Sales Loves Marketing
- Best for
- Marketing teams that want YouTube keyword data, competitor tracking and AI help with ideas and titles on top of YouTube Studio
- Starting price
- $16.58 per month, billed yearly
- Free plan
- ✓ Yes
- Free trial
- ✗ No
vidIQ is a YouTube growth tool for keyword research, competitor tracking and video ideas. It runs as a web app and as a browser extension that adds data inside YouTube and YouTube Studio. There is a free plan, and paid plans start at $16.58 a month billed yearly.
Who is vidIQ for?
vidIQ suits marketing teams and creators who want to plan videos around what people search for on YouTube. It adds search volume, competitor data and AI suggestions that YouTube Studio does not show. Boost and MAX cover up to 3 channels. Brands with more channels or several users are pointed to vidIQ Enterprise, which adds seats, roles, SSO and a strategist.
What does vidIQ do for a business channel?
Keyword research
Enter a topic and vidIQ lists related YouTube keywords with search volume, competition and a score. The extension shows the same data while you browse YouTube. Free users see 3 results per search, while Boost and MAX are unlimited. Read more about keyword research.
Competitor tracking
You can track up to 3 channels on Free, 20 on Boost and 50 on MAX. vidIQ compares views, subscribers and upload pace over 30 days, 60 days or 12 months. It also sorts competitors' videos by views per hour, so you see what is picking up now, and you can export their top keywords.
Ideas, outliers and AI tools
Daily Ideas suggests topics from YouTube data. Outliers finds videos that perform far above their channel's usual baseline, filtered by keyword, views per hour, channel size and format. The AI Coach answers strategy questions. Title, description, thumbnail, script and clipping tools use the plan's monthly AI credits, which do not roll over.
Optimisation inside YouTube Studio
The extension adds title, description and tag suggestions, a video score and best times to post to the upload flow. vidIQ MCP connects vidIQ data to AI assistants such as Claude and ChatGPT on every plan.
How much does vidIQ cost?
Prices checked on 1 November 2026 on vidIQ's pricing page, in US dollars, for one channel:
| Plan | Billed yearly | Billed monthly | AI credits a month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | $0 | 150 |
| Boost | $199 a year ($16.58 a month) | $19 a month | 2,000 |
| MAX | $468 a year ($39 a month) | $49 a month | 6,000 |
| Enterprise | Custom quote | Custom quote | 20,000 per user |
vidIQ calls these US list prices and says local prices may vary at checkout. Enterprise base plans include 3 seats and up to 5 channels, and more can be added.
What do users say about vidIQ?
vidIQ is rated 4.5 out of 5 on G2 from 33 reviews and 4.3 on Capterra from 61 reviews. Reviewers most often praise the keyword research, working inside YouTube through the extension, and how easy it is for beginners.
Complaints focus on price. Reviewers on G2 and Capterra say many useful features sit behind paid plans. On Trustpilot, where vidIQ scores about 4 out of 5 from around 1,350 reviews, negative reviews often mention yearly renewals and refunds. Some G2 reviewers find the AI title and tag suggestions generic.
When should you choose an alternative?
- You only need first-party data and testing. YouTube Studio is free and has its own A/B testing for titles and thumbnails.
- You want bulk editing and metadata tests. TubeBuddy focuses on bulk changes to descriptions, cards and end screens, and on A/B tests.
- You only need to benchmark public channels. Social Blade shows public growth history for free.
For the wider plan, read our guide to YouTube marketing strategies or browse all SEO tools.
Key features
- Keyword research. Shows YouTube search volume, competition and a keyword score for any topic, with unlimited results on paid plans and 3 per search on Free.
- Competitor tracking. Compares your channel's views, subscribers and upload pace with tracked channels over 30 days, 60 days or 12 months, and sorts their videos by views per hour.
- Daily ideas and outliers. Suggests video ideas from YouTube data and finds videos that perform far above their channel's usual level.
- Browser extension. Adds keyword data, scores and title, description and tag suggestions inside YouTube and the YouTube Studio upload flow.
- AI Coach and generators. An AI coach plus title, description, thumbnail, script and clipping tools that use the plan's monthly AI credits.
- Enterprise workspace. Multi-user access, multi-channel dashboards, Slack integration, SSO and onboarding with a vidIQ strategist for brand teams.
vidIQ pricing
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 150 AI credits a month, 3 keyword results per search, 3 daily ideas a day, up to 3 tracked competitors and vidIQ MCP |
| Boost | $16.58 per month billed yearly ($199 a year), or $19 billed monthly, for one channel | 2,000 AI credits a month, unlimited keyword research, up to 20 tracked competitors, best time to post and subscriber analysis; 2- and 3-channel versions add credits |
| MAX | $39 per month billed yearly ($468 a year), or $49 billed monthly, for one channel | 6,000 AI credits a month, up to 50 tracked competitors, Max Mode AI and up to 11 hours of clipping and generations |
| Enterprise | Custom quote | For brands and agencies; base plans include 3 seats and up to 5 channels, a multi-channel admin dashboard, SSO and role-based access |
vidIQ FAQ
Is vidIQ free?
Yes. The free plan includes 150 AI credits a month and limited keyword research, daily ideas and competitor tracking for up to 3 channels. Paid plans remove most limits.
How much does vidIQ cost?
On 1 November 2026 vidIQ listed Boost at $199 a year, shown as $16.58 a month, or $19 billed monthly for one channel. MAX cost $468 a year or $49 billed monthly. These are US list prices, and vidIQ says local prices may vary at checkout.
Does vidIQ work for teams and several channels?
Boost and MAX cover up to 3 channels on one account. For more than 3 channels or several team members, vidIQ sells Enterprise plans with seats, roles and an admin dashboard, priced on request.
What are vidIQ AI credits?
AI features such as the AI Coach, thumbnail generation, scripts and clipping use credits. Each plan includes a monthly allowance that does not roll over.