Everyone recommends the same two plugins for WordPress SEO:
- Yoast
- Rank Math
And don’t get me wrong – they work.
But they’re bloated, and most features either don’t matter or don’t really do much.
Why I Don’t Rely on Rank Math or Yoast (Most of the Time)
Before we get into the alternatives, you need to understand why I avoid those big two:
Too Many Features I Don’t Use, or Don’t Need From Them
Redirect managers, schema builders, link counters, social graphs — most are unnecessary for a new blog.
Too Much Backend Clutter
More settings = More Clutter.
They Load Extra Scripts on the Front End
Every plugin adds weight, and Rank Math and Yoast are no exception – even if you disable features.
My Favorite SEO Plugins That Aren’t Rank Math or Yoast
These tools do specific jobs well without turning your dashboard into an SEO control center or loading too much bloatware.
Now, you don’t actually need any SEO plugin really, but for newbies, they can help.
SEOPress (Free or Pro)
What it does:
SEO basics without the bloat — titles, meta, sitemap, breadcrumbs, basic structured data.
Why I like it:
Clean UI. No popup upsells. You get the essentials without everything else.
Slim SEO
What it does:
Zero-setup SEO essentials – canonical URLs, meta tags, sitemaps – in the smallest footprint possible.
Why I like it:
Out of the box setup. You don’t have to configure anything to get value.
Advanced Sitemaps
What it does:
Generates clean XML sitemaps without extras.
Why I like it:
Most SEO plugins create massive sitemaps with every tag, category, and author page, while this one keeps it tight.
Redirection (Only if you have redirects)
What it does:
Simple redirect manager without SEO clutter.
Why I like it:
Lightweight but powerful.
Rankie
What it does:
Tracks keyword rankings without all the dashboard complexity.
Why I like it:
Shows you what’s working without bloating your SEO setup.
You Don’t Need Bloatware
Remember, plugins are tools. They’re not a strategy.
The big SEO suites give you everything – but most of it you’ll never use.
If I would recommend just one SEO plugin, make it Slim SEO.
That’s the one I pick when I want:
Everything else in SEO – authority, search intent, internal links etc etc – come from other things.
