only on browsers but also across apps on smartphones. It has a long list of features that offers numerous elements other than ad blocking, increasing the usefulness of the websites you browse.
It has over 3 million users and automatically blocks each ad on all websites without exception. This free ad remover has over 10 million downloads.
Pros
- Remove ads on any videos
- Block pop-ups, banners and Cryptocurrency mining ads
- Multiple add-on features covering links for all types of scams and spams
- Block ads via Chrome, Safari, YouTube, Windows, macOS, iOS and Android.
- It has a seamless UI and includes filter lists and custom filters.
Cons
- Some of the best features are unfortunately not free. You need to subscribe to use them.
- It doesn’t support script blocking.
4. UBlock Origin
Website: https://ublockorigin.com/
UBlock Origin is another open-source ad blocker that records 10 million installs and holds 4.9 ratings on Google. Apart from being all-browser compatible, it involves numerous features to enhance your online privacy. It also offers an element zapper mode to remove unnecessary and intrusive elements from web pages. You can also block hyperlinks and prevent them from tracking your online activities.
Pros
- Offers custom filters
- Has script blocking
- Allows website whitelisting
Cons
- No apps for smartphones
- Outdated and complex UI
- Customizations might be complicated for beginners.
5. AdGuard
Website: https://adguard.com/en/welcome.html
AdGuard is a feature-packed and best free ad blocker that enjoys more than 10 million downloads on Chrome and a rating of 4.6 on Trustpilot. It ensures distraction-free and safe streaming and browsing experience by blocking all commercials and malware on the site.
Additionally, if you don’t want to view a particular element on a webpage, you can easily block it using the AdGuard extension. You also get in-depth filter logs, including social media widgets and language-specific nuisances.
Pros
- Supports script blocking
- Check privacy stats and verify the safety levels of a website
- Import and export AdGuard settings with one tap
Cons
- The app version showed a few bugs when initiated on smartphones/tablets.
6. Poper Blocker
Website: https://poperblocker.com/
This is the best free ad blocker to block pop-ups. However, this free ad remover leaves many ads at the end of the day that others don't. But on the brighter side, the Poper blocker blocks website overlays.
You can also report a pop-up when the app fails to block it. The best thing about the Poper blocker is that every feature of this tool is free. Absolutely no hidden charges! Google says the app has over 2 million users and blocks 3 million pop-ups daily.
Pros
- Use everything for free at all times
- Offers advanced overlay-blocking features
- Works with stubborn ads that won't go away
Cons
- Fails to block all pop-ups
- Limited services
7. Ghostery
Website: https://www.ghostery.com/
Ghostery is one of the best free ad blockers that boost websites by blocking all ads and pop-ups. The free ad remover has 2 million installs and a rating of 4 on Facebook. It has three filter lists and offers anti-tracking features to hide your data and block all trackers.
Pros
- You can enable smart blocking using one click.
- Offers various whitelisting options
Cons
- A weaker pop-up blocker
- No script and element blocking
8. AdBlock Plus
Website: https://adblockplus.org/
AdBlock Plus (ABP) is another highly popular free ad remover, with over 10 million installs. It’s an open-source project designed by the eye/o and is a prime source code for all ad blocker developers. The default settings of AdBlock Plus don’t allow the tool to block all ads. It only reacts to possibly intrusive malware.
However, this doesn’t mean you have to survive with those unwanted ads. You can turn off the acceptable ads list from the settings anytime. Other unique features include language options. ABP has over 20 language filters and can block all ads and pop-ups in that language.
Pros
- Offer block element features for ads that don’t get blocked automatically
- You can also create pre-built block lists from third parties
Cons
- Features can seem to be complicated for new users.
- The extension throws unnecessary promotional content.
- Doesn’t work on all ads
9. Free Windscribe Proxy and Ad Blocker
Website: https://windscribe.com/
Windscribe is a popular VPN service that not only blocks ads and pop-ups but also helps you mask your IP address and browse anonymously. This free ad remover enjoys over 2 million downloads and has a rating of 4.8 on Trustpilot. It also has a split personality feature that lets you rotate the user agent of your web browser and avoid fingerprinting from websites. Interesting, isn’t it?
Pros
- Offers malware and social blocker
- You can select over 24 locations and hide your original IP address for free.
- Offers location warping feature to fake GPS
Cons
- A weaker pop-up blocking
- No script blocking
- Cannot block specific elements
10. Opera Ad Blocker
Website: https://www.opera.com/
If you want a plug-in-free and all-rounder ad blocker, this is a one-stop solution for you. Opera is one of the most well-designed and efficient browsers. It is also among the first ones to have an ad blocker. Once toggled on, Opera’s ad blocker blocks almost all ads while you browse websites. The only limitation is that it is not available for other browsers. It runs only on Opera.
Pros
- Native ad-blocking feature
- Blocks all ads, no exceptions
- Easy whitelisting
Cons
- Available only for Opera browser users.
11. NoScript Security Suite
Website: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/noscript/
Like the above ad blocker, NoScript Security is a Firefox-only ad blocker and blocks scripts only. It prevents all types of scripts, be it Java, HTML, Flash, JavaScript, etc., from invading your privacy. The benefit of script blocking is that it blocks around 99% of the ads you come across and involves aggressive blocking of all website ad content.
Pros
- Follows granular-level ad-blocking process
- Blocks other threats like cross-site scripting permissions and cookie-tracking.
Cons
- Works only on Firefox
- Complex UI
What to Look for When Choosing a Free Ad Remover?
Now that you have a detailed analysis of some of the best free ad blockers, it might still be overwhelming to select the best free ad blocker from the list. To make it easier, consider dividing your priorities into three baskets.
- Is the UI hassle-free? If I am a beginner, can I use it without any manual or training?
- How many elements can it block? Can it block pop-ups as effectively as ads? Does it include interstitials and video-ad blocking? And so on.
- Is it offering additional features? Will I get advanced customization features, script blocking, whitelisting, etc.?
Summing Up
Finding the perfect best free ad blocker is not that hard after all. However, what matters is if you are able to map it to your priorities and get the best results. All of them have limitations. Some of them are not available on Chrome. The rest might not have app versions, and so on.
The best you can do is list down your priorities, then match them with features that various ad blockers offer. With a bit of work, you can get rid of all ads and prevent trackers from invading your privacy.
Happy ad-free browsing!
