Compare
SEO plugins, compared on numbers
Every comparison here comes from one test rig and one method: the WordPress SEO plugin benchmark. That includes the numbers where Hydrogen SEO loses.
Hydrogen SEO head to head 6
- Hydrogen SEO vs Yoast SEOWhich is lighter, and what you give up.
- Hydrogen SEO vs Rank MathSpeed, schema, AI and price, measured.
- Hydrogen SEO vs All in One SEOAll in One SEO added +53.5 ms and 22 queries per request in our benchmark; Hydrogen SEO added +12.9 ms and 1. What that gap buys, and what it costs.
- Hydrogen SEO vs SEOPressBoth added 1 query per request, but SEOPress free printed no JSON-LD while Hydrogen SEO printed 10 schema types. Measured results from one WordPress rig.
- Hydrogen SEO vs Slim SEOSlim SEO added +10.0 ms and 1,649 head bytes in our benchmark; Hydrogen SEO added +12.9 ms and 4,259. What each trades: lastmod, X tags, settings and AI.
- Hydrogen SEO vs The SEO FrameworkThe SEO Framework added +8.0 ms and 0 queries in our benchmark, beating Hydrogen SEO's +12.9 ms and 1. Where each wins: sitemaps, editor weight and AI.
Other head-to-heads 15
- All in One SEO vs SEOPressSEOPress added +24.5 ms and 1 query in our benchmark; All in One SEO +53.5 ms and 22. AIOSEO printed 8 schema types, SEOPress free none. Neither cleans up.
- All in One SEO vs Slim SEOSlim SEO added +10.0 ms and a 1.4 MB package in our benchmark; All in One SEO added +53.5 ms and 24.4 MB, plus a 511 KB dashboard. Output compared too.
- All in One SEO vs The SEO FrameworkAll in One SEO added +53.5 ms and 22 queries in our benchmark; The SEO Framework added +8.0 ms and none. The two ends of the field, compared on output too.
- Rank Math vs All in One SEORank Math added +36.1 ms and 16 queries in our benchmark; All in One SEO +53.5 ms and 22. Rank Math printed 19 social tags, AIOSEO 9. Full measured breakdown.
- Rank Math vs SEOPressSEOPress added 1 query and 217 KB of editor assets in our benchmark; Rank Math added 16 and 1,792 KB. But SEOPress free printed no schema. What else differs.
- Rank Math vs Slim SEOSlim SEO added +10.0 ms, 2 queries and no tables in our benchmark; Rank Math added +36.1 ms, 16 queries and 6 tables. Rank Math printed 8 X tags to Slim's 2.
- Rank Math vs The SEO FrameworkThe SEO Framework added 0 queries and 8 hooks in our benchmark; Rank Math added 16 queries and 155 hooks, and printed more social tags.
- SEOPress vs Slim SEOSlim SEO added +10.0 ms and 10 schema types in our benchmark; SEOPress free added +24.5 ms and none. Both sitemaps had images, and both skipped some lastmod.
- SEOPress vs The SEO FrameworkThe SEO Framework added +8.0 ms and 9 schema types in our benchmark; SEOPress added +24.5 ms and no schema. SEOPress's sitemap carried images.
- The SEO Framework vs Slim SEOThe SEO Framework added +8.0 ms and 0 queries in our benchmark; Slim SEO +10.0 ms and 2, but a smaller head and package. How the two winners differ.
- Yoast SEO vs All in One SEOAll in One SEO added +53.5 ms and 22 queries in our benchmark; Yoast added +39.0 ms and 3. Yoast prints more schema, AIOSEO a description by default.
- Yoast SEO vs Rank MathYoast added +39.0 ms and 3 queries in our benchmark, Rank Math +36.1 ms and 16. Yoast wins schema and sitemaps, Rank Math social tags and descriptions.
- Yoast SEO vs SEOPressYoast printed 12 schema types in our benchmark; SEOPress free printed none, but added only +24.5 ms and 217 KB of editor assets against +39.0 ms and 4,160 KB.
- Yoast SEO vs Slim SEOSlim SEO added +10.0 ms and a 1.4 MB package in our benchmark; Yoast added +39.0 ms and 21 MB. Their schema and sitemaps are closer than expected.
- Yoast SEO vs The SEO FrameworkThe SEO Framework added +8.0 ms and 0 queries in our benchmark; Yoast added +39.0 ms and 3. Yoast's sitemap had 75 URLs with images; TSF's had 51, none.
Best plugin for… 8
- The best free SEO plugin for WordPress: seven free versions measuredThe SEO Framework's free version printed full core tags for +8.0 ms and zero queries. What seven free SEO plugins print at defaults, and what they skip.
- The best lightweight WordPress SEO plugin, measured on one siteThe SEO Framework added +8.0 ms and zero queries in our seven-plugin benchmark, Slim SEO +10.0 ms. How all seven rank on server and admin weight.
- The best WordPress SEO plugin for AI features, comparedHydrogen SEO is the only plugin we compared with a plain-language SEO agent that edits your site through registered tools. How all seven compare on AI.
- The best WordPress SEO plugin for beginners: safe defaults, rankedSlim SEO needs no setup and adds zero admin menus; Rank Math prints nothing until its wizard is done. Seven WordPress SEO plugins ranked for first-time users.
- The best WordPress SEO plugin for database performance, measuredThe SEO Framework added zero queries and no tables; All in One SEO added 22 queries and nine tables. Seven WordPress SEO plugins ranked on database cost.
- The best WordPress SEO plugin for developers: hooks, APIs and footprintHydrogen SEO documents 50 filters, 24 actions and a REST API with no custom tables; The SEO Framework registers just 8 hooks. Seven plugins ranked for devs.
- The best WordPress SEO plugin for schema markup, measuredYoast printed 12 JSON-LD types at defaults in our benchmark; Hydrogen SEO printed 10 in 2,071 bytes, about half the size. All seven ranked on schema output.
- The best WordPress SEO plugin for XML sitemaps, measuredHydrogen SEO was the only plugin with images and lastmod on every sitemap URL (72 of 72); Yoast listed the most URLs (75). All seven sitemaps counted.
Alternatives 7
- All in One SEO alternativesAll in One SEO posted the highest cost in every cost category in our benchmark. Six alternatives measured on one rig, all lighter, most with fuller output.
- Hydrogen SEO alternativesWe build Hydrogen SEO, and two plugins beat it on weight in our own benchmark. Six alternatives measured on the same rig, including when to choose them.
- Rank Math alternativesRank Math added 16 queries and 6 tables per our benchmark. Six alternatives measured on the same rig, with fewer queries and, for most, fuller sitemaps.
- SEOPress alternativesSEOPress free printed no schema at defaults in our benchmark. Six alternatives measured on the same rig, several lighter and all printing structured data.
- Slim SEO alternativesSlim SEO was the second-lightest plugin in our benchmark but left 23 sitemap URLs without lastmod and printed 2 X tags. Six alternatives measured on one rig.
- The SEO Framework alternativesThe SEO Framework was the lightest plugin in our benchmark at +8.0 ms. Six alternatives measured on the same rig, and what each gives back for the extra cost.
- Yoast SEO alternativesYoast added +39.0 ms and 4,160 KB of editor assets in our benchmark. Six alternatives measured on the same rig, from The SEO Framework at +8.0 ms upward.