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AnswerThePublic vs Yoast SEO

AnswerThePublic logo

AnswerThePublic

SEO

Keyword and content ideation tool that visualizes search questions and phrases

From
$20/month
Rated
-
Yoast SEO logo

Yoast SEO

SEO

The longest-established WordPress SEO plugin, free core with a flat-rate Premium tier

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Only Yoast SEO has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: AnswerThePublic credit-based limits on projects and articles mean heavy users need the higher-priced Growth or Business tiers.; Yoast SEO premium is licensed per site, so an agency or publisher managing many WordPress installs pays linearly per site with no volume discount tier published, unlike Rank Math's site-count-bundled plans.
  • They diverge on capability: AnswerThePublic covers Search listening visualizations, Yoast SEO covers Readability and SEO analysis.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 1 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which AnswerThePublic and Yoast SEO actually diverge.

Attributes where AnswerThePublic and Yoast SEO differ
AttributeAnswerThePublicYoast SEO
Starting price$20/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionFreemium, per site per year
Free tierNoYes

Identical on both: platforms (web), user rating (Not yet rated), category (SEO).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in AnswerThePublic

  • Search listening visualizations
  • AI content drafting
  • Content scheduling
  • Plagiarism detection
  • WordPress publishing
  • Custom writing styles

Only in Yoast SEO

  • Readability and SEO analysis
  • Redirect manager
  • Multi-keyphrase optimisation
  • Bundled add-ons
  • AI-assisted metadata
  • Google Docs add-on

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

AnswerThePublic

  • Finding long-tail question keywords for blog topicsnot Yoast SEO
  • Building FAQ content from real search queriesnot Yoast SEO
  • PR and content teams brainstorming article anglesnot Yoast SEO
  • Identifying content gaps around a seed topicnot Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO

  • A WordPress site owner who wants a predictable flat annual price with no renewal surprise, unlike some competitor pricing patternsnot AnswerThePublic
  • A multi-site publisher needing Local, Video and News SEO functionality bundled rather than bought as three separate add-onsnot AnswerThePublic
  • A small blog that can run indefinitely on the free tier without hitting a feature wall that forces an upgradenot AnswerThePublic
  • A content team wanting AI-assisted bulk metadata generation to clear a backlog of missing titles and descriptionsnot AnswerThePublic

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

AnswerThePublic

  • Credit-based limits on projects and articles mean heavy users need the higher-priced Growth or Business tiers.
  • Question-mining approach is narrower than full-suite SEO content tools that also grade content against SERP competitors.
  • Article and content-creation features are relatively new additions layered onto a keyword-visualization tool, so depth may lag dedicated writing platforms.

Yoast SEO

  • Premium is licensed per site, so an agency or publisher managing many WordPress installs pays linearly per site with no volume discount tier published, unlike Rank Math's site-count-bundled plans.
  • The free tier's schema output is more basic than Rank Math's free tier, which ships more predefined schema types at no cost.
  • There is no rank tracking feature at all, free or paid, so any team wanting to monitor rankings needs an entirely separate tool regardless of Yoast tier.
  • Some previously free features have migrated behind Premium over successive releases, so long-time users have seen the free-to-paid boundary move against them.
  • The AI-assisted content and metadata features are newer additions and reviewers note they are less mature than dedicated AI content tools such as Surfer SEO or Frase.

Pricing, plan by plan

AnswerThePublic

$20/month
  • Starter$20/month
    • 2 projects
    • 60 monthly credits
    • 6 articles/month
  • Growth$99/month
    • 4 projects
    • 350 monthly credits
    • 35 articles/month
  • Business$199/month
    • 8 projects
    • 800 monthly credits
    • 80 articles/month

Yoast SEO

Free
  • FreeFree
    • SEO and readability analysis
    • XML sitemaps and basic schema output
    • Google Search Console integration
  • Premium$118.8/year
    • Flat rate with no renewal price increase, per site
    • Redirect manager and multi-keyphrase optimisation
    • Local, Video and News SEO plugins included

Which should you pick?

Choose AnswerThePublic if

  • You need search listening visualizations.
  • You work on web.
  • You also want ai content drafting.

Choose Yoast SEO if

  • You need readability and seo analysis.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want redirect manager.

Questions people ask

Is AnswerThePublic or Yoast SEO better?
Neither clearly leads. AnswerThePublic starts at $20/month and Yoast SEO at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, AnswerThePublic or Yoast SEO?
Yoast SEO has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $20/month for AnswerThePublic and Free for Yoast SEO.
Does AnswerThePublic or Yoast SEO run on more platforms?
AnswerThePublic runs on web. Yoast SEO runs on Web.
Can I use Yoast SEO for free?
Yes. Yoast SEO has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. AnswerThePublic starts at $20/month.
What is AnswerThePublic best used for?
AnswerThePublic is most often used for finding long-tail question keywords for blog topics, building faq content from real search queries, pr and content teams brainstorming article angles, identifying content gaps around a seed topic. Of those, finding long-tail question keywords for blog topics and building faq content from real search queries are not what Yoast SEO is typically brought in for.
What can AnswerThePublic do that Yoast SEO cannot?
AnswerThePublic covers Search listening visualizations, AI content drafting, Content scheduling, Plagiarism detection. Yoast SEO covers Readability and SEO analysis, Redirect manager, Multi-keyphrase optimisation, Bundled add-ons.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

AnswerThePublic: What does AnswerThePublic cost?

Plans run Starter at $20/month, Growth at $99/month, and Business at $199/month, each with monthly credits, project limits, and an article-generation cap; annual and lifetime options are also offered.

Source
Yoast SEO: Does the price go up after the first year?

No. Yoast charges the same flat 118.80 US dollars a year per site every year, unlike some competitors that discount the first year and raise the renewal price.

AnswerThePublic: Is there a free plan?

No free tier is listed; all plans are paid, with Starter as the entry-level option at $20/month or a $99 lifetime option.

Source
Yoast SEO: Is the free version usable long-term, or is it a trial?

It is a genuinely usable free tier; many small sites run on it indefinitely without ever needing Premium.

AnswerThePublic: What does AnswerThePublic integrate with?

All plans include WordPress publishing so finished articles can be pushed directly to a connected WordPress site.

Source
Yoast SEO: Can one Premium licence cover multiple sites?

No. Premium is licensed per site; multiple sites each need their own licence.

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