WordPress SEO Plugin Comparison - Yoast vs. SEO Framework
Yoast has dominated the WordPress SEO plugin market for a long time. But as more people continue to use WordPress to develop their websites, more plugins surface, each of which has its own unique features. One of the more talked about SEO plugin alternatives to Yoast is SEO Framework. The plugin was created by a WPMU Dev member while working on a WordPress website using a theme with limited SEO capabilities. It’s since grown in popularity and it’s commonly cited alongside Yoast as one of the best SEO plugins on WordPress. If you’re unsure which SEO plugin you should use on your site, or if you’re currently using an SEO plugin other than Yoast or SEO Framework and are looking to switch to something else, there are a lot of factors to consider. To help you make your decision, we’ve put together a head-to-head comparison of the two plugins.
Yoast and SEO Framework Are Designed for Two Different Audiences
Yoast is a great starting point for people who do not know a lot about SEO; it’s backed by a large support network and - due to its popularity - has a ton of online training resources. SEO Framework, on the other hand, is more targeted at people with at least some SEO knowledge. And, since it’s not backed by an entire development team like Yoast is, there are not as many training resources for new users. That being said, both have advantages and disadvantages, which you can see in the chart below:
| **Criteria** | **Yoast** | **SEO Framework** |
| Pricing Options | Free with a [Premium version](https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/seo/) for $89 and [additional extensions](https://yoast.com/wordpress/plugins/) | Free with the option to purchase [extensions](https://theseoframework.com/extensions/) |
| Ratings | 4.9 out of 5 stars (based on 20,173 reviews) | 4.9 out of 5 stars (based on 156 reviews) |
| Installs | 5 million + | 50,000 + |
| Support | Yoast Premium comes with 24/7 email support, all other users can use the support forums on WordPress. | Questions about the plugin are answered through the support forums on WordPress. Questions related to legal, billing, privacy or business are answered through a support form on the SE Framework website. |
| Extensions | Video SEO, Local SEO, News SEO, Local SEO for WooCommerce, Yoast Woocomerce SEO | Local SEO, Focus, AMP, Articles, Monitor, Incognito, Honeypot, Origin, Title Fix |
| Social Sharing | Yes | Yes |
| One Thing People Like | Lots of online training resources | Intuitive interface |
| One Thing People Don’t Like | Overbearing content suggestions | Difficult for users with no SEO knowledge |
Both Plugins Provide Similar Data, But Yoast Also Provides Recommendations
You Can Easily Test Out Both Plugins
If you’re on the fence about which plugin to use, you can easily try out both. Download and install the Yoast plugin and the SEO Framework plugin, and activate them one at a time to see how they work. And if you’re more experienced with SEO, make sure you also play around with the settings on each one, as there are several advanced, technical features that can be customized.