Get Rid of YouTube Ads for Free

YouTube is an amazing platform for watching your favorite videos, but let’s face it – those ads can be really annoying. If you’re tired of watching three ads just to get to the video you want to watch, it’s time to explore alternative options.

There are several third-party YouTube apps and tools that can give you an ad-free YouTube experience without requiring you to pay a single penny. Let’s take a look at the top 10 apps and tools that you can use to watch YouTube without ads for free.

YouTube Premium and Premium Lite

First things first, let’s talk about YouTube Premium. This is the best way to remove all ads from YouTube videos on all platforms, including smart TVs. However, it comes at a cost, and that cost keeps rising. As of now, you can snag a subscription for $15.99 per month. If your household would all benefit from a subscription, you could consider a YouTube Premium Family plan for $26.99 a month, which lets six users share the same ad-free experience.

But YouTube Premium isn’t the only option. There’s also a cheaper $7.99 per month plan now in the form of YouTube Premium Lite, which promises an ad-free viewing experience for most non-music YouTube videos. You can also try subscribing to YouTube Premium from a country where the rates are low. In countries like Argentina, India, and Turkey, YouTube Premium costs less than $2 per month. Install a VPN, change the location, and try your luck subscribing to the cheaper plans.

DuckDuckGo

DuckDuckGo is quickly becoming the anti-AI browser. Unlike Chrome, the privacy-focused browser lets you choose exactly how many AI features show up in DuckDuckGo Search and the browser (there’s an option to disable all AI features as well). Now, the company has integrated a YouTube ad blocker directly into the browser on the desktop and on mobile apps. DuckDuckGo is directly integrating community filters from uBlock Origin, making sure to cover a wide net of ads on the platform.

And the feature is enabled by default for the desktop and the iOS apps. If you’re on Android, you’ll need to enable it manually. Make sure that you’re running the latest version of DuckDuckGo and then go to Settings > Ad Blocking, and enable the ad blocker.

NewPipe and Other YouTube Replacement Apps

NewPipe is perhaps the best way to watch YouTube ad-free on Android. This is not a modded YouTube app. Instead, it’s a separate, free, and open-source player for YouTube. NewPipe is lightweight, but offers the features you care most about: background playback; picture-in-picture; and, of course, no ads.

While the app isn’t available in the Play Store, you can directly download the APK installer from their website, or you can find the app on the F-Droid app store—an alternate to Google Play Store that hosts free and open-source apps. The app has an option to import your subscriptions, but you can’t sign in using your YouTube account.

Other Ad-Blocking Tools

There are many other tools and browsers that can help you block YouTube ads. Firefox Browser with uBlock Origin is one such option. Unlike Chrome on Android, Firefox actually supports extensions, and a single extension can change your entire YouTube experience. If you don’t mind using YouTube on the web (you can’t access it offline), you can install the popular ad-blocker uBlock Origin to automatically block all ads on YouTube.

Brave Browser is another highly regarded privacy browser that also comes with a great ad-block feature that works on Android, iPhone, and PC. As long as you have the Shields Up feature enabled for YouTube, you won’t see ads in your videos anymore. AdGuard is a good option for iPhone users, as they have a specific feature built-in for removing all YouTube ads.

Conclusion

There are many apps and tools available that can help you watch YouTube without ads for free. From YouTube Premium to NewPipe and other YouTube replacement apps, there’s something for everyone. So, next time you find yourself getting annoyed by ads on YouTube, consider trying one of these options.

And if you’re looking for a more comprehensive solution, you can also try using a VPN to change your location and access cheaper YouTube Premium plans. Whatever you choose, we hope this article helps you enjoy an ad-free YouTube experience.