Before anything else, the thing most pages on this subject get wrong: AdBlock and Adblock Plus are not the same product, but they have the same owner. eyeo, which makes Adblock Plus, bought AdBlock in April 2021.
That matters because the most common move — leaving AdBlock for Adblock Plus, or the reverse — swaps one product for its sibling. Same company, same allowlist programme, same default. If what's bothering you is the behaviour rather than the branding, that switch won't fix it.
Why ads still get through
AdBlock ships with Acceptable Ads enabled by default. It permits ads meeting published criteria — static, labelled, not interrupting content — and eyeo charges the largest participants a fee to be included, though most participating publishers pay nothing.
You can switch it off. It's a checkbox in the settings, and if that's your only complaint it's the fastest fix available — faster than installing anything. We've gone through the argument in more depth on the Adblock Plus page, since the programme is the same one.
Try that before you switch. A lot of people who go looking for an alternative are solving a problem that has a settings toggle.
If the toggle isn't the issue
Two other reasons people move, neither fixable in settings:
You'd rather not have the setting at all. A perfectly coherent position — a blocker that permits paid-for ads by default is doing something you didn't ask for, even if you can stop it.
Filtering is less precise than the alternatives. If you write your own rules, you'll find uBlock Origin's syntax more expressive fairly quickly.
What to switch to
uBlock Origin
No allowlist programme, no paid tier, no company selling anything. It's the direct answer to the objection above.
The catch is your browser. Chrome and Edge get uBlock Origin Lite under Manifest V3 — narrower, no dynamic filtering, no per-site rule editing. The full version still runs on Firefox, Brave and Opera. See which browsers still support it.
AdGuard
Free extension with no acceptable-ads programme. Its paid desktop and mobile apps filter system-wide rather than only in the browser, which is the part most reviews are actually praising.
DNDShield
No allowlist programme and no arrangement under which an advertiser can pay to reach you — nothing to switch off, because nothing is switched on. Ad, tracker and pop-up blocking is on the free plan.
Where we're narrower: we're Manifest V3, so we live under the same platform limits as uBlock Origin Lite. If dynamic filtering is what you use AdBlock for, we don't replace it, and on Chrome nothing does.
Before you switch
Your allowlist won't transfer — no shared format exists between blockers. Note the sites you've permitted before uninstalling.
Uninstall rather than disable. On Chrome and Edge extensions share a static rule budget, so two blockers installed together can leave both with fewer active rules than either would have had alone. Two blockers is not double the protection.
FAQ
Is AdBlock the same as Adblock Plus? Separate products, same owner since April 2021, when eyeo acquired AdBlock. Both run Acceptable Ads by default, so moving between them changes little.
How do I stop AdBlock allowing ads? Turn off Acceptable Ads in the settings. That's the whole fix, and it's worth trying before installing anything else.
Is AdBlock free? Yes. Its revenue comes from the Acceptable Ads programme rather than from users.
Which alternative is genuinely free with no allowlist? uBlock Origin, on a browser that still supports the full version. AdGuard's extension is free too and runs no acceptable-ads programme.
Will switching break sites I've allowlisted? They'll be blocked again until you re-add them — allowlists don't move between blockers. It's usually a handful of sites.
Get started: Install DNDShield · Adblock Plus alternatives · Compare free ad blockers