Best WordPress SEO Plugins 2026

AI Search Changed the Rules — Your SEO Plugin Needs to Keep Up

Here’s what’s different about SEO in 2026: people don’t just Google things anymore. They ask ChatGPT. They use Perplexity. Google itself rewrites your content into AI summaries before users even click.

Your SEO plugin used to handle meta titles and sitemaps. Now it needs to track AI search traffic, generate llms.txt files so AI crawlers understand your site, and optimize content for both traditional and AI-powered search engines.

Most “best SEO plugins” roundups still list the same five plugins with 2024 pricing. We checked every pricing page in January 2026 and tested the actual AI features. Here’s what we found.

If you’re also exploring AI plugins for WordPress, SEO is a good place to start — it’s where AI makes the biggest measurable difference.

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Quick Comparison Table

Plugin	Active Installs	Free Keywords	AI Features	Starting Price
Rank Math	3M+	Unlimited	AI traffic tracking, llms.txt, Content AI, 840+ schemas	Free / $7.99/mo
Yoast SEO	13M+	1 (5 in Premium)	AI meta generation, Google Docs add-on	$99–149/yr per site
SEOPress	350K+	Unlimited	5 AI providers, llms.txt, IndexNow	$49/yr (1 site)
AIOSEO	3M+	1	AI Content Generator, SEO Revisions, E-E-A-T	$49.50/yr (1 site)
Squirrly SEO	7,479+ customers	Limited	Dual AI system, 113 ranking factors	~$20-30/mo

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1. Rank Math — Best Free Tier and AI Innovation

Rank Math’s free version is absurdly generous. While Yoast limits you to 1 focus keyword and AIOSEO locks most features behind paywalls, Rank Math gives you unlimited keyword optimization without paying a cent. The free tier also includes 18 pre-defined schema types, XML sitemaps, GA4 integration, redirections manager, 404 monitoring, Google Search Console integration, and automatic image SEO (generates alt text from filenames).

But the real story in 2026 is what Rank Math does with AI — features no other SEO plugin has yet.

Exclusive AI Features

AI Search Traffic Tracker (NEW): This is the killer feature. Rank Math filters visits from ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, and other AI search engines directly in your analytics dashboard. You can finally see exactly how much traffic comes from AI, not just Google. As AI search grows, this data becomes essential — and Rank Math is the only plugin tracking it.

llms.txt Generator (NEW): One-click generation of llms.txt files that tell AI crawlers which pages matter most on your site. Think of it as robots.txt but for ChatGPT and friends. While SEOPress offers llms.txt configuration, Rank Math makes it dead simple.

Content AI: AI-powered content optimization suggests related keywords, questions to answer, and optimal word count based on top-ranking competitors. It’s credit-based (5,000-30,000 credits depending on plan) and genuinely useful for content planning.

What Makes Rank Math Different

Schema Generator: 840+ schema types — the most extensive support of any WordPress SEO plugin. You get a custom schema builder, can import schema from any website, and Rank Math automatically detects videos for video schema. Yoast and AIOSEO can’t touch this depth.

Built-in Keyword Rank Tracker: Track 500 keywords on Pro, up to 50,000 on Agency — all inside WordPress. No need for external tools like Ahrefs or SEMrush just for rank monitoring. Most competitors charge extra for this or don’t offer it at all.

Google Trends Integration: Compare keyword popularity directly in the editor before choosing focus keywords. Make data-driven decisions without leaving WordPress.

Orphan Page Detection: Finds pages with zero internal links pointing to them — a common SEO issue most plugins ignore.

SEO Performance Email Reports: Automated white-label reports perfect for agencies. Send clients professional SEO summaries without manual work.

The WP Rocket Connection

Rank Math is owned by the same company behind WP Rocket and Imagify. If you run all three (SEO + caching + image optimization), they integrate tightly and won’t conflict. You’re betting on one ecosystem instead of mixing vendors.

Pricing: Free / Pro $7.99/mo ($95.88/yr, unlimited personal sites) / Business $24.99/mo / Agency $54.99/mo

Best for: Anyone who wants the most features without paying, power users who need AI traffic tracking, or agencies running multiple sites on a budget.

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2. Yoast SEO — The Trusted Standard

With 13 million+ active installs, Yoast is the plugin most WordPress users try first. That massive user base means best third-party compatibility, the most documentation and tutorials available anywhere, and a plugin that’s been battle-tested on every conceivable WordPress configuration for 15+ years.

Why Beginners Love Yoast

Traffic Light SEO Analysis: Yoast practically invented the green/orange/red system for SEO feedback. Dead simple for beginners — green means good, red means fix it. No SEO knowledge required to understand what needs attention.

Readability Analysis: Checks sentence length, passive voice use, transition words, and Flesch Reading Ease score. It’s not just about ranking — Yoast helps you write content humans actually want to read.

Premium Features Worth Knowing

3 Plugins in 1: Yoast Premium bundles Local SEO, Video SEO, and News SEO — previously sold separately at ~$79 each, now all included. Local SEO adds business hours, multi-location support, and Google Maps embedding. Video SEO generates automatic video schema for better indexing. News SEO creates XML News sitemaps for instant Google News indexing.

Google Docs Add-on (Unique): One free seat included with Premium. Optimize content and check readability directly in Google Docs before importing to WordPress. No other SEO plugin offers this. Perfect for teams writing in Docs.

AI Meta Generation: Generative AI creates SEO titles and meta descriptions for you. Also summarizes content for clarity. Not as advanced as Rank Math’s Content AI or SEOPress’s multi-provider system, but it works.

5 Focus Keywords per Page: Premium bumps you from 1 to 5 keywords per page. Still less flexible than Rank Math’s unlimited, but enough for most content.

Internal Linking Suggestions: Suggests relevant pages to link to while you write, based on content analysis.

Redirect Manager: Automatically suggests redirects when you change a URL slug. Prevents broken links and preserves SEO value.

24/7 Expert Support: Premium includes round-the-clock access to Yoast’s support team. Competitors mostly offer email-only support.

The Downsides

Per-Site Pricing: $99–149/year per site. If you run 5 sites, that’s $500-750/year. SEOPress charges $149/year for unlimited sites. The math doesn’t work for agencies or multi-site owners.

Missing AI Search Features: No AI traffic tracking, no llms.txt generator. Yoast hasn’t caught up to 2026 AI search trends yet.

Free Version Limitations: Only 1 focus keyword per page. Rank Math and SEOPress give unlimited in their free tiers.

Why Choose Yoast Anyway?

Trust and stability. Yoast has a 15+ year track record, the largest user base, and an SEO Academy for learning. If you want the plugin that will definitely work with your theme, page builder, and other plugins — Yoast is the safest bet. You’re paying for peace of mind.

Pricing: Free / Premium $99–149/yr per site

Best for: WordPress beginners who want the most proven solution, single-site owners who value stability over price, or teams using Google Docs for content creation.

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3. SEOPress — Best Value for Agencies

SEOPress wins the price war. $149/year for unlimited sites with a price lock forever — no sneaky renewal increases. Compare that to Yoast at $149/year for one site. If you run 5+ sites, SEOPress saves you hundreds annually.

The Multi-Provider AI Advantage (Unique)

SEOPress connects to 5 AI providers — OpenAI, DeepSeek, Claude (Anthropic), Google Gemini, and Mistral AI. You CHOOSE which AI generates your meta titles, descriptions, and image alt texts. No other SEO plugin offers this level of AI provider choice.

Why it matters: If OpenAI raises prices or you prefer Claude’s writing style or DeepSeek’s cost, you switch providers in seconds. You’re not locked into one vendor. If you’ve already learned how to add ChatGPT to WordPress, you’ll appreciate this flexibility.

Agency Features

Full White-Label: Remove all SEOPress branding without touching code. Present it as your own tool to clients. Yoast charges extra for this. Rank Math doesn’t offer it at all. SEOPress includes it standard.

llms.txt Configuration: Built-in support for llms.txt files (Pro feature) to guide AI search engines. Rank Math has this too; Yoast doesn’t.

Instant Indexing

Google Indexing API + IndexNow (Bing): Push new content to Google and Bing immediately instead of waiting for crawls. Most plugins generate sitemaps and hope crawlers show up. SEOPress actively notifies search engines the moment you publish.

Content Analysis & Monitoring

Unlimited Target Keywords: Even the free version lets you optimize for unlimited keywords per page. Yoast limits you to 1 (or 5 in Premium). This alone makes SEOPress Free better than Yoast Free.

Built-in Redirects: Supports 301, 302, 307, 410, and 451 redirects with automatic 404 monitoring. Track broken links before they hurt SEO.

SEOPress Insights Add-on ($99/yr/site): Adds broken link detection, backlink tracking (monitor who links to you), and keyword rank tracking with competitor analysis — see who holds position #1 for your target keywords. Separate purchase, but consolidates tools you’d otherwise buy from Ahrefs or SEMrush.

Page Builder Integration

Works directly inside Elementor, Divi, Oxygen, Beaver Builder, Brizy, and Visual Composer. Edit SEO metadata without leaving your page builder interface. Saves clicks and context-switching.

Analytics Options

Supports both Google Analytics and Matomo (Cloud and On-Premise versions). If you care about privacy and self-hosted analytics, SEOPress has you covered. Most plugins only support Google Analytics.

The Independent Choice

Made in France by an independent company (not owned by a hosting company or VC-backed SaaS). 350K+ active installs. Smaller than Yoast or Rank Math, but large enough to trust for long-term stability.

Pricing: Free / Pro $49/yr (1 site) / $59/yr (5 sites) / $149/yr (unlimited sites) — price lock forever

Best for: Agencies and freelancers managing multiple client sites, anyone who wants AI provider choice, or multi-site owners on a budget.

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4. All in One SEO — Best for Beginners

AIOSEO’s guided setup wizard is the best onboarding experience of any SEO plugin. Five minutes from install to fully configured — pick your site type, set social profiles, configure sitemaps, done. No SEO knowledge required.

TruSEO Score — Actionable, Not Abstract

Unlike generic “SEO score” numbers, TruSEO gives you a checklist with specific items to fix. It checks headline quality, meta description length, keyword density, internal/external links, and image alt text. Each item explains WHY it matters and HOW to fix it.

This isn’t “your score is 67/100” — it’s “add 2 more internal links and shorten your meta description by 15 characters.” Beginners love this clarity.

AI Content Tools

AI Content Generator: One-click generation of FAQ blocks (with schema markup), Key Points sections (TL;DR for featured snippets), social media posts (LinkedIn, Facebook, X, Instagram), email copy, and SEO titles & meta descriptions. Credit-based system — buy credits once, they never expire.

AI Assistant (Separate Feature): Full blog post generation from a prompt. Can create entire articles, product pages, tables, and lists. Each request costs 50 credits. Lite users get 100 free credits to start.

The AI tools are more comprehensive than Yoast’s basic meta generation, but less sophisticated than Rank Math’s Content AI which analyzes competitor data.

E-E-A-T & Authority Features

Author SEO: Enhanced author profiles that signal expertise to Google — crucial for YMYL (Your Money Your Life) topics like health, finance, or legal content. AIOSEO is the only plugin with dedicated E-E-A-T features built in.

SEO Revisions: Track every SEO change you make to content — see what worked, revert to previous versions if rankings drop. Like WordPress post revisions but specifically for SEO metadata. No other plugin does this.

Monitoring & Troubleshooting

Post Index Status: Check directly in WordPress if Google has indexed your page. Identify and fix indexing issues without leaving the dashboard. Saves trips to Google Search Console.

Link Assistant: Scans your site and suggests relevant internal links while you write. Shows orphaned content with zero internal links. Similar to Yoast’s internal linking, but with better visual presentation.

Keyword Rank Tracker: Monitor keyword positions over time right inside WordPress. Built-in on higher tiers — no need for external rank tracking tools for basic monitoring.

WooCommerce Integration

Dedicated WooCommerce SEO module with product-specific optimization. If you run an online store, AIOSEO and Rank Math both handle product schema and category pages better than Yoast or SEOPress.

The Pricing Problem

Best features locked behind Elite ($299.50/yr): Keyword tracking, advanced redirect management, priority support, and full AI features require the top tier. The Basic plan ($49.50/yr) is fine for a single blog but feels limited compared to Rank Math Free or SEOPress Pro ($49/yr).

You’re essentially paying for hand-holding and the best beginner UX. If you’re comfortable learning SEO, Rank Math gives more features for free.

Pricing: Free / Basic $49.50/yr (1 site) / Plus $99.50/yr / Pro $199.50/yr / Elite $299.50/yr

Best for: WordPress beginners who want guided setup and actionable checklists, YMYL sites that need E-E-A-T signals, or WooCommerce stores that want product-specific SEO features.

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5. Squirrly SEO — Full Automation for Non-Experts

Squirrly takes a radically different approach from every other plugin here. Instead of giving you tools and letting you figure it out, Squirrly runs SEO automatically. The AI assistant analyzes content, suggests changes, and can implement fixes without manual intervention. Built for people who don’t want to learn SEO — they just want results.

The Focus Pages System

Tracks 113 ranking factors per page — not just on-page SEO but also technical health, social signals, and authority metrics. Shows exactly what’s holding each page back with prioritized action items. More comprehensive than Yoast’s traffic light system or AIOSEO’s TruSEO checklist.

Each “Focus Page” gets ongoing monitoring. Squirrly doesn’t just analyze once — it tracks changes over time and alerts you when rankings slip or new issues appear.

Dual AI System

Two separate AIs working together:

1. Real-time data analysis AI: Monitors your content and site health continuously, suggesting optimizations based on current performance.

2. Keyword discovery AI: Finds keyword opportunities based on live competition data across 500,000+ websites. Not just search volume — actual difficulty scores based on real ranking sites. More like Ahrefs/SEMrush keyword research than typical plugin suggestions.

Plugin + Cloud SaaS Hybrid

450+ features split between a WordPress plugin and a cloud dashboard. You’re not just installing software — you’re subscribing to an ongoing SEO service. The cloud component analyzes competitor data, tracks rankings externally, and pushes insights back to your WordPress dashboard.

This hybrid approach means Squirrly can do things purely local plugins can’t — live SERP analysis, external rank tracking, and cross-site data comparisons.

Automatic Internal Linking

Two modes: manual (safe, guided suggestions) and automated (AI finds linking opportunities based on keywords and implements them automatically). Rank Math and AIOSEO suggest links; Squirrly can add them for you.

WhiteGlove Services

Can’t figure it out? Squirrly offers “WhiteGlove” services where they do SEO for you (extra cost beyond plugin subscription). No other plugin vendor offers hands-on SEO services.

The Downsides

Pricing opacity: Squirrly doesn’t list prices transparently on their site — you need to go through a signup flow. Based on available data, expect ~$20-30/month or ~$200-300/year. Cheaper than originally estimated, but still pricier than SEOPress or Rank Math.

Smaller ecosystem: 7,479+ paying customers across 90+ countries. Healthy but nowhere near Yoast’s 13M installs or Rank Math’s 3M. Fewer third-party integrations, less community support, and higher risk if the company pivots or shuts down.

SaaS lock-in: The cloud dependency means if you stop paying, you lose more than just updates — you lose the analysis engine. Pure plugins like Yoast or Rank Math keep working (minus updates) if you stop paying.

Who Should Consider Squirrly?

Business owners who treat SEO as a black box and want AI to handle everything. If you’re reading detailed plugin comparisons and researching features, you’re probably NOT Squirrly’s target market. This is for people who would rather pay more to think about SEO less.

Pricing: Free tier available / Paid plans ~$20-30/mo or ~$200-300/yr (requires signup to see exact pricing)

Best for: Non-technical site owners who want full automation, business owners willing to pay for hands-off SEO, or anyone who’d rather delegate SEO completely than learn it.

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2026 AI SEO Features — What Actually Matters

Three AI features separate modern SEO plugins from outdated ones:

1. llms.txt files. This is the new standard for telling AI crawlers what your site is about. Like robots.txt controls Google’s crawler, llms.txt guides ChatGPT, Perplexity, and other AI engines. Rank Math and SEOPress both generate these. Yoast and AIOSEO don’t — yet.

2. AI search traffic tracking. Only Rank Math tracks this right now. You can filter analytics to see visits specifically from AI search engines. Without it, you’re blind to a growing traffic source.

3. Multi-provider AI. SEOPress connects to five AI providers. Everyone else locks you into one (usually OpenAI). If you care about choosing your AI provider — cost, privacy, quality — SEOPress gives you options.

Speed still matters too. Your SEO plugin shouldn’t slow your site down. If performance is a priority, check our WordPress speed optimization guide. And if you’re running Rank Math’s WP Rocket bundle, we’ve documented the best WP Rocket settings that won’t break anything.

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How to Choose

Skip the analysis paralysis. Match your situation:

• Want the most features for free? → Rank Math. No contest.
• Run 5+ sites on a budget? → SEOPress at $149/yr unlimited. The math isn’t even close.
• First WordPress site, no SEO experience? → AIOSEO or Yoast. Both hold your hand through setup.
• Agency that needs white-label? → SEOPress. Only option with full rebranding.
• Need AI traffic tracking today? → Rank Math Pro. Exclusive feature.
• Want everything automated? → Squirrly. Hands-off approach.
• Trust and stability above all? → Yoast. 13M+ users and 15+ years of track record.

Already running an AI chatbot for WooCommerce? Rank Math and AIOSEO both have dedicated WooCommerce SEO modules that play nicely with chatbot plugins.