A price you can see before any call
Ad-Shield does not publish its share, so you learn it from its team. AntiAdBlock Core's plans and quotas are public, there is no setup fee or revenue share, and you can cancel from your dashboard.
AntiAdBlock Core vs Ad-Shield
Know what Ad-Shield sells and how it charges, see when it fits, and measure your own ad-block rate today.
Ad-Shield restores a publisher's own ads for ad-block visitors, including what it calls dark traffic, and is paid from a share of what it recovers. It does not publish that share. AntiAdBlock Core detects ad blockers and asks those visitors to allow ads on your site, for a flat public price, with a free plan you can start today.
Ad-Shield data checked onSee sources
Ad-ShieldRevenue-share ad restoration
AntiAdBlock CoreFlat-priced notice you control
- How revenue comes back
- Restores your own ads for ad-block visitors
- Your notice asks them to allow ads on your site
- How you pay
- A share of recovered revenue, not published
- Flat plan from $5 a month, no revenue share
- Free option
- Free 7-day measurement; no free plan
- Free plan with no end date: 5,000 detections a month
- Getting started
- Application, approval and an account manager
- Self-serve sign-up, live in minutes
- Ad setup it needs
- Built around Google Ad Manager
- Any network; nothing to change in your ad server
Their 100, your number
Ad-Shield's 79% is an average across its network. Your own ad-block rate is on your site.
21"gray": AdBlock, Adblock Plus
79"dark": uBlock Origin, AdGuard, Brave, VPNs, network-level
How each one measures
Ad-ShieldApply · Approval · Script · 7 days · Revenue estimate
AntiAdBlock CoreSign up · Verify · Tag or plugin · Live, no end date
Ad-Shield vs AntiAdBlock Core at a glance
The two products recover ad revenue in opposite ways, so several rows are about fit rather than about one being better.
| Aspect | Ad-Shield | AntiAdBlock Core |
|---|---|---|
| How revenue comes back | Restores your own ads (Google Ad Manager, Prebid, SSPs, direct-sold) for ad-block visitors57 | Shows your notice asking ad-block visitors to allow ads on your site |
| What ad-block visitors see | Your usual ads; its default script shows an alert to under 0.1% of visitors whose filters break the page7 | A wall asking them to allow ads, or a notice they can close when the block is network-level (DNS). Readers without a blocker never see it |
| How you pay | A share of recovered revenue; no upfront cost, no SaaS fee1 | A flat monthly or annual plan from $5 a month; no revenue share |
| Published price | Not published12 | Every plan, price and quota on the pricing page (better here) |
| Free option | Free 7-day measurement and a revenue estimate; no free plan2 | Free plan with no end date: 5,000 detections a month, no payment method (better here) |
| Getting started | Application form, approval and onboarding with an account manager, who switches recovery on37 | Self-serve sign-up, live in minutes, no sales call (better here) |
| Ad setup it needs | Built around Google Ad Manager: key-values and a daily report sent to its team; without Google Ad Manager, you talk to its account manager7 | Works with AdSense, Google Ad Manager, Mediavine, Ezoic or any other network; nothing to change in your ad server (better here) |
| Install | One-line script (Light or Essential), a WordPress plugin and framework plugins17 | One async tag in your page head (about 60 seconds) or the WordPress plugin |
| Where it works | Websites; Android apps in beta6 (better here) | Websites, on desktop and mobile browsers; no apps or AMP pages |
| Privacy | IAB Europe TCF vendor (ID 1385); collects IP address and user agent87 | No tracking cookies, no fingerprinting, no visitor IDs; daily totals per site |
What Ad-Shield means by dark traffic
Dark traffic is Ad-Shield's name for ad-blocked visits that a publisher's analytics, Acceptable Ads and adblock walls never reach. Ad-Shield splits ad-blocked traffic in two. Gray traffic, which it puts at 21%, comes from blockers such as AdBlock and Adblock Plus that still let analytics run, show walls and take part in Acceptable Ads. Dark traffic, the other 79%, comes from what it calls brutal adblockers (uBlock Origin, AdGuard and Brave) and from VPNs and network-level blocking. For how Acceptable Ads and reinsertion work, see ad reinsertion explained.
These are Ad-Shield's own figures for the sites it works with. For context, its Dark Traffic Report (July 2025) analyzed 5 billion dark traffic page views across its publisher network and surveyed 2,616 people. They describe Ad-Shield's network and its own categories, not your site.
AntiAdBlock Core does not use the term and does not sort visitors into gray and dark. It answers the question that comes before any contract: how many of your visitors block ads. Your dashboard shows your ad-block rate, network-level blocking included, and also shows those visits as a separate count.
How each one measures ad-blocked traffic
Ad-Shield's way in is a free 7-day measurement. Its published steps are to apply through a form, wait for approval, add its detection script to your page head and measure; it also offers a free revenue estimate, and it does not ask for a contract at this stage. Access to its dashboard is given by its team once your data is flowing.
With AntiAdBlock Core you start on your own. Create a free account with no payment method, verify your domain, then add one tag or the WordPress plugin. The dashboard fills in real time from the first visit: visits, ad-block rate, detections, recoveries (visitors who allow ads) and revenue at stake, with network-level blocking such as Pi-hole or NextDNS included in the rate and also shown as a separate count. The Free plan has no end date and covers 5,000 detections a month. Your notice is live while you measure; if you want detection with no notice at all, the Detection API on Max and Business sends the result to your own code.
Ad-Shield pricing: a revenue share it does not publish
Ad-Shield is paid only from what it recovers: "Revenue share upon recovery. No upfront cost or SaaS pricing. We only get paid if you get paid." It also advertises "No contract lock-in." The percentage is not on its website or in the press coverage we found, so you learn the cost from its team. Before that, it offers the 7-day measurement, a revenue estimate and a public calculator.
AntiAdBlock Core publishes every plan. Free costs $0 and covers 5,000 detections a month. Paid plans cost $5, $12.99 or $29.99 a month, billed monthly or as one annual payment, and the price stays the same whatever you recover. A detection is a page view where a blocker is found; page views without a blocker never count. For example, 1,000,000 page views a month with a 30% ad-block rate means 300,000 detections, which fits Max (1,500,000 detections a month).
A revenue share costs nothing until something is recovered and then grows with every recovered dollar. A flat plan costs the same in a strong month and a quiet one. Put your own numbers into the adblock revenue calculator and check AntiAdBlock Core pricing before any call.
- Free5,000 detections/moFree
- Pro100,000 detections/mo$5/mo
- Max1,500,000 detections/mo$12.99/mo
- Business5,000,000 detections/mo$29.99/mo
Prices in US dollars. Only page views where an ad blocker is detected count; the rest never use your quota.
Where AntiAdBlock Core fits better as an Ad-Shield alternative
No ad server work, no account manager
Ad-Shield's setup is built around Google Ad Manager: key-values, a daily report to its team, and recovery switched on by an account manager. AntiAdBlock Core adds one tag or the WordPress plugin on top of AdSense, Google Ad Manager, Mediavine, Ezoic or any other network, with nothing to change in your ad server.
Your numbers from the first visit
No application and no seven-day window. The Free plan shows your own ad-block rate, detections and recoveries in real time for as long as you use it. The rate includes network-level blocking, and the dashboard also shows those visits as a separate count.
When Ad-Shield is the better choice
Ad-Shield is built for publishers with an established ad stack, and its own 2026 comparison names sites that run on AdSense alone as the exception. If your site runs on AdSense, also see how Google's own option compares on our AdSense ad blocking recovery page. Ad-Shield is the stronger option when:
- You run Google Ad Manager or Prebid with direct-sold and programmatic demand, and an ad ops team that can set up key-values and reports.
- You do not want a wall or notice in front of readers and would rather have your usual ads restored for them.
- Many of your readers browse from office networks or VPNs, where, according to Ad-Shield, they often cannot switch blocking off.
- You also publish Android apps; its in-app recovery is in beta.
- You prefer to pay only from recovered revenue, with no fixed fee.
How to compare them on your own site
Get your own baseline
Create a free AntiAdBlock Core account with no payment method, add one site and verify it with a meta tag, a file or a DNS TXT record.
Keep the tests apart
If you are already testing Ad-Shield, leave it where it is and try AntiAdBlock Core on another site, or on the same site in a different period, so each result is clean.
Compare revenue, not only rates
After a few weeks, set your dashboard's ad-block rate, recoveries and revenue at stake against Ad-Shield's report and your ad server's revenue for the same period, then decide.
Ad-Shield or AntiAdBlock Core? The verdict
Ad-Shield suits ad-funded publishers with Google Ad Manager, direct-sold demand and an ad ops team who want their usual ads restored for ad-block visitors without asking most of them anything, and who prefer to pay only from results. AntiAdBlock Core suits publishers on AdSense or any other network who want a public flat price, set it up themselves in minutes and prefer to ask readers to allow ads. You can start free, with 5,000 detections a month and no payment method, and see your own ad-block rate first.
How we compared
We build AntiAdBlock Core and are not affiliated with Ad-Shield. The Ad-Shield column uses what Ad-Shield, the IAB Europe vendor list and press coverage of its Dark Traffic Report publish, checked on October 11, 2026. Figures such as 79% are Ad-Shield's own and are labeled as such. We do not score detection or recovery rates that we cannot measure on the same sites. If something here is out of date, contact us.
Ad-Shield data checked on
- 1Ad-Shield home page: dark traffic, 79%, revenue share, one-line script
- 2Ad-Shield contact page: free 7-day measurement, no contract lock-in, page-view brackets
- 3Ad-Shield blog, "What Is Dark Traffic?" (August 15, 2024): how to measure
- 4Ad-Shield blog, "What Makes Ad-Shield Different For Adblock Recovery?" (March 27, 2026): readers on office networks and VPNs
- 5Ad-Shield blog, "The Best Adblock Recovery Providers in 2026" (August 5, 2026): restoration, gray and dark traffic, the AdSense exception
- 6Ad-Shield blog, "Ad-Shield Now Restores In-App Ads" (April 16, 2026)
- 7Ad-Shield docs: onboarding, demand setup, script versions, FAQ, security and privacy
- 8IAB Europe Global Vendor List v180 (October 8, 2026), vendor 1385
- 9Storyboard18 on Ad-Shield's Dark Traffic Report (July 23, 2025): 5 billion page views analyzed, survey of 2,616
Other comparisons
Each page compares AntiAdBlock Core with one provider, using public sources with a date.
Admiral anti-adblock alternative
Where Admiral's 30% revenue share costs more than a flat plan, what its VRM suite adds, and how to test one site free.
Blockthrough alternative
Blockthrough monetizes visitors whose blocker allows Acceptable Ads. AntiAdBlock Core asks the others too. Sources, prices and a free plan to start.
AdRecover (AdPushup) vs AntiAdBlock Core
Who makes AdRecover, how its Acceptable Ads reinsertion works, what AdPushup charges and asks for, and when a flat-priced notice fits better.
Publisher Collective requirements compared
What Publisher Collective asks of publishers in 2026, how AdEngine's adblock recovery works, and a self-serve option with no minimum.
Newor Media requirements compared
Elevate! has no pageview minimum; Catapult and Premier ask for 60,000 and 420,000 US pageviews. See what Newor asks for and what a flat-priced layer adds.
AdSense ad blocking recovery vs AntiAdBlock Core
AdSense's own message, desktop only per Google's help, versus a notice that reaches phones.
AntiAdBlock Core vs BlockAdblock
BlockAdblock's free script, not updated since 2017, versus maintained detection and a Free plan.
Ad-Shield questions
What does Ad-Shield mean by "dark traffic"?
Dark traffic is Ad-Shield's term for ad-blocked visits that analytics, Acceptable Ads and adblock walls do not reach. It links them to stricter blockers such as uBlock Origin, AdGuard and Brave, and to VPN and network-level blocking, and puts them at 79% of ad-blocked traffic. The rest, from AdBlock and Adblock Plus, it calls gray traffic. The figures and categories are Ad-Shield's own, checked on October 11, 2026.
How much does Ad-Shield cost?
Ad-Shield does not publish a price. It is paid through a share of the revenue it recovers, with no upfront cost or SaaS fee and, in its words, no contract lock-in. Before any agreement it offers a free 7-day dark traffic measurement and a revenue estimate. AntiAdBlock Core publishes every plan, from the Free plan to $29.99 a month for 5,000,000 detections.
Is Ad-Shield an ad blocker?
No. Ad-Shield, Inc. sells adblock revenue recovery to publishers. Searches for "AdShield" also return ad-blocking apps and browser extensions with similar names that have nothing to do with it. Its founders previously built an ad-blocking product, and the company describes itself as independent: "not working with or owned by an adblocker".
Does Ad-Shield show anything to visitors?
Mostly no: it restores your usual ads for ad-block visitors without asking them to act. Its documentation adds that the default Light script shows an alert to under 0.1% of visitors whose filters break the page, and that the Essential script has no alert but lower coverage. AntiAdBlock Core works the other way: readers with a blocker see your notice asking them to allow ads on your site.
Does Ad-Shield work with AdSense?
Ad-Shield's setup is built around Google Ad Manager: key-values in your ad server and a daily report sent to its team. Without a Google Ad Manager account, its docs ask you to contact your account manager. In its own 2026 comparison it says that, for sites running on AdSense alone, a reinsertion provider may earn more than its restoration. AntiAdBlock Core works with AdSense, Google Ad Manager or any other network.
What are the alternatives to Ad-Shield?
They differ by method. Blockthrough serves Acceptable Ads through your stack; see our Blockthrough alternative page. Admiral offers several methods, including a message that asks visitors to allow ads; see our Admiral anti-adblock alternative page. AntiAdBlock Core also asks visitors, with flat public pricing and self-serve setup. Every option is side by side in adblock recovery providers compared, and what each type of tool does is in adblock recovery software, explained.
Can I measure my ad-block rate before choosing a provider?
Yes. Ad-Shield offers a free 7-day measurement after you apply and are approved. AntiAdBlock Core's Free plan starts online with no payment method: the dashboard shows visits, ad-block rate, detections and recoveries from the first visit, includes network-level blocking such as Pi-hole or NextDNS in the rate and also shows it as a separate count, and covers 5,000 detections a month with no end date. On the Free plan, your notice is live while you measure.
Measure your own ad-block rate
Ad-Shield's 79% describes its network. Your number is on your site, and the Free plan shows it from the first visit.