VIDIQ Review – What is it & Is it worth it?

If you are trying to grow your YouTube channel, you’ve probably heard of VIDIQ, right?

In this VIDIQ review, I’ll go over everything you need to know about the software, including what it is and how it can expand your channel. I’ll also go over all of its top free features. Then, we’ll thoroughly examine each of the paid plans to see whether it is worthwhile to upgrade.

We’ll also address some often asked topics, including if it genuinely increases views, whether it’s safe, whether Tubebuddy is superior, and other crucial information.

What is it & Who uses it?

With the aid of the free browser extension VIDIQ, you can manage, expand, and optimise your YouTube channel. Some of the world’s top businesses and creators utilise and endorse it, including Evan Charmichael (3M Subs), Chad Wild Clay (13M Subs), Think Media (1.6M Subs), Mark Cuban, Jim Louderback (CEO of VidCon), AOL, Time Inc, and eBay.

Once you apply it to your browser, it will add specific functionality to your YouTube pages and videos.

The Most Notable Tools Includes:

YouTube Keyword Research Tool
Competitor Video Analysis
Trending Video Alerts
Channel Audit
VIDIQ Analytics
Productivity Tools

Get Started for Free

Short on Time? Here’s what matters most

Is it Safe? Yes, it’s YouTube Certified and Uses YouTube’s API. Also has over 1,000,000+ Active users rated at 4.5+ for their Chrome browser.

Is it actually worth it? Yes, definitely install the FREE VIDIQ Extension. The Pro $10/month plan is also highly recommended. Getting their Boost plan $49/month can be debated. 

Does it actually increase views & subscribers? VIDIQ is a just tool that helps you – just like shoes for running. It will give you an edge, save you time, and give you a better idea about what content to create but it’s not going to win you the race.

Which is better, VIDIQ, or TubeBuddy? Both are good but in short, VIDIQ is best for Competitive Analysis. TubeBuddy is best for Productivity & Bulk Processing. Infact, I recommend using both VIDIQ Pro + TubeBuddy Pro for most creators.

VIDIQ – How to Get Started for Free

Step 1: Download Free Browser Extension (Available on Chrome & Firefox)

Step 2: Authenticate & Login with Gmail or Other Email

Step 3: Refresh your browser & You’ll see three main things added.

#1 VIDIQ Sidebar where you can access all the main tools

#2 Like/Dislike Ratio

#3 Stats Bar – Simplified Version of your YouTube Creator Stats.

So, let’s discuss the Top 7 Free Features VIDIQ adds and what they do for you.

Top 9 Free VIDIQ Features Explained & How it Helps You Get More Views

There are other functions in VIDIQ, but since you probably won’t utilise them all and it could be confusing, I’ll simply go through the most crucial ones that are absolutely free. I’ll then go over the paid plans and what they have to offer.

1. Views Per Hour

It was one of my favorite metrics, measuring how well a competitor’s videos were performing. There’s a video scorecard when you click on the videos that are to your right. It’s going to show you a lot of information, but in fact it doesn’t matter all that much.

For me, the most important metric is always views per hour. Because it really tells you how well the video is doing right now. Especially if it’s a video that was released months or years ago. This will give you an idea if the video is evergreen (still relevant/searched) or just a trending video.

Based on this information, you can create a similar and better/unique video and expect similar or more views. Not always (because there are so many ranking factors), but if you rank for these keywords, you have a good chance.

Note: On your own videos, you can also see information about how many subscribers the video has driven, average watch time, and countries of your viewers.

Definitely one of my favourite features of VIDIQ.

2. Like/Dislike Ratio, Subscriber Counts & Tags

The Free version of VIDIQ has this amazing feature which shows the dislike/like ratio, subscribers and tags used. This is awesome for 2 main reasons.

Reason #1: This will improve your overall YouTube experience. If the like ratio is low, you may not click the video. You will save a lot of time watching a bad video.

Reason #2: If you notice a video that is high and has a poor aspect ratio (eg 90% or less). Maybe the video is old/irrelevant or has bad audio/video. This could be something you could improve and create a better video to pass them.

Subscriber Count 

Next to the YouTuber’s account name is the number of subscribers to the channel. You can also see it in your YouTube comments.

I find it helpful to have other creators comment on your channel. This allows you to find out instantly without clicking on their profiles. Perhaps this is an opportunity to communicate with them and cooperate in the future.

Inline Tags

You can copy these keywords and use them in your tags when you upload videos. This saves you time thinking about it in your head. You can also click on it to see search volume and competitiveness.

3. Trending Videos on Your Competitors Channel

You can click on your competitor’s channel and click on the “Trending” tab. This will show you videos that are still performing well for your competitors.

This is a really useful tool because you don’t have to click on each individual video to find out the number of views per hour. It can give you a lot of ideas and inspiration for your next videos.

As you can see above, this video from 2 years ago is still getting over 113 views per hour. This video is very suitable for anyone over the age of two! Maybe you can make it the latest video showing the latest Instagram interface and tools.

Note: I am currently using the Boost Plan but I believe with the FREE version of VIDIQ – you are limited to the top 6 results.

4. Keyword Research (Limited)

When you’re just starting out, especially if you’re not famous or influential on other platforms, it can be hard to get noticed. You just can’t make a video like “I’ll continue…” and get millions of views – because no one cares about you yet. (If you have an audience invested in your life – yes, that can work very well because people love stories)

So what should you do?

Keyword research. So basically you are researching keywords people search for.

And VIDIQ gives you the tools to do it.

So for example: “WordPress Tutorial” it has 600,000 monthly searches worldwide, but has average competition. So if you’re starting from scratch and your skills aren’t great, it might be harder for you to rank in YouTube search results.

So with this tool, it will show the related terms such as “WordPress Tutorial 2021 – 10 Easy Steps to Get Started” with a lower volume but lower competition. So this could be something better to target.

Note: this isn’t the best example but if you have the Pro version it will give you a lot more related terms which give you a lot more ideas.

With the Free Version of the Keyword Research tool – you can get 3 related results, 3 keyword search volume, difficulty, and overall score.

It’s also important to note that the data generated is from VIDIQ’s own proprietary algorithms (not from YouTube) – so it might not be 100% accurate but it does give a good general idea.

5. Track Competitors

With the Free Plan – you can track up to 3 competitors and see their videos which are doing well.

This tool allows you to easily track the best videos. This is especially important for channels that take advantage of trends, such as the stock/investment channel.

As you can see, “Post-Election News” type videos are doing very well. You can create a similar video but for a different business. E.g. Amazon Stock Price Forecast AFTER Election News.

6. Free VIDIQ Mobile App

You can also download VIDIQ onto your mobile device (iOs/Android). From there you can view your most popular videos, top keyword opportunities, track competitors, and even do keyword research.

Note: It doesn’t show all the Analytics of your channel, for that make sure to download the official YouTube Creator Studio App in the App store on your phone, if you haven’t already.

7. Trend Alerts

Not something I use too often, since on my channel – I focus mostly on evergreen content (content that gets views over time). But I know that for some reaction/news channels this feature this is a must!

You can create alerts based on the Views Per Hour Threshold.

I noticed here that the keywords you entered may not match the keywords you want. Because some content creators use tags that are not related to their video, and this may mean that VIDIQ is notifying you about a completely unrelated video. It’s probably better to hand pick competitors.

With the free version you can create only one alert and #40;limited options and #41;, PRO version 1 alert, BOOST up to 5 alerts and BOOST up to 15 alerts.

Now that I’ve covered the free stuff, I want to cover the paid plans and other things they offer so you can see if it’s worth it or not.

8. Comment Templates

VIDIQ Free also allows you to create comment templates. This will save you a lot of time because many people will be asking you the same questions. You can answer them using the comment template.

Responding to comments can encourage people to watch the video to the end, which increases the watch time of the video and therefore more views!

9. Bulk Copy Cards & End screens

Another great little feature from VIDIQ that lets you copy your cards and finish shots from one video and paste them into other videos at the same time.

This is useful if you want to promote a new video – you can drive traffic from existing videos to this new video.

Summary of what you get on the Pro Plan ($10/Month)

1. Keyword Research (Full Features)

If you upgrade to the lowest plan (VIDIQ Pro), you get the full power of the keyword research tool. Instead of three related terms, you get all of them. And you can sort by number of applications, competition and total score.

This gives you many more related keywords, so you have a lot more ideas to work with.

You also get the top 5 trending videos on that keyword.

I think this is definitely a must-have upgrade for all creators!

2. Historical Views Data

Those of you who have been on YouTube for a while probably know this from years and years ago – you can look at the historical views of any video. YouTube has since removed this feature. I don’t know why, but I really liked this feature.

Now, when you upgrade to VIDIQ Pro, you get this information! Just click on the little stats bar icon on the VIDIQ video scorecard and you’ll see it.

You can easily see how the video is doing over time. Very useful for spying on your competitors!

3. Best Time of Day to Publish

With VIDIQ, you can see what the “best” times to publish are in you VIDIQ App area.

VIDIQ offers a great visual representation and you can choose either the best time to publish or a specific day. This is based on the subscribers to your channel.
The effectiveness of disclosure at a given time is debatable.

In my experience, evergreen videos, unique and original videos perform well over time and release time is not that important a factor. And it’s also important to understand that starting new content early is probably better than a busy schedule. Regardless, it can be a useful guide, especially for those who are just starting out.

4. Channel Audit

VIDIQ will also automatically audit all your videos – showing which videos you should “double down” on, which videos need work, retention of top videos, and more.

All of this information gives you a quick birdseye view of how your videos are performing without digging into your YouTube Analytics (which can be a bit overwhelming!)

5. Other Upgrades Include:

• Access to Chat Support in the VIDIQ App Dashboard Note: this is not 24hr live chat but still useful if you need help finding all of their tools.
• Track up to 6 Competitors (Up from 3)
• More options to compare views of videos & playlists.

Summary of what do you get on the Boost Plan ($49/month)

You get everything in the Free, Pro and the following:

1. Proprietary Keyword/Tag Suggestions

This gives you the most relevant tag suggestions, which is great because it’s hard to know what your viewers type in. And it saves a ton of time but also makes uploading a video less tedious.

The overall effectiveness of tags can be debated, as you will notice some videos ranking very well without tags or even the wrong tags. 

So what’s the catch?

YouTube’s algorithm has improved significantly over the years, and that includes their automatic captions – so they know almost everything you say in your videos. So what you say in your videos is probably a bigger ranking signal than your tags. In addition to other factors such as viewing time for certain keywords.

Basically, “gaming” the system is now more difficult.

That said, this feature can still help the algorithm understand your videos, especially if you don’t speak in your videos.

And it definitely helps you save time from trying to figure out related tags.

2. Thumbnail Comparisons

One of the newest additions to VIDIQ. I personally think this tool is amazing. It gives you an idea of how your Title & Thumbnail compares to your competitors.

I used to take a screenshot and compare it manually with Photoshop, but this tool makes life easier. It also provides inspiration for a thumbnail.

And as you can see from the image above, I used this tool to create a cleaner/simpler thumbnail than my competition.

And in my opinion, it’s one of the reasons that it is ranking #1 for that term and other related terms.

3. Subscribers Analysis

This tool is located in the VIDIQ dashboard. It shows who else your subscribers also watch. 

A big part of your success on YouTube is about understanding your viewers and with this tool – you can get a deeper understanding about who they are. From that – you can adjust your content or even collaborate with a fellow creator whom you share similar audiences.

Normally, I will look through these channels once in a while to get some ideas and inspiration. However, I try not to think about what others are creating, so that you can fully unique. And that’s probably going to lead to more success.

4. More Trend Alerts, Improve videos with Bulk SEO Optimizations.

With the Boost plan you get up to 5 Trend alerts (up from 1 alert) and also you can now track 20 competitors.

With the Bulk SEO – You can load up existing videos to add suggested tags, and edit descriptions.

5. Upload Checklist with Convertraversial Keyword Checker

With the Boost Plan, you get a video upload score and checklist. It also will check your title, description and tags for controversial keywords that could get you demonetized.

There’s ONE more…The Boost+ Plan ($499/month)

Apart from everything else. You get initial chat support, a monthly coaching call to grow your channel and advice.
You can also have up to 5 channels.
The main purpose of this plan is personal training of dedicated content creators and agencies.
I don’t have much experience with this plan, but from what I’ve heard, another YouTuber will give you some advice. Great for accountability.

Things that I don’t like

1. No Mid Tier Plan

If you look at their pricing page, you’ll see that they don’t offer the mid range of $10-$49/month. They kind of do – offering $499/month of Boost, but frankly it’s probably out of reach for most people starting out.
One of their most important features, Tag Suggestions, is included in the $49/month Boost plan.
It would be nice if they had the labels on the lower plan, as I think it is necessary. And TubeBuddy actually has a similar feature (recommended by the insta tag) which is the lowest tier plan at just $9/month.

However, they do offer unlimited comment templates and bulk copy cards/finish boxes in their free version. If you compare it to TubeBuddy, their unlimited ready answers are only in their pro plan ($9/month). And bulk copy cards/decision boxes are in their star plan ($19/month).

2. Bulk Processing/Productivity Tools Aren’t the Best

TheMass Edit Video Tool is not my favourite, cause the area to edit is too small and you can only change the basics such as Title/Description.

Note: Once you upgrade to the Boost plan you do have access to the Bulk SEO Optimization Dashboard (that does work better but again, you have to click out of the main Youtube area to change anything other than titles, description and tags)

Their competitor TubeBuddy – does a better job at this, where they have a quick-select tool on the right-hand side on the video upload page.

But on a positive note – if you want to replace URLs for example, if you want to change affiliate links, social media profile URLs or Website URLs etc – you can use the VIDIQsearch and replace tool. It’s a simple, quick and very handy tool to have.

3. Comment Filter Location

This tool itself is great, but I wish this was in the Comments section tab within YouTube Creator Studio.

Because mostly I don’t think you filter the comment on the actual video page. I almost never click back to my video page because I HATE watching my videos and hearing my voice again. Is it just me? 🙂

And yes, TubeBuddy has a comment filter in the comments page of your YouTube Creator Studio. They seem to be trying to avoid copying each other.

4. Only Available on Chrome & Firefox

Not such a big issue for me since I use Chrome anyway but I understand that some people use and prefer other browsers. 

So I think this is something they can address in the future and make available on all other browsers.

VIDIQ Alternatives

The most notable alternative to VIDIQ is TubeBuddy. So what is the main difference?

In conclusion, TubeBuddy has better productivity/mass processing tools and a better user experience in the field. They also have a decent keyword explorer that shows weighted scores / unweighted scores with recommendations.

And if you are looking at the top tier – Legend Plan, they have an A/B Thumbnail Tester. This allows you to test thumbnail/title variations – to see which performs better. (i.e click-thru rates)

However, TubeBuddy’s competitive analysis tools are lacking though. They don’t have any metric that shows views per hour, historical views, or trending video alerts.

VIDIQ’s main strength lies in its competitive analysis and trend analysis tools.

VIDIQ Review: Verdict & Recommendations

VIDIQ will not magically improve your prospects with tools overnight. If you are looking for more views or subscribers, there is no magic button – you will be disappointed.

Most of your success will come from your video content. For example, is the video concept unique, relevant, valuable, authentic? And do you have high quality video and audio? Once you’ve tried all of the above, VIDIQ can provide you with additional guidance to help you create the right videos, save time on uploads, and make things a lot easier.

All in all, I recommend VIDIQ if you are serious about YouTube.

So which plan do I recommend?

VIDIQ Free – You should definitely install and add this to your Youtube Channel. It has a lot of features that add to a better experience with YouTube such as the Views per hour, Like/Dislike ratio, Trending videos on specific channels, and more.

Yes, even if you are a big fan of TubeBuddy (VIDIQ Alternative) – you should have at least the free version of VIDIQ.

VIDIQ Pro ($10/month) – Recommended for most YouTube users. This unlocks more keyword research data that includes related terms, historical views (views per day), other competitive analysis tools, best time to post and more.

The monthly price is $49/m or $39/m if you use the annual plan. So this can be quite a big leap for some. In fact, I recommend using VIDIQ Pro ($10/m) over TubeBuddy Pro ($9/m). Because both can work together and you get the Insta Tags feature which I find very useful to make uploading easier.

You also get great productivity tools like default posting settings, advanced comment filtering, and easier bulk editing features. But if budget is not a concern – go for it, especially if you are a channel that benefits from trends like creating reaction videos. It will give you up to 5 trend alerts.

The thumbnail comparison feature is easily one of my favorites and can give you ideas and how to create a thumbnail that stands out from the competition.

In one of his videos, Graham Stephan talked about the importance of thumbnails and how he sometimes re-uploads different thumbnails and names – if the video didn’t perform well in the first few hours.

VIDIQ Boost+ ($499/month) – 

This plan is primarily for people seeking additional guidance and assistance. I haven’t tried it myself, so I can’t answer exactly what you get from training and what analysis they give you.
My personal recommendation is to use the free/paid plan of the tools (to get familiar with them) and watch their free training videos first. Consider an acceleration plan then and only then.

Otherwise, it would be a waste of money to just talk about the basics and charge $499 a month, right? Just my 2 cents.
Anyway, that’s all for this VIDIQ review. I hope you will have a clear idea of ​​what this tool can do for you and your channel. If you have any questions, please leave them below. Frequently asked questions are also included in the Frequently Asked Questions section below🙂

FAQ