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vidIQ
Daily AI video ideas, keyword scores, and competitor outliers for YouTube, with a free extension that overlays data as you browse.
YouTube creators with a monetized channel who research topics and keywords weekly, including Shorts creators growing a long-form channel alongside.
TikTok-first creators, pre-revenue channels that cannot absorb a subscription yet, and anyone already burned by hard-to-cancel billing.
Install the free extension no matter what; pay for Boost ($16.58/mo billed annually) only if your channel already earns money and topic research is a weekly habit, because the free overlay carries most of the everyday value on its own.
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Overview
vidIQ is a YouTube research platform that answers the what-do-I-film-next question with a daily AI ideas feed built from your channel history and current niche trends, plus keyword scores and an Outliers view that flags overperforming videos. The free browser extension (Chrome, Firefox, and Edge) overlays views per hour, an SEO score, and competition data on every YouTube video you open. It fits creators who treat topic research as a weekly habit, including Shorts creators growing a long-form channel at the same time. If TikTok is your main platform, you would be paying for YouTube search research you will not use.
Pros
- The Daily Ideas feed proposes specific video topics every day, built from your channel history crossed with current trends in your niche. It removes the what-do-I-film-this-week blank page.
- The browser extension is free on Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, and it overlays views per hour, an SEO score, and competition signals on every YouTube page you visit.
- Outliers surfaces the videos that beat a channel's own average, handing you topics and formats an audience in your niche already rewarded.
- Boost includes unlimited trends research and subscriber insights, plus an AI Coach that answers channel-strategy questions in plain language.
- The MCP server pipes vidIQ data into Claude, ChatGPT, and any MCP-compatible assistant, so research can happen inside the AI chat you already use.
Cons
- Independent reviews describe billing and cancellation as vidIQ's most common complaint: users report charges continuing after cancelling, and billing support runs chatbot-first. If you subscribe, screenshot every cancellation confirmation.
- The keyword volume and competition scores are estimates, not YouTube's own data, and creators regularly report mismatches. Use them to rank topic options against each other, not as traffic forecasts.
- The free platform tier is built to push the upgrade: 150 AI credits a month, about 12 months of data history, and an extension that shows numbers you can see but not open until you pay for Boost.
Features
- Daily Ideas: an AI feed of specific video topics generated from your channel history and current niche trends. Treat it as a shortlist, not a filming schedule.
- Keyword research with search volume estimates, competition scores, and a match rating for your channel size, so you target phrases you can realistically rank for.
- Free browser extension (Chrome, Firefox, Edge) that overlays views per hour, SEO score, and tags on every YouTube video as you browse.
- Outliers: flags the videos that massively overperformed a channel's own average, surfacing topics and formats a niche already rewarded.
- Short clipping on Max: cuts short-form clips out of long-form videos, up to 11 hours of clipping and generations.
- AI Coach for channel-strategy questions, plus an MCP server that brings vidIQ data into Claude and ChatGPT.
Pricing
- 150 AI credits/mo
- Free browser extension overlay
- Daily ideas + AI Coach tips
- About 12 months of data history
- 2,000 AI credits/mo
- Unlimited trends research
- Thumbnail generation
- AI Coach with deep thinking
- 6,000 AI credits/mo
- Up to 3x AI Coach conversations
- Max Mode AI for deeper strategy
- Up to 11 hours of short clipping
- For brands, agencies & MCNs
- Roles & permissions
- Priority onboarding & support
- Cross-channel insights & reporting
Every tier is metered in AI credits: 150 a month free, 2,000 on Boost, 6,000 on Max. The deeper research (unlimited trends research and the AI Coach with deep thinking) sits on Boost at $16.58/mo billed annually or $19 month-to-month, while Max ($39/mo annually, $49 month-to-month) mainly buys more credits, more AI Coach use, and short clipping. The catch is not the sticker price, it is the exit: independent reviews describe billing and cancellation as vidIQ's most common complaint, so start monthly and screenshot your cancellation confirmation.
Check current vidIQ pricingPricing changes often and varies by region, currency, and active promotions. Always confirm the current price, and any live deals, on the official pricing page before you buy.
Frequently Asked Questions
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