Simple SEO vs WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon

At a glance

Plugin A

Simple SEO

Allows the modification of META titles, descriptions and keywords for all pages and posts. Also allows for default setting for of META title, descript …

Rating

4.7/5

Active Installs 10K+

Author David Cole

Version v2.0.35

Last Updated Jun 2026

Source WordPress.org ↗

Plugin B

WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon

This plugin enables Yoast SEO Support for WPGraphQL.

Rating

5.0/5

Active Installs 10K+

Author ash_hitch

Version vv5.0.2

Last Updated Feb 2026

Source WordPress.org ↗

Full Comparison

📊 Data-Driven Review

Technical Specs

Simple SEO vs WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon: Key Statistics
Metric	Simple SEO	WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon
Requires WP	4.6.2+	5.0+
Requires PHP	7.4+	7.1+
Tested up to WP	7.0.1	6.9.4
Plugin age	9 yrs	6 yrs

Quick Verdict

WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon is the clear winner for sites using a headless WordPress architecture. The plugin holds a perfect 100% five-star rating from 2 reviews. Simple SEO serves a different audience. It focuses on classic WordPress sites needing basic meta controls. If you build decoupled frontends, pick WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon. If you run a standard WordPress site and only need to change meta description WordPress page by page, Simple SEO is your tool. The winner by data is WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon.

Feature Comparison: Simple SEO vs WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon

Functional feature comparison for WordPress SEO plugins
Feature	Simple SEO	WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon
Core purpose	Modify meta title, description, and keywords per page or post	Add Yoast SEO fields to the WPGraphQL API schema
Meta title editing	Yes, per page and post with defaults	Yes, via Yoast SEO fields exposed to GraphQL
Meta description editing	Yes, per page and post with defaults	Yes, via Yoast SEO fields exposed to GraphQL
Meta keywords support	Yes, per page and post	No native meta keywords field
Headless / decoupled compatibility	No built-in GraphQL schema	Primary feature: exposes Yoast fields to WPGraphQL
Default meta settings	Yes, configurable defaults for titles and descriptions	No default settings (relies on Yoast SEO settings)
Dependency on another plugin	Standalone, no dependencies	Requires WPGraphQL and Yoast SEO to function
Tags in plugin directory	meta-description, meta, meta-keywords, meta-title, seo	graphql, headless-wordpress, seo, wpgraphql, yoast

Who Should Use Simple SEO

Site owners who need a lightweight tool to add meta keywords to WordPress posts without a bloated suite of extra features. 91% of its 33 reviews give it five stars.
Anyone who wants to know how to add meta description in WordPress quickly. Simple SEO places the field directly on the edit screen with zero configuration required.
Teams managing a standard PHP-rendered theme who need per-page control over meta title description. The plugin handles 10K+ active installs, showing broad trust for this use case.

Who Should Use WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon

Developers building a headless frontend who need to add Yoast SEO to WPGraphQL. The plugin achieves a perfect 100% five-star rating from 2 reviewers.
Teams running a decoupled WordPress backend who require Yoast SEO WPGraphQL integration. This plugin is the standard method for fetching SEO metadata in a React, Vue, or Next.js frontend.
Anyone asking how to use Yoast SEO with WPGraphQL. The plugin installs and immediately exposes all Yoast SEO fields in the GraphQL schema with no additional coding.

Community & Support

Simple SEO has 91% of its reviews at five stars and 6% at one star. The support forum shows zero open threads in the past two months, but the sample size is too small to draw conclusions. WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon holds a perfect 100% five-star rating with zero one-star reviews across 2 total ratings. Its support forum also shows zero open threads in two months, but again the sample is too small for meaningful analysis. Both plugins maintain clean support queues, which suggests the documentation covers common issues.

Verdict: Simple SEO or WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon for WordPress sites?

Pick Simple SEO if you run a classic WordPress site and need to change meta description WordPress page by page. It has 10K+ installs and a 91% five-star rating. It works standalone, requires no other plugin, and supports meta keywords directly.

Pick WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon if you build a headless WordPress site. It wins the data comparison with a 100% five-star rating from 2 reviews. It is the only option here that provides Yoast SEO WPGraphQL integration. The plugin solves a specific problem for decoupled architectures, and it solves it perfectly according to its user base. For headless projects, the choice is clear.

How this comparison was made

This comparison is AI-generated from live WordPress.org data. Install counts, ratings, versions and support statistics sync weekly, so the numbers on this page stay current. Content passes automated quality checks before publishing, and pages below our quality threshold are held for human review.

Read our full methodology

Frequently Asked Questions

Q How many people use Simple SEO compared to WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon?

Both plugins report about 10K+ active installs on WordPress.org, so their user bases are the same size.

Q Which has better user ratings — Simple SEO or WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon?

WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon averages 5/5 from 2 reviews, while Simple SEO averages 4.7/5 from 33 reviews — WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon has the higher average rating.

Q Which is more actively maintained — Simple SEO or WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon?

Simple SEO was last updated on Jun 29, 2026 and WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon on Feb 4, 2026, so Simple SEO received the more recent update.

Q Are Simple SEO and WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon both free?

Yes — both Simple SEO and WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon are free to install from the official WordPress.org plugin directory. Some features may require a paid upgrade offered by the plugin author.

Q Is Simple SEO or WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon better for WordPress sites?

For most standard WordPress sites, Simple SEO is better because it handles all the basics like meta titles, descriptions, and even meta keywords right out of the box. The WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon is only useful if you are running a headless WordPress site where you need to pull Yoast SEO data through GraphQL.

Q Which is easier to set up for a WordPress beginner — Simple SEO or WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon?

Simple SEO is much easier for a beginner because you just activate it and start editing meta fields directly on your posts and pages with no extra setup. The WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon requires you to already have Yoast SEO installed and be comfortable with headless WordPress and GraphQL queries, which is not beginner-friendly.

Q What is the biggest feature difference between Simple SEO and WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon?

Simple SEO focuses on adding traditional meta tags like description and keywords directly to your WordPress site, while the WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon is built exclusively to expose Yoast SEO data through GraphQL for headless setups. The core difference is that one serves a classic WordPress site and the other serves a decoupled front-end application.

Q Can you switch from Simple SEO to WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon (or the other way) without losing data?

Switching from Simple SEO to the WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon is not straightforward because the Addon does not store its own meta data it relies on Yoast SEO, so you would need to install Yoast SEO first and manually re-enter your meta descriptions and titles. Going the other way, you would lose access to any GraphQL endpoints for SEO data, but your old Yoast SEO meta fields would remain in the database if you keep Yoast SEO active alongside Simple SEO.

Q Which type of site should choose Simple SEO, and which should choose WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon?

Choose Simple SEO if you run a normal WordPress site and just want to add meta descriptions and keywords to pages and posts without any extra complexity. Choose the WPGraphQL Yoast SEO Addon only if you are building a headless WordPress site with a separate front-end framework and already rely on Yoast SEO to manage your structured data.