Ad blockers are usually seen as tools to hide annoying ads. But a new report from AdGuard shows they do much more than that. According to the AdGuard Web Performance Report 2025, blocking ads and trackers can significantly reduce data usage, speed up websites, and limit online tracking.
The report tested 119 popular U.S. news websites to see how ads affect everyday browsing. Without any ad blocking, loading a single website used nearly 6 MB of data on average. Some sites consumed more than 10 MB just to load the homepage.
When an ad blocker was enabled, data usage dropped sharply. On average, users saved over 2 MB per website. DNS-based blocking also reduced data use, but not as much as a full ad-blocking extension. For people who browse many websites daily, these savings can quickly add up.
Speed was another major difference. Pages without ad blocking took over 11 seconds to load on average. With an ad blocker, load time dropped to just over 6 seconds. DNS filtering improved speeds too, but again, browser-based ad blocking delivered better results.
AdGuard estimates that a person who visits around 100 websites daily can save more than two full days of time over a year.
The report also highlights how widespread online tracking has become. Across the tested websites, hundreds of tracking tools were detected. Most websites are connected to multiple tracking companies, often without the user knowing. Google-owned trackers appeared on almost all websites, making it the most dominant player in the tracking space.
Using an ad blocker removed the majority of these trackers. The number of companies involved in tracking dropped by nearly 70 percent when full web filtering was enabled. Big names like Google, Meta, and Microsoft saw their presence reduced significantly.
Also see: Best Ad-blockers for Twitch
AdGuard’s findings suggest that ad blockers are not just about comfort or privacy. They help save mobile data, reduce loading times, and cut down background tracking. For everyday users, especially those on limited data plans or slower connections, the benefits are clear.
