The best ad blockers, according to hackers
16 ad blockers recommended in Hacker News comments over the past year, ranked by how many separate people recommend each one.
- Most recommendeduBlock Origin765 people recommend it
- Least regretiSponsorBlockTV13 recommend, 0 criticize
All ad blockers
- uBlock OriginA trusted, free content blocker that strips ads, trackers, cookie banners and annoying page elements, best on Firefox now that Chrome dropped full support; occasionally breaks sites.765recommend
- uBlock Origin LiteAn official, lightweight Manifest V3 ad blocker that most people find blocks ads about as well as full uBlock Origin, though it lacks the element zapper and advanced filtering.148recommend
- AdGuardRecommended as a strong ad blocker for Safari and iOS that works across devices. Common caveat: the iOS version could be better and misses some annoyances.78recommend
- Wipr 2Blocks ads in Safari across Apple devices for one payment, with no setup. The most common caveat is that it cannot hide its own extension icon.41recommend
- uBlockFree ad blocker that people say blocks ads, cookie banners and page clutter; its main caveat is that some sites, including YouTube on Firefox, break while it is enabled.32recommend
- AdBlockFree ad blocker that people use for years with little hassle, especially on YouTube and Safari; the Manifest V3 version is imperfect and some say it misses newer ad tech.18recommend
- 1BlockerRecommended for blocking ads and in-app trackers in Safari and across iOS and macOS; one critic objects to paying for it.17recommend
- Firefox with uBlock OriginFree and widely seen as the strongest ad blocker, though one critic reports heavy CPU and memory use.16recommend
- wBlockFree, open-source ad blocker for Safari that uses native APIs, syncs through iCloud and is fast. One critic says it leaves some ad blocks that AdGuard removes.15recommend
- iSponsorBlockTVA free tool that runs on a home server and automatically skips sponsor segments and mutes ads in YouTube on TVs. Critics say it is a weaker substitute for the Android TV version and muting fails with HomePods.13recommend
- Firefox Ad Blocker for iOSBuilt-in ad blocker in Firefox for iOS that people praise as user-focused, though it misses YouTube and search ads and critics say it needs telemetry.10recommend
- Adblock PlusWorks well out of the box for common ads and is free, though critics say its acceptable ads policy means it doesn't reliably block everything.7recommend
- BlockadaPeople recommend it to block ads and trackers system-wide on Android, including inside apps. One caveat: it can break some apps, such as banking apps.6recommend
- AdAwayFree Android ad blocker that works system-wide without a VPN and lets you add custom domains to block.6recommend
- TrackerControlFree app that uses a local VPN to block trackers and ads per app. Works well for apps that should never be connected.5recommend
- uBlock Origin LiteRecommended as a Manifest V3 ad blocker that blocks ads about as well as the original uBlock Origin for nearly all users.5recommend