vidIQ and TubeBuddy alternatives: free plans, prices and extensions compared

At a glance

The lowest price of a paid plan billed month to month, in US dollars; where yearly billing exists, it costs less per month. Store numbers are the users and the star rating on each Chrome Web Store listing.

These numbers were read on 20 October 2026. Plans and prices change, and ViewStats and TubeLab show prices in the visitor's local currency (the dollar prices here were read for a US location). Each tool's pricing page is linked under Sources.

Which tool for which job

Matched to what each tool's own pages listed on 20 October 2026. A tool can appear in more than one row, and a tool missing from a row may still do that job in a way its pages do not describe.

vidIQ: keyword research, AI ideas and coaching

A browser extension and web app for YouTube keyword and SEO research, AI video ideas, optimization and coaching. Inside YouTube and YouTube Studio it shows a vidIQ score and suggestions for keywords, tags, titles and descriptions.

• Fits creators who want keyword research, competitor tracking, real-time views per hour and an AI coach in one place.
• Free plan: 150 AI credits a month, niche trends, content ideas and growth tips from the AI Coach.
• Price: Boost from $19 a month billed monthly or $199 a year (2,000 AI credits a month); MAX from $49 a month or $468 a year (6,000 credits). Options with more credits cost more, and Enterprise is priced by the sales team. AI features use credits on every plan.
• Chrome extension: vidIQ Vision for YouTube, 4 million users, 4.8 stars from about 11,400 ratings. vidIQ also offers it for Firefox and Edge.
• vidIQ MCP, included on every plan, lets Claude, ChatGPT and other AI tools use vidIQ data.

TubeBuddy: keyword tools, A/B tests and bulk editing

A browser extension, web app and mobile apps for YouTube SEO and keyword research, A/B tests, bulk editing and channel analytics.

• Fits creators with many videos who want keyword tools, A/B tests for thumbnails and titles, and bulk edits such as cards, end screens or find and replace.
• Free plan: no credit card needed; it covers essential tools for optimizing videos and researching keywords. Advanced keyword and SEO tools, thumbnail A/B tests and deeper audience analysis are paid.
• Price: Legend $32.99 a month billed monthly, or $316.68 a year. The pricing page also names a Pro plan but showed no Pro price on 20 October 2026. Enterprise, for 3 or more channels, is priced by the sales team. One license covers one channel, and there is a 30-day refund policy.
• Chrome extension: TubeBuddy for YouTube, 1 million users, 3.5 stars from about 8,500 ratings.
• Pro and Legend are for individual creators. TubeBuddy can decide that a larger channel, for example one with 50,000 or more subscribers or 3 or more managers, counts as a business.

1of10: outlier research, AI thumbnails and titles

A research tool that finds videos beating their channel's average (outliers), combined with AI tools for thumbnails, titles, ideas and video editing.

• Fits creators who plan videos from what already outperforms in their niche and want AI help with thumbnails and titles.
• Free plan: 60 credits a month and 1 connected channel; research shows 5 outlier results, 5 thumbnail search results and the top 3 trending formats.
• Price: Basic $19 a month billed monthly or $180 a year (150 credits, up to 3 channels); Pro from $89 a month or $828 a year (1,000 credits, unlimited channels, MCP and API). Ultra is sold yearly only. Research does not use credits; AI work does, for example 4 credits per thumbnail. There is a 7-day money-back guarantee.
• Chrome extension: 1of10.com - Optimization Tool For Youtube, 30,000 users, 4.0 stars from 35 ratings. Its outlier scores and video rankings are free.
• The interface is available in 12 languages.

ViewStats: outlier and thumbnail research

A platform for finding outlier videos, searching thumbnails and tracking channels. ViewStats says it was co-founded by MrBeast.

• Fits creators who study the titles and thumbnails that worked in their niche and want to follow competitor channels with trend alerts.
• Free: a free account on the site and a free Chrome extension with views over time, title and thumbnail change tracking and a ranking against the creator's previous nine uploads.
• Price: Pro $49.99 a month billed monthly or $479.88 a year; Business from $249 a month. ViewStats shows prices in local currency; these are the US prices.
• Chrome extension: Viewstats - YouTube video & channel analytics, 100,000 users, 3.9 stars from 241 ratings.
• Thumbnail search also works with a URL or an image. The site and the store listing are in English only.

OutlierKit: competitor research from public data

Competitor and outlier research for YouTube: enter one public channel and it maps the niche and surfaces videos that beat their channel's average. It also offers keyword research and script analysis.

• Fits creators who research a niche from public data; no YouTube account connection is needed.
• Free: no permanent free plan, but a free trial of 30 credits with no card.
• Price: Hobby $49 a month billed monthly, $99 a quarter or $299 a year (100 credits a month); Pro $99 a month or $599 a year (500 credits); Max $399 a month (2,000 credits). Lifetime plans start at $899, and extra credits cost $19 per 100. An outlier search costs 2 credits, a script analysis 10.
• Chrome extension: OutlierKit, 645 users, 5.0 stars from 2 ratings. It shows outlier multipliers on YouTube and needs an OutlierKit account; the free trial is enough.
• Competitor Studio, the MCP server and the API come with Pro and Max.

Morningfame: guided video SEO for smaller channels

An analytics and video SEO tool with keyword research and benchmarks against channels of similar size, aimed at small and mid-size channels. Joining needs an invite code.

• Fits small and mid-size channels that want step-by-step video SEO and a weekly channel update by email.
• Free: no permanent free plan; new members get the first month free.
• Price: Basic $4.90 a month, with limited access to the Keyword Research Tool and Niche Spy; Plus $12.90 a month. Prices include taxes.
• Chrome extension: none found; the site mentions none and a Chrome Web Store search returned no results.
• You connect your channel through Google sign-in with read access to its statistics; one Morningfame account covers one channel.

Social Blade: public statistics, not SEO

A tracker of public statistics, with daily subscriber and view history and rankings, for YouTube and four other platforms. It is not a keyword or SEO tool.

• Fits anyone who wants to follow a channel's public growth over time or compare channels.
• Free: public stats pages work without an account, and a free account adds 5 favorites per platform. Ads are shown.
• Price: Bronze $5.99 a month or $59.99 a year; Silver $14.99 or $149.99; Gold $59.99 or $599.99; Platinum $149.99 a month. Paid plans remove ads and add more favorites, longer top lists and YouTube report cards.
• Chrome extension: Social Blade, 300,000 users, 3.6 stars from about 1,100 ratings. The listing itself says its YouTube features stopped working after Chrome 127.

TubeLab: niche finding and AI scripts

A niche finder and outlier research tool (tubelab.net) that also writes ideas and scripts with AI. A separate Korean product, tubelab.kr, also shows up in Chrome Web Store searches.

• Fits creators choosing a niche who want to filter rising channels by RPM and revenue and get AI help with ideas and scripts.
• Free: no free trial of the Niche Finder; only the Monetization Checker extension is free.
• Price: Starter $29 a month (200 credits, 1 channel); Pro $49 a month, shown at $39 with a 20% off badge on 20 October 2026 (400 credits, 5 channels); Team $100 a month (1,000 credits, 10 channels). Yearly billing is also offered. TubeLab shows prices in local currency; these are the US prices.
• Chrome extension: YouTube Monetization & RPM Checker by TubeLab, 30,000 users, 4.1 stars from 71 ratings. It is a side tool, not the research product.
• The FAQ says search and filters also work for non-English content. An MCP server is available, and API access comes with Pro.

ViralDNA: where it is different

ViralDNA publishes this page, so this section sticks to what it does differently from the tools above. It is not a keyword research tool: it works on the script, the thumbnail and the audio before you publish.

• A script score on 16 fixed criteria. Script Analysis rates hook, retention, emotion and triggers, and every score has to quote your own text; the quote is checked. Your first analysis is free.
• A policy check before you record. Policy Audit reads a script against YouTube's advertiser-friendly guidelines and Community Guidelines, quotes every risky line and suggests a safer rewrite. It uses script tokens (1 per 5,000 characters) and cannot promise full ads; YouTube makes the final call.
• Audio tools that run in your browser. Silence Remover cuts long pauses from a voiceover and SRT Maker turns it into a subtitle file; the audio itself is never uploaded. Both are part of Pro.
• A free Google Flow extension. ViralDNA Auto Flow runs hundreds of Google Flow prompts in a row, for Veo videos and Nano Banana images, and downloads every result in order: 8,000 users, 4.4 stars from 170 ratings.

Also good to know: the interface and the AI reports are in English, Turkish, French, German, Italian and Spanish. The free plan includes the first script analysis, Thumbnail Preview, Auto Flow's batch prompts and the YouTube tools of the second extension, ViralDNA - YouTube Competitor Tools (1,000 users, 5.0 stars from 8 ratings). Pro costs $14.99 a month; script tokens and thumbnail credits are bought separately.

What it does not do: keyword search volume, rank tracking, A/B tests on YouTube or bulk editing. Several tools above list those features.

How this page was checked

• Every price, free plan and feature was read on 20 October 2026 from the tool's own website (pricing, features or help pages) or its Chrome Web Store listing. No account was used and nothing was bought.
• Prices are in US dollars. Billed monthly means the month-to-month price; yearly plans are charged once a year and cost less per month.
• ViewStats and TubeLab show prices in the visitor's local currency, so their dollar prices were read for a US location.
• Creator counts that companies publish about themselves are left out. Chrome Web Store users and ratings are shown instead, because anyone can check them; they change daily.
• Where a tool's pages disagreed with each other, this page follows the pricing page, and a price that no official page showed is not given.
• ViralDNA's own facts come from its pricing page and its Chrome Web Store listings. If you spot an outdated price, write to support@viraldna.io.