The 10 Best YouTube Rank Trackers in 2026: Free and Paid Tools to Track Video Positions

A YouTube rank tracker checks, for the keywords you choose, at which position your videos appear in YouTube search, and often in Google's video results too, then keeps the history so you can see what moves. This ranking compares ten tools, from SEO suites with a YouTube module to creator extensions, developer APIs and the free report built into YouTube Studio. For each one, you will find what it tracks, who it suits, its limits and how it publishes its prices, based on the vendors' sites as read in October 2026.

The 10 best YouTube rank trackers in 2026

1. Nightwatch: daily YouTube positions plus Google video carousels, in more than 107,000 locations.
2. SE Ranking: YouTube, Google and Bing in one rank tracker, top 100 results, desktop and mobile.
3. AccuRanker: whole-channel tracking with competitor channels and share of voice.
4. TubeBuddy: rank tracking inside the YouTube interface, for creators.
5. Semrush Rank Tracker for YouTube: a weekly channel report for teams already on Semrush.
6. SEO PowerSuite Rank Tracker: desktop software that treats YouTube as a search engine, with ranking alerts.
7. Advanced Web Ranking: separate tracking of YouTube videos, channels and sponsored results.
8. DataForSEO YouTube SERP API: raw YouTube results for developers, paid per request.
9. Apify YouTube Rank Tracker: a pay-per-use scraper that builds a history for a list of videos.
10. YouTube Studio: free, shows the search terms that brought viewers, without positions.

Why track your YouTube rankings?

YouTube search does not rank videos by date or by subscriber count. According to the YouTube Help Center page on how YouTube search works, the system prioritizes three elements: relevance (how well the title, tags, description and content match the query), engagement (signals such as watch time) and quality (channels that show expertise and trustworthiness on the topic). A rank tracker shows the effect of your changes on those signals keyword by keyword, which YouTube's own analytics do not.

Two limits apply to every tool here. First, YouTube personalizes results: the same page says your search results "might differ from another user's search results for the same query" when search and watch history are on. Trackers measure logged-out, non-personalized results, a useful reference rather than what each viewer sees. Second, videos also rank on Google: Google Search Central lists the main results page, the Videos mode, Google Images and Discover among the places where videos appear. A good tracker covers both. Our guide to video SEO explains how to optimize for each surface.

How did we rank these tools?

We read each vendor's product, help and pricing pages in October 2026 and compared them on six criteria: YouTube search coverage (videos, channels, sponsored results), Google video coverage, update frequency, location and device options, competitor tracking and the pricing model. No vendor paid to appear, and we did not run a lab test of position accuracy, so treat the descriptions as what each tool declares. For the method behind position tracking in general, see our guide to rank tracking.

The 10 best YouTube rank trackers: the profiles

1. Nightwatch

Nightwatch is a rank tracker for Google and other search engines that includes YouTube on every plan. Its YouTube page states that it checks where your videos appear in YouTube search for chosen keywords, by location and device, and updates YouTube rankings daily. The same dashboard shows Google's video carousel, the Videos tab and standard organic rankings for the same keywords.

Best for: SEO teams and agencies that want YouTube and Google video positions side by side, with fine location targeting.

Strengths: daily updates; more than 107,000 locations down to postal code in 190+ countries; competitor channels and videos; unlimited seats.

Limitations: it measures positions, not views or watch time, so you still need YouTube Studio for performance data.

Pricing: published on the site, monthly or yearly; 14-day free trial.

2. SE Ranking

SE Ranking's rank tracker monitors daily positions on Google, Bing, Yahoo and YouTube, across the top 100 results, on desktop and mobile. You add videos or a whole channel to a project, then track keywords for your content and for competitors. Positions are also available through the company's Rank Tracker API.

Best for: small and mid-sized businesses and agencies that want YouTube tracking inside an all-in-one SEO platform.

Strengths: YouTube and Google in one project; top 100 depth; keyword grouping and tags; search volume and traffic forecasts; API access.

Limitations: the YouTube module is one feature among many, with fewer creator-specific insights than a YouTube extension.

Pricing: published on the site; 14-day free trial; API on a pay-as-you-go plan.

3. AccuRanker

AccuRanker tracks a YouTube channel as one domain: once the channel is added, the tool finds which of its videos rank for each keyword, in any country, on mobile and desktop, with city or address-level locations. Its help center states that results show the top 10 competing channels for your keywords and that you can select up to 10 channels to monitor.

Best for: large SEO teams and agencies that track thousands of keywords and want YouTube in the same tool.

Strengths: channel-level setup (no need to add each video); daily updates; share of voice, average ranking and SERP features for YouTube results; imports from Google Search Console or CSV.

Limitations: the entry plan is sized for thousands of keywords, which is a lot for a single creator. The pricing page read in October 2026 did not mention YouTube or a free trial.

Pricing: published on the site, with a discount for annual payment.

4. TubeBuddy

TubeBuddy is a browser extension and web app that adds tools directly into YouTube: keyword research, bulk editing, thumbnail tests and Search Rank Tracking, which monitors where your videos and competitors rank in YouTube and Google search for the keywords you choose.

Best for: creators and small channels that want tracking where they already work, next to optimization tools.

Strengths: works inside YouTube; combines tracking with keyword research and A/B tests of titles and thumbnails; free plan for the basic tools.

Limitations: rank tracking sits on the higher plans and keyword caps are low compared with SEO tools (TubeBuddy's tutorials page lists 50 keywords on Legend). Its pricing page and tutorials did not describe the plan limits in the same way, so check before buying.

Pricing: free plan plus paid plans billed monthly or yearly; prices vary by region.

5. Semrush Rank Tracker for YouTube

This app, built by Tubics and sold in the Semrush App Center, tracks channel performance in YouTube search: weekly ranking changes, keyword distribution, average rank and top-ranking keywords. Competitor channels are unlimited.

Best for: marketing teams that already use Semrush and want a weekly YouTube view without adding another vendor.

Strengths: simple setup from Semrush keyword lists or YouTube Studio; unlimited channels including competitors; keyword packs to scale.

Limitations: data refreshes weekly, not daily; it is sold as an add-on to a Semrush account; the knowledge base lists a 200-keyword cap next to larger keyword packs, so confirm the current limit.

Pricing: $19 per month added to a Semrush subscription, extra keyword packs from $10 per month (checked October 2026).

6. SEO PowerSuite Rank Tracker

SEO PowerSuite's Rank Tracker is desktop software that treats YouTube as a separate search engine. It checks a video's position on YouTube and in Google's video results, records SERP history, lists all videos ranking for a keyword and, on paid editions, sends alerts when a tracked video enters or leaves the top 10, 30 or 50.

Best for: freelancers and consultants who prefer a one-off yearly license and local software over a cloud subscription.

Strengths: YouTube and Google video results; position history from one month to all-time; competitor videos for each keyword; alerts.

Limitations: desktop installation; to follow several videos you add them as alternative URLs in a project; automated checks and alerts require the Professional or Enterprise edition.

Pricing: free edition plus yearly licenses; Professional listed at €179 per year (checked October 2026).

7. Advanced Web Ranking

Advanced Web Ranking (AWR) is an enterprise rank tracker covering thousands of search engines, including YouTube. Its help center describes four YouTube tracking types: YouTube (channels and videos together), YouTube Videos, YouTube Channels and YouTube Sponsored, the last one showing ads in YouTube results.

Best for: large sites and agencies that need YouTube alongside many engines and markets, with API access.

Strengths: distinct tracking of videos, channels and sponsored results; API to push video lists; reporting built for enterprise teams.

Limitations: because YouTube URLs have no logical structure, you must add the channel and each video URL as aliases in the project settings; YouTube monitoring covers the countries where YouTube is most used, extendable on request.

Pricing: published plans; the plan comparison lists YouTube among the additional engines.

8. DataForSEO YouTube SERP API

DataForSEO sells raw search data through APIs. Its YouTube Organic endpoint returns the list of videos ranking for a keyword, by location and language, with each video's ID, title and channel; other endpoints add video details, subtitles and comments. You build the tracking logic yourself.

Best for: developers, data teams and agencies that build their own dashboards or track very large keyword sets.

Strengths: very low cost per check; mobile results through iOS or Android parameters; paid video results identified separately; no seat or project limits.

Limitations: no interface: storage, history and charts are up to you.

Pricing: pay as you go, from $0.0006 per results page in the standard queue, with faster queues at a higher price (checked October 2026).

9. Apify YouTube Rank Tracker

This Apify actor, published by SearchShark, checks where public YouTube videos appear in search results for a list of keywords. Each run records the position, and repeated runs build a history with statuses such as improved, dropped or lost ranking, plus best, worst and average rank.

Best for: occasional checks and small budgets, or teams that already automate tasks on Apify.

Strengths: pay per result; clear output fields (current and previous rank, change, status); history kept between runs.

Limitations: videos only (no channels or playlists); one country and one language per run; logged-out results only; you schedule runs yourself.

Pricing: pay per event, from $1.00 per 1,000 results (checked October 2026).

10. YouTube Studio

YouTube Studio is not a rank tracker, but it answers the question most free trackers try to approximate: which searches bring viewers. The YouTube Help Center explains that the "Traffic source: YouTube Search" card in a video's Reach tab shows the terms viewers searched when they found your content, and the channel-level report can be exported.

Best for: every channel, as a free first step before paying for a tracker.

Strengths: real data from your own audience; search terms by video and for the whole channel; export.

Limitations: no positions, no competitors, no Google results; only searches that already bring views appear, so you cannot see where you rank just outside the visible results.

Pricing: free.

The 10 YouTube rank trackers compared

What should you check before choosing?

• Video or channel tracking. Channel-level tools (AccuRanker, Semrush app) save setup time on large channels; video-level tools show precisely which video ranks.
• Google coverage. If your videos are embedded on your site, Google's video results may bring more traffic than YouTube search. Our guide to SERP features explains where video blocks appear.
• Frequency. Daily data helps after a publication or a title change; weekly is enough for a stable catalog.
• Locations and devices. Check that the tool offers mobile results in the countries you target.
• Keyword list quality. A tracker is only as good as the queries you give it. Start with the terms from YouTube Studio and the tools in our ranking of YouTube keyword tools.
• Metric to read. Look at the average position of a keyword group over several weeks rather than daily jumps of a single keyword.

Where does this ranking stop?

A YouTube rank tracker measures positions in search, which is only one traffic source. Recommendations on the home page and next to other videos often bring more views, and no tracker measures them: YouTube Studio's traffic source report is the only place to see that split. For Google rankings of your website pages, our comparison of keyword rank checking tools covers the general-purpose trackers, and our guide to the SERP API explains the do-it-yourself route.

YouTube, Google and AI answers: one visibility to track

Videos now rank in three places: YouTube search, Google's results and the answers of AI assistants. ChatGPT, Gemini and Perplexity regularly quote YouTube videos, often through their transcripts; the glossary entry on YouTube transcript citations explains the mechanism, and our YouTube AI citation study measures how often assistants cite the platform. Clear spoken explanations, accurate captions and descriptive chapters help on all three surfaces at once. Our page on YouTube SEO and GEO and our guide to YouTube marketing go further.

Sorank does not track YouTube positions and is not in this ranking. It covers the other side of the same visibility: it writes and publishes optimized articles for your site and, with AI mention tracking, shows whether ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini cite your brand, while the GEO and SEO dashboard brings Google and AI visibility together.

The essentials

For most teams, the choice comes down to where they already work. Nightwatch and SE Ranking suit SEO teams that want YouTube and Google video positions daily in one place; TubeBuddy suits creators who want tracking inside YouTube; DataForSEO and Apify suit technical teams on a budget. Whatever you pick, start with the free search terms report in YouTube Studio to build your keyword list, then track 20 to 50 queries that match your best videos and read the trend over several weeks.

Honorable mentions: other tools worth knowing