Yoast SEO vs Rank Math Comparison 2024

If you have a WordPress website or blog, you must be using one or the other WordPress SEO Plugin.

Here in this post, we will see the Yoast SEO vs Rank Math Comparison and will try to find out the best WordPress SEO plugin that you should be using with your WordPress website or blog.

Probably Yoast SEO is one of the oldest and most popular SEO plugins in the WP plugin directly. Rank Math is the brand new SEO plugin developed by MyThemeShop.com and launched a few months back.

Within the few months of being launched, Rank Math created enough buzz in the WordPress and SEO community. So the question arises Yoast SEO vs Rank Math – which is the best SEO Plugin. We will find out the answer in this post.

Disclaimer: I am writing this comparison after using both the plugins for some time. I have been using Yoast SEO (Free as well as Premium version) for many years and recently switched to Rank Math SEO plugin on some of my sites. The comparisons here are based on my knowledge and experiences and are not at all biased, sponsored or paid.

Yoast SEO vs Rank Math – Comparison

As I just told above, I have been using the Yoast SEO plugin for many years. The primary reason for switching from Yoast to Rank Math was, I wanted to minimize the number of plugins I was using on one of my websites (though I was using the Free version of Yoast SEO plugin on that website). And the obvious reason for minimizing the number of plugins was to improve the website speed.

Though I did not want to compromise with the functionality I was getting with those plugins installed.

I choose the Rank Math SEO plugin and instantly deactivated the 4 plugins already installed, as I was getting all those features built-in in Rank Math SEO Plugin.

Further when we compare the features of both the plugins, Rank Math has must more to offer than Yoast SEO plugin. There are some of the Rank Math features that you can get in Yoast SEO Premium (not in the free version), but there are some of the features Rank Math has is not yet available in the premium version of the Yoast SEO plugin.

So, let’s start with the Yoast SEO vs Rank Math Comparison and Review. Here, we will see the feature-wise comparison between both the plugins and will see what both the plugins hs to offer.

Yoast SEO vs Rank Math – Installation & Setup

It’s pretty easy to install and set up the Yoast SEO, most of the settings work out of the box. You can install the plugin and can go straight to writing the post or creating the pages.

Though there are options, you can use to customize the output from the Yoast SEO plugin. In case if you get stuck somewhere while setting up the plugin, you can easily get the solution from a simple Google Search.

Installing Rank Math SEO plugin is also very easy, here you will be taken through the step by step process to set up the plugin (it hardly takes 3-4 minutes).

If you are an existing Yoast SEO user, you can easily import all the Yoast SEO settings from Yoast to Rank Math (it hardly takes 2-3 minutes, depending upon the website size).

Further, if you have missed some settings or if you want to tweak the settings later you can go through the setting options available in Rank Math Dashboard and Setting. Though being a new plugin, you won’t get many resources available online.

Though Rank math has all the documents available on their website in case if you need and also they provide great support in case if you face any issue (we will discuss this later in the post).

1. Yoast SEO vs Rank Math – User Interface (UI)

For years, Yoast’s UI has been the same, there’s nothing new and impressive but the good thing is that if you are using the Yoast plugin for years, you are very much familiar with the Yoast user interface.

Rank Math offers a new modular design, it looks impressive. I can clearly say that, while offering the amazing functionalities, they have not compromised with the user interface. The moment you install the plugin, you will start loving the UI that Rank Math offers.

2. Options For Up To 5 Keywords

With Rank Math, you will get the option to add up to 5 focus keywords and you can check the SEO score for all those 5 keywords.

This option is available in Yoast SEO Premium only. With the free version of Yoast SEO, you can only use 1 focus keyword at a time to optimize your page content.

3. Auto Google Keyword Suggestion

Another amazing feature that I like the most with Rank Math is Google Keyword Suggestion. When you start typing the focus keyword, it starts suggesting the keyword (long-tail keyword as well) and that comes directly from Google.

To get this feature working, you need to be registered with Rank Math official website, it’s a simple registration and there is no charge for this, you can register for free.

As of now, this feature is not available with the Yoast SEO plugin.

4. Auto Link Suggestions

This is an amazing feature that I always needed when I was using the free version of the Yoast SEO Plugin. Though this is available in the Yoast premium version, I fee it’s a basic SEO feature that all SEO plugin should have whether it’s free or premium.

With Rank Math, you get this feature for free. It works amazing. When you write a post, it starts suggesting you, to link to the pillar post. While using the free Yoast plugin, I always used to miss inter-linking to other posts.

5. Better Content Keyword Analysis

Content Keyword Analysis is one of the features that every SEO plugin should have and thus both the plugins have this feature where you can analyze your content as per your focus keyword.

With Yoast SEO, you get the keyword content analysis as OK, Good or Bad. Which sometimes is really confusing especially if you are new to Yoast SEO.

Whereas with Rank Math, you get the score in exact numbers out of 100. In fact with Rank Math, you can compare each of the SEO points and can improve your SEO score. The Rank Math content analysis points or parameters are very clear and to the point, even a newbie can easily understand this.

6. Better Image SEO Optimization

There are more options for Image SEO optimization in Rank Math as compared with the Yoast SEO plugin. With Rank Math, you can automatically add missing “title tag” and “alt tag” to images and also you can easily redirect the images to the root pages.

With Yoast SEO plugin also, you can redirect the images to the root pages but the other auto settings for “alt tag” and “title tag” are missing for now.

7. Integrated Schema

If you are really concerned with the SEO and organic ranking of your website, you know how important is the schema markup (Rich Snippets).

I have been using a dedicated schema plugin for this but when I installed Rank Math, I get this feature inbuilt. Thus with Rank Math plugin, you won’t need a separate schema plugin.

8. Monitoring 404 Not Found Error

Monitoring the 404 error was a big headache for me, I used to rely on Google Search Console for 404 error data (though you can also use a separate plugin for this).

Using an additional plugin for 404 monitoring just adds extra weight to your website speed. Ranks to Rank Math, you get this feature inbuilt.

With Rank Math plugin, you won’t need a separate dedicated plugin for 404 error monitoring and neither you need to check the Google Search Console. Now you can get this data directly in your WordPress (Plugin) Dashboard.

9. Redirect Manager

What’s the use of getting the 404 error data when if you need to use an additional plugin to redirect the pages (I used to use an additional plugin for this).

With Rank Math SEO, if you change the URL of an existing published page, it automatically redirects the old URL to the new one. Also, if in case if you see any other pages giving 404 errors, you can manually redirect that page to the related page.

This feature is only available in the Yoast SEO Premium plugin. If you are using a free version of the Yoast SEO plugin, you need to use an additional plugin for URL redirection.

10. Integrated Google Search Console

This is an amazing feature in Rank Math that I like the most. Now I can get all my Google Search Console data directly in my website dashboard, now I don’t need to login to Google Search Console for all these important data.

For now, this feature is not available in Yoast SEO Plugin (not even in the premium version).

11. Role Manager

Another feature that you need if you have a multi-author website is the Role Manager. Rank Math does an amazing job here.

With Rank Math, you can seamlessly manage the SEO permissions for different users on a role basis. Though Yoast SEO plugin also has this feature. But it has limited options only.

12. Amazing Inbuilt SEO Audit Tool

If you were using different tools for SEO Audit for your website or blog to find the technical errors, there’s a piece of good news.

SEO Audit Tool is built-in in Rank Math. With just a couple of clicks directly in your website dashboard, you can do the SEO audit of your website.

Again this feature is not available in Yoast SEO Plugin (not even in the premium version).

13. Light Weight (Yoast SEO vs Rank Math)

Having all these features inbuilt, if you worry about the size of the plugin (If you think it will slow down your website or if you think you do not need all these features still that will add weight to your website), Let me tell you – Rank Math SEO plugin is much lightweight as compared with Yoast SEO Plugin.

Rank Math SEO Plugin has Integrated 4(+) Plugins in One. I instantly 4 plugins when I started using Rank Math. That improved my website speed significantly.

14. Pricing (Plans & Packages)

When it comes to Yoast SEO vs Rank Math Comparison, let me tell you, Rank Math is completely free. Yes, you get all the above features completely free of cost and packed in a single plugin.

They have plans to bring the premium version of the plugin but as per their statement – “All the features that are currently available in the plugin will always be available in the free version”.

Now, I am excited, If they have all these things in their free version of the plugin, what all their premium version will offer. Anyway, it will still take them some time to bring the premium version of the plugin, till then you can enjoy all these features in the free version.

Coming to the Yoast SEO Plugin, it’s a freemium plugin. You need to pay $89 for a single website license (they do offer some discounts when you go for multi-website license). Also, they do have the limited free version of the plugin available for download from the WordPress directory.

15. Support (Rank Math vs Yoast SEO)

Frankly speaking, I have never contacted the Yoast SEO Team for support (in fact I have never needed any support with Yoast). As Yoast SEO is there for years, you get plenty of resources available online if you get stuck somewhere.

I needed to contact the Rank Math team for support, as I was facing some issues and I was no able to find anything online. I posted my query to their official Rank Math – Facebook Group and to my surprise, they replied to me in just a few minutes.

When it comes to the support (even for a free product), I will definitely vote up for Rank Math Team, they are amazing.

Quick Comparison – Yoast SEO vs Rank Math

If you are looking for head-to-head comparison – Yoast SEO vs Rank Math here’s the screenshot comparing all the features between both the plugins.

Some Cons With Rank Math

There’s nothing in the universe that is completely perfect. Being a software product, there can be some bugs at a time, but both the teams are quick to fix the things. Though Yoast is there for years, still we can’t say it never had any bug or it will never have but yes very less. With Rank Math, I have found the two major issues:

1. New Plugin – Some Bugs

As I said, Rank Math is new in the SEO game, It has got some bugs, which you can clearly find in different parts while using the plugin. Though it does not impact a lot especially in SEO, it is still a concern.

The Rank Math team is working hard but it will still take some time to make it completely bug-free.

2. New Plugin – Less Resources Online

Another issue that I found while using the Rank Math for the first time was the lack of resources available online. As Rank Math is a new plugin, you won’t find too many resources online.

Thanks to the Rank Math team, they have documented everything. But, for the real case issues, you need to get back to their support team. Though, with the popularity of the plugin in some years, it won’t be an issue.

Rank Math SEO Plugin – A Quick Overview

In case if you are new to Rank Math and are going to use the Rank Math SEO Plugin for the first time Here’s a quick video that tells what all Rank Math Plugin has to offer.

Conclusion (Yoast SEO vs Rank Math) – A Clear Winner

So, who wins the battle of Yoast SEO vs Rank Math? My point here is – when you can get all these features for free, why you need to pay for some plugin to get the same features.

For a beginner who is just starting a blog or creating a website can not afford all the premium plugins. When it comes to SEO, Rank Math has everything (in fact more) that you need to do the SEO for your website (even in the free version).

Also, with Rank Math plugin, you get the features of 4(+) plugins, which simply means you can get rid of those additional plugins (which I did for my website).

Thus, Rank Math is the clear winner of this Yoast SEO vs Rank Math battle. It’s worth switching from Yoast SEO to Rank Math, especially if you are using the free version of the Yoast SEO Plugin. Let me know your thought in the comment section below.