Social Blade vs vidIQ Comparison 2026
Both cover analytics and research & trends. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
Public stats for channels you do not own
YouTube research, and a coach that reads your channel
At a glance
- Social Blade starts cheaper, at $5.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Social Blade | vidIQ | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $5 | From $16.58 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Not stated | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | None | None |
| API | Yes |
Shaded rows are where the two answers disagree and both listings have answered. A row where one side has not stated a fact is left plain, because silence is not a difference.
Social Blade
Public stats for channels you do not own
Social Blade has been the place people check somebody else's numbers since long before creator analytics was a product category. Everything public is free to look at, which is why brands, journalists and rival channels all end up here. What a subscription buys is the absence of adverts, longer history and the ranked lists. The estimated earnings figure is a wide range built from public data, and it should be read as one.
Our note
The estimated earnings range is the most quoted and least reliable thing on the site, because it is inferred from public view counts and knows nothing about sponsorships, which are usually the larger half. Bronze is enough for occasional checks, and the reason to go past it is the ranked lists rather than the extra history.
Only on this side
- Works with Instagram
- Works with TikTok
- Works with Facebook
- Works with Twitch
vidIQ
YouTube research, and a coach that reads your channel
vidIQ is a browser extension and an app that puts keyword, competitor and thumbnail data next to the video you are about to publish. The part people stay for is the AI coach, which reads your own channel rather than giving general advice. Its suggestions are worth arguing with rather than following.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.