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The Stack / Social
vidIQ
05 OutcomesYes for any channel publishing weekly — vidIQ's keyword and outlier research turns 'what should I make' from a guess into a decision. The free tier is a real starting point; Max earns its price once views have revenue attached.
The job in the stack
The YouTube-growth seat: keyword research, competitor tracking, and title/thumbnail intelligence for channels that take growth seriously.
Pricing
| Plan | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 150 AI credits/mo, niche trends, limited research tools |
| Boost | $16.58/mo | $199/yr annual, $19/mo billed monthly (not $39 — corrected). 2,000 AI credits/mo, thumbnail generation, unlimited trend research, AI Coach |
| Max | $39/mo | $468/yr annual, $49/mo billed monthly (Max does offer a monthly option, not annual-only as previously noted). 6,000 AI credits/mo, 3x AI Coach conversations, 5x Max Mode AI, up to 11 hrs short clipping |
| Coaching | $99/mo | Adds 1-on-1 YouTube coaching on top of Boost/Max |
| Enterprise | custom | For brands, agencies and MCNs managing more than 3 channels or several team members; roles and permissions, cross-channel reporting, priority onboarding |
Pricing verified 2026-10-11. Plans change — the source of truth is vidIQ's own pricing page.
Models & versions
- Research + AI tools Keyword scores, outliers, competitors, AI title/thumbnail suggestions
The honest read
What works
- + Keyword and outlier data answers 'what to make next' with evidence
- + Competitor tracking shows which formats actually move in your niche
- + Browser extension puts the data inside YouTube where decisions happen
What breaks
- − Data informs packaging; it can't fix weak content
- − AI title suggestions need your voice pass — defaults read clickbaity
- − Boost pricing stings before the channel earns
Use it for
- →Channels publishing on a weekly system
- →Finding low-competition, high-intent topics in your niche
- →Packaging research: titles and thumbnails driven by outlier data
Skip it if
- ×You publish occasionally for reach-adjacent reasons — free analytics suffice
- ×Your traffic is Shorts-feed-driven only — search tooling matters less there
- ×You want 1-on-1 coaching without Max's AI suite — Coaching still requires a Boost/Max base
Questions operators ask
?Is vidIQ worth it for a small channel?
The free tier, absolutely — install it and learn what the data looks like. Pay for Pro when you're publishing weekly and choosing between topics; pay for Boost when views have revenue attached.
What changed
- Re-verified directly on vidiq.com/plans in a rendered browser: no price change. Free (150 credits), Boost $16.58/mo annual with a stated $29/yr saving (so $19 month-to-month), Max $39/mo annual with a stated $120/yr saving ($49 month-to-month). Added the Enterprise tier the page lists for 3+ channels. The page no longer prints the 1-on-1 Coaching price, so the $99/mo figure is carried from prior checks.
- Re-verified against third-party 2026 pricing roundups: no change. Free (150 credits/mo), Boost $19/mo month-to-month or $16.58/mo annual ($199/yr), Max $49/mo month-to-month or $39/mo annual ($468/yr), Coaching $99/mo add-on.
- Correction: prior entries mis-stated the monthly (non-annual) rates. vidiq.com/plans returned HTTP 429 on direct fetch; corrected against consistent coverage across five independent 2026 pricing roundups. Boost month-to-month is $19/mo (not $39 as previously noted) — $16.58/mo only applies to the $199/yr annual plan. Max is not annual-only: it also has a $49/mo month-to-month option, with $39/mo being the annual-billed rate ($468/yr). Free and Coaching ($99/mo add-on) unchanged.
- Re-verified on vidiq.com/plans: no change. Free (150 credits/mo), Boost $16.58/mo annual ($199/yr) or $39 billed monthly, Max $39/mo annual ($468/yr, annual only), Coaching $99/mo add-on.
- Real drift found on vidiq.com/plans: the seeded Free/Pro/Boost ladder is gone. Current structure is Free (150 credits) / Boost $16.58/mo annual (was the old Pro's price range but with new features) / Max $39/mo annual (now the top consumer tier, replacing old ~$99 Boost) / a separate $99/mo Coaching add-on for 1-on-1 sessions.
- Added to the stack (YouTube-growth seat). Pricing seeded from January 2026 baseline, pending fresh verification by the update loop.
Give vidIQ a job
The YouTube-growth seat: keyword research, competitor tracking, and title/thumbnail intelligence for channels that take growth seriously.
Try vidIQ →Affiliate link — same price for you, keeps the stack maintained.
Alternatives with different jobs
Buffer
04 AutomationThe distribution seat: scheduling and queueing content across platforms so publishing happens on system, not on mood.
OpusClip
03 CreationThe repurposing seat: turns long-form video into scored, captioned vertical clips ready for Shorts, Reels, and TikTok.