Yoast SEO
by Yoast
The long-standing SEO plugin with readability analysis, XML sitemaps and structured data built around a guided workflow.
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What Yoast SEO does
The long-standing SEO plugin with readability analysis, XML sitemaps and structured data built around a guided workflow.
It sits in the seo part of a WordPress stack and is sold by Yoast on a freemium basis. We recommend it in our seo guides because it does that one job well without asking you to rebuild the rest of the site around it.
Every plugin adds work to a page request, so treat this as a decision with a cost. Record a speed test before you install it and run the same test afterwards, on the same page, so you know exactly what it charged you.
Real user ratings
Score
4.8/5
Reviews
27,819
Active installs
10,000,000+
Downloads
996.8M
Latest version
28.4
Last updated
2026-09-01
These figures come straight from the public WordPress.org plugin directory API for version 28.4, not from us. Check them yourself on the WordPress.org listing. Our own editorial score is 4.6/5.
Where Yoast SEO ranks elsewhere
| Publisher | List | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Themeisle | Best WordPress Plugins | #2 of 22 |
| WPBeginner | Best WordPress SEO Plugins and Tools | #7 of 15 |
Positions are read from the published articles themselves, so they reflect that publisher's order rather than ours. Lists get re-ordered over time, so follow the link if you want the current version.
What changed in the latest version
- Release date: 2026-09-01 Yoast SEO 28.4 makes the Bulk editor easier to access by adding a Bulk edit option to the Posts and Pages sections of the WordPress dashboard. This allows you to quickly access the Bulk editor after selecting the...
- Release date: 2026-08-18 Yoast SEO 28.3 brings more enhancements and bugfixes. Find more information about our software releases and updates here .
Release notes are the developer's own words, published on WordPress.org. Read the full changelog
Pros and cons
- Clearest guidance for non-specialists
- A free tier you can trial before paying
- Actively maintained and used on production sites we test
- Upsell prompts throughout the free build
- The features most sites need sit in the paid tier
How to use it
- 1Import existing metadata if you are switching from another SEO plugin.
- 2Set your site title pattern, default social image and organisation schema.
- 3Disable modules you will not use so the admin stays fast.
- 4Submit the generated sitemap in Google Search Console.
- 5Spot-check twenty URLs for correct titles, descriptions and canonicals.
How it compares
Other seo plugins we recommend, with their rating and pricing model.
| Plugin | Our rating | WordPress.org | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yoast SEO | 4.6 | 4.8 (27,819) | Freemium | Clearest guidance for non-specialists |
| AIOSEO | 4.6 | n/a | Freemium | Broad feature coverage in one place |
| AIOSEO Writing Assistant | 4.2 | n/a | Premium | Competitor-based content scoring |
| All in One SEO | 4.6 | 4.7 (5,205) | Freemium | Local SEO and redirects included |
| Broken Link Checker | 3.8 | 3.8 (605) | Freemium | Finds link rot across years of archives |
| Link Whisper | 4.5 | 4.1 (145) | Premium | Internal linking at scale |
Guides that cover Yoast SEO
Alternatives
Other seo plugins
AIOSEO
AIOSEO
The All in One SEO toolkit: titles, schema, sitemaps, redirects and search console insight in one dashboard.
AIOSEO Writing Assistant
AIOSEO
Grades drafts against the pages already ranking for your keyword and lists the terms and questions they cover.
All in One SEO
AIOSEO
A full SEO suite with schema, local SEO, redirects and a site audit, aimed at business sites rather than single blogs.
5,205 reviews · 210.2M downloads · v5.0.1.1