Intrusive and unsafe advertisements are a common problem when surfing the web on phone, tablet, or laptop. Luckily, there are many options for both free and paid ad blocking software that will eliminate unwanted and spyware-infected ads, improve online privacy, and save bandwidth.

While this might sound appealing for online browsers, it’s a major con for publishers. Advertising and pop-ups are a crucial source of funding for digital publications, especially free-to-read websites.  Intrusive and unsafe advertisements are a common problem when surfing the web on phone, tablet, or laptop.

Luckily, there are many options for both free and paid ad blocking software that will eliminate unwanted and spyware-infected ads, improve online privacy, and save bandwidth. While this might sound appealing for online browsers, it’s a major con for publishers. Advertising and pop-ups are a crucial source of funding for digital publications, especially free-to-read websites.  

There are four different types of ad blockers to choose from, including VPNs with dedicated ad blockers, browsers with built-in ad blocking software, paid and free extensions, or a device/router with a DNS filter.  

“The pros for the users are pretty overwhelming: by taking 30 seconds to install a browser extension, users get to take control of their browsing experience online, eliminating annoying ads, speeding up load times and enhancing their ability to protect their privacy. The major downside to the user is that some adblocking extensions dont allow publishers to monetize users in any way, which means that these users arent supporting their favorite content creators financially,” commented Marty Krátký-Katz, CEO and co-founder, Blockthrough. 

Katz added, “The cons for publishers are clear: publishers have lost tens of billions of dollars in ad revenue due to adblocking, which has a very real impact on peoples livelihoods. At the same time, theres a silver lining… Adblocking has been a forcing function for publishers to revisit their monetization strategies, whether by (a) adopting a lighter ad experience for adblock users who are willing to see Acceptable Ads, or (b) experimenting with micropayment and subscription strategies to reduce their reliance on ad revenue.” 

Based on research done by Comparitech and Toms Guide, this is a list of the best free adblockers that can be used by Chrome, Firefox, and other browsers:

1. AdBlock Plus (ABP)

This is one of the most commonly used adblockers online, and can be used on Firefox, Chrome, Safari, and Opera. Adblock Plus has already been downloaded over 10m times, and is free through eye/o. Unfortunately, AdBlock Plus only blocks ads that have been labeled intrusive or potentially malware, so if you want complete protection, you’ll have to play around with the advanced settings. You can do this by going into options and de-selecting “Allow some non-intrusive advertising”.  

Laura Dornheim, head of communications at eyeo, “Adblock Plus offers the all-round carefree package for its users, as the largest ad-blocking company and one of the very first providers of ad blocking we are always there for our customers and provide 24/7 support. 

“We are fully aware of the responsibility we have towards our users but also towards publishers: With our Acceptable Ads Program, we allow Adblock Plus users to approve some selected ad formats and thus contribute to the financing of digital content creation. That’s how we want to create a compromise between user rights and publisher interests. We call it Responsible Ad Blocking.”

2. AdBlock

AdBlock is not from the same developers as AdBlock Plus but is equally as popular. This extension can be used on Chrome, Opera, and Safari, and is free to download. Adblock works by creating a collection of filter lists, which automatically block unwanted content once it is released from known ad servers and providers. Users are able to stick with the original block lists, customize them, or whitelist their most commonly visited websites. 

3. Stands Fair AdBlocker  

Although Stands Fair AdBlocker has a perfect score on Comparitech, it is only available as a free Chrome-extension. It gets straight to the point, and blocks all types of ads, as long as you go into the advanced settings on the addon. According to Comparitech, Stands Fair AdBlocker is a big advocate for fair online advertising and encourages users to allow their favorite websites to be whitelisted. 

4. AdGuard 

This free adblocker has great reviews, and works with Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Microsoft Edge, Yandex, and Opera. Apparently, AdGuard comes in a paid, premium version, but there’s no need to stray from the free one. The free version has over 4m downloads on Chrome alone and received a perfect score from Comparitech. 

 5. AdLock 

AdLock is unique because it is available for free on Chrome, Windows, and Android, but also has a premium paid option for Windows and Android. AdLock has capabilities that allow users to block ads across their smartphone apps and will soon be revealing parental controls. The settings make it easy to whitelist websites and add new filter lists. According to Comparitech, the free version seems to work perfectly fine so there is no need to download the paid version. 

6. 1Blocker X

1Blocker X is a top-rated adblocker for iOS on iPhones and iPads, but it’s not free. For $4.99, you can download the app to block unwanted ads and popups and make browsing faster on your device. 1Blocker X works with Safari’s content blocker API, which alerts the browser to block any potential ads in advance. 1Blocker X also has over 115,000 blocker rules and an array of custom rules settings.