Yoast SEO has been the dominant WordPress SEO plugin since 2010. Rank Math launched in 2018 and has grown rapidly by offering more features for free. Both are excellent — the best choice depends on your needs and technical level.
Pricing comparison
| Feature | Yoast SEO | Rank Math |
|---|---|---|
| Free version | Yes (limited) | Yes (generous) |
| Premium price | $99/year | $69/year |
| Schema types (free) | 3 | 20+ |
| Focus keywords (free) | 1 | 5 |
Yoast SEO — Strengths
- Reliability and trust: 13+ years of development, used by 10M+ sites
- Excellent readability analysis: Flesch-Kincaid, passive voice, sentence length
- Cornerstone content: Track your most important pages
- Academy: Built-in SEO training and guidance
- WooCommerce integration: Dedicated WooCommerce SEO add-on
- Consistent updates: New features added regularly
Yoast SEO — Weaknesses
- Only 1 focus keyword in free version (5 in premium)
- Schema markup limited in free version
- Can feel bloated — adds noticeable weight to admin
- Premium is expensive ($99/year)
Rank Math — Strengths
- Generous free tier: 5 focus keywords, 20+ schema types, rich snippet support
- Built-in rank tracking: Track keyword positions from within WordPress
- Better Schema support: More structured data types in the free version
- Faster: Generally lighter weight than Yoast on page load
- Lower premium price: $69/year vs $99/year
- Google Search Console integration: Shows GSC data in WordPress
Rank Math — Weaknesses
- Less proven track record (6 years vs 13+)
- Setup wizard can be confusing
- Some advanced features require learning a new interface
Our verdict
Choose Yoast SEO if: You're a beginner, value reliability above all, want the best content readability guidance, or are already using it with good results.
Choose Rank Math if: You want more features for free, need built-in rank tracking, want better schema support, or are migrating from another plugin.
Migration note: Both plugins can import settings from the other. If you switch, use the built-in import wizard to preserve your meta data.
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