How to block YouTube podcast ads

YouTube has become one of the biggest podcast platforms in the world. Lots of shows now publish a video version of every episode to YouTube as their primary distribution. That's good for the shows (huge audience, easy discovery) and decidedly worse for listeners, because YouTube ads work very differently from open-feed podcast ads. They're injected at the platform level, they're harder to skip, and there are more of them per hour than a typical RSS-fed podcast.

This guide covers the actual options for blocking YouTube podcast ads in 2026, from the easiest to the most technical.

TL;DR

The simplest and most reliable option: YouTube Premium. Removes all YouTube ads (including on podcasts), in every app on every device tied to your account.
Free options that work: uBlock Origin (browser, desktop), Brave browser (mobile and desktop), NewPipe / LibreTube (Android, third-party YouTube clients).
Network-level: AdGuard DNS and NextDNS can block YouTube ads on every device on your network, though the cat-and-mouse game with YouTube means coverage varies.
What doesn't work: YouTube Music Premium alone doesn't remove ads on YouTube proper, only inside the YouTube Music app.

How YouTube ads on podcasts actually work

Podcast video uploads on YouTube run through YouTube's standard ad system. That means:

Pre-roll ads play before the video starts (one short or one long, sometimes two stacked).
Mid-roll ads are inserted by YouTube's algorithm at "natural breaks" in longer videos.
Display ads appear around the video and as overlays during playback.
YouTube-injected ads are different from the podcast's own host-read ads. A typical video podcast on YouTube carries both: YouTube's ad-server ads PLUS whatever the show inserts itself.

The double-stack is what makes video podcasts on YouTube feel particularly ad-heavy. You're paying the YouTube ad load AND the podcast's own ad load on the same episode.

YouTube Premium: the easy answer

If you watch enough YouTube to make the maths work, YouTube Premium is the cleanest way to block YouTube podcast ads. The subscription removes ads across YouTube proper, YouTube Music, and the YouTube app on every device linked to your Google account. It also includes background playback (which matters for podcast listening on mobile — without Premium, the YouTube mobile app stops playing audio when you lock your phone).

YouTube Premium pricing as of 2026 is roughly $14-16 USD a month, with family and student tiers cheaper. For listeners who watch a lot of video podcasts on YouTube, that's significantly cheaper than buying ad-free tiers for each individual podcast.

Important: YouTube Premium does NOT remove host-read ads that the podcast itself baked into the video. Those are part of the show. Premium only removes YouTube's own ad inventory.

uBlock Origin: the desktop free option

On desktop browsers, uBlock Origin is the gold-standard ad-blocker. It blocks YouTube's ad calls at the browser level, and it's open-source, free, and maintained.

Setup is straightforward: install the uBlock Origin extension from your browser's add-on store (Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Brave, Vivaldi all support it). It blocks YouTube ads by default with no configuration needed.

Two limitations:

Mobile browsers don't support traditional extensions. uBlock Origin works on desktop Firefox, Chrome, and most Chromium derivatives. On iOS Safari, you'll need a Safari content blocker like 1Blocker or AdGuard Pro. On Android Chrome, you'll need to switch to a browser that supports extensions (Brave, Kiwi).
YouTube periodically pushes back against ad-blockers. Sometimes uBlock Origin gets temporarily broken when YouTube changes its ad-injection code. The team updates the filters quickly, but expect occasional disruption.

Brave browser: mobile and desktop

Brave is a Chromium-based browser with built-in ad-blocking (Brave Shields). YouTube ads are blocked by default in Brave, on both mobile and desktop versions, with no extensions to install.

Brave also supports background audio playback on mobile, which means you can lock your phone while a YouTube video podcast plays — without paying for YouTube Premium. That single feature is the killer reason a lot of YouTube podcast listeners have moved to Brave.

Trade-offs:

Brave doesn't sync history or watch progress with the official YouTube app. If you watch on both Brave and YouTube proper, you'll be managing two separate watch states.
Some YouTube features (Premium-only quality settings, member content) don't work cleanly in Brave.

NewPipe and LibreTube: Android alternative clients

On Android, two third-party YouTube clients work without YouTube's own app:

NewPipe is the longer-established option. F-Droid distribution, fully ad-free by design (it bypasses YouTube's ad-serving entirely), supports background playback, downloads, and Picture-in-Picture.
LibreTube is a newer alternative. Uses the Piped backend, which is a privacy-friendly YouTube proxy. Similar functionality to NewPipe but more polished UI.

Both work well for video podcasts specifically: you can pin a channel, download episodes for offline, and play in the background while the screen is off.

Neither is available on iOS (Apple's App Store doesn't allow third-party YouTube clients).

Trade-offs: these clients can break briefly when YouTube changes its internal API. Both projects are maintained well and usually fix things within a few days, but expect occasional gaps.

AdGuard DNS and NextDNS: network-level

For listeners with a few devices in a household, network-level DNS blocking is the option with the biggest reach. AdGuard DNS and NextDNS both offer YouTube ad-blocking as a configurable filter. Set the DNS once on your home router (or per-device), and every device on your network gets the benefit.

Trade-offs:

DNS blocking has a long-running cat-and-mouse with YouTube. Sometimes YouTube serves ads from the same domain as the actual videos, which makes them hard to distinguish at the DNS level. Coverage varies.
DNS-level blocking is great for the home network but doesn't follow you when you're on a coffee-shop Wi-Fi or cellular data. AdGuard and NextDNS both have device-level VPN apps for that case.

For mobile-only ad blocking outside the home, the AdGuard or NextDNS device-level app is usually a better fit than the DNS route alone.

What doesn't work

A few approaches people try that don't reliably block YouTube podcast ads:

YouTube Music Premium alone. YouTube Music Premium removes ads in the YouTube Music app, not in the main YouTube app. If you're watching video podcasts on YouTube proper, you need YouTube Premium (which includes Music) or a separate ad-blocker.
The YouTube app's "skip ad" button. Sometimes it appears, sometimes it doesn't. Even when it does, it shows up five seconds in by design.
Browser-based DNS solvers (DoH-style). These help with privacy but generally don't block YouTube ads on their own.
Modified YouTube clients on iOS. Sideloaded YouTube mods (Vanced-style apps) exist but they violate Apple's terms and tend to get broken. Not a recommended path.

A note on what this is and isn't

Blocking YouTube ads on podcast video versions removes YouTube's injected ads. It does not remove host-read ads that the podcast itself baked into the video, because those are part of the show file. If the show you're watching reads its own sponsor copy at the start of each episode, that copy plays whether YouTube serves you an ad or not.

For podcasts that you watch regularly, the move with the longest-lasting payoff is finding the audio-only RSS version of the show and listening in a regular podcast app. Most video podcasts also publish to RSS, where the ad load is usually lighter and the playback controls are better. Our best free podcast apps and best podcast apps in 2026 roundups cover the options.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does YouTube Premium block podcast ads?

YouTube Premium blocks the ads that YouTube's own ad server inserts — pre-rolls, mid-rolls, display ads. It does NOT block host-read ads that the podcast baked into the video itself. So Premium removes maybe two-thirds of the ad load on a typical video podcast, depending on how heavy the show's own host-read ads are.

Is uBlock Origin still working on YouTube in 2026?

Yes, with occasional brief gaps. YouTube has pushed back against ad-blockers several times over the years; uBlock Origin's filter list gets updated quickly when it does. Expect to update filters every few months. If a block stops working, the uBlock Origin support thread on Reddit usually has a fix within 24-48 hours.

Will an ad-blocker get my YouTube account banned?

YouTube has occasionally messaged ad-blocker users with warnings about Terms of Service violations, but actual account bans for ad-blocker use are rare and have mostly been reversed on appeal. The bigger risk is that YouTube changes its detection in a way that breaks your viewing experience temporarily.

Can I block ads on the YouTube TV app on a Smart TV?

Smart TV apps are the hardest surface to ad-block because you can't install extensions. Network-level DNS blocking (AdGuard DNS, NextDNS) is the only practical option. Set your router's DNS to the ad-blocking DNS server and your TV gets the benefit automatically.