WordPress SEO plugins · Updated August 2026

Yoast SEO vs AIOSEO vs SEOPress Which WordPress SEO plugin fits your site in 2026?

A side-by-side look at Yoast SEO, AIOSEO and SEOPress, built only from what each vendor publishes on its own site. Pricing, licensing and feature availability are quoted as documented — where a vendor does not state something, we say so rather than guess.

Yoast SEO
AIOSEO
SEOPress
Vendor-documented facts · No affiliate rankings · No sponsorships

The quick verdict

Three good plugins, three different trade-offs.

Every plugin here covers the SEO basics — titles, sitemaps, schema and analysis. The differences that actually decide it are licensing, how much you pay in year two, and whether AI is bundled or sold separately.

Our take: price the second year, not the first
Yoast SEO Most installed

Yoast SEO is the safe default: the largest install base, the deepest readability tooling and a free tier its own site calls "free forever".

  • You want the most widely installed option, on 13 million sites
  • Readability and content analysis in 25+ languages matter to you
  • You draft in Google Docs and want SEO checks there too
  • You prefer one bundled plan over a stack of add-ons
AIOSEO All-round toolkit

AIOSEO bundles the broadest set of on-page tooling, and is the only one here whose AI optimisation is included on every plan, free tier included.

  • Optimize with AI is included on every plan, including the free version
  • TruSEO analysis, Link Assistant and Redirection Manager in one plugin
  • Deep page-builder coverage for Elementor, Divi and others
  • Translated into 54+ languages
SEOPress Best value

SEOPress is the cheapest way in at $49 a year, and the only one here that commits in writing to renewing at the same price.

  • Lowest documented entry price of the four, at $49/year
  • Renews at the same price every year — stated on its pricing page
  • White label mode and no ads or footprints in the plugin
  • Bring your own AI: OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek or Mistral

At a glance

The scoreboard

Highlighted cells mark the stronger option on that metric. No highlight means the values are not directly comparable, or it is a tie.

Metric
Yoast SEO
AIOSEO
SEOPress
Free version
Yes Free forever
Yes Lite on WordPress.org
Yes SEOPress Free
Entry paid price
$118.80 Premium, per year ex VAT
$99 Basic, per year
$49 PRO, per year
Sites on entry plan
1 site Per subscription
1 site Basic plan
1 site 5 sites at $59/yr
Money-back window
30 days Money-back guarantee
14 days Money-back guarantee
14 days Money-back guarantee
Documented reach
13M sites Documented install base
3M+ users Documented user base
350k+ sites 4.9/5 on WordPress.org

Feature matrix

The full comparison

Every row reflects what Yoast SEO, AIOSEO and SEOPress document on their own websites, checked on 16 August 2026. "Not stated" means the vendor does not publish the detail — not that the feature is definitely missing.

Yoast SEO vs AIOSEO vs SEOPress — full feature comparison
Feature Yoast SEO AIOSEO SEOPress
Pricing & licensing
Free version Supported. Free forever Supported. Lite on WordPress.org Supported. SEOPress Free
Entry paid price $118.80/yr $99/yr $49/yr
Sites on the entry plan 1 site or domain 1 site 1 site
Highest tier AI+ — $358.80/yr Elite — 100 sites Unlimited sites — $149/yr
Renews at the same price Not available. Not stated Partial. Promotional first-year pricing Supported. Stated on pricing page
Money-back window 30 days 14 days 14 days
Separate AI subscription needed Partial. AI+ tier at $358.80/yr Supported. No — included on every plan Partial. AI credits from $19/mo
Core SEO
Title & meta templates Supported. Included Supported. Included Supported. Included
XML sitemaps Supported. Automatic Supported. Smart XML sitemaps Supported. Included
Schema / structured data Supported. Article, organisation, breadcrumb Supported. Schema generator Supported. Automatic & manual schemas
Breadcrumbs Supported. With schema Supported. Custom breadcrumbs Supported. With schema markup
Redirect manager Supported. Premium Supported. Redirection Manager Supported. 301 redirects + 404 monitoring
Broken link checker Not available. Not stated Supported. 200 internal links/mo on free Supported. Included
Internal linking suggestions Supported. Premium Supported. Link Assistant Partial. Not a dedicated module
Content & readability analysis Supported. 25+ languages Supported. TruSEO analysis Supported. Content analysis
Instant indexing / IndexNow Not available. Not stated Supported. IndexNow Supported. Google & Bing
Google Search Console integration Partial. Via Site Kit by Google Supported. Search Statistics Supported. Included
Keyword rank tracking Partial. Via Wincher integration Supported. Keyword Rank Tracker Partial. Insights, $99/yr/site
Specialised modules
Local SEO Supported. Included in Premium Supported. Local SEO module Supported. Included in PRO
WooCommerce SEO Partial. Separate $178.80/yr plan Supported. Included Supported. Included in PRO
News sitemaps Supported. News SEO, in Premium Supported. Google News sitemaps Supported. Google News XML
Video sitemaps Supported. Video SEO, in Premium Supported. Video SEO sitemaps Supported. Video XML sitemaps
Image alt text automation Partial. AI-assisted Supported. Image SEO addon Supported. Image alt text
Page-builder integrations Partial. Elementor, Gutenberg Supported. Documented builder support Supported. Editable from builders
White label Not available. Not stated Not available. Not stated Supported. Included in PRO
Multisite support Not available. Not stated Partial. Mentioned Supported. Documented
Google Docs add-on Supported. One seat in Premium Not available. Not stated Not available. Not stated
AI features
AI meta titles & descriptions Supported. AI-generated Supported. Included Supported. Via your AI provider
AI included on the free tier Not available. Not stated Supported. Optimize with AI on all plans Not available. Not stated
Choice of AI provider Not available. Not stated Not available. Not stated Supported. OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek, Mistral
AI long-form content generation Partial. AI-assisted drafting Supported. AI Content Generator Partial. Depends on provider
AI-assisted internal linking Not available. Not stated Supported. Link Assistant Not available. Not stated
AI visibility / LLM tooling Not available. Not stated Supported. AI Suite, LLMs.txt generator Not available. Not stated
Support & trust
Support channel 24/7 support Priority support on Pro & Elite Support by mail
Priority support tier Supported. Included in Premium Partial. Pro and Elite only Not available. Not stated
Training academy Supported. Yoast SEO Academy Not available. Not stated Not available. Not stated
Migration from another plugin Supported. Built-in migration tools Not available. Not stated Not available. Not stated
Documented reach 13 million sites 3M+ users 350,000+ sites
Interface languages 25+ analysis languages 54+ translations Not stated
Full support Partial Not available Scroll the table sideways to see every column →

Pricing

What you actually pay in year two

Entry pricing reads as Yoast SEO at $118.80, AIOSEO at $99, SEOPress at $49. Those are not like-for-like: and licences cover different numbers of sites.

The renewal is where they diverge. SEOPress states on its pricing page that it renews at the same price. AIOSEO's headline figures are promotional first-year rates against a higher list price, and Rank Math documents a renewal at its pre-discount rate. Yoast does not publish a renewal policy.

Edge: SEOPress on entry price
Yoast SEO pricing, yoast.com/product/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress, captured 16 August 2026

Licensing

How many sites one licence covers

All three start at a single site. SEOPress moves to five sites for $59/year and unlimited for $149/year, AIOSEO steps up in tiers to 100 sites on Elite, and Yoast sells one subscription per site or domain with a bulk discount at checkout.

If you run a handful of your own sites, the licence maths matters more than the sticker price — a $49 single-site licence bought four times costs more than one unlimited plan.

Edge: SEOPress for multi-site owners
AIOSEO pricing, aioseo.com/pricing, captured 16 August 2026

AI

Bundled AI versus a second subscription

Yoast SEO: AI+ tier at $358.80/yr. AIOSEO: No — included on every plan. SEOPress: AI credits from $19/mo.

That distinction is easy to miss when comparing headline prices. AIOSEO is the only one of the four that documents its AI optimisation as included on every plan, free tier included. SEOPress takes the opposite approach — you connect your own provider key, from OpenAI, Claude, Gemini, DeepSeek or Mistral, and buy credits separately if you want its hosted option.

Edge: AIOSEO for bundled AI
AIOSEO AI features, aioseo.com/features/optimize-with-ai, captured 16 August 2026

Pricing

What each plan actually costs

List prices as published by each vendor. Several run promotional first-year rates, so the renewal price is the number worth comparing.

Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO Free Free
  • Analysis, sitemaps and schema
  • Free forever, no paywalled essentials
Premium $118.80/yr
  • 1 site or domain (ex VAT)
  • Includes Local, News and Video SEO plugins
  • 1 Google Docs add-on seat
  • Yoast SEO Academy + 24/7 support
WooCommerce SEO $178.80/yr
  • All Premium plugins included
  • WooCommerce-specific product SEO
Yoast SEO AI+ $358.80/yr
  • Everything in Premium
  • Expanded AI features
AIOSEO
Lite Free
  • Free version on WordPress.org
Basic $99/yr
  • 1 site
  • Currently promoted at $49.50 for the first year
Plus $199/yr
  • Up to 3 sites
  • Currently promoted at $99.50 for the first year
Pro $399/yr
  • Up to 10 sites
  • Priority support
  • Currently promoted at $199.50 for the first year
Elite $599/yr
  • Up to 100 sites
  • Priority support
  • Currently promoted at $299.50 for the first year
SEOPress
SEOPress Free Free
  • Free version
PRO — 1 site $49/yr
  • 1 site, renews at same price
  • AI integration, site audit, Local and WooCommerce SEO
  • White label
  • Support by mail
PRO — 5 sites $59/yr
  • 5 sites, renews at same price
PRO — Unlimited $149/yr
  • Unlimited sites, renews at same price
Insights $99/yr
  • Per site
  • Rank and backlink tracking

Prices verified 16 August 2026. See vendor sites for current pricing.

Decision guide

Who should choose which

Choose Yoast SEO if…

  • You want the most widely adopted plugin and the biggest pool of tutorials
  • Your team writes in Google Docs and wants the add-on seat included
  • Local, News and Video SEO in one Premium plan suits you better than separate purchases
  • You are migrating from another plugin and want documented migration tools

Choose AIOSEO if…

  • You want AI optimisation without a second subscription on top
  • Internal-link suggestions and redirect management should live in the SEO plugin
  • You build in page builders and need SEO controls inside them
  • A 100-site Elite licence fits how you work with clients

Choose SEOPress if…

  • Budget is the deciding factor and you want no renewal surprises
  • You hand sites to clients and need white-label, footprint-free output
  • You want to pick your own AI provider rather than a bundled one
  • An unlimited-site licence at $149/year suits your portfolio

There is no single winner here. SEOPress is the cheapest way in at $49, and the right pick is whichever one matches how many sites you run and whether you want AI included or bought separately.

From the AngleOut team

Picking the plugin is the easy part

A plugin sets your titles and schema correctly. It will not tell you which pages deserve the effort. If you want a content and technical plan built around where your rankings actually are, we can put one together.

Trusted by growing B2B SaaS companies

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Which of Yoast SEO, AIOSEO and SEOPress has the best free version?

All of them ship a free version. Yoast describes its free tier as "free forever" with no paywalled essentials and includes analysis, sitemaps and schema. AIOSEO's free Lite version is the only one of the four that includes its AI optimisation feature. Rank Math and SEOPress both offer free plans covering core SEO modules.

Which one is cheapest?

On documented entry price, SEOPress is lowest at $49, and it is the only one that states it renews at the same price every year.

Do any of them include keyword rank tracking?

AIOSEO offers a Keyword Rank Tracker alongside its Search Statistics module. SEOPress sells rank and backlink tracking as SEOPress Insights, at $99 per year per site. Yoast does not track rankings itself; its site points to a Wincher integration for that.

Do I need a second subscription for the AI features?

Yoast SEO: AI+ tier at $358.80/yr. AIOSEO: No — included on every plan. SEOPress: AI credits from $19/mo. If AI matters to your workflow, compare the combined cost rather than the plugin licence alone.

Can I switch between these plugins without losing my settings?

Yoast is the only one of the four that documents built-in migration tools for importing from another SEO plugin. The others do not publish a migration path on the pages reviewed here, so check their documentation before you switch.

Which should an agency managing client sites pick?

SEOPress offers unlimited sites at $149/year plus white-label mode and no plugin footprints. AIOSEO tops out at 100 sites on Elite with priority support. Yoast sells one subscription per site or domain, with a bulk discount at checkout.