# Best anti-phishing browser extensions in 2026

> Nine anti-phishing extensions for Chrome, Edge and Firefox compared on what they detect, what data they send, and price — including built-in Safe Browsing.

Canonical: https://www.phishclean.com/compare/best-anti-phishing-browser-extensions
Last updated: 2026-11-05

Nine options for Chrome, Edge and Firefox, compared on the three things that actually differ: what they can detect, what they send off your device, and what they cost. PhishClean is ours; the rest are described as fairly as we can manage.

## The short version

Anti-phishing extensions mostly work in two ways, and many now mix them. **Reputation** checks compare the site you are visiting with lists and ratings of known bad sites. They are fast, and they depend on someone having found the site first. **Page analysis** looks at the page itself for signs of phishing: a login form posting to a different domain, a domain one character off a real brand, an invisible iframe, a leaked token. It can flag a page nobody has reported, and it misses a page that shows none of those signs. Malwarebytes, Bitdefender, SafeToOpen and Chrome's Enhanced mode all describe some page or behaviour analysis, so ask each vendor what it checks and where.

Your browser already ships a reputation tool (Chrome Safe Browsing, Edge SmartScreen, Firefox's blocklist), and it is worth leaving on. The useful question is therefore not "which extension replaces it" but "what would this add, and what would it send".

## Side by side

| Extension | What it detects | What leaves your browser | Price |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [PhishClean](https://www.phishclean.com/) | Page analysis: fake login forms, lookalike/homograph domains, fake shops, leaked API keys & JWTs, hidden iframes, HTTPS downgrades; fake CAPTCHA and fake job-interview pages; Paste Guard and download warnings; reported-phishing list; link badges on search, webmail, social and AI chats (27 checks) | No browsing data — all detection is local. A random install ID is sent for licensing; paid checks also contact Have I Been Pwned (partial hash) and code hosts | 7-day full trial, no account; then 5 checks free forever, all 27 at $9/mo or $59/yr |
| Chrome Safe Browsing (built in) | Known dangerous sites, checked in real time; Enhanced mode adds on-device AI for scams it has not seen before | Standard: hash prefixes, plus full URLs and bits of page content if a site looks suspicious. Enhanced sends more | Free |
| Microsoft Defender Browser Protection | Phishing and malware sites on a list of URLs known to Microsoft | Store listing says it will not collect or use your data; it doesn't describe how sites are looked up | Free |
| Malwarebytes Browser Guard | Malicious sites, phishing, tech support scams, ads and trackers, using lists, pattern rules and page heuristics | Policy covers blocked-page URLs, excluded domains and device data, with an opt-out; it doesn't say how each visit is checked | Free; some features need a Malwarebytes plan |
| Bitdefender Web Sage (formerly TrafficLight) | Reads pages for phishing, fake shops, scam checkouts and malicious ads; ratings on Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo and Yahoo | Store listing names website content; Bitdefender doesn't say what is processed where | Free with a Bitdefender account; Premium with paid plans |
| Guardio | Phishing and scam sites, malicious extensions, plus data leak alerts | Privacy policy: anonymized browsing behaviour, including sites and URLs visited | Free basic plan; $18.99/mo, or $11.99/mo billed yearly |
| SafeToOpen Online Security | Page analysis: fake login pages, impersonation sites, fake shops; reported-phishing blocking; download warnings; tracker blocking; VisionAI for new phishing (paid) | Store listing discloses collecting website content; says it does not sell browsing data | Free tier; Personal Plus and Family Plus with a 14-day trial |
| Netcraft Extension | Phishing sites from Netcraft's takedown feed, fake shops, card skimmers and crypto miners; risk rating for unknown sites; one-click site reports | Hostnames of the sites you visit (Netcraft says it cannot tell which pages an individual visits) | Free |
| Norton Safe Web | Site safety ratings that weigh scams, brand impersonation and malware; ratings on search results need Norton's separate Safe Search extension on Chrome | Privacy notice lists browsing activity among the data collected | Free |

Head-to-head comparisons with more tools: [uBlock Origin](https://www.phishclean.com/compare/phishclean-vs-ublock-origin), [Avast Online Security](https://www.phishclean.com/compare/phishclean-vs-avast-online-security), [Avira Browser Safety](https://www.phishclean.com/compare/phishclean-vs-avira-browser-safety) and [McAfee WebAdvisor](https://www.phishclean.com/compare/phishclean-vs-mcafee-webadvisor).

Details checked November 2026 from each vendor's published documentation and store listings. Where a vendor doesn't say something, we say so instead of guessing. Prices and features change; check the vendor before relying on a row.

## Each one, briefly

### PhishClean

Its checks all run on the device, and it publishes its source so you can verify that. It runs 27 checks on every page — fake login forms, lookalike and homograph domains, leaked API keys and JWTs in page source and scripts, hidden iframes, HTTPS downgrades, link destinations on hover, fake brand-outlet shops, "click Allow" notification traps and fake CAPTCHA and fake job-interview pages that tell you to paste a command — and sends us nothing about the pages you visit. The [source is public](https://github.com/chidhu07/phishclean-extension) so that claim can be checked. Trial is 7 days with no account; after that, reported-phishing blocking, link-safety hover checks, the password-destination check and the fake CAPTCHA and fake job-interview warnings stay free, and the other 22 are $9/month or $59/year. Since 1.5.0 it also blocks about 380,000 reported phishing sites, matched on the device, but that list is far smaller than Google's or Microsoft's, so keep your browser's built-in protection on alongside it. Since 1.7.0 it also marks Google, Bing and DuckDuckGo results before you click: red for reported phishing sites, amber for brand lookalikes, looked up on the device rather than in a cloud service. Since 1.10.0 the same red and amber marks appear on links in Gmail, Outlook, social media and AI chats, and Paste Guard warns before you paste a wallet recovery phrase into any site or a card number into a risky one. [PhishClean vs Chrome Safe Browsing](https://www.phishclean.com/compare/phishclean-vs-chrome-safe-browsing) covers exactly how the two fit together.

### Chrome Safe Browsing

Built into Chrome and most Chromium browsers, and worth leaving on. Standard mode checks sites against Google's server-side list in real time using hash prefixes, and sends full URLs and bits of page content only if a site does something suspicious. Enhanced mode sends more in exchange for stronger checks, and on supported desktops adds on-device AI that Google says can catch scams it hasn't seen before.

### Microsoft Defender Browser Protection

A free Chrome extension that warns when a site matches a list of malicious URLs known to Microsoft. Its store listing says it is supported only in the United States and was last updated in February 2025, and for managed Chrome and Firefox, Microsoft's docs point to Network Protection instead. See [the full comparison](https://www.phishclean.com/compare/phishclean-vs-microsoft-defender-browser-protection).

### Malwarebytes Browser Guard

Blocks malicious sites, phishing, tech support scams, ads and trackers for free. Malwarebytes says its heuristics can detect a lookalike login page it has never seen, and that its rules can update every 30 minutes. A strong single install for someone who wants ad blocking too. Its policy covers telemetry on blocked pages, with an opt-out, but doesn't say how each visit is checked. [PhishClean vs Browser Guard](https://www.phishclean.com/compare/phishclean-vs-malwarebytes-browser-guard).

### Bitdefender Web Sage (formerly TrafficLight)

Bitdefender describes it as an AI security advisor that reads each page you open, with ratings next to search results on Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo and Yahoo. The standard version is free but needs a Bitdefender account, and Bitdefender says it is on Chrome and Edge with Firefox and Safari to come. Its store listing names website content among the data it handles. [Comparison](https://www.phishclean.com/compare/phishclean-vs-bitdefender-trafficlight).

### Guardio

A subscription product that bundles phishing protection with extension auditing and identity-monitoring extras. Guardio says it scans every site and page you visit, and its privacy policy says it collects anonymized browsing behaviour, including sites and URLs visited. If you want one paid suite covering more than the browser, it is the candidate; if you want the browser layer only, it is expensive for that. [Comparison](https://www.phishclean.com/compare/phishclean-vs-guardio). Deciding between Guardio and Norton 360? See [Guardio vs Norton](https://www.phishclean.com/blog/guardio-norton-alternative#guardio-vs-norton).

### Norton Safe Web

Site safety ratings from Norton, free, based on automated analysis of things like scams, brand impersonation and malware. To see ratings on search results in Chrome you need Norton's separate Safe Search extension, which isn't available on Firefox or Edge. [Comparison](https://www.phishclean.com/compare/phishclean-vs-norton-safe-web).

### SafeToOpen Online Security

The closest tool to PhishClean on this list: it also examines the page itself (branding, login forms, how new and popular a site is) rather than only checking a blocklist, so it can catch new phishing pages too. Its free tier is generous, with download warnings and tracker blocking, and paid plans add VisionAI, Paste Guard, email breach monitoring, extension monitoring and family coverage. Its store listing names website content among the data it collects, which is the main difference from PhishClean’s fully local checks. [PhishClean vs SafeToOpen](https://www.phishclean.com/compare/phishclean-vs-safetoopen).

### Netcraft Extension

Free on Chrome, Firefox, Edge and Opera, and backed by Netcraft's phishing takedown business, so its blocklist is fed by live takedown work and tends to be very current. It also blocks fake shops, card skimmers and in-browser crypto miners, and gives unknown sites a risk rating based on domain age and hosting history. To do that it looks up the hostnames you visit. If you want strong free protection and don't mind that lookup, it is one of the best picks here. [PhishClean vs Netcraft](https://www.phishclean.com/compare/phishclean-vs-netcraft).

## Bitdefender Web Sage (formerly TrafficLight) vs Netcraft for everyday browsing

Both are free, so for everyday browsing the choice comes down to where you want the warning, what you are willing to send, and whether you mind making an account. **Bitdefender Web Sage** puts a rating next to search results, reads each page you open, and needs a free Bitdefender account. **The Netcraft Extension** doesn't list marks on search results. It acts when you land on a site: it blocks known phishing pages, fake shops, card skimmers and crypto miners, and its toolbar button rates unknown sites by domain age and hosting history.

The other differences are the list and the data. Netcraft's blocklist is fed by its own takedown work and tends to be very current, and it looks up only the hostname you visit. Web Sage's store listing names website content among the data it handles. Pick Web Sage if you search a lot and want a signal before clicking. Pick Netcraft if you care more about a current phishing list and sending less. PhishClean fits alongside either one: its checks run on your device and it adds leaked-token and HTTPS checks neither lists. More detail: [PhishClean vs Bitdefender Web Sage](https://www.phishclean.com/compare/phishclean-vs-bitdefender-trafficlight) and [PhishClean vs Netcraft](https://www.phishclean.com/compare/phishclean-vs-netcraft).

## How to choose

### Pick a page-analysis tool if you

- Want checks that don't need a page to have been reported first
- Care what leaves your browser (work accounts, client data, regulated environments)
- Are a developer who could leak keys or tokens through pages you load
- Already have Safe Browsing or SmartScreen on — you almost certainly do

### Pick a reputation tool if you

- Use a browser without built-in protection, or have it disabled by policy
- Want ratings shown on search results before you click
- Want ad and tracker blocking from the same extension
- Prefer free and are comfortable with what the vendor collects

Running one of each is the combination we would recommend to a friend: the browser's own protection for known threats, and a local page-analysis extension for extra checks on the page.

## Frequently asked

### What is the best anti-phishing extension for Chrome?

It depends on what you want caught. Chrome's built-in Safe Browsing is free and should stay on. If you want extra checks that run on your device and cover things like fake login forms, leaked keys and HTTPS downgrades, PhishClean runs 27 local checks and sends no browsing data to us. If you want something free that also blocks ads and scams, Malwarebytes Browser Guard is a strong choice, and Bitdefender Web Sage and Norton Safe Web are free too.

### Do anti-phishing extensions send my browsing history to a server?

Many do, at least in part, and vendors describe it differently. Chrome's Standard mode sends hash prefixes and Enhanced mode sends more, the Netcraft Extension looks up the hostnames you visit, and the disclosures for Guardio, Bitdefender Web Sage and Norton Safe Web name browsing data or website content. Malwarebytes' policy covers blocked pages, and Microsoft's listing says it collects no data. Some don't say when data is sent. PhishClean's checks run in the browser and it sends us a random install ID for licence checks, never the sites you visit.

### Is Chrome's built-in phishing protection enough?

For many people, yes. Safe Browsing is strong on known threats, it checks in real time, and Google says Enhanced mode's on-device AI can catch some scams it hasn't seen before. What it doesn't list are checks such as leaked API keys or tokens on a page and HTTPS downgrades. A page-analysis extension adds those, and can flag a page nobody has reported if it shows warning signs.

### Can I run two anti-phishing extensions at the same time?

Usually, yes. We know of no conflict between PhishClean and the extensions on this page, though we have not tested every combination. Tools that do the same job add less, so choose a second extension for what it adds.

### Which anti-phishing extension works on Firefox?

PhishClean, Malwarebytes Browser Guard, Norton Safe Web, SafeToOpen and Netcraft all publish Firefox versions. Bitdefender says Web Sage is on Chrome and Edge, with Firefox and Safari to come. Chrome Safe Browsing, Microsoft Defender Browser Protection and Guardio do not; Firefox has its own built-in Safe Browsing-style blocklist.

## Try the page-analysis side for 7 days

All 27 PhishClean checks, no account, no browsing data sent to us. Keep your browser's built-in protection on alongside it.

[Install PhishClean](https://www.phishclean.com/#install)

Last updated: 5 November 2026