TubeBuddy
Tool · this deep dive is built from the official pages of the platform itself and of the tools that support it.
Overview
TubeBuddy is an instrument for promoting and managing a channel on YouTube. Its own definition from the homepage is "#1 YouTube SEO & Growth Tool".
The capabilities are listed in the machine-readable index llms.txt, which the tool keeps on the site for reading by programs (5,093 characters on the date of the check — that is our own measurement of the file, not a claim by the tool). Two groups are confirmed. The first is competitor analysis: "Niche Insights: Track your ranking within your niche community, compare performance metrics". The second is batch work: "Bulk Processing Tools: Streamline YouTube management with bulk editing of cards, end screens, descriptions", that is, mass editing of cards, end screens and descriptions.
The interface language of the homepage is en-US. The presence of other language versions has not been established: the site announces no hreflang and contains no switcher.
Which platforms it works with
There is one platform — YouTube. The whole site is devoted to it, and the tool has no separate integrations page.
Here it is worth warning about one trap: in the footer of the homepage stand the icons of TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X and LinkedIn. These are links to TubeBuddy's own accounts in those networks, not a list of supported platforms.
Pricing
First — a reservation about the collection. The pricing page answers with code 403: bot protection is switched on. We will not be getting round it; the prices below were read by browser rendering.
The plans: Pro 12.00 and Legend 26.39 USD a month, Enterprise — on request. The minimum price is 12 USD a month (Pro). With annual payment there is a discount of 20%. A discrepancy is visible on the page itself: a Star plan is mentioned in a footnote, but it is not in the table of plans.
Separately the tool warns about the currency: the prices in euros on the page are only an estimate, the charge goes in US dollars, and the rate is determined by the bank or the payment intermediary. The price stated, then, is not equal to the one charged, and the vendor says so itself.
But the main thing in the pricing section is not the figures but the condition of admission — about which see below.
Restrictions
The Pro, Star and Legend plans are sold only to private authors and are unavailable to organisations (pricing). An organisation the tool considers to be anyone for whom at least one of four things holds:
- several channels are connected in TubeBuddy;
- the channel has 50,000 subscribers or more;
- the channel is managed by three people or more;
- the company has 50 employees or more.
The decision remains with the tool. This is not a numeric limit on use but a condition of admission, and it works unusually: a successful author ceases to fit his own plan not because he has started using the tool more, but because he has grown. Having stepped over 50,000 subscribers or taken a third person onto the channel, he falls into the category where only Enterprise on request is available.
For a reader from a company that means that the phrase "TubeBuddy from 12 USD" does not relate to him at all.
How you earn with it
An affiliate programme is announced — the TubeBuddy Affiliate Program. It has no separate landing page: the address /affiliates redirects to the terms page, /affiliate returns 500, and /affiliate-program and /partners lead away to the homepage. The address of the current edition of the terms, stated in the text itself, is affiliate-program-terms (the edition of 1 January 2025).
The commission — the wording of the terms: "15% commission on purchases made within 365 days of each referral's first click on one of your links". The lifetime of the click tag here is unusually long — 365 days, and that is not a term of payouts but a window for crediting purchases.
The accrual is recurring: while the affiliate account is active, they pay both on renewals of the licence and on new purchases by the referred user until the end of that same 365-day window. The commission is accrued 30 days after the purchase; cancellations, refunds and chargebacks are not paid.
An important exception: commission is paid only for ordinary (consumer) licences. For bulk purchases and Enterprise there is no commission.
The minimum sum for payout is 10 USD; until the threshold is reached the accruals are carried forward. They pay only through PayPal, from the 1st to the 15th of each month; cheques, prepaid cards and cash are not sent.
A participant may only be a person, not a program, and one account per person or legal entity is allowed. Earning on your own TubeBuddy accounts is not allowed. Spam mailings, bidding on brand queries and direct links from contextual advertising are forbidden; for a breach the account is closed and what has been accrued is not paid out.
What it will not do
The tool does not work with other social networks — only YouTube.
It will not sell the cheap plans to a company. Pro, Star and Legend are licences for private authors; with several channels, 50,000 subscribers, three managers or 50 employees only Enterprise on request remains.
The tool does not guarantee the price in euros: the charge goes in dollars at the payment intermediary's rate.
Affiliate commission will not be accrued for bulk and corporate licences, nor for purchases that have been cancelled or refunded. A payout cannot be received otherwise than through PayPal.
Separately about the incompleteness of the source: the pricing page is closed off by bot protection and is not readable statically, and the Star plan is mentioned in a footnote but is absent from the table — its price is unknown from the source.
Verified data
The checked data this deep dive rests on.
Features
yes
Quote: • Niche Insights: Track your ranking within your niche community, compare performance metrics, and a
source, checked 2026-07-27
yes
Quote: • Bulk Processing Tools: Streamline YouTube management with bulk editing of cards, end screens, desc
source, checked 2026-07-27
Platforms
YouTube
the whole site is about one platform: «#1 YouTube SEO & Growth Tool»; there is no separate integrations page. The TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, X and LinkedIn icons in the footer are TubeBuddy's own accounts, not supported platforms
source, checked 2026-07-28
How the money works here
Affiliate programme. yes: TubeBuddy Affiliate Program
/affiliates redirects to the terms page and there is no separate landing page: /affiliate returns 500, and /affiliate-program and /partners lead to the home page
source, checked 2026-08-04
Commission. 15% commission on purchases made within 365 days of each referral's first click on one of your links
commission is paid only for ordinary (consumer) licences; bulk and Enterprise are not paid
source, checked 2026-08-04
One-off or recurring. recurring: while the affiliate account is active, payment is made on licence renewals and new purchases by the referral until the end of the 365-day window
the commission is credited 30 days after the purchase; cancellations, refunds and chargebacks are not paid
source, checked 2026-08-04
Click-tag lifetime. 365 days: purchases within 365 days of the first click on the link
the wording of the Attribution and Commission Percentages section
source, checked 2026-08-04
Payout minimum. The minimum threshold for all payments is $10
until the threshold is reached, accruals are carried forward
source, checked 2026-08-04
How they pay. PayPal only; payouts from the 1st to the 15th of each month
cheques, prepaid cards and cash are not sent
source, checked 2026-08-04
Who is admitted. a participant is a human being (not a bot), one account per person or legal entity; earning on one's own TubeBuddy accounts is not allowed; spam mailings, bidding on brand queries and direct links from contextual advertising are prohibited
for a breach — closure of the account and loss of the unpaid commissions
source, checked 2026-08-04
Where the terms are. https://www.tubebuddy.com/affiliate-program-terms · the source is dated 2025-01-01
the address of the current version of the terms, given in the text of the terms itself (the 1 January 2025 revision)
source, checked 2026-08-04
Pricing
the euro prices on the page are only an estimate: the charge is made in US dollars, and the rate is set by the bank or the payment intermediary
Important for a reader outside the US: the price shown is not the amount charged
source, checked 2026-07-28
12,00 USD / month
The Pro plan; read with a browser after the 403
source, checked 2026-07-27
Pro 12,00; Legend 26,39 USD/month; Enterprise on request
__
source, checked 2026-07-27
THE CHEAP PLANS ARE NOT AVAILABLE TO BUSINESSES. Pro/Star/Legend are licences for individual creators only. You are treated as a business under any of these signs: several YouTube channels in TubeBuddy, 50 000+ subscribers, 3+ channel managers, 50+ employees
CRITICAL: «TubeBuddy from 12 USD» misleads any business user — only Enterprise is available to them
source, checked 2026-07-27
the EUR prices are only an indicative estimate; the actual charge is in USD at the payment provider's rate
The vendor itself states the rule laid down in docs/08: currency conversion is for reference, the fact is the price in the currency of the price list
source, checked 2026-07-27
20 % with annual billing
source, checked 2026-07-27
Limits and restrictions
the Pro, Star and Legend plans are available ONLY to individual creators and are not sold to organisations. The tool counts you as an organisation if at least one of the following holds: several channels in the tool, 50 000 or more subscribers, 3 or more channel managers, 50 or more employees. The decision rests with the tool
Not a numeric ceiling but a condition of eligibility: a successful creator stops qualifying for their plan because of growth, not because of usage
source, checked 2026-07-28
Languages
the interface language of the home page: en-US
The language is taken from the markup attribute, the versions from hreflang
source, checked 2026-07-28
only the page language is confirmed: en; the existence of other versions has NOT been established
The site does not declare hreflang and has no switcher
source, checked 2026-07-27
Catalogue section: all similar See also: catalogue index · scheduler comparison · find by situation · platform restrictions