Playboard vs TubeBuddy (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Playboard grades higher than TubeBuddy: 2.4 against 2.0 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Playboard grades higher on the free plan and ease of use. TubeBuddy grades higher on features and platforms. They get the same grade on value for money.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Playboard
YouTube channel rankings, Super Chat stats and channel reports
TubeBuddy
YouTube browser extension for keyword research, SEO and A/B tests
Which one is for you
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
Pick TubeBuddy if
- Fits if you want title and tag scores while you upload in YouTube Studio on Chrome or Edge
- Works for creators testing two thumbnails or titles against each other on the same live video
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: no US price could be read, as the pricing page fills it in by script and showed regional prices
- Skip it if you use Firefox or Safari, as the extension no longer supports Firefox and never supported Safari
- Not for you if you have 50k+ subscribers, several channels or 3+ managers, which TubeBuddy steers to Enterprise
- Tight if you share the work, since Pro has one user and Legend two seats, on one channel each
- Tight if you're staying free, as Starter opens a limited set of tools and bulk editing waits on Legend
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAPlayboardFair | 2.0GPATubeBuddyFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | 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. | CNo US price is on record. The pricing page fills its prices in by script, and the copy served to us showed regional prices, so it can't be placed against this category's $19 middle. A license covers one channel. |
| Free plan and trial | 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. | CEvery channel added gets a free Starter license, but it opens a limited set of tools, and the rest wait on Pro or Legend. No trial is listed. |
| Features | 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. | BKeyword Explorer with search volume, SEO Studio scoring as you write, thumbnail and title A/B tests on live videos, channel analytics with competitor scorecards, bulk editing and next-video ideas. That covers the whole job, though bulk editing sits on Legend. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record. Open a chart or search for a channel and the numbers are there, with nothing to connect. | F2.9 from 434 App Store ratings for its phone app, under the 3.0 line. Most of the work happens in the extension, which you install and link to your channel first. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only. Automated access needs a separate API service arranged by email, and no integrations are on record. | BWeb, an extension for Chrome, Edge and Opera, iPhone and Android. It connects to YouTube and YouTube Studio only, with no desktop app or API on record. |
| Best for | YouTube channel rankings by country | SEO help inside YouTube Studio |
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: Playboard and TubeBuddy. How we grade
Where they differ
- Playboard also covers reports.
- TubeBuddy also covers keyword research and a/B testing.
At a glance
| Playboard | TubeBuddy | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29 per month, billed monthly | Not published |
| Free plan | 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. | Every channel added gets a free Starter license with a limited set of tools; paid Pro and Legend licenses unlock the rest. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | DIFF., Inc. | TubeBuddy (GameSquare) |
| Price read from | playboard.co | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
TubeBuddy
- Prices are filled in by a script that could not be read for US visitors, and the page shown in India lists regional prices, so none are given here.
- Pro and Legend are for individual creators; channels with 50k+ subscribers, several channels, 3+ managers or 50+ staff are steered to Enterprise.
- A license covers one YouTube channel. Pro has one user and Legend two seats; more needs Enterprise.
- The extension supports Chrome, Edge and Opera; the help center says it no longer supports Firefox and never supported Safari.
Key features
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.
TubeBuddy
- Keyword Explorer
- Researches YouTube search terms with search volume data and suggests related keywords to target in a title and tags.
- SEO Studio
- Scores a video's title, tags and description as you write them and lists what to change, with a tag generator and Insta-Suggest.
- Thumbnail and title A/B tests
- Rotates thumbnail or title variants on a live video, measures click-through rate and picks the winner.
- Channel analytics
- Channelytics, a channel health report, competitor scorecards and upload alerts, and a niche leaderboard.
- Bulk editing
- Bulk processing tools for end screens, cards, descriptions and thumbnail overlays, listed as part of the Legend license.
- Next Video Ideas
- Suggests topics for the next upload; Pro has limited access, Legend more, and Enterprise unlimited.
Plans
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.
TubeBuddy
Pricing could not be confirmed. See tubebuddy.com.
Ways to pay less
Playboard
No public discounts listed.
TubeBuddy
- Annual discount
Save 20% with yearly billing
TubeBuddy's pricing page offers a per-year option on Pro and Legend marked as saving 20% against monthly billing.
- Nonprofit
Special discount for US nonprofits
The pricing page says 501(c)(3) nonprofits qualify for a special discount; the amount is not stated.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Playboard or TubeBuddy?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Playboard starts at $29 per month, billed monthly, and TubeBuddy has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Playboard or TubeBuddy?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Playboard and TubeBuddy have a free plan.
Which platforms do Playboard and TubeBuddy run on?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only TubeBuddy lists iOS and Android apps and a browser extension. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.