<b>Shorts analytics: native Studio vs paid tools</b>

<b>Shorts analytics: native Studio vs paid tools</b>

Knowing why a Short flopped beats making 50 more blind.

YouTube Studio (free):
— Pros: swipe-away rate, retention graph per Short, viewed-vs-swiped — all native and free
— Cons: no cross-Short comparison view, clunky on mobile

VidIQ ($16.58/mo Boost):
— Pros: keyword scoring, outlier detection, competitor tracking
— Cons: Shorts-specific data is thin, mostly built for long-form

Verdict: for Shorts specifically, native Studio's retention and swipe data is more useful than any paid tool — and it's free. VidIQ earns its price only for long-form keyword work.

Not for you to pay for Shorts analytics — the native swipe-away metric is the one that matters and it's free. Pick Studio, skip VidIQ unless you do long-form too.