vidIQ review: $7.50 a month for YouTube keyword research
vidIQ is a YouTube research and growth tool built around keyword data and a browser extension. Our check of vidiq.com on 11 June 2026, four months before this review was written, recorded a free plan, Pro at $7.50 a month, Boost at $39 a month and Max at $79 a month.
The short answer
Buy vidIQ Buy Pro if you are actively growing one channel and want topic decisions backed by search data. Pro was $7.50 a month when we checked vidiq.com on 11 June 2026, which is $90 across a year on that monthly rate, and the free plan below it carries limited keyword searches rather than none.
Skip it Skip Boost and Max unless the coaching and competitor features are genuinely the thing you lack. Boost was $39 a month and Max $79 a month on the same check, so Boost is $468 across a year, which is a serious line item for a channel that is not yet earning.
Where vidIQ fits
vidIQ fits the creator who has decided to grow deliberately and wants evidence behind each video idea. Keyword research is its strongest part: search demand alongside an estimate of whether a channel your size can rank for the term, which is the question a new creator cannot answer from YouTube's own interface.
The browser extension is the second reason people stay. It overlays research data on YouTube itself, so competitor tags, view velocity and scores appear while you are watching rather than in a separate dashboard, and the habit forms quickly.
The tiers climb steeply and that is the main thing to understand before buying. Our check of vidiq.com on 11 June 2026 recorded a free plan with limited keyword searches, Pro at $7.50 a month, Boost at $39 a month and Max at $79 a month with AI coaching. The step from Pro to Boost is $31.50 a month, which is $378 across a year.
Pro at $7.50 a month is $90 across a year on the monthly rate, and that is the tier most individual creators should price first. It is inexpensive enough that a channel earning anything at all can carry it, and the keyword research that justifies the product is present there.
The annual rates in our snapshot are prefixed as approximate, so we write them as approximate: about $5.63 a month on Pro, about $29 a month on Boost and about $59 a month on Max, with the discount described as roughly 25 per cent. Those are our own imprecise figures rather than exact list prices. On Pro, about $5.63 a month works out at about $67.56 across a year against $90 paid monthly, and that comparison is only as good as the rounding behind it.
Boost at $39 a month, $468 across a year, and Max at $79 a month, $948 across a year, are the tiers to be careful with. They add coaching and deeper competitor work, and the honest test is whether you would pay a person that much for the same advice. For many creators the answer is no, and the Pro to Boost gap gates features that feel like they should be lower down.
Against the alternatives this is a two-horse race. TubeBuddy at $4.99 a month on Pro, verified 15 June 2026, does more inside YouTube Studio and costs less to start. Social Blade at $3.99 a month on Bronze, verified 11 June 2026, reads public data on any channel without connecting to yours. All of these checks are June 2026 and four months old, so read each vendor's live page before paying.
vidIQ pricing
vidIQ sells four tiers and prices per channel rather than by usage. The monthly figures below come from our check of vidiq.com on 11 June 2026 and are exact as recorded; the annual figures are approximate, and both are four months old and not re-verified.
| Plan | Price | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | No time limit. Limited keyword searches and basic extension data |
| Pro | $7.50/mo | About $5.63/mo billed annually, an approximate figure. Full keyword research |
| Boost | $39/mo | About $29/mo billed annually, an approximate figure. Deeper competitor and growth tools |
| Max | $79/mo | About $59/mo billed annually, an approximate figure. Adds AI coaching |
There is no seat meter here, so the tier is a judgement about how much growth tooling you will use. Five things decide it:
- How many keyword searches you run. The free plan was limited rather than unmetered as of 11 June 2026, and that limit is what pushes people to Pro at $7.50 a month.
- Whether competitor tracking matters enough to cross the Boost line at $39 a month, a step of $31.50 from Pro.
- Whether AI coaching is worth $79 a month on Max, which is $948 across a year on the monthly rate.
- Billing period. The annual rates we hold are approximate, about $5.63 on Pro and about $29 on Boost, with the discount described as roughly 25 per cent.
- Whether YouTube is your only platform. vidIQ covers nothing else, so anything beyond it is a separate bill.
vidIQ pricing against the YouTube tools
The comparison that matters is with TubeBuddy. TubeBuddy was $4.99 a month on Pro and $19.99 on Legend, verified 15 June 2026, so it starts $2.51 a month cheaper than vidIQ Pro and its top published tier sits well below vidIQ's Boost at $39 a month. Social Blade was $3.99 a month on Bronze, verified 11 June 2026, and answers a different question from public data. Iconosquare at $39 a month on Launch, verified 12 June 2026, covers Instagram and TikTok rather than YouTube. On price alone vidIQ Pro is mid-field and vidIQ Boost is the most expensive self-serve tier in this group.
vidIQ billing terms worth knowing
The gap between Pro and Boost is the single most important number on this page.
- Free plan
- No time limit, with limited keyword searches, as of 11 June 2026.
- Pro
- $7.50 a month, which is $90 across a year, or about $5.63 a month billed annually.
- Boost
- $39 a month, which is $468 across a year, or about $29 a month billed annually.
- Max
- $79 a month, which is $948 across a year, or about $59 a month billed annually.
- Step from Pro to Boost
- $31.50 a month on the monthly rates, which is $378 across a year.
- Annual rates
- Approximate in our records, with the discount described as roughly 25 per cent. Confirm before prepaying.
- Refunds
- A 30-day money-back guarantee was recorded on paid plans on 11 June 2026.
The monthly figures here are exact as we recorded them and the annual ones are approximations we are labelling as such. All of it is four months old, so the current rate card wins any disagreement with this page. Our creator tool cost calculators will total a YouTube stack once you have today's numbers from each vendor.
What vidIQ gives up
It is YouTube and nothing else. A creator who also posts to TikTok or Instagram gets no coverage here, so Iconosquare at $39 a month on Launch, verified 12 June 2026, or something like it becomes a second subscription.
Keyword scores are estimates and should be read as direction rather than fact. They are modelled from search and competition signals, so a high score is an argument for a topic and not a promise about it.
The Pro to Boost step is the most common complaint and it is a pricing decision rather than a product flaw. Paying $7.50 a month and finding the feature you wanted sits at $39, a jump of $31.50 a month and $378 across a year, feels like a gate because it is one.
The AI features are uneven. Daily video ideas are useful as prompts, and the thumbnail generation is weaker than what a designer or a design tool would give you, so budget for thumbnails separately rather than counting them as included value.
Billing and cancellation complaints are common enough in our own earlier notes to mention, and the 30-day money-back guarantee recorded on 11 June 2026 is the thing to rely on rather than goodwill. Keep the dates in mind if you are trialling a paid tier.
Working inside a browser extension means the tool is only present where it is installed, and it adds weight to pages you were already loading. Research on a phone is not part of the offer.
Our pricing evidence is from 11 June 2026, four months before publication, and the annual rates in it are approximate. We would rather label our own rounding than present it as a list price, and that is the main caveat to carry away from this page.
How vidIQ compares
The table sets vidIQ against its direct rival, the cheap public-data option and a social analytics tool covering the platforms it ignores. Each price is that vendor's published rate with the date we checked it, and those dates are separate checks. The creator analytics category holds the full field.
| Tool | Best for | Price | Where it breaks |
|---|---|---|---|
| vidIQ | YouTube keyword research and topic decisions | Free, $7.50/mo Pro (11 June 2026) | YouTube only; the step to Boost at $39/mo is steep |
| TubeBuddy | Thumbnail tests and bulk work inside Studio | Free, $4.99/mo Pro (15 June 2026) | Analytics depth is thinner; bulk tools gated to Legend |
| Social Blade | Public stats on channels you do not own | Free, $3.99/mo Bronze (11 June 2026) | Public data only, with estimated earnings figures |
| Iconosquare | Instagram and TikTok reporting | Free, $39/mo Launch (12 June 2026) | No YouTube coverage at any tier |
What to test on the vidIQ free plan
Our 11 June 2026 check recorded a free plan with no time limit and limited keyword searches, plus a 30-day money-back guarantee on paid plans. Confirm both, because that check is four months old and our annual figures are approximate.
- Read the current tiers on vidiq.com, especially the annual rates. Ours are approximate and four months old, so this is the step not to take on trust.
- Install the extension and use the free keyword searches on three videos you are planning. The limit itself tells you whether Pro at $7.50 a month is needed.
- Check whether the scores change your decisions. A tool that confirms what you would have done anyway is not worth $90 a year.
- Write down which feature you want before looking at Boost. If it sits behind the $39 a month tier, that is a $378 a year decision rather than a small upgrade.
- Test the AI video ideas for a week and judge them as prompts rather than as plans. Do not price the thumbnail generator as a design budget.
- Compare against TubeBuddy at $4.99 a month on Pro, verified 15 June 2026, and read our vidIQ against TubeBuddy comparison before committing to either.
- If you do pay, note the date and the 30-day guarantee recorded on 11 June 2026, and use the cost calculators to total the year on the current rates rather than ours.
vidIQ questions buyers ask
How much does vidIQ cost per month?
vidIQ offers four plans: Free at $0, Pro at $7.50 a month, Boost at $39 a month and Max at $79 a month. Those monthly rates are exact as recorded on 11 June 2026. Annual billing is cheaper, at roughly $5.63, $29 and $59 a month, but the annual figures in our record are approximate, so confirm them on vidiq.com before prepaying. The free plan has no time limit and includes basic keyword research, three daily ideas, and the Chrome extension.
Does vidIQ have a free plan?
Yes, and it's genuinely useful, not just a trial. The free plan includes basic keyword research, three AI-generated daily video ideas, the Chrome extension with inline analytics on any YouTube video, and channel performance stats. You can use it indefinitely. The main limitations are reduced keyword data depth and fewer daily idea suggestions compared to paid plans.
Who is vidIQ best for?
vidIQ is built for YouTubers who want to grow through data-driven decisions rather than guessing. It's strongest for creators making searchable content: tutorials, reviews, how-to videos, and educational content where keywords matter. Channels between 1,000 and 500,000 subscribers who publish weekly tend to get the most value. It's less useful for entertainment or vlog channels where discoverability is mainly algorithmic.
vidIQ vs TubeBuddy: which is better for YouTube growth?
vidIQ is better for keyword research, trend discovery, and competitive intelligence. TubeBuddy is better for bulk video optimization (updating cards, tags, and descriptions across many videos at once) and thumbnail A/B testing (Legend plan). Pricing is not comparable: TubeBuddy runs $4.99/mo for Pro to $19.99/mo for Legend, verified 15 June 2026, while vidIQ runs $7.50/mo for Pro to $79/mo for Max, recorded 11 June 2026. Many serious YouTubers use both. If you're picking one, choose vidIQ for strategy and research, TubeBuddy for workflow and optimization.
Does vidIQ work with platforms other than YouTube?
No. vidIQ is YouTube-only. It does not track or optimize content for TikTok, Instagram, Twitch, or any other platform. If you need multi-platform analytics, look at Metricool (YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook) or Iconosquare (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube). vidIQ's YouTube-only focus means its YouTube features are deeper than multi-platform tools, but you'll need a second tool if you post elsewhere.
Is vidIQ's keyword research tool accurate?
It's directionally accurate, not perfectly precise. The keyword scores are estimates based on vidIQ's proprietary algorithms, and they're useful for comparing two topics against each other. However, actual search interests can differ from what vidIQ shows, and competition scores sometimes miss nuances. Treat the scores as a starting point, not absolute truth. Cross-reference with YouTube autocomplete suggestions and your own knowledge of your niche.
What does the vidIQ Chrome extension do?
The extension overlays analytics data directly onto YouTube pages while you browse. On any video, you can see its tags, views-per-hour, engagement rate, and SEO score. On your own videos, it shows optimization suggestions. On search results, it shows keyword competition data. It essentially turns your normal YouTube browsing into passive research. The extension works on the free plan: no paid subscription required.
Can I use vidIQ on multiple YouTube channels?
The Free and Pro plans support one YouTube channel each. The Boost plan supports up to 10 channels, which makes it suitable for creators with multiple brands or small agencies. For more than 10 channels, vidIQ offers Enterprise pricing with custom channel limits. If you only have one channel, this isn't a factor in your plan decision.
Is vidIQ worth it for small YouTubers?
The free plan is absolutely worth using for any YouTuber: there's no downside. For paid plans, it depends on your publishing frequency and content type. If you post weekly and make searchable content (tutorials, reviews), even the $7.50 a month Pro plan, recorded 11 June 2026, can help you find better topics. If you post monthly or make entertainment content where search doesn't drive views, the paid plans are harder to justify. Start free, and upgrade only when you've hit the limits of what the free plan offers.
Can I cancel vidIQ anytime?
Yes, you can cancel your vidIQ subscription at any time. However, multiple users have reported that the cancellation process isn't always smooth and refunds are rarely granted. Cancel before your renewal date to avoid being charged for another cycle. If you're on an annual plan, you won't get a prorated refund for unused months. Set a calendar reminder a few days before renewal so you have time to decide.