vidIQ alternatives for trend research: outliers, networks, AI agents and publishing
8 tools compared with vidIQ: which networks each searches, what it measures a video against, its MCP server, whether it publishes, and its price.
By Mellow · UpdatedThe short answer
vidIQ is YouTube first. Its Outliers compare a video with the channel’s usual average, on long videos and Shorts, and its MCP server adds Instagram Reels and, for outlier research only, TikTok. The alternatives differ in three ways. Some search short videos on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts alike (Sandcastles, ViralMaxing, Virlo, Mellow Hub; Eden adds X, LinkedIn and Substack). Others stay on YouTube (1of10, OutlierKit, TubeBuddy). And they divide by different things, a median, an average or the follower count, so one video scores differently in each.
Few of them publish what you make next. Eden schedules to eight platforms from its Starter plan, and vidIQ publishes Instagram Reels. Mellow Hub finds what took off on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, then publishes your own post to 10 networks, by hand in its composer or through an AI agent.
Disclosure: Mellow publishes this page and makes Mellow Hub, one of the tools below. Hub’s row comes from its own rules and pricing configuration. Every other cell links to the vendor’s own page, read on 10 November 2026; where a vendor’s pages disagree, the cell says so. Rows are in alphabetical order, not ranked.
Why people look for a vidIQ alternative
Instagram and TikTok come second. vidIQ’s Outliers page describes YouTube, long videos and Shorts. Instagram Reels and TikTok come through its MCP server, and TikTok for outlier research only, not for publishing.
Sources: Outliers, MCP help
One credit pool. Every MCP call draws on the plan’s shared credits: most research tools cost 5, a Reel or Short analysis 10, and one prompt can make several calls. The free plan’s 150 credits a month are 30 research calls at 5 each.
Sources: MCP, MCP help, plans
The free plan shows a slice. On Free, Outliers shows up to 6 videos a search; unlimited searches come with the paid plans.
Source: Outliers
An average, not a median. vidIQ compares a video with the channel’s usual average. One earlier hit pulls an average up, so the same video can look smaller there than in a tool that divides by a median. The arithmetic is in What is an outlier video?
Source: Outliers
It does not upload. Signed in, vidIQ’s MCP edits the details of videos you already posted and publishes Instagram Reels, each change approved by you. It cannot upload a video to YouTube and does not post to TikTok.
Sources: MCP, MCP help
vidIQ and 8 alternatives, side by side
Prices are each vendor’s list price a month in its own currency; “yearly” is the monthly price when billed for a year. Checked on 10 November 2026. vidIQ is in the table for reference.
| Tool | Networks it searches | A video is measured against | Cheapest paid plan | Free plan or trial | AI agents: MCP | Publishes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1of10 | YouTube: long videos, and Shorts in Shorts Outliers. Source: features | The channel’s average: its Outlier Finder looks for videos 10x to 100x above it. Filters include language. Source: features | Basic: $19 a month, $15 yearly. The MCP needs Pro: $89 a month, $69 yearly. Sources: pricing, MCP | Free: 60 credits a month, no card. Source: pricing | MCP and API on Pro and Ultra; the server link is shown inside the account. It searches, saves videos and creates trackers, and cannot delete anything. Source: MCP | Not among what its MCP page says it does. Source: MCP |
| Eden | YouTube, TikTok, X, Instagram, LinkedIn and Substack. Source: Discover | The creator’s median; on YouTube, the channel’s median views. Source: Discover | Personal Plus, the first plan that searches Discover, with AI credits and the MCP: $15 a month, $12.50 yearly. Scheduling from Starter: $29 a month, $25 yearly. Source: pricing | Free: no card; Discover as a preview, without search. Source: pricing | MCP at mcp.eden.so/mcp, free to connect; research calls use AI credits. A connection is read-only, or read and write. Source: MCP | Yes, from Starter: schedules and publishes to X, Threads, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube Shorts and Substack, after your approval. Sources: MCP, pricing |
| Mellow Hub | YouTube, TikTok and Instagram: Shorts, TikToks and Reels only, no long YouTube videos. YouTube through its Data API; TikTok and Instagram through a data provider that reads their public pages. Source: Trends | On TikTok and Instagram, the median views of the creator’s other recent videos: a video took off at ×2 and 5,000 views. On YouTube, YouTube’s own figures only, without ×N, until YouTube approves figures worked out from its data; Mellow has asked for that approval. Source: Trends | Solo: $19 a month, or $190 a year, with 300 AI credits a month. A YouTube search is free; a new TikTok or Instagram search costs 2 credits, a breakdown 2 credits. Sources: pricing, Trends | No free plan. A new account starts with a 7-day free trial of a monthly plan: it takes a card, charges $0 that day and nothing if cancelled before it ends. A yearly plan is charged the day it is chosen. Source: pricing | trends_search and trends_breakdown on the MCP server Hub publishes through. The breakdown spends credits, so only a key made in Hub with AI generation allowed gets it; a connector added in claude.ai or ChatGPT gets the search. Sources: Trends, MCP guide | Yes: one post to 10 networks, from the composer or an agent’s create_post, within the channels, mode, daily ceiling and expiry its owner chose. Trends’ own tools publish nothing. Sources: MCP guide, networks |
| OutlierKit | YouTube. Sources: finder, MCP docs | The channel’s history: its average, median and spread; a 10x score is ten times the channel average. Source: finder | Hobby: $24.92 a month billed yearly ($299 a year). Pro: $99 a month, or $49.92 billed yearly. Sources: pricing, MCP page | 30 free credits, no card, on the pricing page; the MCP page speaks of a 3-day free trial. Sources: pricing, MCP page | MCP at outlierkit.com/mcp: ten read-only tools, 2 to 10 credits a call. Its pages disagree on the plan: any paid plan or the trial in the docs and on the pricing page, Pro or higher on the MCP page. Sources: MCP docs, pricing, MCP page | No: its tools are read-only and do not touch your YouTube channel. Source: MCP docs |
| Sandcastles | TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts; it does not import long YouTube videos. Source: filters help | The median views of the channel’s videos from the 90 days before the video. Source: glossary | Starter: $5 a month, for new accounts only, without global search or the MCP. Pro, with both: $49 a month, $39 yearly. Source: plans help | No free plan or trial listed. Source: plans help | MCP at mcp.sandcastles.ai on Pro, Visionary and Titan. Sources: MCP, plans help | Not described on its MCP or plans pages. Sources: MCP, plans help |
| TubeBuddy | YouTube: one license covers one channel. Its features page names no Instagram or TikTok tools. Sources: pricing, features | Its features and pricing pages describe no outlier score. Its plan table lists keyword, competitor and niche tools: Keyword Explorer, Competitor Scorecard, Niche Leaderboard. Sources: pricing, features | Pro and Legend, monthly or yearly (yearly saves 20%). The page shows a price for the visitor’s country and charges in US dollars; read from outside the US it showed no US list price, so none is given here. Source: pricing | A free plan: a cancelled license drops back to it. A 30-day refund policy; no trial listed. Source: pricing | No MCP server on its features or pricing pages. Sources: features, pricing | YouTube only: its plan table lists Scheduled Publish and Scheduled Video Update. Source: pricing |
| vidIQ | YouTube, long videos and Shorts. Through its MCP, Instagram Reels, and TikTok for outlier research only. Sources: Outliers, MCP help | The channel’s usual average, with views, velocity and engagement. Source: Outliers | Boost: $19 a month, $16.58 yearly ($199 a year); 2,000 AI credits a month. One-channel US list prices. Source: plans | Free: 150 AI credits a month, the MCP included; Outliers shows up to 6 videos a search. Sources: plans, Outliers | MCP at mcp.vidiq.com/mcp on every plan. Most research tools cost 5 credits a call; a Reel or Short analysis 10. Sources: MCP, MCP help | Signed in, it publishes Instagram Reels and edits your YouTube videos’ details, each change approved by you. No YouTube uploads, no TikTok publishing; key connections are read-only. Sources: MCP, MCP help |
| ViralMaxing | TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts in one search. Source: Reels search | The creator’s usual result, which its docs call the account’s average views; plus a 0 to 100 VM Score whose formula is not published. Sources: Reels search, docs | Standard: from 2,680 ₽ a month, 1,340 ₽ the first month; priced in roubles by monthly energy. Source: pricing (Russian) | Its billing docs say there is no free trial now. Source: docs | MCP at api.viralmaxing.com/api/mcp, included in the plan; a paid action is quoted and approved first. Source: MCP | No: its docs say it does not publish. Its agent can schedule a script in ViralMaxing’s own content plan. Sources: docs, MCP |
| Virlo | TikTok, YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels, and the Meta Ad Library; its FAQ still calls Reels planned. Sources: MCP docs, FAQ | The creator’s follower count: an outlier has 50 times as many views or more. Source: Outliers | The dashboard: Starter $49 a month, Pro $199. The API and MCP are pay as you go from a prepaid balance, from $0.01 a call; the minimum deposit is shown at checkout. Sources: pricing, API pricing | A free trial of unstated length on the pricing page; the FAQ calls it a free demo, no card. New API accounts get starter credits. Sources: pricing, FAQ, API | MCP at dev.virlo.ai/api/mcp/mcp, charged to the API balance at API prices. Source: MCP docs | No: its FAQ calls it a trend research platform, not a scheduler, and no MCP tool posts. Sources: FAQ, MCP docs |
Which one fits which need
- TikTok and Reels beside YouTube Shorts. Sandcastles with its MCP from Pro, $39 a month billed yearly; ViralMaxing, priced in roubles; Virlo, by the call; Eden from Personal Plus; Mellow Hub, where TikTok and Instagram carry ×N. vidIQ reaches both through its MCP server.
- Long YouTube videos. 1of10, OutlierKit and vidIQ itself, and TubeBuddy’s keyword and channel tools. Sandcastles and Mellow Hub read Shorts only.
- Instagram first. Sandcastles, ViralMaxing and Mellow Hub search Reels against each creator’s usual views; Eden searches Instagram among six networks.
- A free start. vidIQ’s free plan, with 150 AI credits and its MCP; 1of10’s 60 credits a month; OutlierKit’s 30 credits; Virlo’s starter credits for new API accounts; Eden’s preview of Discover.
- An AI agent doing the research. Every tool here but TubeBuddy has an MCP server: vidIQ on its free plan, Eden from Personal Plus, Sandcastles and 1of10 from Pro, Virlo by the call, Mellow Hub on every plan.
- Research and publishing in one place. Eden from Starter, to eight platforms; vidIQ to Instagram Reels; Mellow Hub to 10 networks. The others research only, or schedule within their own plan.
What you give up by leaving vidIQ
vidIQ covers long YouTube videos as well as Shorts, and it is a whole YouTube toolkit: keyword ideas, optimization suggestions, thumbnails and an AI Coach on Boost. Signed in, its MCP edits the title, description, tags, visibility, schedule or thumbnail of a video on your channel, after you approve each change.
Sources: plans, MCP
Its MCP server comes with the free plan and its 150 AI credits a month. Among the alternatives, OutlierKit’s runs on its 30 trial credits and Virlo gives new API accounts starter credits; Eden’s is free to connect, but its research needs AI credits from Personal Plus; the rest need a paid plan.
Sources: vidIQ plans, OutlierKit pricing, Virlo API, Eden pricing
Where Mellow Hub’s Trends fit, and where they do not
Trends shows what took off in a topic on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram, says why one video worked, and writes your own version with a caption for the composer. An AI agent gets the same through Hub’s MCP server. These are its limits:
- Short videos only. YouTube Shorts, TikToks and Reels. No long YouTube videos, and no keyword, tag or channel research.
- YouTube without ×N for now. YouTube’s developer policies ask for its approval before a product shows figures worked out from YouTube’s data. Mellow has asked for it and does not have it yet, so a YouTube search shows each Short’s own views, likes, comments and date.
- Its sources. YouTube through the YouTube Data API, with Mellow’s own key. TikTok and Instagram through a data provider that reads their public pages. Instagram does not always give a Reel’s views or date, and a Reel without them is not shown.
- Daily limits. An account starts a limited number of new searches a day, and Hub has a daily ceiling of reads from each network. A search anyone ran recently opens free.
- It reads, it does not watch. Hub does not download or watch the videos. A breakdown reads the words and figures around a video and says so.
The details, and every price in credits, are in the Trends launch post.
Where Mellow Hub’s publishing fits, and where it does not
Mellow Hub publishes one post to 10 networks at once, by hand in its composer or through an AI agent, and checks every network’s rules before anything is sent. It is built for agents that publish: each key or OAuth grant is limited to the channels, the mode, the daily ceiling and the expiry its owner chose, and every action is recorded where the owner can revoke it. It is weaker in these ways:
- No free plan. Publishing needs a plan. A new account starts with a 7-day free trial of a monthly plan, which takes a card; a yearly plan is charged the day it is chosen.
- 10 networks. No Google Business Profile, Mastodon, Reddit or Snapchat.
- No inbox and no listening. No shared inbox, comment moderation or monitoring. On Instagram it answers by keyword: a comment gets a public reply and one private message, a direct message gets an answer (comment-to-DM). Analytics are per post.
- No team seats. One owner’s brand profiles, without roles or client logins.
- Newer. Mellow has published live, with public links, to Instagram, YouTube, X, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky, Pinterest and Facebook. On TikTok, uploads are accepted but, on our test accounts, visible only to their owner.
See the plans, each network’s rules, or the comparison of publishing APIs if an agent or your own code will do the posting.
Questions
Which vidIQ alternative is best?
This page does not rank them, because they answer different questions. For TikTok and Reels beside Shorts: Sandcastles, ViralMaxing, Virlo, Eden or Mellow Hub. For long YouTube videos: 1of10 or OutlierKit, or TubeBuddy’s keyword and channel tools. For research and publishing in one place: Eden, or Mellow Hub. The table above says what each one costs and measures.
Is there a free vidIQ alternative?
Free starts, on 10 November 2026: 1of10’s free plan has 60 credits a month, OutlierKit gives 30 credits with no card, Virlo gives new API accounts starter credits, and Eden’s free plan previews Discover without search. TubeBuddy has a free plan but describes no outlier score. vidIQ’s own free plan has 150 AI credits a month and includes its MCP server. Mellow Hub has no free plan.
What is a vidIQ alternative for Instagram?
Sandcastles, ViralMaxing and Mellow Hub search Reels and compare each one with its creator’s usual views. Eden searches Instagram among six networks. Virlo’s pages disagree on whether Reels are live. vidIQ itself researches public Instagram profiles and Reels through its MCP server, and, signed in, can publish a Reel.
What can I use instead of Sandcastles?
Sandcastles searches TikTok, Instagram and YouTube Shorts against the median of the channel’s last 90 days, with its MCP from Pro at $49 a month. ViralMaxing and Virlo search the same three networks, against the creator’s usual result and the follower count. Mellow Hub searches them too, with ×N on TikTok and Instagram, and then publishes your own post.
What are the alternatives to 1of10?
1of10 is YouTube only and measures against the channel’s average, with its MCP from Pro at $89 a month or $69 billed yearly. On YouTube: vidIQ, with its MCP on the free plan, and OutlierKit, YouTube only, at 2 to 10 credits a call. For Shorts with TikTok and Reels: Sandcastles, ViralMaxing, Virlo and Mellow Hub.
Why does the same video get a different outlier score in each tool?
They divide by different things: the channel’s average (vidIQ, 1of10), its median (Eden, Mellow Hub on TikTok and Instagram), the median of the last 90 days (Sandcastles) or the follower count (Virlo). Each also scores only the videos in its own index. Compare scores within one tool, not across tools.
Does Mellow Hub download or watch the videos it finds?
No. A breakdown reads the title or caption, the description, tags and public figures, the comments viewers liked most on YouTube, and a transcript of what is said on TikTok and Instagram. It says it did not watch the video and marks its guesses. Trends publishes nothing.
Sources
Each vendor’s cells link to the pages above, all read signed out on 10 November 2026. Prices change, and some vendors show a local price at checkout; check the vendor’s page before you buy. Nothing here comes from review sites.
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