Both AdGuard and AdBlock started their journey together in 2009. And they’re both very well regarded in the scene. And for the right reasons.
AdBlock was one of the first widely popular ad blockers for Chrome. Since then, they have been acquired by Eyeo, the same company behind Adblock Plus. With Eyeo’s resources, AdBlock has thrived. This brought together two of the biggest ad-blocking tools under one roof. It was also when AdBlock started participating in Eyeo’s controversial “acceptable ads” program.
AdGuard’s focus from the very beginning was to be on as many platforms and devices as possible. And it is very safe to say that they have achieved that goal with their diverse line of ad-blocking products. You get browser extensions, system-wide ad-blocking apps with HTTPS filtering, VPN-based blocking on mobile, and DNS-based ad blocking that can also be self-hosted. There are a lot of different ways to block ads on your devices and network, and AdGuard offers solutions that cover all of those ways.
The two have had their differences in approach since the beginning, and that difference surely translates to their performance, features, privacy, and a lot more. All of which will be covered in this in-depth comparison.
Quick Comparison Between AdGuard and AdBlock
| AdGuard | AdBlock | |
| Starts at | $29.88/year | $2/month |
| Free version | Yes | Yes |
| Blocks YouTube Ads? | Yes | Yes |
| Blocks Trackers? | Yes | Yes |
| Compatibility | Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, Windows, macOS, Android, iOS | Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge, and iOS |
Pros & Cons
AdGuard
Pros
- Excellent ad blocking on YouTube, news, social, and shopping sites
- System-wide blocking via desktop and mobile apps (not just the browser)
- Stealth Mode, DNS and HTTPS filtering for extra privacy and control
- Strong customisation with extra filter lists and user rules
- One tool can cover multiple browsers and apps on the same device
Cons
- Full power lives in the paid apps, not just the free extension
- More settings and toggles than a casual user might want
- No live chat; support is mostly docs and email
AdBlock
Pros
- Very easy to install and use for non-technical users
- Solid ad blocking on YouTube, news sites, Reddit, X, and shopping sites
- Familiar browser-only experience that “just works” for most people
- Custom filter lists and element picker available if you want light tweaking
- Friendlier, more traditional help centre and email support
Cons
- Acceptable Ads is enabled by default, so some ads slip through unless you disable it
- Browser-only, no system-wide blocking or DNS filtering
- Weaker privacy posture, with fewer tools against tracking and fingerprinting
- Premium tier adds mostly cosmetic or minor extras, not better blocking
Key Differences at a Glance (TL;DR)
- Both AdGuard and AdBlock clean up the web really well, including YouTube, social feeds, and big news sites.
- AdBlock is the better choice if you want a simple, familiar browser extension that you set once and forget, especially for non-technical users.
- AdGuard is the better choice if you want stronger privacy and system-wide blocking, with Stealth Mode, DNS filtering, and deep customisation that covers multiple browsers and apps.
- If you only care about basic in-browser ad blocking, go with AdBlock.
- If you want a more complete ad-blocking and privacy toolkit for your whole device, go with AdGuard.
Real Work Ad Blocking
Before getting to the features and how these ad blockers work, let’s just look at the real-world experience on some popular websites from different categories.
YouTube
AdGuard and AdBlock give the exact same YouTube Premium experience, blocking all the worst offenders: pre-rolls and mid-rolls, those annoying masthead units and in-feed video ads, even Shorts ads. And you never have to worry about stuttering videos, broken players, or mid-roll banners popping up out of the blue. They’re equally effective when it comes to watching pure YouTube.
Big news sites (Forbes, The New York Times)
On these sites, AdGuard and AdBlock cut through the clutter, stripping away those big banners, mid-article ads, floating video players, and cookie prompts that always seem to get in the way. It feels like you can actually read the news without being constantly interrupted. Neither one can get past paywalls, though, so once you hit your free article limit, they both stop at the same point.
Reddit & X (Twitter)
Either extension can remove those “Promoted” posts from Reddit and the sponsored tweets from X, so your timeline goes back to looking like it used to. Scrolling through feels natural again with both tools.
Twitch
AdGuard and AdBlock can both handle the self-promotion banners on the Twitch homepage, clearing up the sign-up and discount ads that normally clutter things up. But they do leave those embedded sponsor panels from creators showing, which is what you’d expect.
Crocs and other shopping sites
On Crocs, both AdGuard and AdBlock chuck out those annoying pop-ups for newsletters and discounts, and get rid of a bunch of tracking requests in the background – but leave the native discount banners showing, so you can still find the stuff you want.
Overall
In the real world, AdGuard and AdBlock are really close on the core ad-blocking stuff. They both give you ad-free YouTube, cleaner news sites, and social feeds that aren’t cluttered up. AdGuard does edge out ahead a bit on sheer breadth and consistency across all the sites we tested.
Key Features
Ad Blocking Capabilities
AdGuard is determined to clear out the internet of ads, while AdBlock prefers to take a more measured approach.
AdGuard
AdGuard takes ads as a complex problem to be solved.
- First off, it’s got a browser extension that knocks out:
- Banners and sidebar ads
- Pop-ups and overlays
- Annoying floating video boxes and sticky bars
- YouTube in-stream ads
- And, if you want to enable it, it blocks those cookie prompts and newsletter nags too
Seems like a solid modern ad blocker at this point. But here’s the thing: AdGuard doesn’t stop there. With its desktop & mobile apps, it filters traffic for every browser and lots of apps on your device. That means:
- Ads inside apps and games just disappear
- In-app tracking calls get shut down
- You don’t have to set up separate blockers for each browser
And with AdGuard DNS and HTTPS filtering, a lot of ad and tracking traffic never even makes it to the browser. You still get all the per-site allowlists, custom rules, & extra filter lists, but without touching settings, the whole thing feels very polished & aggressive
In reality, AdGuard works like a full-stack ad blocker with a user-friendly interface tacked on.
AdBlock
AdBlock is more of a “classic” browser extension. Out of the box, it:
- Blocks standard banners, pop-ups & video ads
- Cleans up YouTube once you turn off Acceptable Ads
- Uses popular lists like EasyList, with the option to add EasyPrivacy & annoyance filters
- And with a single click, you can pause on a site or add it to an allowlist
For most people, that’s already enough. Install it in your browser, turn off Acceptable Ads in the settings, and browsing feels a little lighter.
Some advanced features are hiding under the hood, like custom filters and an element picker, but AdBlock still thinks in terms of “clean up the page you’re on right now” rather than “control everything your device is talking to”. It’s very capable in the browser, but it just isn’t designed to take over the whole stack like AdGuard can.
Privacy & Security
AdGuard and AdBlock both try to do a bit more than “just hide banners”, but they sit on very different ends of the privacy spectrum.
AdGuard
AdGuard behaves like a mini privacy suite wrapped around an ad blocker.
On the network side, it can block trackers, analytics scripts, and malicious domains at the DNS level, so a lot of junk is stopped before it even reaches your browser. HTTPS filtering lets it scan encrypted traffic locally and strip out ads and trackers on sites like YouTube or Facebook without breaking the connection. Stealth Mode then adds the fun stuff: hiding search queries, auto-clearing cookies, stripping tracking parameters, and limiting what sites can learn about your device in the first place. On top of that, it keeps phishing and malware blocklists active in the background, warning you away from obviously dangerous URLs.
Most core products and filter lists are open source, and the company now operates under GDPR in Cyprus, which gives you a bit more confidence that your data is not the product.
AdBlock
AdBlock takes a simpler, filter-first approach to privacy.
It can block third-party trackers, basic analytics scripts, some malicious domains, and even cryptomining scripts if you enable the right lists. As a first layer against obvious tracking and sketchy ads, that is fine. But it does not go much deeper. There is no anti-fingerprinting, no Stealth Mode equivalent, and no DNS-level filtering. In testing, it struggled with more advanced privacy checks like Cover Your Tracks, which exposes how vulnerable it still is to modern tracking techniques.
You can absolutely harden AdBlock with extra lists, but out of the box, it feels more like an “ad blocker that also blocks some trackers” than a privacy tool you build your threat model around.
Performance & Resource Usage
Both AdGuard and AdBlock can make the web feel faster, but they get the job done in slightly different ways and use system resources in very different ways.
AdGuard
AdGuard does a lot of work behind the scenes, but amazingly, it still manages to be pretty efficient.
- The browser extension is super light. Pages load quickly, ads vanish without flickering, and even with multiple filter lists enabled, you don’t see those big CPU spikes.
- When you switch to the desktop or mobile app, things get a bit more complicated. AdGuard starts filtering traffic not just for the browser but for most apps too. That’s local VPN routing, DNS filtering, and sometimes HTTPS going on. It’s a bit of a strain on weaker devices, but it stops an enormous amount of junk from ever loading in the first place.
- Because banners, tracking scripts, video ads, and pop-ups never even make it to your browser, you actually end up saving bandwidth, and the browser has to do less work, which often means you gain back the performance you “lose” to filtering.
It almost feels like a content filter that’s been layered right into the OS, rather than a heavy security suite that brings everything crashing down.
AdBlock
AdBlock lives and breathes inside the browser, so naturally, its performance footprint is smaller.
- It uses stuff like EasyList and optional extras like EasyPrivacy, and handles them just fine without choking the browser.
- On regular hardware, you’d be hard pushed to even notice it in Task Manager, unless you’re already pushing the machine pretty hard.
- And the reason for that is that AdBlock only touches what’s happening on the tab you’re currently using. It doesn’t monkey around with the rest of your system traffic.
So the trade-off is pretty simple: AdBlock stays super lean and in-browser, and if you’re okay with a bit more going on in exchange for whole-device filtering and fewer wasted bytes, AdGuard gets more out of its resources in a smarter, more ambitious way.
Usability & Customisation
Installation & Setup
AdGuard
AdGuard takes a pretty straightforward approach to getting started – you get to choose between a browser extension and a full app. Using the browser extension is simple: just install it from your favorite store, pin the icon, and you’re all set. AdGuard will start blocking banners, pop-ups, and video ads with sensible settings by default. No account required, and no onboarding obstacle course to navigate.
The desktop and mobile apps add a quick setup process where you decide on DNS, system-wide filtering, and whether or not to turn on Stealth Mode. All pretty easy to follow and feel more like setting up a privacy tool than a basic plug-in.
AdBlock
AdBlock sticks to what you know. Most users will install it, get a friendly welcome tab, and then be pretty much done. You might see a message saying your ad blocker is now active, and that’s about it.
The one gotcha with AdBlock is Acceptable Ads. By default, some ads are let through because they’re deemed non-intrusive. You’ll need to pop into settings and untick that option if you want strict blocking. It’s a one-off job, but it matters when it counts.
Day-to-day Experience
AdGuard
In use, AdGuard is a “set and adjust” tool. You get:
- A big on/off toggle for the current site
- Easy access to your allowlist
- Quick pause controls for protection
If a site breaks or looks wonky, you can pause filtering, allow the domain, or turn off a whole category (like Annoyances or Social widgets) instead of scratching around for a specific rule. With the apps, you’ll also see which browsers and apps are being filtered, so you always know where the protection is active.
AdBlock
AdBlock, on the other hand, feels like a classic browser extension. Click the icon, and it shows you how many ads AdBlock has blocked, plus a big pause button for the current site. For a lot of people, that’s all they ever need.
It doesn’t push you towards more advanced stuff or its logs. If you just want to stop seeing video ads and pop-ups, AdBlock stays out of the way and lets you browse.
Customisation
AdGuard
AdGuard gives you a lot of control without turning into a full-on dev console. You can:
- Switch on or off specific filter lists
- Add your own lists from a URL
- Write your own custom user rules
- Toggle the Stealth Mode options one by one
- Choose which apps or browsers should be filtered in the system-wide mode
It feels like you have a proper toolkit to play with. You can keep it simple, or you can tweak it until it behaves exactly to your liking.
AdBlock
AdBlock offers a more limited version of that control set. You can:
- Add or remove filter lists like EasyPrivacy or annoyance lists
- Use the element picker to hide bits of a page you don’t like
- Whitelist sites that should never be filtered
- Create custom rules if you’re comfortable with filter syntax
There’s a difference in the depth of control you have here: AdBlock lets you tweak your browsing, while AdGuard enables you to shape how your whole device interacts with the internet.
Customer Support
AdGuard
AdGuard has a fairly no-nonsense support system in place. You’ve got a detailed knowledge base that covers the basics of the apps, extensions, DNS, and Stealth Mode. It’s a great resource to dive into if you’ve got a specific problem in mind. If worst comes to worst and something is being particularly uncooperative or your license is acting up, you can reach out to them by email and file a ticket. Just keep in mind that no live chat or phone support is operating 24/7, so you’ll be relying on guidance from the documentation, plus the occasional asynchronous response from the team. But on the whole, it’s a solid setup that should help you figure things out most of the time.
AdBlock
AdBlock leans a bit more towards the traditional support approach that you might expect from most consumer-facing apps. So you get a help centre that isn’t too bad to look at, with all your usual suspects like FAQs, setup guides, and troubleshooting articles – plus a contact form to reach out to them if you’ve got a query that isn’t covered by the guides. And just to give some people a bit more incentive to fork out cash, premium users get priority responses, which is a nice touch. Even on the free tier, you won’t be completely on your own, though. It’s not quite enterprise-level support by any means, but it feels a bit more personable and friendly than AdGuard’s a bit more minimalist take.
Final Verdict
AdGuard and AdBlock both occupy different weight classes when it comes to cleaning up the web, making YouTube at least sort of bearable again, and are each easy enough that anyone can just plug and play without really having to think about it. When it comes down to it, though, the real difference between the two has got to be ambition. AdGuard wants to be your go-to, full-on ad blocker and your shield for protecting your online privacy at the same time, while AdBlock is content with just being that simple browser plug-in that does just what you need it to do with zero fuss.
When it comes time to choose between the two, think about what you actually need, don’t worry about which one the name sounds like.
- If all you are after is a simple ad blocker that you know and love, just go with AdBlock.
- If you are setting this up for someone who isn’t all that tech savvy and only uses one browser, period, then AdBlock is the way to go.
- If you don’t really care about having your ad blocking work across your whole system or have extra tools for keeping you private online, then AdBlock is just fine.
- If you really want to block ads on YouTube, news, and social media and get system-wide protection to boot, go with AdGuard.
- If you get a kick out of the idea of having DNS filtering, Stealth Mode, and being able to tailor exactly what gets blocked, AdGuard is your best bet.
- If you are after a tool that can keep multiple browsers and apps on your device safe, AdGuard has got you covered.
Both will definitely make the browsing experience cleaner, so if all you are looking for is a no-fuss extension, then AdBlock is fine.
But, if you are after something that’s a bit more like a full-on ad blocking and privacy toolbox in one, then AdGuard has got the edge and is the better long-term choice.