Site Kit by Google vs Yoast SEO (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Site Kit by Google grades higher than Yoast SEO: 2.8 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Site Kit by Google grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Yoast SEO grades higher on features. They get the same grade on ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Site Kit by Google
Google's free WordPress plugin for Search Console and Analytics stats
Yoast SEO
WordPress SEO plugin with content analysis, schema and sitemaps
Which one is for you
Pick Site Kit by Google if
- Fits if you want Search Console and Analytics figures without leaving WordPress
- Works for agencies setting up Google tools for clients and emailing them stats
Look elsewhere if
- Too light for SEO on its own, as it edits no titles, meta descriptions, schema or sitemaps
- Watch out: each admin who wants full access has to connect their own Google account
- Tight if your site is new, as data can take a few days to appear
- Skip it if your site isn't live and public on WordPress 5.2 or later with the REST API available
Pick Yoast SEO if
- Fits if your site runs on WordPress and you want SEO checks shown while you write
- Works for writers who want readability notes next to the SEO ones
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your site isn't on WordPress, as Yoast for Shopify and the Google Docs add-on are separate products
- Tight if you stay free, since redirects, link suggestions and AI drafts all need Premium
- Pricey if you run several sites, as each needs its own $118.80 a year and bulk discounts start at 5
- Watch out: AI Brand Insights on AI+ checks 5 questions once a week, and another brand means another $358.80
How we grade them
| 2.8GPASite Kit by GoogleGood | 2.6GPAYoast SEOGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree and open source, and Google says it will stay free. Google products you connect through it, such as Google Ads, keep their own terms and any fees they charge. | CPremium is $118.80 a year for one site before VAT, about $9.90 a month, a bit above this category's cheaper quarter ($8.25). WooCommerce SEO is $178.80 and AI+ is $358.80, each for one site or brand. |
| Free plan and trial | AEvery feature is free. There's no paid plan, so nothing is held back. | BThe free plugin writes meta tags, canonicals, sitemaps, schema, breadcrumbs and llms.txt, and checks one keyphrase per post. One site could run on it, but redirects, link suggestions and AI drafts aren't in it at all. |
| Features | DIt reports Google's numbers and places tags for Tag Manager, AdSense and Ads, but its pages list no title, meta, schema or sitemap editing, and it shows nothing until Search Console or Analytics is connected. | BContent and readability checks, meta tags, schema, sitemaps, redirects, internal link suggestions, Local, Video and News SEO, and an AI crawler blocker. It covers the whole job, with redirects and links on Premium only. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. Every admin wanting full access connects their own Google account, and new sites or services can take a few days to show data. | CNo rating on record. It sits in the WordPress admin, but each post needs a keyphrase set before the checks tell you much, and there are site-wide settings to go through first. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, inside WordPress, linked to Search Console, Analytics, PageSpeed Insights, Tag Manager, AdSense and Google Ads, and listed with Elementor and Hostinger. | BWeb only, inside WordPress, with no app of its own. It works with Semrush, Wincher, Elementor, Site Kit, WooCommerce, Advanced Custom Fields, Algolia and Jetpack. The Shopify version is a separate product. |
| Best for | Google's search and traffic numbers in WordPress | SEO checks inside the WordPress editor |
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: Site Kit by Google and Yoast SEO. How we grade
Price against what you get
Site Kit by Google has no paid plan and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Yoast SEO starts at $9.90 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7.
Yoast SEO scores higher, and starts $9.90 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other SEO plugins and apps on the chart, none scores higher than Site Kit by Google for less, and 1 scores higher than Yoast SEO 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
- Site Kit by Google is open source, according to its own site.
- Site Kit by Google also covers reports, web analytics and page speed.
- Yoast SEO also covers AI search visibility, content optimization, schema markup and internal linking.
At a glance
| Site Kit by Google | Yoast SEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $118.80 per year for 1 site, ex VAT |
| Free plan | The whole plugin is free and open source; Google products connected through it keep their own terms and any fees they charge. | Free plugin from WordPress.org: SEO and readability analysis for one keyphrase, meta tags, canonicals, XML sitemaps, schema, breadcrumbs, llms.txt and a bulk metadata editor. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Yoast BV | |
| Price read from | wordpress.org | yoast.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Site Kit by Google
- Runs only inside WordPress, on a live public site with WordPress 5.2, PHP 7.4 and the REST API available.
- It reports on Google's own services; its pages list no title, meta description, schema or sitemap editing.
- Each WordPress admin who wants full access connects their own Google account.
- New sites or newly connected services can take a few days before data appears.
Yoast SEO
- It runs only inside WordPress; Yoast SEO for Shopify and the Google Docs add-on are separate products.
- Each paid subscription covers one site, billed yearly before VAT; bulk discounts start at 5 subscriptions bought together.
- Redirects, internal linking suggestions and AI drafting need Premium; the free plugin has none of them.
- AI Brand Insights runs one weekly analysis of 5 questions per brand, with no extra runs; another brand needs another subscription.
Key features
Site Kit by Google
- Search Console in WordPress
- Shows how often pages appeared in Google Search and which queries led there, for the whole site or, from the admin bar, for one page.
- Analytics dashboard
- Brings Google Analytics traffic and engagement figures into WordPress. IP addresses are anonymized by default when Analytics is connected.
- PageSpeed Insights
- Compares a page's speed with real-world sites and lists suggestions for making it faster.
- Setup without code
- Adds the snippets for Tag Manager, AdSense, Google Ads, Sign in with Google and Reader Revenue Manager without editing theme files.
- Email reports
- Since version 1.178.0, users can subscribe to a periodic email of key stats and invite other registered site users, such as clients, to get it too.
- View-only sharing
- Admins can share a read-only dashboard with other WordPress roles, choosing which Google services each role can see, with no Google sign-in needed.
Yoast SEO
- Content and readability analysis
- Red, orange and green ratings in the editor for SEO and readability. The free plugin checks one keyphrase; Premium checks up to five, with word forms in 20+ languages.
- Technical SEO and schema
- Writes meta tags, canonical URLs, XML sitemaps, breadcrumbs and Schema.org data automatically. Premium outputs more schema types and joins them into one graph.
- AI metadata drafts
- Premium drafts SEO titles and meta descriptions page by page or in bulk, and nothing saves until it is approved. There is no separate AI subscription or credit pack.
- Redirects and internal links
- Premium prompts for a redirect when a page is moved or deleted, imports redirects by CSV, suggests internal links while writing and finds orphaned posts.
- AI crawler controls
- Manages an llms.txt file on every plan; Premium adds a bot blocker for AI training crawlers such as GPTBot, CCBot and Google-Extended.
- AI Brand Insights
- On the AI+ plan, a weekly report on whether 5 set questions in ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity mention the brand, with sentiment, citations and competitor ranking.
Plans
Site Kit by Google
Free$0
Every feature, installed from WordPress.org. Google says the plugin is free and will remain so.
Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO$0
The free WordPress.org plugin: content and readability analysis, meta tags, sitemaps, schema, breadcrumbs and llms.txt.
Yoast SEO Premium$118.80
per year for 1 site, ex VAT
AI titles and descriptions, 5 keyphrases per page, redirect manager, internal linking, Local, Video and News SEO plugins and 24/7 support.
Yoast WooCommerce SEO$178.80
per year for 1 site, ex VAT
Everything in Premium plus product schema, product content checks, store sitemaps, canonicals and AI metadata for products.
Yoast SEO AI+$358.80
per year for 1 brand, ex VAT
WooCommerce SEO plus AI Brand Insights: a weekly check of 5 brand questions in ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity, with sentiment and citations.
Ways to pay less
Site Kit by Google
No public discounts listed.
Yoast SEO
- Other savings
Bulk discount from 5 subscriptions
Yoast takes 5% off 5 or more subscriptions of the same product bought in one order, rising to 40% off 75 or more; 100 or more is quoted.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Site Kit by Google or Yoast SEO?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Site Kit by Google is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $9.90 a month when paid by the year for Yoast SEO. Site Kit by Google is free, and Yoast SEO starts at $118.80 per year for 1 site, ex VAT.
Which has a free plan, Site Kit by Google or Yoast SEO?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Site Kit by Google and Yoast SEO have a free plan.
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.