vidIQ vs Yoast SEO Comparison 2026
Both cover seo & discovery. 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
Checks a WordPress post before you publish it
At a glance
- Yoast SEO starts cheaper, at $9.90.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
vidIQ | Yoast SEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $16.58 | From $9.90 |
| 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 | None |
| Runs on (they differ) | Web, iOS, Android |
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 analytics
- Covers research & trends
- Works with YouTube
Yoast SEO
Checks a WordPress post before you publish it
Yoast SEO reads a draft in the WordPress editor and tells you what a search engine will struggle with: a missing meta description, a heading structure that does not nest, an internal link that should exist. The free plugin covers the basics and is what most sites run. Premium adds redirect management, which is the part that saves you when a URL changes, plus multiple keyphrases per post and internal linking suggestions. It is a subscription per site with the seat count stated separately.
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.