Compare Diigo and AdBlock: Which Extension is the Best?

Diigo is a handy tool for bookmarking, highlighting, and annotating web pages. It has many features, but its old design and limited highlight colors might make it less appealing.
AdBlock is a popular browser extension with over 60 million users, designed to block ads, enhance privacy, and improve browsing speed. Read our detailed review to see how it performs.
Key Features
  • Highlighting: Works well and highlights are recreated on refresh.
  • Notes: You can add notes to your highlights.
  • Link Creation: Create links to your highlights, although this feature is not very reliable.
  • Sidebar Outliner: Simple design but requires time to understand.
  • Syncing: Highlights are synced across devices.
  • Blocks Ads: Removes pop-ups, banners, and video ads for a cleaner browsing experience.
  • Protects Privacy: Stops websites from tracking you and blocks harmful ads.
  • Sync Across Devices: Premium users can sync settings across multiple browsers.
  • Customizable: Change the look and feel of the extension, even swap ads for cute images.
  • YouTube Limitations: Works great on most sites, but struggles with blocking YouTube ads.
Our Rating
7.8
8.2
Total users
200,000
76,543,424
Total ratings
2,319
295,546
Average rating
4.6 ⭐
4.2 ⭐
Entry Level PriceFreeFree
Chrome
Chrome Web Store logo
4.6
3.56
2.3K+ ratings
200.0K+Users
Chrome Web Store logo
4.5
2.43
290.5K+ ratings
58.0M+Users
Edge
-
Microsoft Edge Store logo
3.8
3.62
1.5K+ ratings
17.3M+Users
Firefox
-
Mozilla Firefox Add-ons Store logo
4.2
3.73
3.5K+ ratings
1.3M+Users
Safari
-
-
Features
8.5

Diigo offers basic features for a highlighter and bookmarking tool.

It works well and we were able to highlight most websites and they were recreated when revisiting them.

The highlighter popup makes it easy to highlight text offering 4 colors. It looks like this:

Highlighter Popup with four colors

We would have wished to have more color options.

Also, note-taking and the tagging functionality are working, but its design does not look appealing.

Notes Editor: Adding notes to your highlight

The dashboard where your highlights are stored works well and gives you an overview of all your highlights.

Diigo Dashboard
8.5

Ad blocking:

The free version blocks annoying advertisements on websites. With the premium version, additional functions such as the blocking of cookie banners or pop-ups can also be activated.

Cookie

Privacy and Security:

AdBlock blocks third-party trackers on every Website and protects your privacy. It also blocking malicious ads with malware, scams, and cryptocurrency miners.

security

Sync & Backup:

With the Premium version, whitelists and user-defined rules can be synchronized across Chrome profiles.

Performance
8.0

Diigo performs well in terms of highlighting and syncing across devices. The fact that highlights are always synchronized can cause some loading delays.

It's not as fast as other highlighters that use an offline-first approach, but it works reasonably well.

However, the unreliable link creation feature and the simple sidebar outliner design need improvement.

8.0

The ad blocker extension generally works without slowing down the browser on most websites. However, recent changes at YouTube have meant that AdBlock has not yet managed to ban ads from YouTube again.

Design
7.0

The design fulfills its functionality. The design of Diigo is outdated and could use a modern refresh.

The lack of a nice overview of all your highlights on the page itself means you have to open the dashboard on diigo.com instead.

The dashboard on diigo.com is okay, but other highlighters like Web Highlights have a much nicer user interface.

8.5

The user interface is clearly laid out. With the premium version, you can also use functions to make individual adjustments. You're in control of the look, feel, and font size of AdBlock with easy-to-use controls. There is also the Image Swap function, which will still block ads, but it will replace some ads with pretty pictures of cats, dogs, and nature.

Value for Money
8.0

The free version of Diigo offers basic features and is fine for most users. The paid plans are reasonably priced and similar to other highlighters.

However, we think other highlighters offer more value for the same price.

7.5

The free version offers good value for money. Compared to other competitors, the premium functions may be somewhat more expensive. Some premium functions are offered free of charge by other providers.

Ease of Use
7.8

Diigo is fairly easy to use, but the sidebar outliner takes some time to get used to.

You can't see all your highlights on the page itself, so you have to go to the dashboard on diigo.com.

We wish there was a sidebar to quickly access all our highlighted pages, like in the Web Highlights extension.

7.8

Installation is done in one click. However, you are immediately redirected to a website that informs you that payment is required to use it. However, this is only a voluntary donation.
Basic functions are used from this point on. Some settings are set to allow non-intrusive ads and special ads on YouTube, for example. This must first be actively switched off in the settings.

allow ads
Security & Privacy
7.5

Diigo takes reasonable steps to protect user data. However, since you need an account and your data is stored in their database, absolute protection can't be guaranteed.

We think a highlighter should work without needing to sign up, but this feature is missing in Diigo.

9.0

Strong privacy protection through the premium feature malware blocking. The privacy policy is transparent without any indication of data being passed on.

Conclusion

Diigo is a handy tool for collecting stuff from the web, like bookmarks, highlights, and notes.


It’s a good deal with its premium plans, but the old-fashioned design and limited highlight colors might be a turn-off.


If you want something that looks nicer and offers more customization, check out alternatives like Web Highlights.

AdBlock is a reliable tool for blocking basic ads. While it blocks most ads and still protects your privacy by preventing tracking, recent updates have failed to prevent ad videos on YouTube. It's a good choice for anyone looking for a simple and reliable adblock extension.

Our Recommendation

In our comparison between Diigo and AdBlock, AdBlock came out on top, scoring 8.2.

AdBlock is the most widely used, with over 77 million users and 296k+ reviews—and it also delivered the strongest performance in our tests. User reviews for AdBlock reflect our findings, while we rate Diigo lower than users do.

Notably, Diigo has the highest user rating in the Chrome Web Store at 4.60, which is even higher than our rating of 7.8.

In the end, the differences between these extensions are minimal, so your choice may come down to personal preference or specific features.


  • Can't decide on features? It's a close call: Diigo and AdBlock. In the Features category, Diigo has scored a very good 8.5. It offers a solid array of features, though there may be room for a few additional capabilities.
  • Performance-wise, both deliver: Diigo and AdBlock. In the Performance category, Diigo has scored a good 8. It performs reliably, though it may not excel in all scenarios.
  • Design lovers, take note: AdBlock stands out with a rating of 8.5. On the other hand, Diigo lags behind in this area with a rating of 7.
  • Want to get the most for your money? Diigo stands out with a rating of 8. On the other hand, AdBlock lags behind in this area with a rating of 7.5.
  • Ease of use? It's a tie: Diigo and AdBlock. In the Ease of Use category, Diigo has scored a decent 7.8. It is generally easy to use, but some aspects might be less intuitive.
  • With privacy and security becoming ever more important, AdBlock stands out with a rating of 9. On the other hand, Diigo lags behind in this area with a rating of 7.5.

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