TL;DR
- Want a simple, focused folder tool and nothing else to learn? FolderTube.
- Want folders plus search, discovery, and an inbox-style triage workflow in one extension? YTidy.
- Care mainly about price? FolderTube's ladder ($2.99/mo, $19/yr, $39 lifetime) is generally cheaper than YTidy Pro ($3.99/mo or $39.99/yr), though the two aren't unlocking identical feature sets.
Different scopes: a focused organizer vs. an all-in-one workflow
FolderTube does one job: it adds folders to your subscriptions, lets you filter the Subscriptions page by folder, and gives you a couple of adjacent conveniences (Mark as Watched, channel video search, a Premium new-upload feed). It doesn't try to be a discovery engine or an inbox.
YTidy is broader by design. Smart folders sit alongside an instant subscription search, Scout (topic-based discovery of fresh videos from outside your existing subscriptions), a Watch List for saving videos you want to come back to, and an Inbox for triaging new uploads one at a time. If you want a single tool that replaces several habits — organizing, searching, discovering, and processing — YTidy covers more ground. If you just want folders, that breadth is either a bonus or unnecessary complexity, depending on how you work.
Side-by-side comparison
| Feature | FolderTube | YTidy |
|---|---|---|
| Core approach | Folders + Subscriptions page filter | Smart folders + search + discovery + triage |
| Folders | Unlimited top-level (free); subfolders up to 5 levels (Premium) | Unlimited folders (free) |
| Channel cap on free plan | None documented | Up to 150 channels |
| UI placement | Right-side panel | Side panel |
| Cross-device sync | Built in | Cloud sync on both free and paid tiers |
| Channel-video search | 3/day free, unlimited (Premium) | 10 searches/day free, unlimited (Pro) |
| Discovery / triage tools | Not offered | Scout (topic discovery), Watch List (25 saves free), Inbox (Pro) |
| Pricing | Free; Premium $2.99/mo, $19/yr, or $39 lifetime | Free (capped); Pro $3.99/mo or $39.99/yr |
YTidy's caps and pricing are drawn from its public listing and can change — verify current numbers before subscribing.
YTidy's free-tier caps are worth reading closely
YTidy's free plan gives unlimited folders, but other parts of it are capped: up to 150 channels, up to 25 saved items in the Watch List, and up to 10 searches per day. Inbox and Scout are Pro-only regardless of usage. If your subscription list is under 150 channels and you don't lean on search or the Watch List heavily, the free plan may be plenty; if you're a heavier user, you'll likely hit the caps and need to weigh Pro's $3.99/month or $39.99/year against what it unlocks.
FolderTube's free plan doesn't cap the number of top-level folders or (as far as we document) the number of channels you can organize — the free/Premium line is drawn around subfolders, colors and icons, and higher usage caps on Mark as Watched and channel search, rather than around how many channels or folders you can have at all.
Add real folders to YouTube
FolderTube is free to install. Drag your subscriptions into folders and finally find what you actually want to watch.
Add to ChromeSearch: a small feature in FolderTube vs. a bigger part of YTidy
Both tools include a way to search within a channel's back catalog. FolderTube's channel video search is capped at 3 searches per day on the free plan and becomes unlimited with Premium. YTidy's instant subscription search is capped at 10 searches per day on its free plan and becomes unlimited on Pro. The caps aren't directly comparable since the tools' free plans draw the line differently elsewhere too — but if search volume is your main pain point, compare both caps against how often you actually search before choosing.
Where FolderTube's simplicity is the point
If your actual problem is just 'I can't find my channels in this flat list,' FolderTube solves that with less to configure and no channel cap to think about. It doesn't do discovery or triage, and it doesn't try to — Mark as Watched and the folder-filtered Subscriptions page cover the day-to-day workflow of scanning new uploads and clearing what you've seen.
Where YTidy's breadth pays off
If you want to actively discover new channels around topics you follow, or you like processing new uploads one-by-one in an inbox rather than scrolling a feed, that's functionality FolderTube doesn't attempt. YTidy is a better fit if organizing your existing subscriptions is only part of what you want — and you don't mind the free-tier limits while you evaluate it.
Which should you choose
- Priority is a clean, focused folder tool with no channel cap → FolderTube.
- Priority is folders plus discovery, search, and an inbox workflow, and you're fine with free-tier limits → YTidy.
- Unsure? Both have usable free tiers — install both, try each for a week with your real subscription list, and see which one you keep open.