Are you looking for the best uBlock Origin alternatives? If yes, you have stumbled upon the correct webpage. uBlock Origin is a web browser’s most popular and widely regarded ad-blocking extension.
uBlock Origin is admired because of its open-source nature, which allows you to configure the block lists, add specific rules, and more. But many users also criticize the uBlock Origin for the same as all these additional configuration options make the UI of uBlock Origin a bit more complicated.
Must Read: Best Omegle Alternatives
Contents
7 Best uBlock Origin Alternatives in 2024
Thankfully, there are plenty of uBlock Origin alternatives that you can use if you don’t like the functionality or UI of uBlock Origin. To help you further, I have rounded up a list of the seven best extensions like uBlock Origin. So, without any further ado, let’s get started.
1. Adblock Plus
Adblock Plus is undoubtedly a popular choice for the uBlock Origin alternative. It is quite a powerful ad-blocking solution capable of blocking all standard ad formats like pop-ups, pop-unders, banners, Facebook ads, and even YouTube ads.
One of the things that I like the most about Adblock Plus, in contrast to uBlock Origin, is its simple and intuitive interface. It is also completely open-source, meaning you can use it for free for as long as you want.
Adblock Plus also boasts many additional features. While most features are free, features like automatically blocking floating videos, newsletter pop-ups, site notifications, etc., are available with a paid subscription only. I have also shared a comparison between uBlock Origin and Adblock Plus.
2. AdGuard
AdGuard is a powerful alternative to uBlock Origin, known for its robust ad-blocking and privacy protection capabilities. It blocks various ad formats, third-party cookies, and trackers with a success rate of 97% and protects you against phishing and malicious sites.
In addition to that, AdGuard also offers Parental Control and customized filtering features. Parental control allows you to blacklist all the websites with inappropriate content. In contrast, customized filtering will enable you to whitelist specific websites like Torrents to control the content better.
The only deal-breaker here is that AdGuard isn’t free. It offers a free trial that you can use to test its services, but once the trial expires, you have to either uninstall the program or opt for its paid subscription. Therefore, if you want a free ad-blocking solution, consider other options from this list.
3. AdBlock
Don’t get confused between AdBlock and Adblock Plus. While they share many similarities and help you deal with the same problem, they are different tools. It is mainly a browser-based ad blocker with dedicated apps designed for Android and iOS devices.
AdBlock is also an open-source solution that boasts robust ad-blocking capabilities against display and video ads. By default, it uses a series of filter lists to block advertisements coming from known ad providers. You can also update this list with new ones or configure old ones.
Being an open-source solution, AdBlock is free to use while its code is openly available for scrutiny. AdBlock also offers a premium plan with additional features, but I think the free plan would be more than enough for most users.
4. Privacy Badger
Privacy Badger differs slightly from other uBlock Origin alternatives on this list. While uBlock Origin and its other replacements primarily focus on blocking advertisements, Privacy Badger explicitly focuses on blocking trackers. Because of this, Privacy Badger may not be a good choice for everyone.
Created by the Electronic Frontier Foundation, Privacy Badger is an open-source browser-based solution that mainly aims to stop advertisers and third-party trackers from tracking your browsing history. It supports all major browsers, including Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Chrome, and Opera, whereas its team is working towards Safari on macOS.
Another difference between other uBlock Origin alternatives and Privacy Badger is that it leverages machine learning instead of relying on predefined lists. This makes it more adaptable and efficient while dealing with emerging tracking methods.
5. Ghostery
With over 100 million active downloads and a long history of over ten years serving in the industry, Ghostery is undoubtedly a great choice when looking for tools like uBlock Origin. The best part is that Ghostery isn’t just an ad-blocking solution but a full-fledged privacy suite that could help you browse the internet like a ghost.
Ghostery privacy suite contains a browser-based tracker and ad-blocking extension, a private browser based on Firefox, and a remote search engine. The good thing about Ghostery is that even if you don’t want to install its browser, you can have its ad-blocker on your Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Safari, or Opera browser.
Overall, in terms of functionality and performance, Ghostery is excellent. Its detailed tracker analysis could be too overwhelming for some users, but its clean interface makes up for it.
6. AdBlocker Ultimate
Next, we have AdBlocker Ultimate on our list. It is a comparatively new ad-blocking solution that has garnered significant popularity recently because of its robust ad-blocking capabilities shown in various independent test results.
But it isn’t limited to ad-blocking, as it provides complete protection against malware and phishing attacks, including third-party trackers. Its cross-platform availability allows you to use it across all your devices.
On Windows and iOS, you can install its application or browser-based extensions to block incoming advertisements, while on Android, you can install its dedicated ad-blocker to block all intrusive ads easily.
7. SponsorBlock
SponsorBlock is not a common name, and there is a reason for that. Unlike traditional ad-blocking solutions, SponsorBlock mainly focuses on skipping the sponsored portion of YouTube videos.
Because of that, we cannot say it is a direct alternative to uBlock Origin. If you want to eliminate the sponsored portion of your favorite YouTube videos, now you have a worthy option.
It is an open-source, crowdfunded extension-based tool with extensions available for Microsoft Edge, Safari, Opera, Chrome, and Firefox, and third-party ports available for Apple TV, Samsung TV, Google TV, Android TV, Roku, Nintendo, Xbox, PlayStation, and more.
That said, one drawback of this tool is that it relies on submissions made by other users. This means there will be times when it may not work as promised, but the good thing is that its database is continuously growing. And the more users will use it, the more it will grow.
Must Read: 7 Best Lightest Antivirus for Windows PC
Wrapping Up
Well, that’s all for the list of best uBlock Origin alternatives. While writing this article, I tried to test as many ad-blockers and similar tools as possible. After testing them, I understood that most ad-blockers use the same open-source libraries and filtering list with some independent development and changes.
But there are some exceptions like AdBlock, AdGuard, Ghostery, and others mentioned in this list, and because of that, these tools can deliver unique features and performance.
With that said, here I am wrapping up this article. I hope this article helped you pick a suitable alternative to uBlock Origin.
