Ghostery vs Very Good AdBlock
Ghostery
ghostery.comVery Good AdBlock
verygoodadblock.orgSide by side
| Figure | Ghostery | Very Good AdBlock |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | — | — |
| Open source | Yes | — |
| Windows | Yes | Yes |
| macOS | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 1 | 1 |
| Spec score · Ad blockers | 9.1 (#3) | 8.0 (#27) |
| Ad blocking | The extension blocks ads including banners, video ads, pop-ups, and sponsored content. | The extension blocks ads, trackers, and annoyance hosts using Manifest V3 declarative rules, with more than 14,000 hosts covered. |
| Browser support | The maker lists Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, Opera, and Brave as supported browsers. | The maker lists Chrome, Firefox, and Safari, with Chromium browsers including Edge, Brave, and Arc supported through the Chrome Web Store listing. |
| Cookie popup blocking | Yes | Yes |
| Device coverage | desktop-and-mobile | desktop-and-mobile |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | Ghostery says its code is open source and identifies the extension’s license as GNU General Public License v3.0. | The product is MIT licensed and built from one open-source codebase for its supported targets. |
Plans
In their own words
Ghostery
Ghostery is a free, open-source browser extension combining ad blocking, tracker protection, cookie-consent handling, and tracker information tools. It blocks banners, video ads, pop-ups, and sponsored content. The Tracker Panel displays trackers it identifies and neutralizes, while WhoTracks.Me provides information about tracking activity and companies. Ghostery says its protection replaces personal identifiers with random values. Never-Consent rejects tracking cookies and sends opt-out signals on supported sites. Supported browsers include Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, Safari, and Brave, and users can install the extension on as many devices as they like. On iOS and iPadOS, it offers Safari protection; on Android, it supports Edge and Firefox. Chrome on Android is unavailable because Chrome does not allow extensions there. Ghostery says extension telemetry is non-personal, with additional telemetry sent if users opt in. For phishing and malware protection, it says it sends a partial URL checksum to its backend rather than the full URL. Private Search is in closed beta.
Very Good AdBlock
Very Good AdBlock has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.