Don’t want ads constantly interrupting your Paramount Plus streaming session? We explain how to block ads on Paramount+ for seamless streaming of your favorite shows.

Paramount Plus has become a go-to streaming destination for everything from blockbuster movies like Gladiator and Interstellar to exclusive original series such as Tulsa King and Star Trek: Picard. Yet its ad-supported tier, Paramount+ Essential, can interrupt the binge-watch experience with ads that play before a show starts or appear halfway through a stream.

Upgrading to a Paramount+ Premium ad-free subscription is the simplest way to eliminate most of these interruptions. Failing this, you need another way to block the ads. Whether this is to preserve your bandwidth, protect your privacy, or to enjoy uninterrupted streaming, this guide walks you through practical ways to stop the ads, or at least reduce their frequency.

Why you’re seeing ads on Paramount+

Paramount+ shows ads because, like many streaming services, the platform relies on advertising revenue to keep prices low. The cheaper, ad-supported plan lets the company cover the costs of licensing movies and shows, production, and platform maintenance.

The ads you see are also tailored to you. Paramount+ uses information such as your location and viewing habits to deliver more relevant ads, making the advertising space more valuable.

How Paramount+ serves ads

Paramount+ uses a combination of ad formats and placement strategies to deliver advertising across its streaming platform. Here’s a breakdown of the main types:

  • Pre-roll ads: These play before the content begins and typically run for 15-30 seconds per ad, sometimes bundled together. These ads are on both the free and premium tiers of Paramount+ and generally can’t be skipped except with a premium subscription on certain devices.
  • Mid-roll ads: These appear during the program at predetermined breakpoints. Their frequency varies by content length, but is typically every 10-15 minutes for longer programs. Mid-roll ads are part of the streaming experience on the ad-supported tier.
  • Overlay ads: These are graphic elements that appear on top of the video during playback. Slightly less intrusive than video ads, they can be semi-transparent banners, lower-third graphics, or clickable overlays that appear intermittently during content.

When you start a video on Paramount+, an ad decision server (ADS) decides which ads to play. This can depend on factors such as your location, device type, time of day, or viewing history. Once these ads are selected, Paramount+ inserts them into the playback stream in one of two ways:

1. Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI)

Server-Side Ad Insertion (SSAI) is a method for video streaming in which ads are stitched into the video content on the server before being delivered to your device. Since ads are baked into the stream, ad blockers struggle to identify and stop them. SSAI is commonly used in streaming apps on TVs and mobile devices, where the player is built into the app rather than running in a web browser.

2. Client-Side Ad Insertion (CSAI)

With Client-Side Ad Insertion (CSAI), the video player on your device handles ad delivery separately from the main content stream. Instead of ads baked into the video itself, the player receives a playlist of content segments and fetches ad segments separately when an ad break is signaled. The player then stitches them together during playback.

CSAI is commonly used on web browsers, desktop players, and other platforms where the video player runs in a standard browser environment. Because the ad is loaded through separate requests, browser ad blockers can sometimes block these ads by filtering ad server domains or ad player scripts.

Paramount+ homepage

Which Paramount+ ads can’t be blocked

Even the most clever ad-blocking setup won’t eliminate every commercial break on Paramount+. Here are some common situations where ads can slip through no matter which tool you use:

  • Live TV channels: In the case of watching live TV on Paramount+, commercials are baked directly into the broadcast feed. They aren’t separate ad files that a blocker can intercept, so they play as part of the video stream.
  • Trailers and sponsorship clips: Paramount+ inserts these short videos from the same domain as the main content. The request looks like a normal part of the video which means DNS or browser-based blockers treat it as legitimate and won’t filter it out.
  • Premium (ad-free) ads: The “ad-free” tier still shows the occasional trailer, sponsor spot, or live TV commercial. Since these are part of the official content package, any blocker will see them as regular video data.

How to block ads on Paramount+

It’s certainly possible to reduce the number of ads you see on Paramount+. You just need to pick the ad-blocking method that fits the devices you use most. Below are the most reliable ways to keep commercials out of your Paramount+ streaming sessions.

Upgrade to an ad-free plan

The simplest – and most reliable – solution is to switch to Paramount+ Premium. This significantly reduces the number of ads you’ll see when streaming Paramount+, albeit it doesn’t remove them entirely.

Paramount markets its Premium plan as “No ads except live TV” and this is largely true with the platform not inserting the usual pre-roll and mid-roll commercials. However, there are still trailers and sponsorship spots. Further, live TV channels continue to carry the commercials that are built into the broadcast feed.

Paramount+ Essential costs $8.99 a month and Premium is $13.99 a month. You can save on the latter if you opt for an annual plan that brings the monthly cost down to $11.67 a month. Aside from fewer ads, Premium supports 4K streaming, lets you download movies and shows, includes a CBS live stream, and comes with Showtime.

Paramount+ pricing

Use a browser ad-blocker or extension

If you’d rather not have to pay more for Paramount+, there are ways in which you can block some of the ads it’s showing. It’s generally not possible to block ads within the Paramount+ app, which is why watching via web is preferable if your goal is to stream commercial-free. A reputable ad-blocking extension is the quickest way to hide many of the ads.

  1. Start by picking a trusted ad blocker. We particularly recommend Total Adblock which proved to be the best ad blocker with Paramount+ in testing.
  2. Open your browser and go to its add-ons store. For example, Chrome Web Store.
  3. Type the name of the ad blocker you want in the search bar.
  4. Click to add the ad blocker to your browser.
  5. You may need to activate the ad blocker via the extension menu.
  6. Open the extension’s popup or settings page to customize blocking preferences.
  7. Test the ad blocker against Paramount+ to confirm ads are being blocked.

Use a VPN with ad blocking

If you watch Paramount+ on multiple devices, such as your Smart TV, gaming console, tablet, or laptop, or indeed any device that doesn’t support browser extensions, a network-level solution is the most reliable way to keep ads at bay. By routing all of your internet traffic through a VPN or a DNS provider that filters out ad-serving domains, you can block commercials before they even reach the device.

VPN ad blocking

The best VPN services come equipped with ad blockers, and you can install the VPN app on your streaming device or even set it up on your router. All of your internet traffic then goes through the VPN’s servers, which have a built-in ad filter that looks at every request your device makes and throws away any that go to known ad servers. Because the request never reaches the ad server, the commercial never shows up.

Here’s how to use a VPN to block ads on Paramount Plus:

  1. Choose a VPN provider that offers ad-blocking. We recommend NordVPN although you can’t go wrong with Surfshark or Total VPN, both of which also offer ad blocking.
  2. Select your preferred subscription duration and tier before signing up for an account.
  3. Download and install the VPN software that’s compatible with the device on which you want to block ads on Paramount Plus.
  4. Log in to the VPN app and turn on the ad-blocking feature if it’s not enabled by default. You’ll usually find the feature in the main menu or inside the settings page.
  5. Connect to a VPN server. The closer the server to your location the faster your connection is likely to be.
  6. Many of the ads you typically see on Paramount Plus should now be blocked.

Use a DNS ad blocker

A DNS ad blocker works a step earlier in the connection process. DNS is what translates website names into IP addresses. When you switch to a DNS provider that blocks ads, it refuses to translate the addresses of known ad or tracking domains. With the device unable to resolve those addresses, the ad request never leaves your network and the ad never loads. However, this option doesn’t encrypt your traffic and can’t block ads that come from the same domain as the site you’re visiting.

Here’s how to use a DNS ad blocker to block ads on Paramount Plus:

  1. Choose a DNS service that blocks ads.
  2. Get your DNS addresses by creating an account or by using the public IP addresses provided.
  3. Apply the new DNS settings either individually on each device through your network preferences or globally by updating your router’s configuration.
  4. Flush your local DNS cache to ensure the new settings take effect immediately.
  5. Verify the configuration by running a leak test online and then checking if ads are reduced on Paramount+.

Download content for offline viewing

One of the simplest ways to watch Paramount+ without the usual commercials is to download the content to your device to play it while you’re offline. Although this can allow you to watch ad-free, you must be on the Premium (ad-free) plan because the ad-supported Essential tier doesn’t allow downloads at all. Of course, it’s not a perfect solution because not all titles are available for download. Further, the files can take up significant space on your device.

Troubleshooting common issues

Below are the most frequent roadblocks you’re likely to come across when trying to keep Paramount+ ads out, plus quick fixes for each one.

You’re still on an ad-supported plan

If you’re on the Essential plan, Paramount+ will always insert pre-roll or mid-roll commercials. Although some blockers can put a stop to these, upgrading to the Premium (ad-free) tier is another fix.

Ads are appearing on live TV

Live TV channels embed commercials directly into the broadcast feed. With ads being part of the video file itself, ad blockers can’t remove them. Switching to on-demand streaming instead of watching live is the only real solution.

Device-level ad caching

Sometimes a device caches a previously streamed ad segment, so you keep seeing the same commercial even after installing an ad blocker. This can be fixed by clearing your browser’s cache and cookies or your app’s cache.

DNS ad blocking isn’t working

If you’ve turned on a DNS ad blocker but ads are still appearing, it may be misconfigured or inactive. Make sure the DNS servers in your router or device match the provider’s addresses exactly, and check that the ad-blocking toggle is turned on in the provider’s dashboard.

You’re seeing promotional content, not ads

Paramount+ often shows short trailers and sponsor spots before a title. These are intentional parts of the content package, not third-party ads, and they come from the same domain as the video. Unfortunately, there’s no reliable way to block these without breaking playback.

Paramount+ app is outdated

An older version of the app may lack the latest download or playback optimizations, and it can also interfere with ad blocking extensions on browsers that rely on up-to-date site scripts. Open your device’s app store, search for Paramount+, and tap “Update” if an update is available. After updating, restart the app and test the stream again.

Is it legal to block ads on Paramount+?

In most countries there’s nothing illegal about using a browser extension, a VPN, or a DNS service that stops ads from loading on your own device. Blocking ads is simply a technical choice you make for your personal browsing experience. That said, when you sign up for Paramount+, you also agree to its Terms of Use, which specifically say “You must not prevent, or attempt to prevent, the display of advertisements on the Service, or use any ad blocker or similar tool.”

Note: We are not lawyers, and nothing in this article should be taken as legal advice.

Can I use a free ad blocker to block ads on Paramount+?

Yes, you can install a free ad blocker extension in your browser and, provided it’s a quality free ad blocker, it should stop client-side ad insertion (CSAI) found in on-demand content. However, a free ad blocker won’t get rid of all Paramount+ ads. Live TV channels still carry commercials because they’re baked into the broadcast feed, and short trailers or sponsor clips that Paramount+ includes as part of the video can’t be filtered out.

Besides, a paid ad blocker often includes more aggressive, regularly updated filter lists and dedicated support, so it can catch newer Paramount+ ad domains faster and offer easier troubleshooting.

Frequently asked questions

Will blocking ads on Paramount+ affect video quality?

In most cases, ad blockers won’t impact video quality. That said, if you’re using an ad blocker via a VPN service – which encrypts and reroutes your internet traffic – you may notice slightly slower speeds. In the worst case scenarios such as when connecting to servers further afield, this may affect whether you’re able to stream at a higher resolution. Also, if a blocker mistakenly blocks a piece of the content delivery network that Paramount+ uses to serve the video, the player may suffer from lag or buffering or drop to a lower quality until it can reconnect.

Can I block ads on the Paramount+ app on my phone?

Ad blockers generally don’t work within the official Paramount+ app. Blocking ads within the app is tricker than doing so in a browser where you can use an extension to intercept ad requests. System-wide solutions like a VPN with ad blocking or a DNS service can block some trackers, but they’re unlikely to block video ads effectively because Paramount+ uses server-side ad insertion (SSAI), which bakes ads directly into the video stream.

What happens if Paramount+ detects I’m using an ad blocker?

Paramount+’s Terms of Use state that preventing ads is a violation of the agreement. If the service identifies that you’re using an ad-blocking tool, it can suspend or cancel your subscription or move you to a higher-priced plan (Premium) that includes ad-free streaming. In practice, many users never see a direct warning, but continued use of an ad blocker puts your account at risk of being terminated or forced into a more expensive tier.