VidIQ vs TubeBuddy: Which One Is Better?

One of the most trending topics on the internet is;

Which one is better between VidIQ and TubeBuddy?

This question is difficult to answer and even the companies themselves do not want to discuss about that topic.

The problem about this question is that each person will always support the tool he/she uses since everyone has his/her tastes and preferences.

But in this article, l will try to give a side by side comparison based on facts rather than just generalising that X is better than Y without any supporting facts.

So l will compare these two based on the following aspects:

Without further ado, let me jump straight into more detail.

Pricing

Pricing is the most crucial factor when deciding on which tool to use since you always need to keep your costs at bare minimum.

Both VidIQ and TubeBuddy have generous free plans so as to allow their customers to test the softwares before jumping on the paid plans.

However, both of their free plans comes with very limited features, since you only get access to very few features.

VidIQ paid plans starts at $10 per month whilst TubeBuddy paid plans starts at $9 per month.

Based on this fact, we can clearly see that TubeBuddy is cheaper than VidIQ even if the margin is just a $1.

Another factor which makes TubeBuddy more favourable especially for smaller channels is that TubeBuddy gives a 50% discount on small channels with less than 1000 subscribers (on all paid plans).

Thus, if your channel has 1000 subs or less, then you need to go for TubeBuddy since they give a great discount.

Overaly, TubeBuddy is cheaper than VidIQ even though the margin is very slight.

Price Winner: TubeBuddy.

Keyword Tools

As a creator, you need a tool that allows you to explore the best keywords so that you can find content ideas to work on.

Both TubeBuddy and VidIQ have incredible keyword tools, so as to allow users to find the best keywords to work on.

They both allow you to see your probability of ranking for a certain search term through using a 0 to 100 scale.

Both of these tools also shows you some related keywords that people are also searching for so that you can have an idea on which other content ideas to work on.

However, when l ran a test to see which of these tools provides the best keyword suggestions, l found out that VidIQ is slightly better than TubeBuddy.

But this is a bit debatable since the results always varied from one search term to the other.

But after running some multiple tests, l found out that VidIQ has an upper hand when it comes to keyword research.

So on this topic, l give credit to VidIQ.

Keyword Tools Winner: VidIQ

SEO Features

One of the most important aspects on YouTube is SEO optimisation.

This is so because the YouTube algorithm ranks videos based on how optimised each video is for SEO.

Both VidIQ and TubeBuddy gives you some actionable tips on how you can optimise your meta data for SEO (title, tags, and description).

With TubeBuddy, you get an overall score on how your meta data is optimised for SEO and it also shows you how you can improve your SEO score e.g. through including your keyword at least 3 or 4 times in the description as well as in the title.

VidIQ is also able to perform the same task since this tool also provides you with actionable advice on how you can improve your video meta data.

VidIQ also shows you the tags that you can use to optimise your videos, as well as the average score of each tag so that you can see how your video will perform when you use those suggested tags.

Even TubeBuddy gives you some suggested tags which are working well for other people who produced content based on the similar keyword hence helping you to see what’s working for others.

Thus when it comes to SEO features, l give these two softwares a 50 - 50 mark since they are both good when it comes to SEO features

SEO Features Winner: Draw (50 - 50)

Channel Analytics

Things gets juicy when it comes to channel analysis since each creator needs to track the performance of his/her channel.

Channel analytics helps creators to know which videos are performing well based on views, engagement, subscriber gain, etc.

This helps creators to know which videos to concentrate on and which videos to avoid in the future.

Both VidIQ and TubeBuddy have great analytic tools and features so as to facilitate creators with easy-to-understand metrics.

They both come with an easy-to-understand interface which is easy and simple to use and navigate.

They both show analytic data in the form of simple graphs as well as numerical figures which are simple and straight forward.

This makes it hard to decide which tool has better channel analytic features than the other since each of them is unique in its own way.

This topic depends on which type of analytics you’re looking for since some people argues that each of these tools has its own unique type of analytic features.

But if you're just someone like me who only needs basic analytic features, then both of these tools are great.

Channel Analytics Winner: 50 - 50

Competitor Analysis

As a creator, you always need to keep a close eye on the activity of your competitors since you competitors are capable of ‘stealing' your subscribers.

Both TubeBuddy and VidIQ comes with competitor tracking features, which allows you to add a list of your competitors so that you stay updated about what's working for them.

This gives you an insight on the type of videos that you should focus on since you always need to replicate what's working for others in your niche.

When l tested both of these tools, l found it difficult to decide which one is better when it comes to competitor analysis since each of them is able to deliver good results.

Both VidIQ and TubeBuddy are able to gather up-to-date data about the competitors’ activities which makes both of them useful and relevant.

But after undertaking multiple tests, l started to enjoy how VidIQ is able to display competitor related data since it was able to give me some more advanced data about my competitors.

I’m not saying VidIQ is better than TubeBuddy on competitor analysis but lm just saying that l like the way it was able to display some of my competitors data.

Thus, even though both tools are great, l finally gave my award to VidIQ for the competitor analysis features.

Competitor Analysis Winner: VidIQ

Trend Alerts

One of the easiest ways to get more views and subscribers is through jumping onto trends especially if your channel is still small.

You need to take advantage of trends which occurs in your niche since these gives your channel more exposure to more eyebrows especially when you jump onto the trend in the early stages.

But in order to know what's trending in your niche, you need tools like VidIQ and TubeBuddy.

Both of these tools are able to gather data based on what’s trending around your niche so that you stay updated on what's happening out there.

Both of these tools have sections where they show the trending videos based on the set time frames e.g. 24 hours, 48 hours, 1 week, etc.

After testing both VidIQ and TubeBuddy, l found it very difficult to decide which one is better than the other since each of them was able to meet my expectations.

So on this topic, l give them an equal share of the prize.

Trend Alerts Winner: Draw

Upload Features

As a creator, you always face some unnecessary pear pressure when you're about to publish a video.

This usually happens especially if your standard publishing times has passed and you're so eager to just put the video out there.

However, you might forget to do some important check-ups on your video and meta data and this might negatively affect the performance of your video.

However, if you utilise tools like TubeBuddy and VidIQ, you can get a quick check list that you can cross check in order to see if there's something missing from your video before hitting the ‘publish' button.

Both VidIQ and TubeBuddy comes with a quick checklist which you can use in order to cross check if your video is well optimised for SEO.

After testing both of these tools, l discovered that TubeBuddy has a clear checklist, since it shows you what is missing from your video through some red alert signs.

This allows you to take some action in order to correct all the missing items until everything turns green.

So in my opinion, l think that TubeBuddy has more advanced upload features than VidIQ.

Upload Features Winner: TubeBuddy

Quick Summary

Final Verdict

I hope that you now have a clear answer on which one to choose between VidIQ and TubeBuddy.

The decision you make is based on what you're expecting from each of these softwares.

If you're looking for a cost effective software, then you definitely need to go for TubeBuddy since this tool is way cheaper than VidIQ.

However, if you're looking for a tool with great competitor analysis, then you definitely need to go for VidIQ since this tool is better than TubeBuddy when it comes to competitor analysis.

Thus, the decision depends on your personal tastes and preferences since each person has his/her own interests.

But if l were to choose which one is better between these two, l will definitely choose TubeBuddy because l really like this software over VidIQ.

This is so because most of my favourite YouTubers uses TubeBuddy hence l was attracted to like the software as well.

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