Yoast charges $99 per site — that's $495 for five sites. Optiq gives you the same core feature set, a cleaner interface, and your own AI integration for $199/year total.
No credit card required · Free plan available · Upgrade when ready
Feature by feature
Yoast's free plugin is solid — but Premium is $99/site/year. For five sites that's $495. Optiq Enterprise covers all five for $199.
| Feature |
Yoast SEO
$99/site/yr
|
Optiq SEO
from $49/yr
|
|---|---|---|
| Core SEO | ||
| SEO titles & meta descriptions | ||
| Per-post/page SEO analysis | ||
| Search preview (Google snippet) | ||
| Social / Open Graph meta tags | ||
| Twitter Card meta tags | ||
| Canonical URL control | ||
| Robots meta (noindex, nofollow) | ||
| Breadcrumb schema | ||
| XML Sitemaps | ||
| IndexNow instant indexing |
Premium only ($99/site)
|
Free — auto-submits on every publish & update
|
| Advanced Features | ||
| Redirect manager |
Premium only ($99/site)
|
Included in Pro ($49/site)
|
| Automatic 301s on slug change |
Premium only
|
Included in Pro
|
| Schema / structured data |
Free, standard types
|
Lite + advanced types in Pro
|
| Taxonomy & archive SEO |
Free, basic controls
|
Included in Pro, full control
|
| ACF custom field support |
Not natively supported
|
Included in Pro
|
| Bulk SEO editor |
Basic tool — title & description only, no filtering or AI
|
Spreadsheet-style — tabs, filters, AI Suggest, image picker, character counters
|
| AI & Automation | ||
| AI-generated meta titles & descriptions |
Yoast AI — included in Premium
|
Your own API key (OpenAI / Claude)
|
| AI runs on your own API key |
Yoast-hosted AI, no key needed
|
Bring your own key, pay provider directly
|
| AI costs scale with your usage |
Fixed cost within Premium
|
Fractions of a cent per post
|
| Local SEO AI context (city, state, service) |
Separate Yoast Local SEO plugin (~$79/site/yr)
|
Built-in — set once, all AI suggestions are locally targeted
|
| User Experience | ||
| Clean, distraction-free interface |
Cluttered with upsell prompts
|
|
| No admin dashboard ads or nags |
Persistent upgrade prompts
|
|
| Client-safe interface |
Hard for clients to navigate
|
|
| Dark mode support |
Not available
|
|
| Licensing & Pricing | ||
| Free plan available |
1 site, limited features
|
1 site, full core feature set
|
| Multi-site licence |
Per-site pricing only
|
Enterprise: 5 sites from $199/yr
|
| One bill for multiple sites |
Separate licence per site
|
Single Enterprise licence
|
| Transparent, fixed pricing |
Introductory rates may change
|
No hidden fees
|
| No upsells after purchase |
Frequent upgrade prompts
|
|
Optiq wins on features and price.
Same core features. Cleaner interface. Your own AI key. And $296/year cheaper for 5 sites.
The real cost of Yoast
Yoast Premium is $99/site and includes most features. The problem? That price multiplies with every site. Five clients, five licences, five invoices.
To get full feature parity with Optiq Pro
All features included, no add-ons
You save $296/year on 5 sites.
That's $1,480 saved over 5 years.
Prices in USD. Annual licence, cancel any time. Secure payment via Stripe.
These are the most common reasons SEO professionals switch away from Yoast.
“I keep getting pestered to upgrade.”
Yoast surfaces upgrade prompts inside the editor, in the dashboard, and on every settings page. It's designed to make you feel like you're missing out.
“Redirects are locked behind Premium.”
The redirect manager is only available in Yoast Premium at $99/site. Optiq Pro includes the same functionality at $49/site — half the price.
“I don't want Yoast controlling my AI.”
Yoast's AI runs through their own service. Optiq connects directly to your own OpenAI or Claude API key — you own the relationship with the provider and pay them directly.
“The interface confuses my clients.”
Yoast's admin is cluttered with settings, traffic light indicators, and upgrade banners. Optiq shows only what matters — and nothing else.
“It's per-site, so costs scale badly.”
At $99/site, five clients costs $495. Optiq Enterprise covers five sites for $199/year — one licence, one bill, no surprises.
“The per-site pricing doesn't scale.”
Yoast Premium is priced per site, every year. Add a client, add a licence. Optiq Enterprise covers five sites under one licence, one invoice — and the price doesn't move.
One plugin. No add-ons. No upgrade prompts. Everything you need to manage SEO — at a price that actually makes sense.
No credit card required · Upgrade, downgrade, or cancel any time
Before you make the switch.
Yes. Optiq reads your existing Yoast meta data during activation, so your SEO titles, descriptions, and settings carry over automatically. There's no need to re-enter anything.
Yes — Optiq Lite is permanently free for one site. No trial period, no hidden limits. Core SEO features, schema, sitemaps, and AI generation are all included. You only pay when you need advanced features or multi-site support.
Nothing is deleted. Optiq imports Yoast's post and term meta automatically. If you ever decide to go back, your Yoast data is still there.
No. Optiq uses your own OpenAI or Claude API key. You connect it once and pay the provider directly — typically fractions of a cent per request. There are no Optiq-side credits or usage caps.
Yes. Each activation is independent. You can assign licence slots to any five WordPress sites — client sites, staging environments, whatever you need. Each site gets full Pro features.
Lite users get community support. Pro and Enterprise customers get priority email support with a guaranteed response time. Enterprise includes early access to new features as they're developed.
Make the switch today
Join the SEO professionals who switched from Yoast — and stopped paying for features they already deserve.
Free plan available forever · Upgrade any time · Cancel any time
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