Tubebuddy VS. VidIQ

We put TubeBuddy and VidIQ head-to-head against one another to see which YouTube marketing platform you should be using. Find out what we discovered right now! You can get either of these tools with a free trial here.

• Tubebuddy Free Trial

• VidIQ Free Trial

If you are serious about making a go of it as a content creator – especially on YouTube, which is particularly cutthroat and competitive – you’re going to need to take advantage of powerful tools that make a difference.

And in the YouTube search engine optimization (SEO) world, there aren’t any more effective tools than TubeBuddy and VidIQ.

Both of these tools are engineered from the ground up to give you an almost unfair competitive advantage in the YouTube SEO world, helping you better optimize your video content to cash in on the YouTube algorithm – and all the traffic benefits that it brings to the table.

But how do these two excellent tools stack up against one another?

Let’s break them down and find out right now!

Quick Overview of TubeBuddy

TubeBuddy is widely regarded as one of the essential traffic generation tools that content creators use on YouTube today.

It is Available 100% free of charge (with more feature-rich premium options available, too) as both a browser extension and an iOS mobile app.

Doing double duty not only as an enhanced YouTube extension to understand better and analyze your YouTube content, there are also a lot of search engine optimization options “under the hood” on TubeBuddy that make a big difference, too.

If you’re looking to capitalize on trending topics and optimize your titles and tags, there might not be a better tool than this one.

TubeBuddy also allows you to upload multiple videos and entire playlists at once. These playlists help you better engage with your audience.

Tubebuddy‘s Tag Explorer allows you to do in-depth keyword analysis to find the right keywords to optimize your channel the type of traffic you are trying to generate.

Pros

• A very comprehensive tool with one of the deepest feature sets available
• Almost unbelievably easy to use right out of the gate
• Let’s you “x-ray vision” your competitors to see what’s helping them be successful
• The free version is very feature-rich, with affordable premium plans available

Cons

• It only works with a single channel per subscription. If you have more than one Youtube Channel, you’ll need more licenses. 
• Bulk editing features and other premium options come with a fee.
• Customer service is said to need improvement.
• No Android compatibility.

Quick Overview of VidIQ

Another powerhouse tool designed to give content creators every advantage possible not just to compete but dominate on YouTube today, VidIQ makes optimizing your YouTube channel almost effortless.

Known for its deep analytic tools, easy-to-use optimization presets, and super in-depth competitor analysis options, VidIQ is a YouTube marketing agency in a box (so to speak) – and almost foolishly easy to use.

The proprietary VidIQ score takes several different YouTube SEO details into account to let you know how well optimized not just your whole channel is but how well optimized each upload is, too.

That level of granular control puts you in the driver seat when you’re looking to fly up the ranks in your niche on YouTube.

You’ll also get a great thumbnail editor, the ability to embed video, and access to the kind of YouTube stats and analytics that should be available to every creator – but only VidIQ unlocks for you.

Pros

• Detailed analytics, even at the Basic plan level
• Live channel stats for tracking metrics in real-time
• The ability to spotlight multiple competitors
• Trend alerts to give you stay plugged in on what’s working in YouTube right now
• Insight into upload timing, longer-term analysis, and detailed breakdowns of your video content

Cons

• The free plan is a little stripped down, and premium plans are somewhat expensive
• Everything but the most expensive plan is limited to one YouTube account
• The interface can be a little clunky

How TubeBudy and VidIQ Stack Up Against One Another

Ease of Use

As far as overall ease-of-use is concerned, both tools can be described as very user-friendly – though TubeBuddy is probably a little bit easier to use right out of the gate than VidIQ.

That’s not to suggest that TubeBuddy offers somewhat less advanced tools or features, not by any stretch of the imagination. 

Both of these options are very powerful and feature-rich; it’s just that TubeBuddy does a (slightly) better job in the user interface department.

WINNER – TubeBuddy

Built-In Search

Recognizing the limitations of the YouTube “built-in” search bar, both TubeBuddy and VidIQ have their own search bars that extend the overall functionality of YouTube search in a big way.

Not only will you be able to find all kinds of videos on YouTube that you might have had a difficult time finding otherwise, but you’re also going to get detailed breakdowns and analytics of those videos too.

We are talking about information regarding search volume for that video or those keywords, competition score, the likelihood of better optimizing your content for the same kinds of searches, and so much more.

TubeBuddy does a solid job providing this information, but VidIQ takes it to the next level and offers a lot more analytics department.

WINNER – VidIQ

Video Analyzer

TubeBuddy and VidIQ provide some fantastic resources for analyzing your videos for they go live, as well as videos of your competitors to give you a better snapshot of what they are doing well – and what you can do even better.

You will also uncover detailed information about the videos uploaded to YouTube (yours and everyone else’s); you’ll also get social share information, video tags used (and there are more effective than others), channel statistics, and so much more.

Once again, TubeBuddy does a solid job in the analytics department VidIQ is just a more feature-rich option on it comes to analysis and data collection.

WINNER – VidIQ

Channel Analytics

When it comes time to analyze your channel for the sake of improvement, both of these tools provide information about your view count, your videos, your average views, and an activity timeline, and so much more.

VidIQ provides detailed information about your global YouTube ranking, the number of subscribers you’ve gained or lost over a set amount of time, your average videos uploaded in a week or a month, and some other bits and pieces of helpful information too.

TubeBuddy shares all of that information as well as your live subscriber account. It helps you find the best time to post based on your previously uploaded content when you get the most engagement.

WINNER – TubeBuddy

Video Upload Tools

The video uploading tools (including the bulk uploading tools) provided by TubeBuddy are very slick, well-engineered, and well optimized, and about as easy to use as we can imagine these tools being.

Not only are you able to bulk-upload your video content to your channel, but you’re able to schedule uploads, add thumbnails and end cards, flesh out your SEO title and tag information, and some other core power features YouTube Studio doesn’t provide.

VidIQ offers many power tools (particularly in the SEO department), but these tools are a little more challenging to use. 

The learning curve here is steep, and some of the more impactful tools are locked to the premium versions – including tools that TubeBuddy provides with their free level membership.

WINNER – TubeBuddy

Overall Value

Though both of these YouTube optimizing power tools have free levels of service that you can take advantage of (with absolutely no strings attached) – and both of them are far more powerful at the free level than a lot of paid competitors – their premium pricing structures are at opposite ends of the spectrum.

TubeBuddy has three different levels of premium service to pick and choose from, ranging from Pro ($7.20 a month) to Star ($15.20 a month) to Legend ($39.20 per month).

VidIQ also has three different premium service levels to pick from, with their Pro plan starting at $10 a month, their Boost plan bumping that up to $49 a month, and their Boost Plus plan hitting $499 a month.

VidIQ is certainly justified in a higher price point thanks to the sheer volume of advanced power tools and promotional services they provide their users. Still, TubeBuddy offers at least 80% of the same tools – and the same results – at a dramatically lower price point.

WINNER – TubeBuddy

Final Verdict

You really can’t go wrong with either of these YouTube marketing solutions.

Both TubeBuddy and VidIQ are engineered around power users that want to take their channel to the next level. These users are folks that are serious about making content creation a real money maker. Users want to monetize their channels and want to be able to generate big paydays consistently from YouTube moving forward.

If you are just getting started and will move forward with the free plans, TubeBuddy is probably the way to go.

If you’re willing to spend a little bit of money at the more basic levels of service from these YouTube marketing, VidIQ will likely be right up your alley, thanks to the extra tools it provides at this level.

If you want to unlock the full power of YouTube marketing without spending a small fortune, TubeBuddy is the best value at the higher end.

Hopefully, that helps you zero in on the right option for you right now!