Compare Weava and AdBlock: Which Extension is the Best?

Weava Highlighter was once a popular choice, but now it’s filled with ads and has a poor user experience. Better options like Web Highlights do the job better without the hassle.
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
  • Web & PDF Highlighting: Easily highlight text on web pages and PDFs using various colors.
  • Annotations: Add detailed notes to your highlights for better reference and organization.
  • Cloud Syncing: Seamlessly access your highlights and notes across multiple devices.
  • Organize with Folders: Structure your highlights with folders and sub-folders for easy retrieval.
  • Citation Creation: Automatically generate citations for your highlighted text, simplifying your research process.
  • 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
7.0
8.2
Total users
200,000
76,543,424
Total ratings
2,728
295,546
Average rating
4.1 ⭐
4.2 ⭐
Entry Level PriceFreeFree
Chrome
Chrome Web Store logo
4.1
3.01
2.7K+ 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

Weava offers basic but functional features like web and PDF highlighting, annotations, and folder organization.

The basic functionalities work great but the lack of innovative or advanced functionalities, especially compared to competitors, limits its appeal.

Top 3 Features of Weava Highlighter

1. Highlight Websites and PDFs

Highlighting text with Weava

Similar to our favorite highlighter Web Highlights, you can highlight text on any website or PDF. Choose different colors to customize your highlights and make important information stand out.

2. Organize Research into Folders

Organize in folders

Weava lets you save your highlights and organize them into folders, making it simple to keep your research organized and find what you need fast.

3. Collaborate with Your Team

Share folders with your co-workers

Weava allows you to share folders with your team, making collaboration on research projects easy. Everyone can add and view highlights and notes all in one place.

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
7.0

Weava performs adequately when it comes to basic highlighting and syncing. However, the overall performance is marred by the intrusive ads and occasional bugs that make the experience less smooth than it should be.

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
6.0

The design is where Weava really struggles. The interface is cluttered with ads, making it not only visually unappealing but also frustrating to use.

Here's a screenshot showing one of their ads taking up nearly half the height of their sidebar:

Ads are covering half of the sidebar

The overall design feels outdated and lacks the intuitive flow found in other tools. This poor design significantly hampers the user experience.

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
6.8

The free version of Weava offers basic features, and their premium plan at $3.99/month is priced similarly to competitors.

However, given the ads in the free version and the overall user experience, you can find better value in alternatives that provide more features and a cleaner interface for the same or even lower cost.

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
6.5

Weava’s basic highlighting functionality is straightforward, but the poor design and mandatory account creation add unnecessary friction. The ads make navigation cumbersome, and while it’s not difficult to learn, using the tool effectively can be a challenge due to these barriers.

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
7.0

Weava does take steps to protect user data, and their privacy policy is clear about not selling personal information. However, the requirement to create an account and the potential for data collection through ads could be a concern for privacy-conscious users.

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

Weava Highlighter may still be a popular choice, but its current state leaves much to be desired. The overwhelming presence of ads and a clunky design significantly detract from the user experience, making it hard to justify its use when other tools offer a more polished and ad-free environment.

If you’re serious about your productivity, it’s worth exploring alternatives like Web Highlights, which delivers all the benefits of Weava without the downsides.

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 Weava 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 Weava lower than users do.

Notably, AdBlock has the highest user rating in the Chrome Web Store at 4.17, 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.


  • Can't decide on features? It's a close call: Weava and AdBlock. In the Features category, Weava has scored a very good 8.5. It offers a solid array of features, though there may be room for a few additional capabilities.
  • Need top performance? AdBlock stands out with a rating of 8. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 7.
  • Design lovers, take note: AdBlock stands out with a rating of 8.5. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 6.
  • Want to get the most for your money? AdBlock stands out with a rating of 7.5. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 6.8.
  • If you hate complicated tools, AdBlock stands out with a rating of 7.8. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 6.5.
  • With privacy and security becoming ever more important, AdBlock stands out with a rating of 9. On the other hand, Weava lags behind in this area with a rating of 7.

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