Best Ublock Origin Alternatives for Complete Ad Blocking

Online ads have become increasingly intrusive over the years. Blinky banner ads have now morphed into autoplaying videos with audio, pop-ups galore, and full-page overlays. This ad overload provides the context for the meteoric rise in popularity of ublock origin ad blocker in this post you find some ublock origin alternative.

However, tools like Adblock Plus have attracted user ire for letting intrusive ads through for companies that pay to bypass the blocking. There are also worries about privacy violations by major ad blockers collecting and selling user data.

This is why many users swear by open-source ad blockers like uBlock Origin that offer unmatched customizations for filtering out annoying ads without tracking you. But are there any alternatives that come close to matching uBlock Origin’s capabilities? Let’s find out.

Why uBlock Origin Hits the Sweet Spot for Most Users

Before we look at ublock origin alternative, it helps to understand why uBlock Origin has emerged as the fan-favorite among the ad blocking community, especially among tech-savvy and privacy-focused users.

uBlock Origin ticks all the points that an ideal ad blocker should:

– Open-source codebase that is community-vetted

– No acceptable ads whitelisting for companies

– No sharing/selling of user data or browsing histories

– Lightweight and fast compared to competitors

– Available as a free extension for all major browsers

– Highly customizable filtering options for expert users

Beyond these baseline features users expect, uBlock Origin stands out with its shear blocking power enabled through advanced filtering syntax from multiple established filter lists. The default settings offer immediate protection against ads, trackers, in-browser miners, analytics pings, unwanted cookies popup and much more.

Despite all this hardcore filtering in the background, uBlock maintains stellar performance. There is little to no noticeable lag in page load speeds – something that annoys users with many other popular ad blockers.

The customizable element is what makes uBlock Origin appeal to both regular users and experts. You can toggle filtering on a per-site basis or create highly targeted custom filters tailored to your preferred level of ad blocking on individual sites using advanced syntax.

This combination of effectiveness, efficiency, privacy protection and customizability has uBlock Origin dominating most discussions around open-source ad blockers. Is there another alternative that gets close? Let’s explore next.

AdGuard Ad Blocker – Closed Source but Still Capable

One ad blocking extension that offers comparable capabilities at first glance is AdGuard AdBlocker. With over 200,000 Firefox/Chrome reviews and 10 million installs, it enjoys great popularity in its own right.

AdGuard packs highly optimized default ad blocking, anti-tracking and anti-phishing filters that can instantly clean up annoying ad noise across sites similar to uBlock Origins out-of-the-box experience. Performance impact is also minimal.

A notable bonus is the availability of AdGuard for Android and iOS mobile devices in the form of judge mental apps. This allows blocking ads not just in mobile browsers but also in other apps like Facebook or YouTube.

So what exactly is the catch here? Well, unlike the open-source transparency of uBlock Origin, AdGuard AdBlocker is proprietary closed-source software. This already triggers privacy alarms for some users understandably.

Additionally, AdGuard does allow certain acceptable ads through automatic filters or via opt-in user choice. There is also the possibility of sponsored ads being displayed based on loose criteria.

Between the lack of code transparency and commercial considerations that reopen the door for some ads, AdGuard fails to match the strictly principles open-source approach of uBlock Origin despite comparable capabilities otherwise across multiple platforms including mobiles.

Unless you absolutely need seamless multi-device support spanning desktop and mobile, uBlock Origin still beats AdGuard hands down for ad blocking done right in most users’ books once you factor in privacy.

DNS Level Blocking – Adguard DNS vs NextDNS

Beyond browser extensions, another way users and network administrators block intrusive ads is to configure devices to use alternative ad filtering DNS resolvers. These act as secure middlemen for sending you to websites while blocking ads and trackers at the DNS lookup level.

Two well-known and highly effective services here are Adguard DNS and NextDNS, both of which offer generous free tiers. By default, they instantly block ads, tracking, malware, Adult content and more.

You get a few hundred thousand filtering rules compared to the tens of thousands in browser extensions. There is also the ability for expert users to create highly advanced custom filters and overrides tailored to their needs either through configuration files or web UIs provided by both tools.

The ad blocking and customizability approach is quite similar between the two. Where they differ is that NextDNS allows for greater visibility and control for network administrators with centralized device management and traffic analysis capabilities. Adguard DNS focuses purely on end user adblocking with options for mobile device management through dedicated apps.

Both fill the need for consistent network-wide blocking across devices when configured with good effect to block ads and trackers. NextDNS may work better for schools or public networks while AdGuard’s strength lies in consumer households looking for plug and play ad blocking across mobiles, smart TVs etc.

Compared to fiddling with Raspberry Pi setups and router configurations to run pi-hole, these cloud DNS alternatives makes it easier than ever for everyday users to also block intrusive ads network-wide.

Parting Thoughts

Finding an ublock origin alternative that can match the capabilities of open-source champion uBlock Origin for customizable ad blocking is tough. Closed source options like AdGuard come close with highly optimized multi-device support but ultimately falter on privacy grounds for some users.

Network-level alternatives like NextDNS and AdGuard DNS excel at consistent filtering across devices using cloud DNS magic. But nothing can yet beat a well-configured instance of uBlock Origin on your browser for the sweet spot between privacy protection, granular control and flawless browsing speeds when viewing sites.

As ads become more invasive, the quest for the best ad blockers will continue. But for now, uBlock Origin still emerges as the darling of the open-source community when done right. Its transparency, performance and highly customizable filtering options help it fend off its eager proprietary competitors.