Compare AdGuard AdBlocker and PDF & Web Highlighter: Which Extension is the Best?

AdGuard Adblocker is a browser extension with over 14 million users, designed to block ads, enhance privacy, and protect against online threats. Read our detailed review to see how it performs.
With Web Highlights, you can easily highlight text on any website or PDF and create notes. It's free and easy to use without signing up. In our eyes the best online PDF and web highlighter extension.
Key Features
  • Block Ads: Blocks video ads, pop-ups, banners, and text ads on all websites.
  • Privacy Protection: Blocks third-party trackers and protects your privacy.
  • Customizable: Offers allowlists and custom user rules.
  • Malware Protection: Blocks malicious websites and spyware.
  • Crypto-jacking Protection: Blocks known crypto-jackers for added security.
  • Website Highlighting: Easily highlight text on any website.
  • PDF Highlighting: Mark up both online and local PDFs directly in your browser.
  • Multiple Colors: Use various colors to organize your highlights.
  • Note-Taking: Add notes to your highlights for better context.
  • Bookmarking: Save pages as bookmarks for quick access.
  • Tagging: Organize your highlights and notes with tags.
  • Cross-Device Sync: Sync highlights across devices via cloud.
  • Export Options: Export your highlights to Notion, Obsidian, HTML, Markdown, or as PDFs and HTML files.
  • Reminders: "Snooze" your bookmarks and get reminded about them by email
  • Flashcard learning: Begin a daily review session of your highlights to help move your research into long-term memory using a spaced repetition system.
Our Rating
9.0
9.8
Total users
26,844,851
112,723
Total ratings
78,338
3,860
Average rating
4.3 ⭐
4.8 ⭐
Entry Level PriceFreeFree
Chrome
Chrome Web Store logo
4.7
4.19
65.1K+ ratings
14.0M+Users
Chrome Web Store logo
4.8
4.80
3.8K+ ratings
100.0K+Users
Edge
Microsoft Edge Store logo
4.8
4.23
6.6K+ ratings
11.4M+Users
Microsoft Edge Store logo
4.7
4.69
67 ratings
11.9K+Users
Firefox
Mozilla Firefox Add-ons Store logo
4.7
4.44
6.6K+ ratings
1.5M+Users
Mozilla Firefox Add-ons Store logo
5.0
5.00
24 ratings
795Users
Safari
-
-
Features
9.3

Ad Blocker:

In our tests, ad banners and ad videos were blocked on all websites, including YouTube and Twitch. Blocked ads also include social media widgets and pop-ups, among other things.

Ad Blocking

Privacy and Malware Protection:

The extension blocks tracking by blocking third-party trackers on all websites and protects your personal data. It also detects and blocks malicious websites and spyware.

personal data

Customizable

AdGuard Adblocker offers the option of activating or deactivating all functions yourself.
It also offers an allow list and user-defined rules. This means that you can make adjustments to the rules or allow advertising on certain websites that you want to support.

9.8

Web Highlights offers a range of features. In addition to its main function of highlighting text on websites and PDFs, it provides much more, making it the ideal tool for learning and self-improvement.

Top Features of Web Highlights

1. Highlighting websites & PDFs:

Highlight text using Web Highlights

Web Highlights excels at one thing better than any other tool we tested—highlighting websites and PDFs.

You don't even need an account. Just visit any site, highlight the text, and a marker icon will appear, letting you choose from different highlight colors.

Once highlighted, your highlights are visible on the website. And the best thing: Your highlights will also be visible on the website if you reload the page.

You not necessarily need the highlighter popup to mark up some text. In general, there are three ways to create a highlight:

  • clicking the highlighter popup
  • right-clicking the selected text
  • using a keyboard shortcut (Mac: ⌥ + S, Windows: ALT + S)

In our tests, we could easily highlight several websites, and those highlights were effortlessly restored when revisiting them. It works seamlessly with both online and local PDFs.

Highlighted website with Web Highlights

All of your highlights are not only visible on the page but also accessible through the sidebar, which gives you a good overview of your highlights made.

This is much like the highlighter sidebar which is common in PDF tools like Acrobat.

Here is how it looks:

Web Highlights Sidebar

The sidebar gives you an outline of your highlights on the current page.

2. Create Notes & Tags:

Taking notes made easy

You can either create tags & notes by using the sidebar or by clicking on a highlight on the page. This will open up a popup allowing you to add tags and notes to a specific highlight.

Any changes you make on the pages are also directly visible in the sidebar. Making it a perfect research tool to work with large articles.

Inside the sidebar you can then find all your highlights and bookmarks listed for the given tag.

3. Web App:

Web Highlights Dashboard

The best thing about Web Highlights is, that it can synchronize all your research to the corresponding web app at app.web-highlights.com.

The web app can be opened in your browser but works perfetly on your phone. If you have opened the website before, you can even access your research when you are offline.

The dashboard of the app shows all of your research in one place in a beautiful overview. You can also filter for specific tags or websites.

4. Save Bookmarks:

How to save bookmarks using Web Highlights

Web Highlights isn't just for highlighting text—it’s also great for saving pages as bookmarks. This way, you can either come back later to continue highlighting or easily find the page again.

5. Email reminders

Setting email reminders with Web Highlights

A standout feature of Web Highlights is its email reminder, which works a lot like "snoozing" emails.

You can set a reminder for a specific date and time by clicking the clock icon on a highlighted page. Web Highlights will then email you the article so you don’t forget to revisit it.

This feature is unique among competitors, and we use it daily to get reminders for websites we need to return to later.

6. Export to Notion, Markdown, and more

Export to Notion

Web Highlights gives you plenty of export options. With the Markdown export, you can easily send your research to any Second Brain or PKM tool you prefer.

On top of that, it directly integrates with Notion and Capacities through full API connections.

For instance, if you're on a highlighted page, just click the three dots in the sidebar and choose "Export to Notion." In seconds, a Notion page will be created. The same process works for Capacities.

Performance
9.0

A recent user complained in a review that it had YouTube problems that affected the performance and speed of the website. In our test, we did not notice any performance problems. The extension generally works quickly and reliably. There are also regular updates, so the problem may already have been solved.

10

The extension performs seamlessly, allowing you to highlight websites and PDFs without any lag or interruptions.

The full-text search functionality is quick and accurate, enabling you to find your highlights effortlessly. Additionally, the ability to sync your highlights across devices ensures that you can access your research from anywhere, enhancing your productivity.

The best part is that the web app works entirely offline. So, you can access your research from any device, even without an internet connection.

Design
9.2

The design is very clear and well-organized. The display of the settings is significant for adblockers. Here, great importance has been attached to user-friendliness and highlighting the customizable settings.

9.9

The design is clean and intuitive, making it easy to get started right away. We loved the customizable highlight colors and the overall look and feel of the sidebar.

What users love most is the intuitive sidebar and the well-organized web app. It’s super easy to navigate and quickly find what you need.

The web app also looks great on mobile devices, making it simple to access the articles you've read on your phone.

Value for Money
9.2

The free browser extension offers numerous functions that worked perfectly in the test. Compared to competitors, you get many functions here that others offer for a fee.
If further functions are required that can also be used outside the web browser, AdGuard Adblocker also offers an app that is subject to a charge. We consider the current lifetime prices to be fair for the services offered.

9.5

Web Highlights can be used for free without signing up, providing access to a wide range of offline features.

To fully enjoy the benefits of Web Highlights, including accessing your highlights and bookmarks from anywhere with automatic cloud-sync, you can upgrade to the PREMIUM or ULTIMATE version of the extension.

The pricing plans are affordable, making it a cost-effective solution for students, researchers, and avid online readers. No other tool gives you this much value for so little cost.

Ease of Use
9.5

Installation is quick and easy. What impressed us in comparison to other competitors was that AdGuard Adblocker clearly shows which functions it offers and explains them in the introduction, and you can activate them directly if you wish. The extension therefore attaches great importance to ensuring that every user recognizes and uses the options. With competitors, some functions were somewhat hidden in the settings.

Configure
9.5

We can’t think of a simpler Chrome Extension to start with than this one. The best part? It works seamlessly right out of the box, no account needed.

Installing it is a breeze, and you can easily add the extension to both Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge.

Once installed, a highlighter pop-up appears whenever you highlight text on any website. The process is intuitive and easy to grasp.

If you need help, Web Highlights offers plenty of blog posts that guide you through its features.

With so many powerful features, Web Highlights might seem a bit overwhelming at first, but everything falls into place quickly. The tagging system, in particular, is easy to use and much simpler than traditional folders.

That’s why we rate it 9.5 out of 10. It’s extremely user-friendly, though some features might take a little time to fully appreciate.

Security & Privacy
8.0

Strong privacy protection by preventing tracking. Also features malware detection and blocking, although public complaints could raise concerns.
Overall, AdGuard provides transparency in its privacy policy and limits data collection. Some practices, such as filing public complaints and reviewing website visits, should be critically questioned.

9.9

In the Security & Privacy category, we give Web Highlights a solid 10/10. The fact that you can use this tool offline without needing an account sets it apart from its competitors.

Even if you opt for cloud sync by creating an account, Web Highlights puts data privacy first. Your highlights, notes, and tags are visible only to you by default unless you decide to share them.

Your data isn’t sold to third parties, nor is it used or transferred for anything beyond the extension's core functionality. This dedication to data privacy ensures your information stays secure and confidential.

Conclusion

AdGuard Adblocker is, in our opinion, a very good ad-blocking tool compared to its competitors, offering a range of features in the free extension that you often have to pay for. In our test, all ads were blocked. Other ad blockers currently fail because of YouTube's advertising videos, but AdGuard currently seems to have this fully under control. Overall, it is the choice for a free browser extension with many features.

Finally, we would like to point out that our test is about the browser extension. If you work in different browsers and don't want to install a new extension in each one, or if you work a lot in apps that carry out advertising and tracking, AdGuard Adblocker offers an app for comprehensive security outside the browser.

The AdGuard app allows you to block advertising in other apps outside of your web browser, for example, and keep your data secure. Here is an overview of the additional functions:

Comparison

Currently, you have the opportunity to purchase the app as a lifetime plan. Here you can decide whether the app should be installed on 3 or 9 devices.

Pricing

We have been using Web Highlights - PDF & Web Highlighter for years and can confidently say it’s a top-notch tool for anyone who spends a lot of time reading online.

Its user-friendly design and powerful features make it a must-have for students, researchers, and professionals alike. The free version is fantastic, but if you need more advanced features, the premium options are well worth the price.

If you’re serious about staying organized while reading online, we highly recommend giving Web Highlights a try.

Our Recommendation

In our comparison between AdGuard AdBlocker and PDF & Web Highlighter, PDF & Web Highlighter came out on top, scoring 9.8.

AdGuard AdBlocker is the most widely used, with over 27 million users and 78k+ reviews, but PDF & Web Highlighter outperformed it in our review. User reviews reflect our findings.

Notably, PDF & Web Highlighter has the highest user rating in the Chrome Web Store at 4.83, which supports its strong performance in our review.

There are some noticeable differences between these extensions, so it's worth considering your priorities and the details below.



If you want a quick recommendation, PDF & Web Highlighter is our top pick. But as always, the best choice depends on what matters most to you.