vidIQ vs ViewStats Comparison 2026
Both cover analytics and research & trends. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
YouTube research, and a coach that reads your channel
YouTube analytics from MrBeast's own team
At a glance
- vidIQ starts cheaper, at $16.58.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
vidIQ | ViewStats | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $16.58 | From $49.99 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Not stated |
| Free trial | None | Not stated |
| API | Not stated | Not stated |
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
| Their cut | None | Not stated |
| Runs on (they differ) | Web, iOS, Android | Web |
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.
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.
Our note
vidIQ and TubeBuddy overlap enough that paying for both is waste. vidIQ is the better research and ideas tool; TubeBuddy is the better bulk-editing one. Pick by which job you actually have.
Only on this side
- Covers seo & discovery
ViewStats
YouTube analytics from MrBeast's own team
ViewStats came out of MrBeast's own team and sells the tooling they built to answer one question: which videos are doing better than they should be. Outlier detection is the headline feature, alongside thumbnail and title comparison against your niche. There is a free site and a browser extension that overlays numbers while you watch. Pro is where the competitor tracking and the idea tools sit.
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.