What Adblock Plus does

Adblock Plus is a free, open-source ad-blocking browser extension and mobile application suite operated by Eyeo GmbH, a privately held German company headquartered in Cologne. The core product is built on the WebExtension API and uses rule-based filter matching against community-maintained filter lists to block display, video, pop-up, and tracking requests across Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, and Safari, plus dedicated iOS Safari and Android offerings including a Samsung Internet extension and Adblock Browser for Android and iOS. The technology stack incorporates element-hiding logic and, on mobile, DNS-based tracker blocking via a partnership with Whalebone s.r.o.

The company makes money primarily through the Acceptable Ads allowlisting program, in which large advertisers and publishers pay a fee for non-intrusive ad formats to be exempted from blocking while smaller entities participate free of charge. A secondary revenue stream is Adblock Plus Premium, an annual subscription that adds cookie consent banner blocking and other features on top of the free product, with pricing not publicly disclosed. A third stream is commercial licensing of Adblock Plus SDKs to browser makers, app developers, and platform operators across desktop extension, Android Chromium, Android WebView, and iOS targets. The customer base spans individual consumers, enterprise deployments, technology partners integrating the SDK, and publishers participating in Acceptable Ads, with global reach across more than 13 localized language editions.

The company is led by Managing Director Till Faida and Founder/CTO Wladimir Palant, supported by a head of business development and a PR and communications lead, with a total headcount of 11–50 employees. Operations are anchored by an active open-source community that maintains filter lists in 30+ languages and by long-standing relationships with browser extension marketplaces and mobile app stores. Adblock Plus has accumulated close to one billion downloads historically and has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, TechCrunch, and Business Insider.

Name

Adblock Plus

Legal name

Adblock Plus (brand operated by Eyeo GmbH); Adblock Plus® is a registered trademark of Ad-IP GmbH & Co. KG

Website

https://adblockplus.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Adblock Plus, operated by Eyeo GmbH, is a free open-source browser extension and mobile app that blocks ads and trackers across major browsers and devices. It monetizes through an Acceptable Ads allowlisting program for large advertisers, a Premium subscription, and SDK licensing to technology partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ad Blocking Software

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181)

akta.pro primary industry

Programmatic Display & Retargeting (DSP) (MPAAACAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Piracy Monitoring & Discovery (Web/Social/App Store/UGC Crawling) (MPAHAMAC), Promo Abuse & Loyalty Fraud Prevention (HDADALAF)

Keywords

• Ad blocking software
• Browser extensions
• Privacy protection
• Tracker blocking
• Advertising technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Cologne

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Freemium Core Product: The base Adblock Plus extension is free and open source (GPLv3). Revenue is generated indirectly through the Acceptable Ads program.
2. Acceptable Ads Allowlisting: Large entities (publishers and advertisers) pay a fee to have their non-intrusive ads allowlisted through the Acceptable Ads initiative. Smaller partners receive these services free of charge.
3. Adblock Plus Premium: Premium subscription offering additional features including cookie banner blocking, with pricing not publicly disclosed.
4. Partner Integrations Licensing: Commercial licensing of Adblock Plus technology to partners who integrate ad-blocking functionality into their products (browsers, apps, platforms).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Adblock Plus is a free, open-source (GPLv3) browser extension that blocks intrusive advertisements, disables tracking, and protects against malware and malvertising across all major desktop browsers (Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, Safari) and mobile platforms (iOS Safari, Android, Samsung Internet). The company operates a freemium model with a paid Premium subscription adding cookie banner blocking, while generating revenue through the Acceptable Ads allowlisting program and commercial SDK licensing to OEM partners.

Product overview

Adblock Plus is a browser extension-based ad blocking platform operated by eyeo GmbH. The core offering includes free and premium browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, Safari, and Internet Explorer, along with dedicated mobile apps (iOS Safari extension, Adblock Browser for Android and iOS, Samsung Internet extension). Premium tier adds cookie banner blocking. The company also provides open-source web tools for filter management (Redundancy Checker, Deregifier, Subscription Link Factory) and a Partner SDK program enabling third-party integration of ad-blocking technology across desktop and mobile platforms.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Adblock Browser: Ad-blocking browser available for Android and iOS platforms, based on Chromium for Android.
• Adblock Plus Premium
• Acceptable Ads

Products and services

• Adblock Plus Browser Extension Free, open-source (GPLv3+) browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, and Internet Explorer that blocks annoying ads, disables tracking, blocks malware distribution sites, and hides advertising elements across web pages. Targeted at individual internet users worldwide.
• Adblock Plus Premium Paid annual subscription tier that adds cookie banner blocking and enhanced browsing features to the free Adblock Plus base product, providing users with a more streamlined web experience by removing GDPR consent pop-ups.
• Adblock Plus for Safari (iOS) Ad-blocking extension designed exclusively for Safari on iPhone and iPad that blocks annoying ads, saves data and battery life, and blocks malware and tracking. Uses DNS-based blocking through Whalebone infrastructure.
• Adblock Plus for Samsung Internet Ad-blocking extension built specifically for Samsung Internet browser on Android devices, blocking ads, tracking, and malware within the Samsung browsing ecosystem through an OEM distribution partnership.
• Adblock Browser for Android Standalone Chromium-based web browser for Android that blocks tracking, avoids malware, and provides an ad-free browsing experience as a full browser rather than an extension.
• Adblock Browser for iOS Ad-blocking web browser for iOS devices providing an integrated alternative to Safari with ad blocking and tracker protection.
• Adblock Plus Partner SDK Integrations Commercial SDK licensing program offering ready-to-use software development kits for desktop extensions, Android Chromium, Android WebView, and iOS, enabling technology partners such as browser makers and platform operators to embed Adblock Plus ad-blocking functionality into their own products under commercial license.

Quantifiable outcome

• Faster page loads due to blocked ad requests
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Whalebone s.r.o.coreTechnology or IntegrationWhalebone provides cloud DNS infrastructure for Adblock Plus iOS and Android apps, enabling DNS-based tracker and ad blocking across devices. A data processing agreement ensures GDPR compliance.
• Google (Firebase)coreTechnology or IntegrationFirebase from Google provides crash reporting (Crashlytics), anonymous interaction event tracking, and analytics for Adblock Plus mobile products and Safari for macOS.
• Stripe, Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationStripe processes subscription payments for Adblock Plus Premium, including fraud detection services. Payment data processing is subject to Stripe's privacy policy.
• Zendesk, Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationZendesk provides customer support software enabling integration of email and social media support channels for user assistance.
• EasyList AuthorscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndependent filter list maintainers (not employed by eyeo) receive issue reports to maintain and update filter subscriptions.
• SamsungcoreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing PartnerAdblock Plus for Samsung Internet is designed specifically for Samsung Internet browser and distributed through Samsung ecosystem.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• 1Blocker: iOS-native ad and tracker blocker with a paid model, optimized for Safari content blockers. Overlaps directly with Adblock Plus's iOS Safari product line.
• Privacy Badger: EFF-developed browser extension that automatically learns to block invisible trackers. Competes with Adblock Plus on the privacy/tracker-blocking axis for technically inclined users.
• Disconnect: Tracker blocking and privacy protection across browsers and mobile devices. Directly comparable on the anti-tracking value proposition that Adblock Plus sells to users.
• Pi-hole: Network-level DNS sinkhole for blocking ads and trackers across all devices on a local network. Comparable to the DNS-based tracker blocking Adblock Plus ships via its Whalebone partnership on iOS/Android.
• AdGuard: AdGuard offers ad blocking, tracker protection, and DNS-based filtering across browsers and mobile, with both free and paid tiers. It is the closest commercial head-to-head competitor to Adblock Plus in the consumer ad blocker category.
• Ghostery: Browser extension and mobile app focused on tracker blocking and ad filtering, with a freemium model and owned-by-Claria structure. Competes directly with Adblock Plus on consumer privacy and ad blocking.
• uBlock Origin: Open-source, memory-efficient content blocker for Chromium and Firefox, widely regarded as the most powerful free alternative. Directly competes on filter-based ad and tracker blocking capability.

Emerging players

• DuckDuckGo: Privacy-focused search engine and mobile browser that includes tracker blocking and cookie pop-up protection. Overlaps with Adblock Plus on consumer privacy use cases, particularly around cookie banner suppression.
• Brave: Privacy-focused browser with built-in ad and tracker blocking, plus an opt-in ad program (Brave Ads). Overlaps with Adblock Plus on consumer privacy but competes by owning the browser surface rather than extending it.
• Total Adblock: Consumer ad blocker bundled with TotalAV's security suite, targeting mainstream users via paid subscription. Competes with Adblock Plus Premium on the same paid, simplified-user positioning.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/adblockplus
• GitHubgitlab.com/eyeo/browser-extensions-and-premium/extensions/extensions
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/AdblockPlusOfficial
• Facebookfacebook.com/adblockplus
• Instagraminstagram.com/adblockplus
• Pinterestpinterest.com/adblockplus

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Adblock Plus