Playboard vs vidIQ (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, we pick vidIQ: it is first in our ranking of YouTube SEO tools, and it grades higher too, 2.8 against 2.4.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Playboard grades higher on the free plan. vidIQ grades higher on features, ease of use 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
vidIQ
YouTube keyword research, video ideas and AI coaching for creators
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 vidIQ if
- Fits if you want keyword scores and upload suggestions for one channel at under $20 a month
- Works for creators who turn the same ideas into YouTube videos and Instagram Reels
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you lean on the AI tools, since Free has 150 credits a month and every thumbnail, clip and MCP call spends them
- Watch out: bigger credit allowances on Boost and MAX, and the Chat Coaching plan, are offered with no price shown
- Skip it if you run more than 3 channels or share it with a team, as that means the custom-priced Enterprise plan
- Pricey if you want a coach: VIP Coaching is $3,830 a year, paid upfront, non-refundable and for one English-speaking channel
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAPlayboardFair | 2.8GPAvidIQGood | |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | CBoost is $16.58 a month on yearly billing ($19 monthly) for one channel, just above the $15 that marks this category's cheaper quarter, so it sits in the ordinary middle. MAX is $39 a month yearly ($49 monthly). |
| 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. | CFree for good, with niche trends, content ideas, AI Coach tips and MCP. But the main tools are only partly open, and 150 AI credits a month won't go far once thumbnails, clips and MCP calls start spending them. |
| 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 research with volume and competition scores, daily ideas and outliers, title, tag and description suggestions inside the upload page, AI thumbnails, Shorts clipping, an AI Coach and Instagram tools. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the core job. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record. Open a chart or search for a channel and the numbers are there, with nothing to connect. | A4.8 from about 20,000 App Store ratings for its phone app. The extension puts its scores straight onto YouTube's own pages. |
| Platforms and integrations | CWeb only. Automated access needs a separate API service arranged by email, and no integrations are on record. | BWeb, a browser extension, iPhone and Android, with MCP for Claude, ChatGPT and Cursor, plus Slack and Perplexity. There's no desktop app, which keeps it off an A. |
| Best for | YouTube channel rankings by country | YouTube keyword research and video ideas |
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 vidIQ. How we grade
Price against what you get
Playboard starts at $29 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. vidIQ starts at $16.58 a month and scores 3.3.
vidIQ scores higher and starts $12.42 a month lower. Of the other YouTube SEO tools on the chart, 1 scores higher than Playboard for less, and none scores higher than vidIQ 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
- Playboard also covers reports.
- vidIQ also covers keyword research and image generation.
At a glance
| Playboard | vidIQ | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $29 per month, billed monthly | $16.58 per month for 1 channel, billed annually ($19 billed monthly) |
| 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. | 150 AI credits a month, niche trends, data-backed content ideas, growth tips from the AI Coach and vidIQ MCP, with limited access to the main tools. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Browser extension | ||
| Made by | DIFF., Inc. | vidIQ |
| Price read from | playboard.co | vidiq.com |
| 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.
vidIQ
- Prices are for one channel; more than 3 channels or several team members need the custom-priced Enterprise plan.
- AI tools and MCP calls spend credits: 150 a month on Free. Larger credit allowances can be chosen on Boost and MAX, but the page shows no price for them.
- Coaching covers one English-speaking channel, and annual coaching plans are paid upfront and non-refundable.
- The Chat Coaching plan's price is not shown in the coaching page's text; only VIP Coaching's is.
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.
vidIQ
- Keyword research
- Look up YouTube keywords with search volume and competition scores, alongside AI-suggested keywords for a channel.
- Video ideas and outliers
- Daily ideas tuned to a channel and niche, trend alerts, and outlier videos that are doing far better than their channel's usual.
- Upload optimization
- Suggested titles, descriptions and tags, a video score, and a best time to post, shown inside the YouTube upload flow by the extension.
- Thumbnails and clipping
- An AI thumbnail maker, and a clipping tool that cuts long videos into Shorts and TikToks. Both draw on the plan's AI credits.
- AI Coach and vidIQ MCP
- An AI Coach reads a channel and suggests a growth plan; vidIQ MCP brings vidIQ data into Claude, ChatGPT or Cursor on every plan, Free included.
- Instagram tools
- The same subscription covers Reel ideas, hook and hashtag analysis on any public Reel, and clips cut for Reels.
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.
vidIQ
Free$0
150 AI credits a month, niche trends, content ideas, AI Coach tips and vidIQ MCP for Claude or ChatGPT.
Boost$16.58
per month for 1 channel, billed annually ($19 billed monthly)
2,000 AI credits a month (2,500 or 3,000 can be chosen), AI thumbnails, unlimited trends research and subscriber insights, and masterclasses.
MAX$39
per month for 1 channel, billed annually ($49 billed monthly)
Everything in Boost with 6,000 AI credits a month (up to 10,000), up to 3x the AI Coach conversations and up to 11 hours of clipping.
VIP Coaching$319
per month, billed annually ($3,830 a year)
A dedicated 1-on-1 coach with recurring live calls and unlimited messaging, plus vidIQ Max and 6,000 AI credits a month, for one channel.
EnterpriseCustom
For brands, agencies and networks: every channel, roles and permissions, cross-channel reporting and priority onboarding. Sold after a demo.
Ways to pay less
Playboard
No public discounts listed.
vidIQ
- Annual discount
Save up to 20% with yearly billing
vidIQ lists Boost at $199 a year instead of $19 a month ($228), and MAX at $468 a year instead of $49 a month ($588).
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Playboard or vidIQ?
As of Oct 23, 2026, vidIQ is cheaper to start with: $16.58 a month, against $29 a month for Playboard. Playboard starts at $29 per month, billed monthly, and vidIQ starts at $16.58 per month for 1 channel, billed annually ($19 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Playboard or vidIQ?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Playboard and vidIQ have a free plan.
Which platforms do Playboard and vidIQ run on?
As of Oct 23, 2026, only vidIQ 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.