The 5 best PPC Protect alternatives in 2026

First, the name. If you go to ppcprotect.com today, you land on lunio.ai. PPC Protect became Lunio, and this guide uses Lunio's own website for every fact about it.

Most people who search for a PPC Protect alternative want cheaper click blocking. That is a fair want. But every click fraud list compares blocking tools with other blocking tools. None of them ask what happens to the bot that gets through. That is what this guide is about.

Blocking the click is half the job

Lunio does its part well. A model rates each click as legitimate, suspicious or invalid. Bad IPs go into exclusion lists on Google and Bing. Bad visitors go into exclusion audiences on Meta. You pay for fewer bad clicks.

But a blocker cannot catch every bot before the click. Some look human until they land. And what they do next is the expensive part:

• The bot fills your form. Your pixel sees a lead. Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, LinkedIn, Microsoft Ads, Reddit, Pinterest and X see a conversion.
• The ads learn from it. Each platform goes looking for more people like the ones who converted. Now that includes the bot.
• The next thousand clicks get worse. Not because the blocker failed, but because nobody filtered what the ads learn from.

That is why DataCops covers the whole chain, not only the click. It blocks repeat bots at your Cloudflare edge, gives every visit a verdict, keeps flagged visits out of each ad platform, and sends the real sales from your CRM. Blocking is one slice of that chain. The data your ads learn from is the rest of it.

A blocked click saves one click. Clean conversion data protects every click after it.

What bot clicks looked like on our own ads

These are the paid clicks to joindatacops.com over the 60 days to 1 October 2026, almost all from our own Meta campaigns, read from the DataCops click log. One account, not a benchmark.

Meta billed all 313. On the visits our script checked in full, automated browsers outnumbered real people almost two to one, and Meta offers no IP exclusion list to stop them. Real people only was off on our own site in that period, the default for a new site, so those 33 bots could have taught Meta if they had fired a conversion. That is why the switch belongs on day one.

PPC Protect is now Lunio

ppcprotect.com now redirects to lunio.ai. The product you signed up for is Lunio, priced as a share of ad spend on a sales call, with no public plans.

If you are moving anyway, move to the whole chain: DataCops has a public price, starts free, and covers blocking at your edge, conversions, consent and refund evidence in one place.

The real difference: blocking clicks vs clean data

Here is what that means in practice, one job at a time.

Every visit gets a verdict

Lunio rates each ad click and acts at the ad platform: IP exclusions on Google and Bing, exclusion audiences on Meta and others. That is real, and it is automatic.

DataCops checks every visit for bots, datacenter traffic, VPNs and proxies, and turns it into one switch per ad platform (see click fraud protection). Turn on Real people only for Meta and flagged visits never reach Meta as conversions. It is off by default. When it is on, it keeps about 99% of bots out.

One lead, on its way to Meta

Visit verdictBot, datacenter IP

Real people only for MetaOn

Lead to MetaSkipped

Written in the delivery logFlagged visit

The sale happens after the form

For a clinic, an agency or a B2B team, the money comes later: the booked call, the patient who showed up, the deal marked won. A click blocker never sees that moment.

DataCops is built around it. Install it once on your HighLevel agency and pick the clients. Leads, booked calls, show-ups, won deals with their value and paid invoices go to each client's Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, LinkedIn, Microsoft Ads, Reddit, Pinterest and X, matched to the ad click. Any other CRM posts the sale to a private webhook. Cancellations, no-shows and lost deals are never sent. Read more on offline conversions and HighLevel conversion tracking.

Stages HighLevel reports

Booked callSent

Showed upSent

Won, with its valueSent

No-showNever sent

Lunio tells you which clicks were bad. DataCops makes sure your ads never learn from them.

The real cost of a quote-only tool

Lunio has no public price. It calls itself a small fraction of your ad spend, so the bill grows as you grow. That is one number. The bigger ones are in the questions nobody asks before they buy. Answer them with your own numbers.

The last question is the one that matters most. A click blocker never sees your CRM. When the ads only see form fills, bots included, they learn to find more people who fill in forms, not people who buy.

The click you blocked is visible. The bad lead your ads learned from is not.

Every feature, side by side

Every job PPC Protect without losing protection does, and what DataCops does for the same need, plus the jobs PPC Protect without losing protection leaves to other tools.

	DataCops	PPC Protect
Bots and fraud
Stop paying for bad clicks	Repeat bot IPs challenged or blocked at your Cloudflare edge (Organization plan), plus Google refund evidence	Automatic IP exclusions and exclusion audiences
Bots kept out of conversion data	Verdict per visit, Real people only per platform	Replaces the whole stack
What it checks	Bots, datacenter traffic, VPNs, proxies	Bots, scripts, click farms, scrapers, VPNs, proxies
Signups via Sign in with Google	SignupCops keeps the ad click, holds risky signups back	Not built in
Tracking
Server-side, first-party conversions	Yes, from your subdomain	Not built in
Ad platforms	Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, LinkedIn	Google, Bing, X, LinkedIn, Meta, Reddit, TikTok, Yandex, Naver
Visitor memory	Up to 400 days on your subdomain (needs consent in the EU)	Not stated
Click reports	Click log in first-party analytics	By campaign, location, keyword and placement
Beyond the click
CRM stages to ad platforms	HighLevel native, any CRM by webhook	Not built in
Upload past customers to warm up ads	Ads Warmup, up to 20,000 rows	Not built in
Meta health and wellness restrictions	Health mode: approved fields only, page links cut to the domain, neutral event names	Not built in
Privacy and legal
Consent manager	Built in, with Google Consent Mode v2	Not built in
Visitors asking for deletion	Self-serve form, confirmed by email, status page	Not built in
Deletion requests from Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn	Acted on automatically	Not built in
How long click data is kept	90 days	Two years of clickstream data
Running it
Why each event was sent or skipped	Per-row delivery log with the reason	Not built in
Agencies with many clients	Agency board: every client on one login	Multiple workspaces with admin and user roles
Trial	Free plan	14-day free traffic audit

PPC Protect column checked on lunio.ai (where ppcprotect.com now redirects), 2 October 2026. "Not built in" means we found no Lunio feature for it on its site.

The 5 PPC Protect alternatives compared

	Best for	Blocks clicks	Clean conversions	CRM sales
DataCops	Clean tracking	No	Yes, per platform	Native
ClickCease	Low-cost blocking	Yes	Not stated	Not stated
ClickGUARD	Detailed rules	Yes	Not stated	Not stated
Fraud Blocker	Small businesses	Yes	Not stated	Not stated
Spider AF	Higher spend	Yes	Fake-lead product, extra	Not stated

1. DataCops: best PPC Protect alternative overall

Tracking solution · Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, LinkedIn

DataCops is the tracking solution for ad-funded businesses: it keeps bots out of what your ads learn from and sends the sale that happens after the form to Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, LinkedIn, Microsoft Ads, Reddit, Pinterest and X. It blocks repeat bots at your edge and does the part a blocker leaves behind. Every visit gets a bot verdict. Flagged visits are kept out of each ad platform you choose. Real conversions go server-side from your own domain. And the sales that close in your CRM go back to the ads, matched to the click.

Why people switch to it

• Bots kept out of what the ads learn from
• Server-side tracking with one script
• Booked, showed, won and paid from HighLevel or any CRM
• Public price and a free plan

Worth knowing

• Does not push IP exclusions or claim refunds
• Real people only is off until you switch it on

Best for: teams that want their ads to learn from real people and real sales.

2. ClickCease: best for low-cost blocking

Click fraud blocking · Google, Meta, Microsoft

ClickCease is the most direct swap if you want click blocking with a public price. The trial is 7 days.

The catch is the same as Lunio's. It blocks clicks. The bots that get through still reach your pixel as conversions, and your CRM sales stay invisible to the ads.

Why people switch to it

• Public, lower prices
• Google, Meta and Microsoft

Worth knowing

• Traffic caps per plan
• Does not track conversions

Best for: small accounts that want cheap blocking. See our ClickCease alternatives.

3. ClickGUARD: best for detailed rules

Click fraud rules · Google, Microsoft, Meta

ClickGUARD is built for PPC managers who want to set the rules themselves. Paying yearly saves 20%.

It gives you more control over blocking. It does not change what your ads learn from after the click.

Why people switch to it

• Fine rule control
• Clear spend tiers

Worth knowing

• Rules are your work to tune
• No CRM sales to the ads

Best for: teams that want to tune every rule by hand. See our ClickGUARD alternatives.

4. Fraud Blocker: best for small businesses

Click fraud blocking · Google Ads, Facebook, Instagram · price: see site, 7-day trial

Fraud Blocker blocks bad clicks on Google Ads, Facebook and Instagram, and adds email verification and visitor data enrichment. That extra email check is useful if fake leads land in your forms. Its pricing page showed no prices when we checked, so check the site.

It stays on the click side. Conversions, consent and CRM sales are outside what it does.

Why people switch to it

• Email verification on leads
• Simple for small teams

Worth knowing

• No prices shown when we checked
• Fewer ad platforms

Best for: teams that want click blocking plus a check on lead emails. See our Fraud Blocker alternatives.

5. Spider AF: best for higher spend

Ad fraud protection

Spider AF suits bigger accounts.

That makes it one of the few that looks at leads, not only clicks. You pay for it twice, and your CRM sales still do not reach the ads.

Why people switch to it

• Placement blocking
• Fake-lead product available

Worth knowing

• Fake-lead protection costs extra
• Expensive above the first plan

Best for: high spenders that want placement and fake-lead blocking from one vendor.

Looking wider? Compare Lunio, Anura, DataDome and CHEQ.

How to choose a PPC Protect alternative

1. Count your tools. A click blocker, server-side tracking, a cookie banner, a CRM connector and a specialist. DataCops replaces all of them.
2. Check where your sales close. If they close in a CRM or on a call, those stages must reach your ads. DataCops sends them.
3. Check what your ads learn from. If bot leads reach Meta or Google Ads as conversions, a click blocker alone will not fix it. Real people only does.
4. Price the whole stack. Compare one DataCops plan with every tool and hour it replaces, not one tool with another.

When not to use DataCops

• You need bot protection for your whole site, API or checkout. DataCops is built for ad spend and the conversions your ads learn from. It is not a general bot-management layer for login, checkout or API traffic. Check what each vendor covers.
• You only have a handful of clicks a month. On a very small budget, Google's own invalid click filtering and a quick manual review may be enough.
• You want clicks blocked or IPs excluded at the ad. DataCops keeps flagged visits out of the conversions you send. It does not block clicks or push IP exclusion lists to the ad platforms. Check what the tool you use offers for that.
• You expect automatic refunds. DataCops never submits anything to Google. You attach the evidence export and Google decides.

What's your actual goal?

Nobody wants a click fraud tool. You want five things:

1. Stop wasting budget on fake traffic. Lunio helps here.
2. Keep bots out of the data your ads learn from. Lunio does not track conversions.
3. Capture every real lead and sale, including the ones ad blockers and Safari hide.
4. Include the sales that happen offline, on a call, in a clinic, in your CRM.
5. Stay compliant, with consent checked and data deleted on request.

Lunio covers the first. DataCops covers the other four. Here is the same goal, done both ways.

PPC Protect guards the door. DataCops guards it too, at your Cloudflare edge, and decides what your ads learn.

Why people leave PPC Protect

• The brand changed. PPC Protect is now Lunio, and many teams use the move to review what they pay for.
• No public price. It is quote-only and tied to your ad spend, so you cannot compare it quickly.
• It works at one layer. It filters clicks at the ad platform. It does not track conversions or decide which ones reach your ads.
• Bots that get through still count. A bot lead that lands still goes to your pixel as a conversion.
• The sale is never seen. Booked calls and won deals happen in your CRM. A click blocker never hears about them.

Offline conversions: the job a click blocker cannot do

Many businesses do not sell on the website. The website collects the lead. The money comes later, and that is what your ads need to learn from. Here is what DataCops sends, by industry.

From HighLevel natively, or any CRM by webhook, directly or through Zapier, Make or n8n. Each sale is matched to the ad click by click ID or hashed email and phone.

One lead from a Meta ad

From form fill to won deal in HighLevel

checkWith DataCops

assignmentForm fillSent to Meta

event_availableBooked callSent to Meta

how_to_regShowed upSent to Meta

handshakeDeal wonSent with its value

linkMatched to the original ad click by email

1. A visitor clicks your ad. DataCops keeps the click ID on your own domain for 90 days.
2. The lead books, shows up or buys in your CRM, days or weeks later.
3. DataCops finds the original click by click ID or hashed email and phone.
4. The stage goes to Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, LinkedIn, Microsoft Ads, Reddit, Pinterest and X, counted once.

Ads Warmup: tell the ads who pays

PPC Protect protects your clicks. It does not tell the ad platforms who your good customers are, so a new campaign still starts cold. The customers you already have are the best description of who to find.

Ads Warmup, DataCops' flagship feature, sends them to your ad platforms before a campaign spends:

1. Upload a customer list. A CSV of past buyers, old leads or booked calls. DataCops reads your columns; only email is required.
2. See a match score for every person. An estimate from 0 to 10 from email, phone, name, location, click ID and customer ID, before anything is sent.
3. Pick the event. Purchase, Lead, Complete registration, Add to cart or Schedule.
4. Send server-side. Up to 20,000 people per upload to Meta, Google Ads and TikTok, with a sent, skipped or failed result per person. Google Ads credits only people who clicked a Google ad.

Each row is dated when you press send, not with the old sale date, so it gives a new campaign real customers to learn from on day one. Preview is free; sending needs a paid plan.

What else a click fraud tool never does

• Capture at the edge. With DNS on Cloudflare, the free, optional DataCops Cloudflare Worker reads click IDs and UTMs off the first request, before the page or any script runs. It captures; it does not block.
• Keep the click on the server. gclid, wbraid, gbraid, fbclid, ttclid and li_fat_id are stored for up to 90 days, so a deal that closes weeks later still finds its click. A signed server-set cookie lasts up to 400 days where enabled.
• Check the lead's email. Fixed rules, not guesses: disposable providers, domains with no mail server and an email risk score. With LeadCops (Business and up), a lead that fails is held and never billed.
• Install on Shopify. The DataCops Shopify app adds a web pixel and a theme app embed, so every paid order reaches your ads, express checkouts included. See Shopify Conversions API.
• Hand evidence to Google. On the Organization plan, the fraud refund report exports bot-flagged Google Ads clicks in the format Google's Click Quality form asks for. You attach it; Google decides.

Setup, step by step, side by side

Here is the same job done both ways. Lunio steps are from its own website. DataCops steps are what you do in the dashboard.

The job	With PPC Protect	With DataCops
Get started	Book a call, get a quote, start the 14-day traffic audit.	Sign up free and add one script and one DNS record.
Stop paying for bad clicks	Connect ad accounts. IP exclusions and exclusion audiences are pushed automatically.	Repeat bot IPs challenged or blocked at your Cloudflare edge, plus Google refund evidence (Organization plan).
Keep bots out of conversions	Not built in. Your pixels still send what they see.	Switch on Real people only for each platform.
Send conversions server-side	Not built in. Needs another tool.	Connect Meta, Google Ads, TikTok, LinkedIn and X with one click each, and Microsoft Ads, Reddit and Pinterest with an API key.
Handle consent	Not built in. Bring your own consent banner.	Switch on the built-in consent manager (with Google Consent Mode v2).
Find out why a conversion is missing	Not its job. Check each ad platform.	Open the delivery log row. The reason is written next to it.

These tools are not doing the same job, which is the point. Lunio works on the click. DataCops works on the data your ads learn from.

"15 minutes to get server-side tracking live. After 3 days failing with another app and a DIY server-side Google Tag Manager, that alone sold me. Then support jumped on a Google Meet with me on a Sunday afternoon to finish the job."

Andrew Forsyth, Chief Executive Officer, Zeald

What to know before you switch

• No tool stops the first click. It already happened on Google or Meta. DataCops stops everything after it: the repeat visit, the bot conversion and the money you never claimed back.
• Edge blocking and refund evidence are on the Organization plan. Real people only, the click log and server-side conversions are on every plan.
• Switch Real people only on from day one. It starts off on a new site.

Moving from PPC Protect without losing protection

1. Add DataCops. One script and one DNS record, about five minutes.
2. Connect the same ad accounts, and send each conversion from one place only. Switch off the pixel events DataCops now sends, so nothing counts twice. New Google Ads actions start as secondary, so bidding does not change until you choose.
3. Switch on Real people only for each platform, and watch what gets skipped in the delivery log for two weeks.
4. Connect your CRM (HighLevel or your webhook) to add the stages a click blocker never saw.
5. Then decide on Lunio. Keep it if paid bad clicks are still a big cost. Cancel it if clean data was what you needed.

Every DataCops product mentioned here

• Click fraud protection, SignupCops and first-party analytics.
• Offline conversions, HighLevel conversion tracking and DataCops for agencies.
• Server-side tracking and the no-GTM alternative.
• Meta Conversions API, Google Ads conversion tracking, TikTok Events API, LinkedIn Conversions API.
• Consent manager, Ads Warmup and health mode.

PPC Protect alternatives: FAQ

Sources

• ppcprotect.com
• lunio.ai
• Google Ads Help: invalid clicks