Nobody goes online to look at ads. 

Sure, advertising is the fuel that keeps the internet on the road. The vast, vast majority of your favorite online content simply wouldn’t exist without the income generated by all those flashy banners, noisy trailers, and insultingly specific cosmetic advice.

But that doesn’t mean you have to experience them. Aside from being a plain old nuisance, online ads slow down your browser, clog up your bandwidth, compromise your privacy, and even increase your risk of being hacked. 

Hence the growing use of ad blockers, programs that hide ads by intercepting them before they can load onto your browser. 

Some ad blockers are completely free. Others require payment. Some are easy to use and others are, if we’re being hypercritical, a bit fiddly. Some prioritize security, others prioritize speed, and still others prioritize sheer ad-blocking effectiveness. 

There’s a lot of choice, in other words. Read on for our overview of the five best ad blockers depending on your needs. 

Best Ad Blocker Overall: Surfshark CleanWeb

Surfshark CleanWeb is a powerful ad-blocking tool that offers you protection against ads, trackers, and malicious content. Available across Mac, Windows, Android, and iOS, it blocks pop-ups, banners, and phishing attempts, and includes features like a cookie pop-up blocker, data breach alerts, and a private search engine for unbiased results.

CleanWeb performs well on platforms like Amazon Prime, Hulu, and Spotify, though some ads may slip through on Twitch. The CleanWeb 2.0 Chrome extension excels in ad-blocking tests, removing YouTube and Facebook ads, and offers customizable whitelisting for specific sites.

With a Surfshark subscription starting at just $2.19/month for unlimited devices, CleanWeb enhances your browsing experience while offering a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Best Free Ad Blocker: uBlock Origin

Sure, uBlock sounds like a tool for completing unpleasant plumbing jobs, but it’s actually one of the very best ad blockers on the market. And it’s totally free to use. 

A browser extension rather than a desktop app, uBlock Origin is compatible with a ton of browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Opera, Edge, Safari, and Brave, and it’s available in 36 languages. 

Best Ad Blocker for YouTube: Total AdBlock

Chances are, you’ve learned to filter out most online ads by simply ignoring them. 

But YouTube ads are different. They don’t just appear on the fringes, but actually interrupt your viewing experience. There’s no escape—unless you use Total AdBlock, which is among the most effective YouTube ad blockers available. 

Best Ad Blocker for Apple Users: Wipr

While the biggest ad blockers tend to be available on all platforms, Wipr earns brownie points among Apple fans by dedicating itself entirely to the cult of Infinite Loop. 

Available on Safari for iOS and macOS, Wipr works for display ads, YouTube ads, GDPR popups, and more, and it’s effective across the board. It’s cheap, too, at just $1.99, and incredibly user-friendly.

Best Ad Blocker for Social Media: AdLock

We all know that social media is a mixed blessing at best, but what you may not realize is that social media buttons contain trackers that keep tabs on your online activity—even if you never click on them. 

AdLock specializes in neutralizing these underhand trackers, while also blocking ads and closing the empty space they leave behind.