uBlock Origin
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2014
- Headquarters—
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
uBlock Origin firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- uBlock Origin
- Legal name
- uBlock Origin
- Website
- https://ublockorigin.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2014
- Operating status
- Operating
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
uBlock Origin business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- No Revenue Generation: uBlock Origin is a free, open-source project that explicitly refuses donations and sponsorships. The project advises all users and supporters to donate to filter list maintainers instead. No commercial revenue model exists.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free tier - Complete ad blocking functionality |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
uBlock Origin product offering
Product offeringCore offering
uBlock Origin is a free, open-source, cross-platform browser extension that blocks ads, trackers, and malicious domains using community-maintained filter lists and dynamic filtering rules, designed for low CPU and memory usage. The product portfolio includes the full uBlock Origin extension (Firefox/Brave), the limited uBlock Origin Lite for Manifest V3 Chrome, and uBlockDNS for network-level blocking beyond the browser.
Product overview
uBlock Origin is a free, open-source, cross-platform browser extension for professional-grade content blocking. The product portfolio consists of: (1) the full uBlock Origin browser extension, which offers complete ad, tracker, and malicious-domain filtering with dynamic filtering capabilities and community-maintained block lists; (2) uBlock Origin Lite, a Manifest V3-compatible version with reduced functionality for Chrome users; and (3) uBlockDNS, a separate DNS-level blocking service that extends protection to mobile apps, smart TVs, and devices beyond the browser. As of 2026, the full extension is available for Firefox (recommended) and Brave, while Chrome users have access only to the limited uBlock Origin Lite version due to Google's Manifest V3 changes.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- uBlock Origin Lite: A reduced-functionality version of uBlock Origin built specifically for Manifest V3 Chrome-based browsers, with limited filtering capabilities compared to the full extension.
Products and services
- uBlock Origin Free, open-source, cross-platform browser extension for professional-grade content blocking that filters ads, trackers, and malicious domains using community-maintained block lists and dynamic filtering. Available in full on Firefox and Brave; available on Edge and Opera; dropped from Chrome Web Store in late 2024 due to Manifest V3 changes.
- uBlock Origin Lite Reduced-functionality Manifest V3-compatible version of uBlock Origin built specifically for Chrome and Chromium-based browsers. Has significant limitations including no cosmetic filtering in default mode, no scriptlet injection by default, limited dynamic filtering, and inability to use all filter lists simultaneously due to MV3 rule limits.
- uBlockDNS
Quantifiable outcome
- Can save consumers over $1.8 billion annually through reduced energy consumption and data transfer
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use uBlock Origin
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
uBlock Origin technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
uBlock Origin partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- MozillacoreMozilla provides the Firefox Add-ons platform for hosting and distributing uBlock Origin. Firefox maintains support for Manifest V2 extensions, allowing full uBlock Origin functionality. Mozilla's extension framework is essential to uBlock Origin's full feature availability.
- BravecoreBrave browser has implemented workarounds to maintain full uBlock Origin functionality despite Chromium base. This partnership ensures users of Brave can access full ad-blocking capabilities.
- Filter List Maintainers (EasyList, EasyPrivacy, etc.)coreuBlock Origin relies on community-maintained filter lists including EasyList, EasyPrivacy, Peter Lowe's ad tracking list, and Online Malicious URL Blocklist. The project directs all donation requests to these filter list maintainers.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights4 records
uBlock Origin competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- AdLock: AdLock is a commercial cross-platform ad blocker offering browser extensions and system-level filtering, directly competing with uBlock Origin's content blocking capabilities through a premium business model.
- AdBlock Plus: AdBlock Plus is the original widely-installed browser ad blocker with an Acceptable Ads program, directly competing with uBlock Origin as alternative ad-blocking browser extensions serving an overlapping privacy-conscious user base.
- Ghostery: Ghostery is a browser extension focused on ad and tracker blocking with privacy features, directly comparable to uBlock Origin's filtering capabilities and target audience of privacy-conscious users.
- Privacy Badger: Privacy Badger is the EFF's free, open-source browser extension that automatically learns to block trackers, sharing uBlock Origin's open-source, non-commercial, privacy-focused positioning.
- AdGuard: AdGuard offers free and premium ad-blocking browser extensions and DNS-level filtering products, directly competing with uBlock Origin's content blocking functionality across consumer and enterprise segments with a freemium business model.
Regional players
- 1Blocker: 1Blocker is a Safari-focused content blocker for Apple devices, comparable in functionality to uBlock Origin's content blocking but limited to the Safari/Apple ecosystem where uBlock Origin is unsupported.
Emerging players
- NextDNS: NextDNS is a commercial DNS-based privacy and ad-blocking service competing in the same network-level blocking category as uBlockDNS, offering a freemium managed alternative for multi-device protection.
- Pi-hole: Pi-hole is an open-source network-level ad blocker operating via DNS, directly comparable to uBlock Origin's uBlockDNS product, but deployed at the network/router level rather than the browser level.
Broad incumbents
- DuckDuckGo: DuckDuckGo offers a privacy-focused browser and search engine with built-in tracker blocking capabilities, representing a broader privacy platform competitor with an overlapping user base of privacy-conscious internet users.
- Brave: Brave is a privacy-focused browser that bundles built-in ad and tracker blocking and actively maintains compatibility with full uBlock Origin, representing a larger integrated competitor in the privacy browser space.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
uBlock Origin social profiles
Digital presenceuBlock Origin financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
uBlock Origin leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
uBlock Origin funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
uBlock Origin M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about uBlock Origin
What does uBlock Origin do?
uBlock Origin is a free, open-source, cross-platform browser extension that blocks ads, trackers, and malicious domains using community-maintained filter lists and dynamic filtering rules, designed for low CPU and memory usage. The product portfolio includes the full uBlock Origin extension (Firefox/Brave), the limited uBlock Origin Lite for Manifest V3 Chrome, and uBlockDNS for network-level blocking beyond the browser.
Is uBlock Origin a public or private company?
uBlock Origin is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was uBlock Origin founded?
uBlock Origin was founded in 2014.
How does uBlock Origin make money?
One revenue line is on record: no Revenue Generation.
Who are uBlock Origin's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are AdLock, AdBlock Plus, Ghostery, Privacy Badger and AdGuard. 1Blocker is listed as a regional player. Emerging players are NextDNS and Pi-hole. Broad incumbents are DuckDuckGo and Brave.
Does uBlock Origin have an API?
No public API is recorded for uBlock Origin.