How to Watch YouTube Without Ads

We found five highly-effective ways to watch YouTube without ads. We’ve focused mainly on methods that bypass non-skippable video ads, but these will also block skippable in-stream ads, bumper ads, and masthead ads.

All of these methods are 100% legal and your YouTube account won’t be suspended. The only method that violates YouTube’s Terms of Service is using a modded YouTube app, like NewPipe. However, NewPipe doesn’t let you log in to your YouTube account, so YouTube can’t ban you for using it.

In the table below, you can compare each method side-by-side:

Method	Reliability	Price	Supported Devices	Requires a VPN	Set-Up Difficulty
VPN Server in Albania, Moldova, or Myanmar	Very Reliable	100% Free	Every Device	Yes	Easy
YouTube Premium	Very Reliable	$16 per Year	Every Device	Yes	Easy
Ad Blocker Browser Extension	Reliable	100% Free	Desktop Only	No	Easy
Pi-hole	Unreliable	$15 One-Time Payment	Every Device	No	Difficult
Modded YouTube App	Unreliable	100% Free	Android Only	No	Moderate

In the section below, we’ll evaluate each method in detail so you can decide which is best for you. We’ll also show you how to set up and use each option.

1. Connect to a VPN Server in Albania, Moldova, or Myanmar

Pros	Cons
Blocks all types of YouTube ads Easy to set up Works on every device that supports VPN apps Counters YouTube data profiling	Requires a VPN with servers in a compatible country Potentially lower video quality due to internet speed loss Need to connect to VPN every time using YouTube Doesn’t block ads on other websites

We discovered that you can watch YouTube videos ad-free by connecting to a VPN server in Albania, Moldova, or Myanmar.

In the video below, see us connect to a VPN server in Albania to bypass an unskippable YouTube advert:

Here are the VPNs that allow you to get an Albania, Moldova, or Myanmar IP address:

VPN Service	Albania	Moldova	Myanmar
ExpressVPN	✓	✓	✓
Surfshark	✓	✓	✓
PIA	✓	✓	✕
Proton VPN	✕	✓	✓
NordVPN	✓	✕	✕

As YouTube doesn’t run an advertising program in these countries, it won’t show you any type of ad if it thinks you’re located there. For instance, by getting an IP address from Albania, you won’t see any non-skippable in-stream ads, bumper ads, or overlay ads.

Sadly, unlike the YouTube Premium workaround, you’ll have to connect to a VPN every time you use YouTube. VPN apps can’t be installed on some devices, like Roku, so this method won’t work there.

As well, connecting to a server in one of these countries can slow your download speed by up to 50% (depending on where you are), videos might stream in lower quality than what you’re used to.

It also means that you’ll likely have to use a paid-for VPN subscription. TunnelBear is the only free VPN service with servers in one of the three countries, but we used up the 500MB data cap in just 15 minutes.

2. Get a Cheap YouTube Premium Subscription

Pros	Cons
Prevents every type of YouTube ad from loading Works on every device No impact on internet speed and streaming quality Other benefits, including offline playback Virtually free using a money-back guarantee	Requires a small annual payment of $16 Need to use a VPN with servers in Argentina, India, or Turkey Won’t bypass adverts on other sites

YouTube Premium a paid-for subscription that allows you to watch videos on every device without any type of ads.

As well as bypassing ads, YouTube Premium comes with other benefits, including background listening on mobile and downloads for offline playback. Unlike all the other methods in this guide, it also financially supports content creators.

The price for YouTube Premium changes depending on where you are in the world and is most expensive in the US. But with a VPN, you can change your IP address location and appear to be in a country where the fee for YouTube Premium is cheaper.

We found that by signing up with a Turkish or Indian IP address, you can get an annual YouTube Premium subscription for just $16. This is a $110 each discount compared to the same subscription plan in the US. That said, it isn’t 100% free like some other options in this list. If you don’t want to pay anything or don’t have access to a payment card, we recommend installing an ad blocker extension or using a modded YouTube app.

In the table below, we’ve summarized the three cheapest regions for YouTube Premium and
listed all the top VPNs that have compatible servers.

Region	Cost	Compatible VPNs
India	$16	ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, IPVanish, PIA, Proton VPN, Surfshark
Turkey	$16	ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, IPVanish, PIA, Proton VPN, Surfshark
Argentina	$25	ExpressVPN, CyberGhost, IPVanish, NordVPN, PIA, Proton VPN, Surfshark

Once you’ve subscribed to YouTube Premium, you can disconnect from the VPN and use your regular internet connection.

As this is a YouTube-specific subscription, you’ll still see ads on other websites. To block ads on Twitch, Google, and other sites, you’ll have to install a DNS-based ad blocker.

3. Use an Ad Blocker Browser Extension

Pros	Cons
100% free and doesn’t require payment details Easy to install Blocks ads on other websites Also blocks trackers	Only works on desktop Some ad blockers don’t work with YouTube Few options for Safari

Ad blockers are browser extensions that prevent ads from displaying on websites, including YouTube. These programs are easy to use and can block all types of YouTube ads, including non-skippable ones.

Our tests found that by far the most effective ad-blocking extension is uBlock Origin, which always worked. Other popular extensions we tested, like AdGuard and AdBlock, failed to block ads 50% of the time, and most VPN ad blockers didn’t work at all.

uBlock Origin is available on Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. However, it is not available for Safari. A good free alternative is 1Blocker, but this isn’t open-source like uBlock Origin.

However, all of these ad blockers only work on desktop and laptop computers. Ad blockers for other platforms, like iOS, only prevent ads from loading in your web browser. You’ll still encounter all types of advertisements in the YouTube app.

You could also use a private browser with built-in ad blocking, like Brave. But we prefer installing an extension as it allows you to watch YouTube in the web browser you normally use.

4. Set Up Pi-hole on a Raspberry Pi

Pros	Cons
Works on every device, including Smart TVs Effectively blocks ad trackers	Rarely blocks video YouTube ads Only works on your home network Requires a Raspberry Pi device Difficult to set up

For network-wide ad and tracker blocking, you can set up Pi-hole on a Raspberry Pi. Pi-hole will set up a DNS server on your home network that’ll automatically prevent your device from connecting to domains that serve advertisements.

However, although this used to work reliably, our most recent tests have found that Pi-hole often fails to block YouTube video ads. It still works for hiding bumper and masthead adverts, though.

Sadly, it’s unlikely this will be fixed because of the way DNS-based ad blockers work. YouTube now delivers adverts from the same domain as its videos, so Pi-hole can’t know what to block and what to bypass.

As the DNS server is set up on your home network, you’ll still see ads whenever you’re on a different network. To bypass ads on cellular or different WiFi networks, you’ll have to upgrade to YouTube Premium or change your IP address to Albania, Moldova, or Myanmar.

Pi-hole is also difficult to set up and not recommended for beginners. It took us over 30 minutes to configure and we had to troubleshoot many of the commands before it worked correctly.

5. Use a Modded YouTube App

Pros	Cons
Blocks all types of YouTube ads Safe & open-sourced application Free Other benefits, like background playback	Works intermittently Only available on Android Requires sideloading Violates YouTube’s Terms of Service

Modded YouTube apps differ from the regular app as they block all types of YouTube ads by default. The best modded YouTube app we’ve used is NewPipe, which is free and open-sourced.

However, unlike all the other ad-blocking methods listed above, this is only available on Android devices. You’ll also have to use the NewPipe client, which has fewer features and is more difficult to use than the official YouTube app.

The NewPipe app doesn’t allow you to log in to your YouTube account, so you won’t have access to your likes and video history. The video quality also defaults to 720p, so you’ll have to manually toggle it to 1080p every time you want to watch a video in full HD.

As NewPipe is an unofficial third-party client, YouTube often intentionally breaks its functionality. When this happened, we had to wait for NewPipe to release updates to fix the issues, which sometimes took over a week.

Still, NewPipe is by far the best third-party YouTube app we’ve used. YouTube Vanced is no longer available following a DMCA notice from Google and Revanced is facing the same issues. SkyTube is a good alternative, but it’s targeted by YouTube more often as it uses official YouTube APIs.

The most effective way to block YouTube ads depends on the device you’re using. For example, modded YouTube apps are only available on Android, and you can’t download a VPN app on Roku.

Here’s our recommended method to stream YouTube with no ads on every device: