Channelcrawler vs Playboard (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Playboard grades higher than Channelcrawler: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Channelcrawler grades higher on platforms. Playboard grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Channelcrawler
YouTube channel database for finding creators to sponsor
Playboard
YouTube channel rankings, Super Chat stats and channel reports
Which one is for you
Pick Channelcrawler if
- Fits if you're a brand or agency hunting for YouTube creators to sponsor
- Works for outreach teams that want contact emails in bulk
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to rank your own videos, as it's a creator database
- Pricey if you only need a few lookups, with Starter at $59 a month
- Tight if credits run out, since searches and email lookups pause until the next billing date
- Not for you if you work as a team, because Starter and Power are single-user and shared workspaces need Enterprise
- Watch out: Starter has no sponsorship data, and brand alerts are marked as coming soon
Pick Playboard if
- Fits if you're a marketer or agency looking for YouTube channels to work with
- Works for following which channels and live streams are growing in one country
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your channel is small: ranking needs 1,000 subscribers and 1 million views, video data 23,000 or 10 million
- Tight if you're staying free, with ads and only a few reports a day
- Watch out: even unlimited history only goes back to August 5, 2019
- Watch out: refunds may be partial or refused once you've used the service after paying
- Not for you if you want an API on a plan, as it's a separate service arranged by email
How we grade them
| 2.0GPAChannelcrawlerFair | 2.4GPAPlayboardFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DStarter is $59 a month billed yearly for one user, and sponsorship data needs Power at $117. YouTube SEO tools start at $15 for the cheaper quarter and $83 for the dearest tenth. | CBasic is $29 a month for one user, billed monthly, above this category's dearer quarter of $24.92 but short of its dearest tenth at $49.99. Standard is $99 for 2 users and Business+ $199 for 5. |
| Free plan and trial | CA free trial on every plan, but the page doesn't say whether a card is needed, and there's no free plan. | BFree with ads: charts up to 200 entries, 40 search results, and 5 basic channel, 3 advanced channel and 3 video reports a day. You could live on that for browsing charts. |
| Features | CSearch, email credits, lookalike channels and a REST API. Brand alerts are marked as coming soon. | CCharts by country and topic, a search of 25.8 million channels, channel and video reports and Super Chat totals. It does rankings fully, but that's a smaller job, with no keyword research or upload help on record. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Credits, saved searches and filters take learning. | BNo rating on record. Open a chart or search for a channel and the numbers are there, with nothing to connect. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb app with a REST API, but no desktop or phone apps. | CWeb only. Automated access needs a separate API service arranged by email, and no integrations are on record. |
| Best for | finding YouTube creators for a sponsorship | YouTube channel rankings by country |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Channelcrawler and Playboard. How we grade
Price against what you get
Channelcrawler starts at $59 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Playboard starts at $29 a month and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Playboard starts $30 a month lower. Of the other YouTube SEO tools on the chart, 2 score higher than Channelcrawler for less, and 1 scores higher than Playboard for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Channelcrawler also covers databases.
- Playboard also covers youTube SEO.
At a glance
| Channelcrawler | Playboard | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free plan |
| Starts at | $59 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly) | $29 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | 1 user, charts up to 200 entries, 40 search results, 5 basic channel reports, 3 advanced channel reports and 3 video reports a day, with ads. |
| Free trial | Free trial on every plan; the page says it gives access to channel search, filters and results. | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | ChannelCrawler | DIFF., Inc. |
| Price read from | channelcrawler.com | playboard.co |
| Checked | Nov 12, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Channelcrawler
- It is a creator-discovery database, not a tool for optimizing your own videos or rankings.
- Searches and email lookups pause when monthly credits run out until the next billing date.
- Starter has no sponsorship data, and the brand alerts listed on Power and Enterprise are marked as coming soon.
- Starter and Power are single-user; shared workspaces need Enterprise.
Playboard
- Only channels with 1,000 subscribers and 1 million total views are ranked; video data needs 23,000 subscribers or 10 million views.
- The free plan shows ads and allows only a few reports a day; even unlimited history reaches back only to August 5, 2019.
- Plans renew monthly by card, and a refund may be partial or refused once the service has been used after payment.
- Automated access to the data needs Playboard's separate API service, arranged by email; custom plans are also by request.
Key features
Channelcrawler
- Channel search
- Search a database of 35M+ YouTube channels with 40+ filters such as niche, size, performance and engagement.
- Email credits
- Unlock creator email addresses in the app or export them as a CSV; credits renew monthly and extra search credits can be bought.
- Sponsorship intelligence
- Track which brands appear in YouTube videos, see their repeat partnerships and compare share of voice. Power and Enterprise only.
- Lookalike channels
- Give it a channel you already like and it looks for similar ones. Uses search credits and needs Power or Enterprise.
- List import and enrichment
- Upload channel IDs or URLs, add emails and social handles, and export a cleaned list.
- REST API
- A separate API searches channels and returns channel metrics, emails and social handles.
Playboard
- YouTube charts
- Rankings of channels, videos, Shorts, live streams and artists by country and topic, for most popular, subscribed, viewed, Super Chatted, growth and decline.
- Channel search
- Search 25.8 million channels worldwide with filters; the free plan shows 40 results and paid plans 100 to 5,000.
- Channel analysis reports
- Subscriber and view trends for any ranked channel, plus advanced reports with live viewer and Super Chat trends; history grows with the plan.
- Video analysis reports
- Reports on single videos: 3 a day on the free plan, and 100 to 5,500 a month on paid plans.
- Super Chat and Trending Live
- Super Chat and Super Sticker totals by channel, and a list of trending live streams worldwide updated in real time.
- Export and teams
- Paid plans export chart lists and historical data to Excel, and Standard and above share the plan with a team of 2 to 15 users.
Plans
Channelcrawler
Starter$59
per month for 1 user, billed annually ($99 billed monthly)
2,000 search credits and 50 email credits a month, 10 saved searches and 200 saved channels. No sponsorship intelligence.
Power$117
per month for 1 user, billed annually ($195 billed monthly)
10,000 search credits and 250 email credits a month, plus sponsorship intelligence: 5 tracked brands, 25 brand profiles and share-of-voice for 15 brands a month, lookalikes.
Enterprise$6,000
per year, for 2 or more users
Sold through sales; shown as $500 a month paid yearly. 40,000+ search credits and 1,000+ email credits a month, shared workspace and 1-1 support.
Playboard
Free$0
Charts, 40 search results and a few reports a day, with 1 year of subscriber trends and 30 days of live and Super Chat trends.
Basic$29
per month for 1 user, billed monthly
150 channel and 100 video analysis reports a month, 100 search results, data export and no ads.
Standard$99
per month for up to 2 users, billed monthly
1,000 channel and 500 video reports a month, charts up to 500 entries, 500 search results and 90 days of live trends.
Business+$199
per month for up to 5 users, billed monthly
2,500 channel and 1,500 video reports a month, 2 years of subscriber and view history, charts up to 2,500 entries.
Enterprise$599
per month for up to 15 users, billed monthly
10,000 channel and 5,500 video reports a month, unlimited history and charts up to 5,000 entries. For agencies and MCNs.
Ways to pay less
Channelcrawler
- Annual discount
Annual billing saves 40%
The pricing page shows -40% when billed yearly: $708 a year for Starter and $1,404 a year for Power.
Playboard
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Channelcrawler or Playboard?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Playboard is cheaper to start with: $29 a month, against $59 a month for Channelcrawler. Channelcrawler starts at $59 per month, billed annually ($99 billed monthly), and Playboard starts at $29 per month, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Channelcrawler or Playboard?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Playboard has a free plan. Channelcrawler does not, though it has a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.