The SEO Framework vs. Yoast SEO: Which is the Best SEO Plugin for WordPress?

WordPress is a popular content management system (CMS) for its ease. Website owners can use WordPress-developed plugins to ensure the quality and ranking of their websites. When it comes to ranking, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is an extremely important part of WordPress websites. Among WordPress's SEO plugins, SEO Framework and Yoast SEO are highly popular. Here, we will compare both of these amazing tools. 

The SEO Framework vs. Yoast SEO comparison is extremely challenging. The reason behind this challenge is their popularity. Millions of users around the globe are getting the desired results from these SEO plugins. If you have been using one of them for a while to do SEO on your website(s), you are likely to be biased toward one of them. 

However, if you’re still on the fence, this SEO Framework vs. Yoast SEO companion will help you make an informed decision. Once you deeply understand what each tool has to offer, You can make a better-equipped decision. 

The SEO Framework vs. Yoast SEO Overview 

Yoast SEO is among the most popular SEO plugins on the market. Yoast SEO has over five million active installations. When it comes to SEO plugins, Yoast SEO is probably the one that most WordPress users know about. This SEO plugin has set the tone that most WordPress SEO plugin users need. 

Yoast SEO provides suggestions on SEO optimization of each page as well as readability. These suggestions come in the form of checklists to help you meet the best practices to rank highly in search engine results. 

The SEO Framework is not as popular as Yoast SEO because it is much newer than Yoast SEO. This is a modular tool as compared to Yoast SEO. The free version of The SEO Framework provides you with everything you need for your website SEO.

With the SEO Framework, there is no need to worry about generating titles and descriptions. It automatically does this job for your content that meets Google Search Essentials guidelines. Free and premium extensions are also available to add more features to your plugin. This may include guidelines for keyword optimization (similar to Yoast). This can help you choose what features you need.  

The SEO Framework vs. Yoast SEO Feature Comparison 

Ease of use

The SEO Framework vs. Yoast SEO is more challenging in terms of ease of use. Both plugins have distinct features, so they aren’t essentially aimed at a single type of user. 

If you’re new to WordPress, then you're likely to get more benefits from Yoast SEO. It is because the plugin even suits those who don’t tinker with configuration. For lots of WordPress users, Yoast SEO is a prime choice for on-page SEO and readability suggestions. And it becomes a completely different beast if you start digging into its settings. The plugin offers a staggering amount of configuration options and integrations that are geared toward more advanced users. 

In terms of usability, Yoast SEO sends lots of KR notifications that may sound annoying to you at times. Even on the premium version, you’ll be prompted to sign up for paid training or other SEO programs.

The SEO Framework is a bit more of a “minimalistic” experience. You won’t receive many notifications, unlike Yoast SEO. The design is intended for developers and experienced SEO users. The plugin is great if you know what you are doing. 

Overall, Yoast SEO is a better option for beginners. However, the SEO Framework does a better job for someone experienced in SEO.  

Advanced SEO tools

A great plugin will also offer advanced options to work on different aspects of your site’s SEO. For instance, you can use both Yoast SEO and the SEO Framework to generate XML bitmaps. Both are great at it, but the SEO Framework gives a bit more control. 

Yoast SEO doesn’t lack advanced tools that require in-depth digging into settings. For instance, if you navigate to the plugin’s settings, you can connect your website to most search engine webmasters. 

The plugin also empowers you to configure breadcrumbs for your site, where Yoast SEO gives you a lot more control than the SEO Framework. 

Connecting with webmasters of search engines is easy in both cases. You only need to enter a verification code, and that’s it. 

Overall, Yoast SEO gives you more configuration settings! 

Readability suggestions

Yoast SEO offers readability improvement checklists for each page and post. If you click on the Insights tab in your right-hand panel, you’ll get another type of reading rating from Yoast.

This is called the Flesch reading ease score, which measures sentence length and the number of syllables in words. It takes a more holistic approach, and you’ll want to gain over 60. You can also use the Focus option to use synonyms of words.

The SEO Framework might be a better fit for you if you want to focus on SEO and not get distracted with readability scores. 

Price 

Price is an important factor because not everybody can afford premium features or doesn’t even want to spend. Yoast SEO is widely known to be the best SEO plugin for beginners, and The SEO Framework is for a bit more SEO-experienced people. However, when it comes to price, the SEO Framework is more tempting than Yoast SEO. 

The SEO Framework premium version is a little cheaper for a single website. You’ll have to pay $84 for two websites. Yoast SEO premium version costs up to $99 at times, especially when they are on sale. This price difference is huge when it comes to gaining more control through premium features. However, you’ll have to gain a tad more SEO experience if you want to buy the premium version of The SEO Framework. 

The SEO Framework also has an advantage over its competitors when it comes to extensions. You can get all extensions on a single premium plan, unlike Yoast SEO, which requires you to purchase extensions separately. The SEO Framework rates go lower with an increasing number of websites. It costs $204 for 20 websites and $324 for 200 websites. 

The SEO Framework and Yoast SEO: Pros and Cons 

The SEO Framework 

Pros:

• Great out-of-the-box settings

• Automates the creation of titles and meta descriptions.

• SEO indicators are a nice touch.

• Lots of information in very little space. 

Cons:

• Options are a bit more overwhelming, with lots of them crammed into the same space.

Yoast SEO

Pros:

• Yoast SEO gives full control over important parts of your site’s search engine optimization.

• There are lots of sensible SEO settings out of the box.

• SEO configuration for users of all levels.

• The best free plugin for beginners for SEO and readability. 

Cons:

• Lots of ads on the WordPress end are annoying.  

Final Thoughts 

Both the SEO Framework and Yoast SEO are excellent SEO plugins for WordPress website SEO. Both of these plugins have different experiences to offer. This means choice largely comes down to what you want with on-page optimization and what extra features you’d like to have. 

When comparing the SEO Framework vs. Yoast SEO, Yoast SEO is a more decent choice between them. It is a much more comprehensive and beginner-friendly option. This is our recommendation because it can help you steer toward the right SEO approaches. 

The SEO Framework is also an excellent plugin if you are looking for an alternative to Yoast SEO. However, it is more suitable if you have experience in SEO and are looking for a lightweight SEO plugin.