Sales Loves Marketing
Acquired by GameSquare in February 2026; still sold as TubeBuddy with the same plans.
- Best for
- Small company channels that want keyword research, A/B tests and bulk editing, and brands with 3 or more channels on the Enterprise plan
- Starting price
- $12 per month, billed yearly
- Free plan
- ✓ Yes
- Free trial
- ✗ No
TubeBuddy is a YouTube tool that runs as a browser extension inside YouTube and YouTube Studio, with a mobile app alongside. It adds keyword research, A/B tests, competitor tracking and bulk editing. There is a free plan, and paid licences start at $12 a month billed yearly for one channel.
Who is TubeBuddy for?
TubeBuddy suits channels that publish often and want to save time on optimisation and repetitive edits. There is a catch for companies. TubeBuddy sells Pro and Legend to individual creators only. It treats an account as a business if it has several channels on TubeBuddy, 50,000 or more subscribers, 3 or more channel managers or 50 or more employees. Those accounts go to Enterprise, which is priced on request.
GameSquare bought TubeBuddy in February 2026. TubeBuddy says the name, plans, prices and extension stay the same.
What does TubeBuddy do for a business channel?
Keyword research and SEO
Keyword Explorer shows search volume and competition scores for YouTube keywords, with long-tail and trending tag ideas. SEO Studio and a best practice audit help you apply them to titles, descriptions and tags. See our guide to keyword research.
A/B testing
On Legend and Enterprise you can test thumbnails, titles, descriptions and tags. TubeBuddy compares click-through rate, engagement, traffic sources and watch time. YouTube Studio now has its own free tests for titles and thumbnails, so TubeBuddy's main extra is testing descriptions and tags and reporting more metrics. Read more about A/B testing.
Competitor tracking
You can compare your channel with up to 10 competitors on views, subscribers and engagement. TubeBuddy sends an email, in-app or text alert when they publish. Legend includes a limited Competitor Scorecard, and Enterprise the full version.
Bulk editing and scheduling
Legend adds bulk find, replace and append across video metadata, bulk thumbnail overlays, scheduled publishing and scheduled updates. Its Channel Access tool lets channel managers use TubeBuddy without the owner's Google login. Pro and Legend allow limited bulk edits to cards and end screens, and Enterprise removes the limits.
How much does TubeBuddy cost?
Prices checked on 1 November 2026 on TubeBuddy's pricing page, charged in US dollars, per channel:
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 |
| Pro | $12 a month | $15 a month |
| Legend | $26.39 a month | $32.99 a month |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing | Custom pricing |
Yearly billing saves 20 percent. TubeBuddy has a 30-day refund policy and no contracts. Enterprise adds role-based permissions, custom data exports, 1:1 training, coaching and SLA-backed support.
What do users say about TubeBuddy?
TubeBuddy is rated 4.6 out of 5 on G2 from 44 reviews and 4.6 on Capterra from about 114 reviews. Reviewers most often praise the keyword research, the time saved by bulk editing and templates, and the support team and community.
Common complaints are a learning curve and too many tools for beginners. Reviewers also say the best features need a paid licence. On Trustpilot, where TubeBuddy scores 2.5 from 26 reviews, complaints focus on billing and cancellations.
When should you choose an alternative?
- You only need title and thumbnail tests. YouTube Studio tests up to three versions for free.
- You want more AI help with ideas. vidIQ adds daily ideas, an AI coach and AI credits for thumbnails and scripts.
- You only need to benchmark public channels. Social Blade shows public growth history for free.
For a wider plan, see our YouTube marketing strategies or browse all SEO tools.
Key features
- Keyword Explorer. Finds YouTube keywords with search volume and competition scores, plus long-tail and trending tag ideas, on all paid plans.
- A/B testing. Tests thumbnails, titles, descriptions and tags and compares click-through rate, engagement, traffic sources and watch time, on Legend and Enterprise.
- Competitor analysis. Compares your channel with up to 10 competitors and sends email, in-app or text alerts when they publish; the full Competitor Scorecard is on Enterprise.
- Bulk editing. Find, replace and append text across video metadata, and update cards, end screens and thumbnail overlays in bulk, mostly on Legend and Enterprise.
- Scheduling and channel access. Scheduled publishing and scheduled video updates on Legend, plus Channel Access, which lets the owner give channel managers use of TubeBuddy tools without sharing a Google login.
- Retention Analyzer. Shows where viewers drop off in your videos, on all paid plans, with exports on Enterprise.
TubeBuddy pricing
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | Essential optimisation and keyword tools for one channel; advanced SEO, A/B tests and deeper audience insights need a paid licence |
| Pro | $12 per month billed yearly, or $15 billed monthly | One channel, individual creators only; Keyword Explorer, SEO Studio, best time to publish, retention analyzer and basic thumbnail tools, with no A/B tests and only limited bulk editing |
| Legend | $26.39 per month billed yearly, or $32.99 billed monthly | One channel, individual creators only; adds A/B tests, bulk editing, scheduled publishing, TubeBuddy access for channel managers, competitor upload alerts and a limited competitor scorecard |
| Enterprise | Custom pricing | For brands with 3 or more channels; full competitor scorecard, unlimited bulk editing, A/B test data export, role-based permissions, coaching and SLA-backed support |
TubeBuddy FAQ
Is TubeBuddy free?
Yes. TubeBuddy has a free plan with essential optimisation and keyword tools. A/B tests, advanced SEO tools and bulk editing need a paid licence.
How much does TubeBuddy cost?
On 1 November 2026 TubeBuddy listed Pro at $12 a month billed yearly or $15 billed monthly, and Legend at $26.39 a month billed yearly or $32.99 billed monthly. Each licence covers one channel. Enterprise is priced on request.
Can a business buy TubeBuddy Pro or Legend?
Not always. TubeBuddy sells Pro and Legend to individual creators only. It treats an account as a business if it has several channels on TubeBuddy, 50,000 or more subscribers, 3 or more channel managers or 50 or more employees, and points those customers to Enterprise.
Who owns TubeBuddy?
GameSquare acquired TubeBuddy in February 2026. TubeBuddy says the product name, plans, prices and the browser extension stay the same.