Slim SEO vs Yoast SEO (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, we pick Slim SEO: it is first in our ranking of SEO plugins and apps, and it grades higher too, 3.4 against 2.6.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Slim SEO grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Slim SEO
WordPress SEO plugin that sets meta tags and schema with no setup
Yoast SEO
WordPress SEO plugin with content analysis, schema and sitemaps
Which one is for you
Pick Slim SEO if
- Fits if you want SEO tags handled with very few settings to touch
- Works for freelancers adding schema and link reports across up to 10 client sites
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: AI meta writing runs on your own OpenAI, Gemini, Claude or OpenRouter key, billed by that provider
- Tight if you stay free, as the schema builder, link tools, Search Console reports and writing tips are Pro
- Skip it if your site isn't on self-hosted WordPress, as there's no standalone app
- Watch out: Pro includes a year of updates, refunds close after 14 days, and hosts and SaaS firms must ask for a quote
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
| 3.4GPASlim SEOVery good | 2.6GPAYoast SEOGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | APersonal is $59 a year for one site, about $4.92 a month, and renews at the same price. That's under 60% of this category's cheaper quarter. Ten sites are $119 a year and unlimited sites $179. | 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 | AThe free plugin has no caps: automatic meta and social tags, schema, XML, image and News sitemaps, breadcrumbs, redirects, 404 logs and AI meta writing with your own key. The schema builder and link tools are Pro. | 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 | BMeta tags, connected schema, sitemaps, breadcrumbs, redirects, 404 logs and AI meta writing, then on Pro a schema builder with 30+ types, link suggestions, Search Console reports and a writing assistant. It covers the whole job. | 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 | BNo rating on record, but it works as soon as it's on: meta tags, schema and sitemaps are written from your posts with no setup. Only the AI writing needs a key pasted in. | 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. It connects to Search Console, Google Analytics and Tag Manager, and to OpenAI, Gemini, Claude and OpenRouter for AI writing. | 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 | WordPress SEO with almost no settings | 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: Slim SEO and Yoast SEO. How we grade
Price against what you get
Slim SEO starts at $4.92 a month when paid by the year and scores 3.0 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.
Slim SEO scores higher and starts $4.98 a month lower. Of the other SEO plugins and apps on the chart, none scores higher than Slim SEO 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
- Yoast SEO also covers AI search visibility.
At a glance
| Slim SEO | Yoast SEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free plan |
| Starts at | $59 per year for 1 site | $118.80 per year for 1 site, ex VAT |
| Free plan | Free plugin on WordPress.org: automatic meta and social tags, schema, XML, image and news sitemaps, breadcrumbs, redirects, 404 monitoring and AI meta writing with your own API key. | 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 | Slim SEO | Yoast BV |
| Price read from | wpslimseo.com | yoast.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Slim SEO
- It needs a self-hosted WordPress site; there is no standalone app.
- AI meta writing uses your own OpenAI, Gemini, Claude or OpenRouter key, so the AI provider bills you separately.
- The schema builder, link tools, Search Console reports and writing assistant all need Slim SEO Pro.
- Pro licences include a year of updates and support; refunds can be requested within 14 days.
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
Slim SEO
- Automatic meta and social tags
- Writes meta titles, descriptions, robots tags, Open Graph, Twitter Card and LinkedIn tags from each post with no setup, all editable.
- AI titles and descriptions
- The free plugin writes meta titles and descriptions one by one or in bulk using OpenAI, Gemini, Claude or OpenRouter, with your own API key.
- Schema, sitemaps and breadcrumbs
- Adds connected JSON-LD schema automatically and builds XML, image and Google News sitemaps. Pro adds a visual builder with 30+ schema types and custom JSON-LD.
- Redirects and 404 monitoring
- Set redirect rules, force www or non-www, log 404s and redirect automatically when a post's slug changes, on the free plugin.
- Link manager
- Pro scans every link for status, suggests internal links from post content, fixes broken or redirected links in bulk and reports orphan pages.
- Search Console and writing assistant
- Pro shows Search Console performance, keyword and page reports in WordPress, and gives tips on keywords, images, links and readability while writing.
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
Slim SEO
Slim SEO$0
The free WordPress.org plugin with automatic meta tags, schema, sitemaps, redirects and AI-written metadata.
Personal$59
per year for 1 site, renews at the same price
Slim SEO Pro on 1 site: visual schema builder, link suggestions and health monitoring, Search Console reports and the writing assistant.
Freelancer$119
per year for 10 sites, renews at the same price
The same Pro features on up to 10 sites, with a year of updates and support.
Agency$179
per year for unlimited sites, renews at the same price
The same Pro features on unlimited sites. Hosts, SaaS companies and maintenance services must ask for a quote.
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
Slim SEO
- Education
Education licence discount on request
The Slim SEO Pro page invites schools and other educational buyers to contact the team for a discounted licence. The amount is not stated.
- Nonprofit
Nonprofit licence discount on request
The Slim SEO Pro page invites nonprofits to contact the team for a discounted licence. The amount is not stated.
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, Slim SEO or Yoast SEO?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Slim SEO is cheaper to start with: $4.92 a month when paid by the year, against $9.90 a month when paid by the year for Yoast SEO. Slim SEO starts at $59 per year for 1 site, and Yoast SEO starts at $118.80 per year for 1 site, ex VAT.
Which has a free plan, Slim SEO or Yoast SEO?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Slim SEO 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.