Which is better for SEO: subdomains or subdirectories?

Google can rank both, but in practice subdirectories usually consolidate signals (links, crawl, internal links) more efficiently—handy when you’re building topical authority. Subdomains are treated like separate sites in tools and can dilute effort unless strong reasons exist (distinct products, regional teams, technology constraints, or security/isolation needs).

Decision framework:

• Choose /blog/ or /academy/ (subdirectory) when the content supports the same brand/topic cluster.

• Choose blog.example.com (subdomain) when operations, tech stacks, or governance must be isolated.

• Keep internal linking strong either way; avoid orphaning a subdomain from the main site.

• Track properties separately in GSC if you use subdomains; watch cannibalization and duplication.

Example: A SaaS company moving its docs from docs.example.com to example.com/docs/ often sees faster authority buildup via shared internal links.

Further reading:

https://moz.com/blog/subdomains-vs-subfolders-seo
https://ahrefs.com/blog/subdomain-vs-subfolder/