Yoast vs Rank Math SEO Plugin (2022 review)

Yoast vs Rank Math SEO plugin? Which serves as the best SEO plugin for WordPress?

The Yoast SEO and Rank Math plugins are both SEO plugins that you can install on your site, for your on-page optimization and technical SEO practices.

However, while Yoast SEO gets more traction, it doesn’t mean that it is the only quality SEO plugin available in the market.

There are several other plugins for your on-site optimization and technical SEO, like Rank Math, All in one SEO, and much more.

And not only SEO plugins, a good web hosting provider and an SEO-optimized theme is also recommended.

But for the sake of this guide, we will be looking at the difference between Yoast SEO and the Rank Math plugin.

Yoast vs Rank Math SEO plugin

To check out the difference between these plugins, we will have to deal with them individually.

Yoast SEO

Yoast SEO plugin was launched in 2010 by Joost de Valk, who walked as an SEO consultant for years after which he resigned upon launching Yoast SEO.

In many ways, the Yoast SEO stands out amongst all other WordPress SEO plugins that exist due to the tons of features it has,

which is very effective in optimizing your WordPress site for search engines.

In addition to this, the Yoast SEO plugin is one of the most popular plugins of all time with 25k+ star ratings and 5 million+ active installations.

Rank Math SEO

The Rank Math SEO plugin was launched in 2018 by mythemeshop and since its launch,

it has grown and has had over 500,000+ active installations.

The plugin comes in second place of the best SEO plugins although it is not listed as the second most popular plugin in the WordPress directory,

it is one of the most successful SEO plugins of 2022.

This is because of the free features it comes with.

Yoast vs Rank Math SEO plugin – Features

Before considering which is a better plugin to use for SEO, there are certain factors to put into consideration.

Ease of use

Can the plugin be easily navigated?

If a beginner wants to work with this plugin, how flexible is it?

Content optimization

How well does the plugin optimize your content for SERPs?

Features

The features that the plugin comes with should meet and satisfy your needs?

Site/content marketing

The plugin should offer a fast indexing service?

Performance

This is another thing you should put into consideration?

Does installing the plugin slow down your site? Does it come with bugs?

XML Sitemap

If the plugin generates a sitemap for your blog?

Having said all that, let’s proceed to the difference between Yoast SEO and Rank Math.

Rank Math vs Yoast SEO – User interface

Both Rank Math and yoast have entirely different interfaces and they both offer something unique to their users.

Yoast SEO – user interface

Yoast SEO offers 2 options whenever you are editing or working on an individual piece of content.

It offers;

1. A WordPress meta box that is directly underneath the editor and it is available for both classic and WordPress block editors.

2. A block editor if you will be using the Yoast SEO sidebar. 

The sidebar list all the option for SEO in one column, you can easily preview your content to see how it will look after it is published.

While the meta box option list all its options in four different tabs and they include SEO, Readability, Schema, and Social bars.

You are left with the choice of choosing which option you want to use.

Rank Math – user interface

The Rank Math has only the block editor option.

To access the block editor option, click on its icon on the toolbar.

In addition to this, the Rank Math toolbar is split into four different tabs, General, Advanced, Schema, and Social.

The plugin also has a separate analytic dashboard in its free version that allows you to keep track of the search console.

You can also keep track of keyword performance against site traffic statistics in its premium version.

Yoast vs Rank Math – More features

Now to start with the difference between the two, let’s take a look at the free features of the two.

Rank Math comes with a whole lot of free features that are accessible to all its users.

When compared with the features of the Yoast SEO free version, Rank Math outnumbers Yoast SEO.

But the question should be if the outnumbered feature is beneficial to the users.

Now let’s take a look at their features,

Rank Math features

SEO template: It comes with an SEO template that allows you to create content, including SEO titles, and add a meta description.

XML sitemap: It allows you to create an XML sitemap.

Schema markup: It offers the schema markup.

Search console: At RankMath you can integrate with Google Search Console.

Social Media descriptions: For Facebook, and Twitter.

Redirections: Rank Math offers 301 and 302 redirects.

404 monitor: They also have the 404 monitor feature that monitors your site for 404 errors.

Google Analytics: It helps you keep track of real-time users on your site.

Link Counter: This counts the number of external and internal links in your content.

Basic WooCommerce SEO: This has the template for setting shop/product title descriptions.

Yoast SEO features

SEO templates: This allows you to create content, including SEO titles, add alt text on images, add meta descriptions, and much more.

XML sitemap: It helps to create customizable sitemaps that can be submitted for crawling and indexing.

Focus keyword analysis (one keyword): Enter your focus keyword and see how optimized your content is for that keyword.

Google Search Console: You can verify your site with the google search console.

Social Media Description: It controls the text and images for Facebook and Twitter.

Breadcrumbs: It allows you to add breadcrumbs to your site.

Link counter: Counts the number of internal links in your content.

Cornerstone content: It allows you to make important content as a cornerstone.

WooCommerce: It sets shop pages/product title descriptions.

Schema: It allows you to add and set wide schema markup and content schema type for each of your content.

The Rank Math plugin has more free features than the Yoast SEO plugin.

In addition to this, some of the free features in the Rank Math plugin are in the premium version of Yoast SEO.

For example, Yoast SEO offers a redirection manager, internal link counter, and multiple keyword suggestions in its premium version,

while it is free on Rank Math.

Yoast SEO vs Rank Math – Premium features

The Yoast SEO offers paid add-ons for Local SEO, Video SEO, WooCommerce SEO, and News SEO.

These add-ons allow you to add multiple locations, get your video listed in Google videos,

unlock more access to the WooCommerce feature, and optimize your site for Google news respectively.

Rank Math vs Yoast SEO – Setup

Both Rank Math and Yoast provides a configuration wizard that guides you through the entire process of setup,

Let’s take a look at the setup of both plugins.

Yoast SEO – Setup

Upon installation, the Yoast SEO configuration wizard is displayed on your WordPress dashboard.

The Yoast SEO plugin has 8 steps in its configuration process, it is also accompanied by a demo video,

which makes it easy for beginners to configure the plugin if they follow the video.

The wizard guides users through the process of setting up basic data like,

providing the URL of the website to more complex steps like XML sitemap, webmaster tools, etc.

In addition to this, Yoast SEO uses a modular approach that allows you to use the toggle to enable and disable features you don’t want to use.

Rank Math – Set up

When you initially install the Rank Math plugin, it opens a setup wizard that allows you to configure basic features on your site.

You will also be required to sign up for a free Rank Math plugin to unlock more features (it is optional).

You can also switch between the easy and advanced modes of configuration easily.

The Rank Math configuration wizard is a very easy setup process, so far you follow the guide provided.

It walks you through the whole process of setting up starting from the basic step of including your website’s information,

to the complex step of integrating your site with Google Analytics.

In addition to this, Rank Math runs a diagnostic test for compatibility.

This creates awareness before you use the plugin.

Both Yoast and Rank Math gets a win when it comes to setup.

Yoast vs Rank Math – keyword

Keywords are an integral part of SEO practice. They form a crucial part of your SEO strategy.

Read our Full Guide to Search Engine Optimization.

The Rank Math plugin allows you to analyze five keywords for free, while Yoast allows for only one.

Yoast SEO – keyword analysis

The Yoast SEO allows you to be focused on a keyword (more options are available in its premium version)

It has an indicator that shows how well the keyword is optimized and a list of suggestions you can implement to improve the rankings.

A red indicator shows that your keyword isn’t doing well, while a green indicator shows you have a good score.

To unlock more keyword features, you can sign up for the Yoast SEO premium version.

Rank Math – Keyword analysis

Rank Math offers a more in-depth keyword analysis.

It allows you to analyze five focus keywords at a time, all you need to do is to enter the targeted keywords.

It scores you on a range of 1-100.

A green indicator shows you have a score above 80 which is a good feat.

Like Yoast, Rank Math also gives suggestions and tips to help optimize your focus keywords properly.

For example, it signifies if your focused keyword is present or not in your SEO title, and how many times your keyword appears in your content.

Rank Math vs Yoast SEO – Pricing

Rank Math was an entirely free plugin until November 2020, when it added a pro and business plan to its paid version.

It still offers the features that come with its free version.

However, its pro and business versions offer an upgraded version of the Yoast SEO paid add-ons.

Looking to buy a Yoast SEO or Rank Math package, here is what to expect,

Yoast SEO pricing

It offers two types of premium offerings;

The core premium offering unlocks access to features like multiple keyword analysis, internal link suggestions, and much more.

It cost $89 for a single site, you can also get a discount for multiple sites.

The second premium option is the paid add-on

1. Video SEO cost $69 for a single site
2. Local SEO cost $69 for a single site
3. News SEO cost $69 for a single site
4. Finally, WooCommerce SEO costs $69 for a single site.

Rank Math – pricing

Rank Math offers a cheaper plan if compared to Yoast SEO and it offers two plans similarly.

Its pro version costs $59, and it can be used for unlimited personal sites and it tracks up to 1000 keywords.

While its business version costs $199 and it can be used on a personal and client websites.

It also tracks 20,000 keywords.

Yoast vs Rank Math – FAQ

Is Rank Math safe?

Yes, Rank Math is safe.

It runs a diagnostic test for compatibility, so if there is an issue with compatibility on your site,

there will be no need to continue with the plugin.

Yoast vs Rank Math SEO plugin – Which is better?

Well, which is better depends on the plugin that meets your needs.

However, Rank Math offers more features than Yoast SEO.

Its free version comes with a lot of features that Yoast has in its premium version.

For example, the redirection manager, Multiple keywords and much more.

If you are in dire need of this feature, then the Rank Math plugin is the best option for you.

Nevertheless, when it comes to popularity and active installations, Yoast SEO gets wins.

Which plugin is more popular?

The Yoast SEO is, it tops the first position of the best SEO plugins of all time, it also seats well amongst the most popular plugins of all time.

Yoast SEO has an active installation of 5million+ which means that it has over 5 million active users,

while Rank Math has over 600,000+ active installations.

Summary

I hope you can understand the difference between Yoast vs Rank Math SEO plugins.

Remember that the choice of which is a better plugin depends on how far and how well your needs are met.

However, at findmytricks.com, we use the Yoast Seo plugin and it is what we use to optimize this content.

Have any suggestions, kindly use the comment section.

Read our guides to,

• Setup Yoast
• Setup Rankmath