Are you struggling to choose between Yoast SEO and Rank Math? Fortunately, this article explains the key differences between them to help you make the right decision.
Why should you install WordPress SEO Plugins?
If you create rich and valuable content for your site every day but your website has never had a high ranking on the search engine result pages, then it is necessary for you to optimize SEO for your website. First of all, you need to understand what SEO is. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is the process of improving your website to enhance its visibility when people search for products or services related to your website in search engines such as Google, Bing, and much more. The more your pages are displayed in search engine results, the more prospective customers you draw to your business.
However, optimizing SEO for your website is not an easy task. That is why you need to use WordPress SEO plugins. These tools will bring you a wide range of benefits including optimizing any post, page, or product with the best keywords, generating a clean XML sitemap, meta descriptions, URLs, Page Titles, and much more. So how do you choose the most effective tool among the many SEO plugins on the internet?
In today’s blog, we picked the two most prominent plugins to compare based on the number of active installations and 5-star ratings. They are Yoast SEO and Rank Math. Although both plugins come with loads of useful features to help your website rank higher on search engine results, it is hard to tell which one is better. Hence, we are going to compare 4 aspects: main features, user interface, pricing plans, and pros and cons. Now, let’s go over the following sections.
Yoast SEO vs Rank Math: Background
Yoast SEO
The first outstanding tool we would like to compare is Yoast SEO. This is one of the most powerful and effective WordPress SEO plugins in the market nowadays. Yoast SEO has been in development since 2008. This tool has assisted millions of websites worldwide to get a better ranking on search engine results pages. So far, Yoast SEO has recorded over 5 million active installations and received 25,764 5-star ratings. This figure shows that it has been trusted and used by tons of customers.
In addition, it comes with a wide range of powerful features and functionality. Therefore, you can take advantage of these useful features to beat the competition. Additionally, it integrates with a wide range of themes and useful plugins such as Advanced Custom Field, ACF Content Analysis for Yoast SEO, Zapier, Elementor, and much more.
Rank Math
Rank Math is a newer WordPress SEO plugin that was introduced at the end of 2018. However, it already has over 1 million active installations around the world. This plugin is regarded as a formidable opponent of Yoast SEO in the market. Rank Math is an intelligent tool to help you optimize SEO for your content effectively. Besides, it also gives you loads of powerful features to increase traffic for your site.
What’s more, it is specially designed with a user-friendly interface. It also works well with plenty of popular and useful third-party plugins including Elementor, Divi, bbPress, WooCommerce, BuddyPress, and much more.
Main features
| Features | Yoast SEO(Free) | Rank Math(Free) |
| Meta descriptions and titles | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Focus keyword analysis | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| XML sitemap | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Structured data/schema | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Search console | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Knowledge graph and local SEO | Pro | ✔️ |
| Image SEO | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Internal link suggestions & blocks | Pro | ✔️ |
| Breadcrumbs | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Link counter | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Redirects | Pro | ✔️ |
| 404 monitor | Pro | ✔️ |
| Google Analytics | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Basic WooCommerce SEO | Pro | ✔️ |
| Readability analysis | ✔️ | ❌ |
Looking at the comparison table, you can see a big difference between Yoast SEO and Rank Math. Rank Math comes with a wide range of useful features that are completely free for users. In contrast, Yoast SEO users can only get these features by upgrading. For example:
- Optimize Unlimited Keywords
The free version of Yoast SEO only allows you to enter a single keyword for each piece of content. If you want to optimize for 5 keywords, you need to purchase the paid version. Moreover, this plugin also does not include a keyword suggestion feature that is available in Rank Math.
On the other hand, Rank Math enables you to enter up to 5 keywords per piece of content. To add more keywords and get keyword suggestions, you need to create a free account on Rank Math.
- Search Console
Both plugins include this feature; however, Yoast SEO does not provide an intuitive interface to view Search Console reports directly. Rank Math, by contrast, enables you to integrate with Search Console during the configuration process to create a clear page with full website reports displayed on your site.
As you can see, in this section, Rank Math certainly overshadows Yoast SEO in terms of rich features.
User interface
Yoast SEO
All options in Yoast SEO are arranged in a neat, well-structured way, so you can easily configure all settings. However, this plugin seems to focus only on features, so Yoast SEO’s user interface is not very attractive and quite tedious.
Rank Math
Rank Math provides a lot of features that are displayed in a clean and intuitive interface. Hence, it is easy for users to distinguish between all the functions that are available in this plugin. In addition, each Rank Math feature is housed in a separate box with a clear explanation. This is really a simple and easy-to-read dashboard.
Moreover, if you are using the Classic editor, you can easily discover the SEO analysis area displayed at the bottom of the page.
Pricing Plans
Yoast SEO
| Sites | Old price | Price in USD |
| 1 site | $89 | |
| 2 sites | $178 | $169.10 |
| 3 sites | $267 | $253.65 |
| 4 sites | $356 | $338.20 |
| 5 sites | $445 | $400.50 |
| 10 sites | $890 | $756.50 |
Yoast SEO currently offers a free version, but it still has many limitations. If you want to enhance the functionality of your site, you can purchase the paid version. The premium version starts at $89/year and supports 1 site. The price increases in proportion to the number of websites you are using.
Rank Math
In addition to the free version with tons of essential features, Rank Math also provides you with a premium version with more advanced and powerful features. This plugin offers three flexible plans: Pro, Business, and Agency. The first one will set you back $59/year and can be used for unlimited individual websites. In addition, when purchasing this package, you are able to track approximately 500 keyword phrases.
The second one is a perfect plan for freelancers, businesses, or agency owners. This package costs $199/year and can track as many as 10,000 key phrases. The third one is best for agency owners with high volume and a large budget.
Pros and Cons
Yoast SEO
| Pros | Cons |
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Rank Math
| Pros | Cons |
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Yoast SEO vs Rank Math: The Final Verdict
Overall, both Yoast SEO and Rank Math have their own strengths and weaknesses. In terms of diverse features and cost savings, Rank Math completely beats Yoast SEO. However, Rank Math is still a fairly new plugin, so its compatibility and reliability are still unknown to many users. Although Rank Math is a promising plugin, we suggest considering it carefully before installing it.
In fact, it is difficult for us to choose exactly which one is better for your site, because it also depends on your website requirements and status. If your website has used Yoast SEO for a long time, you should not migrate to Rank Math, since it can have unexpected effects on your website ranking. In contrast, if you are running a new website, you can install Rank Math to experience a ton of powerful and cool features.
And what is your opinion? Do you prefer Yoast SEO or Rank Math? Feel free to show your point of view by leaving a comment below. Or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to mention them.
Moreover, you can access WordPress SEO plugins to get other useful options. Last but not least, you can visit Free WordPress Themes to explore a wide range of stunning, responsive, SEO-friendly themes. Try one to build your unique site within minutes.
