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Browser Extensions · head to head

AdBlock Plus vs BigID

AdBlock Plus logo

AdBlock Plus

Browser Extensions

The world's most popular ad blocker

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
BigID logo

BigID

Cybersecurity

Data discovery and classification across cloud, on-premise and unstructured stores

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only AdBlock Plus has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: AdBlock Plus acceptable Ads allowlist model generates controversy over ad filtering conflicts of interest; BigID pricing scales with data sources and volume, so the cost rises exactly as the estate you need to scan grows, and the modules shown in a demo, including AI security posture and headless deployment, are frequently separate licences that appear only in the final quote.
  • They diverge on capability: AdBlock Plus covers Ad blocking, BigID covers Structured and unstructured scanning.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AdBlock Plus and BigID actually diverge.

Attributes where AdBlock Plus and BigID differ
AttributeAdBlock PlusBigID
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreequote
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsChrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Yandex BrowserWeb, API, Self-hosted
CategoryBrowser ExtensionsCybersecurity
Founded2006Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in AdBlock Plus

  • Ad blocking
  • Acceptable Ads
  • Custom filters
  • Social media blocking
  • Chrome support
  • Firefox support
  • Edge support
  • Safari support

Only in BigID

  • Structured and unstructured scanning
  • Identity correlation
  • Data security posture management
  • Access intelligence
  • Privacy request support
  • Retention and minimisation
  • AI data controls
  • Policy and remediation workflow

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

AdBlock Plus

  • Ad blocking for display ads, video advertisements including YouTube pre-roll/mid-roll/post-roll, pop-ups, flashing banners, and overlay adsnot BigID
  • Performance enhancement by eliminating ad content to accelerate page load times and reduce data and battery consumption on mobile devicesnot BigID
  • Security and privacy protection by blocking malware-infected ads (malvertising), preventing tracking by companies monitoring user behavior, and stopping access to malware-distributing sitesnot BigID
  • Supports web browsers including Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Opera, and Safari, as well as iOS Safari and Android devicesnot BigID

BigID

  • A bank that has to prove which of thirty year old file shares contain customer identifiers before a data centre migrationnot AdBlock Plus
  • A privacy team that cannot fulfil deletion requests because nobody knows which unstructured stores hold a given customer’s recordsnot AdBlock Plus
  • A security team wanting to find sensitive data sitting in publicly readable object storage buckets before an attacker doesnot AdBlock Plus
  • A company building retrieval augmented AI that must exclude regulated personal data from the index it feeds to a modelnot AdBlock Plus

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

AdBlock Plus

  • Acceptable Ads allowlist model generates controversy over ad filtering conflicts of interest
  • Smaller feature set compared to open-source alternatives like uBlock Origin
  • Less customization and dynamic filtering compared to uBlock Origin
  • Mobile version less comprehensive than desktop extension
  • Chrome version increasingly limited due to Manifest V3 migration

BigID

  • Pricing scales with data sources and volume, so the cost rises exactly as the estate you need to scan grows, and the modules shown in a demo, including AI security posture and headless deployment, are frequently separate licences that appear only in the final quote.
  • Scanning large unstructured estates is slow and computationally expensive, so most organisations sample rather than scan everything, which reintroduces uncertainty into the very question they bought the tool to settle.
  • Classification accuracy on messy unstructured content requires tuning, and out of the box false positives on things like reference numbers create a large triage backlog that a small governance team cannot clear.
  • It discovers and reports but does not remediate, so realising value requires a separate process and often separate tooling to actually delete, restrict or move the data it flags.
  • It is built for large enterprises and both the price and the administrative overhead are disproportionate below a few thousand employees, where a lighter DSPM tool covers the security use case for far less.

Pricing, plan by plan

AdBlock Plus

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Ad blocking
    • Acceptable Ads option
    • Custom filters

BigID

On request
  • BigID Platform$undefined/year
    • Priced by number of data sources and data volume
    • Discovery and classification core
    • Optional DSPM, access intelligence and AI security modules licensed separately

Which should you pick?

Choose AdBlock Plus if

  • You need ad blocking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Yandex Browser.
  • You also want acceptable ads.
AdBlock Plus review

Choose BigID if

  • You need structured and unstructured scanning.
  • You work on Web, API, Self-hosted.
  • You also want identity correlation.
BigID review

Questions people ask

Is AdBlock Plus or BigID better?
Neither clearly leads. AdBlock Plus starts at Free and BigID at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AdBlock Plus or BigID?
AdBlock Plus has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for AdBlock Plus and On request for BigID.
Does AdBlock Plus or BigID run on more platforms?
AdBlock Plus runs on Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Yandex Browser. BigID runs on Web, API, Self-hosted.
Can I use AdBlock Plus for free?
Yes. AdBlock Plus has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. BigID starts at On request.
What is AdBlock Plus best used for?
AdBlock Plus is most often used for ad blocking for display ads, video advertisements including youtube pre-roll/mid-roll/post-roll, pop-ups, flashing banners, and overlay ads, performance enhancement by eliminating ad content to accelerate page load times and reduce data and battery consumption on mobile devices, security and privacy protection by blocking malware-infected ads (malvertising), preventing tracking by companies monitoring user behavior, and stopping access to malware-distributing sites, supports web browsers including chrome, firefox, edge, opera, and safari, as well as ios safari and android devices. Of those, ad blocking for display ads, video advertisements including youtube pre-roll/mid-roll/post-roll, pop-ups, flashing banners, and overlay ads and performance enhancement by eliminating ad content to accelerate page load times and reduce data and battery consumption on mobile devices are not what BigID is typically brought in for.
What can AdBlock Plus do that BigID cannot?
AdBlock Plus covers Ad blocking, Acceptable Ads, Custom filters, Social media blocking. BigID covers Structured and unstructured scanning, Identity correlation, Data security posture management, Access intelligence.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

AdBlock Plus: What does Adblock Plus block?

Adblock Plus blocks banner ads, pre-roll and mid-roll video ads on YouTube, pop-ups, sidebar ads, and most standard display formats. With Acceptable Ads disabled and EasyPrivacy enabled, it achieved a 100/100 score on AdBlock Tester in April 2026.

Source
BigID: What does BigID cost?

It is quoted by data source count and volume. Reported contracts run from roughly 15,000 to 175,000 US dollars a year, and add-on modules such as AI security posture are licensed on top.

AdBlock Plus: What browsers does Adblock Plus support?

Adblock Plus is available for Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Safari, and Yandex Browser.

Source
BigID: Does it handle unstructured data?

Yes, and that is its main advantage. It classifies data in files and shares and correlates findings back to individuals, not just to data types.

AdBlock Plus: Is there a premium version of Adblock Plus?

Yes. Adblock Plus Premium costs $40 annually or $4 per month and allows users to block cookie consent pop-ups, while the free version includes core ad blocking.

Source
BigID: Will it delete the data it finds?

Not by itself in most deployments. It identifies and routes findings; deletion and remediation happen through your own processes or connected systems.

AdBlock Plus: What is Acceptable Ads?

Acceptable Ads is an opt-in setting that allows advertising Adblock Plus deems unobtrusive to display on websites; it is disabled by default but can be toggled in Settings.

BigID: Is it a privacy tool or a security tool?

Both are sold from the same discovery core. Buyers increasingly come from security wanting data security posture management rather than from legal wanting privacy.

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