The best free YouTube keyword tools in 2026, tested and ranked

Most "free YouTube keyword tool" lists grade six tools on the same checklist and crown whoever pays the biggest commission. We did it the other way. We installed each one, ran our own keywords through it, and wrote down what the free tier gives you before the paywall shows up. The winner for a first install is the vidIQ extension, because it shows a keyword score and a volume estimate on the YouTube results page for $0. The one we'd actually pay for is OutlierKit, which answers a different question, whether a topic is worth a shoot. We've picked tools for 400+ brands over 12+ years, so the grades below are the ones we'd give if it were our own budget.

This post is one piece of the YouTube keyword research guide, which maps the full workflow and every tool covered on this site.

vidIQ, the free extension for keyword scores and volume

vidIQ is the install we'd make first, and it's the one we point creators at when they ask for a free YouTube keyword tool. The free plan is $0 and comes with 150 AI Credits a month, niche trends, data-backed content ideas, and AI Coach growth tips. The Chrome extension is free too, works on YouTube and Instagram, and it's the part that matters for keyword work. Type a search into YouTube with it running and you get a keyword score and a search-volume estimate next to the results, so you can triage ideas without leaving the page.

That overlay is the whole reason it wins the "install first" slot. Every other free tool makes you copy a keyword into a separate tab. vidIQ answers the question where you're already standing. The score is YouTube-native, estimated from signals on the platform rather than borrowed from Google, which is the right kind of number for video. Where it's weak is outlier research. It'll tell you a keyword has demand. It won't tell you which video in that lane is pulling ten times its channel average, and that's the read that decides what you film.

The 150-credit cap is the free tier's real limit. Trends and ideas draw from it, so a busy week can run it dry before month end. We put vidIQ head to head with its closest rival in vidIQ vs TubeBuddy, and the short version is that vidIQ wins keywords and TubeBuddy wins tags.

TubeBuddy, free tag and keyword explorer inside YouTube Studio

TubeBuddy is the second extension most creators end up running, and it's the better of the two for tags. The free plan includes keyword research and the essential tools, and the Chrome extension is free. Its home is YouTube Studio rather than the search results page. Open the upload screen and it suggests tags, scores your title, and lets you run its Keyword Explorer on a term without opening another app. If your channel already has a back catalog that needs cleaning up, this is where you do it.

The question we get asked most about TubeBuddy is why its keyword monthly search estimate says "insufficient data." It means TubeBuddy doesn't have enough sample data on that term to put a number on it, which happens on low-volume and long-tail phrases. Treat the term as low volume rather than as broken, then confirm it with YouTube autocomplete and Google Trends set to YouTube Search. We unpacked where every tool's volume number comes from, and what to do when one won't give you a number, in our guide to checking YouTube search volume.

Our verdict is that TubeBuddy is a tagging and optimization tool that happens to include keyword research, not a keyword tool. Run it alongside vidIQ if you publish a lot. Skip it if the bottleneck is deciding what to make next.

Ahrefs free YouTube keyword tool, volume without an account

Ahrefs runs a free YouTube keyword tool that normally needs no account and shows YouTube search volume across 170 countries. When it's working, it's the best free volume read on this list, because you type a seed keyword and get numbers back without installing anything. That's why it would normally sit second in our ranking.

As of September 12, 2026, the page carries a banner saying the tool is under maintenance and points you to the Keyword Generator in the meantime. So we can't recommend planning around it today. It may come back, and when it does the verdict stands. Until then, vidIQ's overlay or Keywords Everywhere covers the volume job. The one caveat that survives the outage is that Ahrefs derives its number from web clickstream data rather than measuring on YouTube, so it's a proxy. If you already pay for Ahrefs, Keywords Explorer includes YouTube as a search engine, and we wrote the full walkthrough in Ahrefs for YouTube.

OutlierKit, the free outlier finder

OutlierKit is the only tool here that answers the second question. vidIQ and Ahrefs tell you whether a keyword has demand. OutlierKit tells you which videos on that keyword are pulling several times their channel average, which is proof the demand turns into views. It's free to try with starter credits and no card, and paid plans start at $29 a month. The niche finder covers 200+ niches with RPM data and competition analysis, and it sits next to a low-competition keyword finder, competitor channel analysis, and the outlier scan itself.

The feature that earns the money is the niche finder pairing competition with an RPM range. That turns "should we build a channel here" from a gut call into a defensible one, because you see whether a lane is crowded and whether it pays before the first shoot. The outlier scan then tells you which formats inside that lane are working. We ran it on client channels for exactly that read, and it's the tool we'd hand a creator who's about to spend a weekend filming on a hunch. Where it's overkill is cheap tag suggestions. TubeBuddy does that for free. Our full OutlierKit review has the plan breakdown and where the tool stops short.

Keywords Everywhere, inline volume while you browse

Keywords Everywhere is a browser add-on that overlays search-volume and related-keyword data on the pages you're already on, YouTube included. It's credit-based rather than a flat subscription, so you pay for what you pull, which keeps the cost low for light use. It won't find outliers or tear down a competitor channel, but for grabbing a volume read without opening a separate app, it's the lightest tool here.

We keep it installed as a sanity check on a keyword, then do the real digging in a dedicated tool. It overlaps with vidIQ's overlay, so most creators only need one of the two. Pick vidIQ if you want it free and YouTube-native, pick Keywords Everywhere if you already use it for Google work and want the same numbers on YouTube. Treat it as a supplement, not the research tool itself.

YouTube autocomplete plus Google Trends, the zero-cost stack

You can get further than you'd think on no budget and no extensions. YouTube's own search bar autocompletes the real queries people type, which is honest demand straight from the source. Google Trends has a YouTube Search option in its property dropdown that shows relative interest over time, so you can read seasonality and momentum. Relative is the operative word. Trends gives you a 0 to 100 index, not a monthly count, so use it to compare two terms or to time a topic, not to forecast views.

If you want autocomplete at scale, Keyword Tool's free YouTube mode pulls keyword, tag, and hashtag ideas from YouTube autocomplete in bulk. The free tier gives you the ideas without search volume, which needs the Pro plan. Together, autocomplete, Trends, and Keyword Tool cover directional brainstorming end to end. What you give up is volume precision, competition scoring, and any outlier data. If you're starting from zero, run this stack first, add the vidIQ extension when you want a number, and pay for OutlierKit when guessing wrong starts costing you shoots.

Free vs paid, when the free tier stops being enough

The free tiers above cover a channel that publishes a few times a month. They stop being enough at three points. When vidIQ's 150 AI Credits run out mid-month, when you need bulk tools across a back catalog, and when a wasted shoot costs more than a subscription. Here's what the next step up costs, from the vendors' own pricing pages on September 12, 2026.

• vidIQ Boost, $19 a month (or $16.58 a month billed yearly). 2,000 AI Credits, unlimited trends research, AI thumbnails, personalized ideas, unlimited subscriber insights, and the AI Coach with deep thinking. Max is $49 a month for 6,000 credits and short clipping. Compare tiers on vidIQ's plans page.
• TubeBuddy Pro, $15 a month (or $12 a month billed yearly). Limited Next Video Ideas, basic title and tag optimization, basic video and thumbnail tools, Shorts linking. Legend is $32.99 a month and adds full search and SEO access, bulk tools, and 2 seats.
• OutlierKit, from $29 a month. Outlier detection, niche finder with RPM data across 200+ niches, low-competition keyword finder, competitor analysis. The only paid tier here that changes what you film rather than how you tag it.

Our spend order is the reverse of the price order. Pay OutlierKit first, because the research that decides what gets made is where a wrong guess is most expensive. Upgrade vidIQ second, when the credit cap bites. Upgrade TubeBuddy last, and only for the bulk tools, since the free tag suggestions do most of what a small channel needs. If you're paying for all three, you've bought a stack a full-time team would run, which is fine if that's what you are.

The bottom line

About Market Correct. We publish Correct Opinions, tool verdicts backed by 12+ years and 400+ brands including Alt Press, Ring, Live Nation + more. We pick tools the way we'd spend our own money. These reviews are meant to help you decide, not to land a commission.