uBlock Origin vs Ghostery
Two of the top three ad blockers, compared rule by rule on published facts.
In short
- uBlock Origin has 95 points and Ghostery 82, 13 apart on our ad blockers rules.
- uBlock Origin earns more on blocking; Ghostery earns more on nothing.
- Cheapest paid plan: uBlock Origin $0, Ghostery $0.
- Only uBlock Origin meets: your own block rules and no ad allow-list on by default.
uBlock Origin95/100 #1 of 12
Best for: People who want a free, open-source blocker with their own filter rules.
Ghostery82/100 #2 of 12
Best for: People who want a free, open-source blocker with cookie pop-up handling.
Points by group
| Group | uBlock Origin | Ghostery |
|---|---|---|
| Where it blocks of 23 | 18 | 18 |
| Blocking of 26 | 26 | 13 |
| Privacy and trust of 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Price of 31 | 31 | 31 |
| Total | 95 | 82 |
Rule by rule
What each vendor publishes, and the points it earns. Sources are on each product page.
| Rule (points) | uBlock Origin | Ghostery |
|---|---|---|
| Windows browsers (12) | Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera 12 | Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera 12 |
| Blocks outside the browser (5) | No 0 | No 0 |
| Phone protection (6) | iOS, Android 6 | iOS, Android 6 |
| Still works in Chrome after Manifest V2 (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Your own block rules (7) | Yes 7 | Not published 0 |
| Malicious site blocking (5) | Yes 5 | Yes 5 |
| Cookie pop-up blocking (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| No ad allow-list on by default (6) | Yes 6 | Not published 0 |
| Open source (10) | Yes 10 | Yes 10 |
| No browsing history kept (6) | Yes 6 | Yes 6 |
| Works without an account (4) | Yes 4 | Yes 4 |
| Free plan (12) | Yes 12 | Yes 12 |
| Cheapest paid plan (12) | $0 12 | $0 12 |
| Devices on one paid plan (4) | 99 4 | 99 4 |
| Money-back guarantee (3) | Yes 3 | Yes 3 |
uBlock Origin
uBlock Origin suits people who want a free, open-source blocker with their own filter rules and no data collection. The full add-on runs on Firefox, Edge and Opera, while Chrome users get the Lite edition built for Manifest V3. The catch: Lite is a pared-down version, the full add-on left the Chrome Web Store on 31 August 2026, and the blocker works only inside browsers.
Ghostery
Ghostery suits people who want a free, open-source blocker that also handles cookie pop-ups and works in most browsers. There is no paid plan, only optional contributions. The catch: it is a browser extension only, so it does not filter other programs, and the vendor's pages do not document custom filter rules.
Both products are scored by the same rules: how we score ad blockers.