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Software · head to head

AdBlock Plus vs Pear Deck

AdBlock Plus logo

AdBlock Plus

Software

The world's most popular ad blocker

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Pear Deck logo

Pear Deck

Software

Interactive presentations that engage every student

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: AdBlock Plus acceptable Ads allowlist model generates controversy over ad filtering conflicts of interest; Pear Deck the Teacher Dashboard, draggable and drawing responses and Reflect and Review require Teacher Premium at $149 per year
  • They diverge on capability: AdBlock Plus covers Ad blocking, Pear Deck covers Interactive slides.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AdBlock Plus and Pear Deck actually diverge.

Attributes where AdBlock Plus and Pear Deck differ
AttributeAdBlock PlusPear Deck
Pricing modelfreefreemium
PlatformsChrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Yandex BrowserWeb, Chrome Extension
Founded20062014

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

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 Pear Deck

  • Interactive slides
  • Real-time responses
  • Formative assessment
  • Student-paced mode
  • Dashboard
  • Audio responses
  • Drawing
  • Vocabulary

What people use each for

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

AdBlock Plus

No use cases recorded yet. See the AdBlock Plus review.

Pear Deck

  • Turning slide decks into interactive lessons with student responsesnot AdBlock Plus
  • Running formative checks for understanding during classnot AdBlock Plus
  • Student paced review activities and assessmentsnot 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

Pear Deck

  • The Teacher Dashboard, draggable and drawing responses and Reflect and Review require Teacher Premium at $149 per year
  • Pear Assessment Premium is a separate $125 per year purchase from Pear Deck Premium
  • Standards aligned content, district library and efficacy reports are only in the Schools and Districts plan
  • SIS and LMS integration is only in the Schools and Districts plan
  • School and district pricing is by quote with no published rate

Pricing, plan by plan

AdBlock Plus

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

Pear Deck

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 5 question types
    • Real-time responses
    • Student-paced mode
  • Premium$149.99/month
    • All question types
    • Audio responses
    • Flashcard factory
  • School/District$undefined/month
    • All Premium
    • Admin dashboard
    • Rostering

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 Pear Deck if

  • You need interactive slides.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Chrome Extension.
  • You also want real-time responses.
Pear Deck review

Questions people ask

Is AdBlock Plus or Pear Deck better?
Neither clearly leads. AdBlock Plus starts at Free and Pear Deck at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AdBlock Plus or Pear Deck?
AdBlock Plus starts at Free and Pear Deck at Free.
Does AdBlock Plus or Pear Deck run on more platforms?
AdBlock Plus runs on Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Yandex Browser. Pear Deck runs on Web, Chrome Extension.
Can I use AdBlock Plus for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What can AdBlock Plus do that Pear Deck cannot?
AdBlock Plus covers Ad blocking, Acceptable Ads, Custom filters, Social media blocking. Pear Deck covers Interactive slides, Real-time responses, Formative assessment, Student-paced mode.

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
AdBlock Plus: What browsers does Adblock Plus support?

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

Source
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
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.

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Related pages

More on AdBlock Plus

More on Pear Deck

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