Yoast SEO shipped in 2010 and remains the safest, most-supported WordPress SEO plugin. Its readability and internal-linking recommendations still lead the category.
This review reflects usage across publisher, editorial and small-business WordPress sites.
Yoast at a glance
Yoast is a stable, well-documented WordPress SEO plugin with strong focus on readability, meta management and internal linking hints.
Readability & content analysis
Readability analysis remains a signature Yoast strength — the plugin still catches passive voice, sentence length and transition-word issues better than competitors.
Internal linking (Premium)
Premium unlocks internal-linking suggestions, orphaned-content detection and cornerstone-content workflows.
Schema
Schema output is solid for the standard content types but less extensive than Rank Math's library.
Pricing
Free tier is generous; Premium is $99/year for one site; SEO for eCommerce, News, Video and Local sold separately or in bundles.
Editorial verdict
Yoast is still the safe pick — especially for editorial teams already running it. New projects should evaluate Rank Math for the feature-per-dollar advantage.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Rock-solid stability and support
- Best-in-class readability analysis
- Excellent internal-linking suggestions in Premium
- Massive documentation library
Cons
- Fewer features than Rank Math at the same price
- Some upsell prompts in the free tier
- Premium is per-site (add-on stack gets expensive)
Platform details
- Focus keyword & readability analysis
- Meta & OG management
- XML sitemaps
- Schema
- Internal linking (Premium)
- Cornerstone content
- Free
- Premium $99/yr per site
- SEO for eCommerce $99/yr
- News, Video, Local add-ons
- WordPress core
- WooCommerce
- AMP
- Elementor
- Google Search Console
- Publishers
- Editorial teams
- Existing Yoast users
Yoast SEO sidebar, readability score and internal linking suggestions (placeholder).
Alternatives to consider
- Rank Math Review
Better free tier and feature depth.
- Semrush Review
For platform-level SEO beyond WordPress.
- Neuronwriter Review
Serious content optimization workflow.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Yoast still the best SEO plugin?
For editorial teams and existing users — yes. For new sites, Rank Math offers more for the same money.
Is Yoast Premium worth $99/year?
Yes if you rely on internal-linking suggestions and cornerstone-content workflows.
Does Yoast slow down WordPress?
Not measurably in our testing on well-hosted sites.
Can I run Yoast and Rank Math together?
No — pick one. Running two SEO plugins conflicts on meta tags and sitemaps.