Free tool
XML Sitemap Checker & Validator
Enter a website and we find its sitemap, validate it against Google’s rules, and live-test the URLs for 404s, redirects, robots.txt blocks and noindex. The broken and excluded URLs a structure-only validator never tells you about. No signup.
Enter a bare domain and we'll find the sitemap in robots.txt and the common locations, then validate it and live-check the URLs. No signup, no credit card.
What this sitemap checker does
Most free sitemap validators stop at “is the XML well-formed”. That misses the errors that actually keep pages out of Google. This checker does four things, in the order that matters.
1. Finds your sitemap
Enter a bare domain and the tool locates the sitemap in robots.txt and the common paths (/sitemap.xml, /sitemap_index.xml and others). No need to know the exact URL.
2. Validates the structure
Checks well-formed XML, the sitemaps.org namespace, absolute URLs, valid lastmod dates, and Google’s 50,000-URL and 50 MB limits. Duplicates, relative paths and cross-host URLs are flagged.
3. Live-checks the URLs
Actually fetches a sample of the listed URLs and reports their HTTP status: 200, redirects, 404s and 5xx errors. This is the step other free validators leave to Search Console.
4. Catches the excluded URLs
Flags sitemap URLs that are blocked in robots.txt or carry a noindex header. These sit in your sitemap looking fine but can never be indexed, and no structure check would ever show it.
What makes an XML sitemap valid
A sitemap has to satisfy the sitemaps.org protocol and Google’s own limits. These are the rules the checker enforces.
Well-formed XML
The file must parse. The most common break is an unescaped & in a URL, which must be written as &.
sitemaps.org namespace
The root element declares xmlns="http://www.sitemaps.org/schemas/sitemap/0.9". Google is lenient, but strict validators reject a sitemap without it.
Absolute URLs only
Every <loc> must be a full URL starting with https://. Relative paths are ignored by Google.
50,000 URLs and 50 MB per file
A single sitemap tops out at 50,000 URLs and 50 MB uncompressed. Beyond that, split into multiple files and use a sitemap index.
Valid lastmod dates
Dates use W3C format (YYYY-MM-DD or full ISO 8601). An invalid lastmod is ignored, so it stops helping Google schedule recrawls.
One host per sitemap
URLs should be on the same domain as the sitemap, unless the sitemap is declared in each host's robots.txt.
Common sitemap errors and how to fix them
| Error | Why it matters | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| URLs return 404 or 5xx | Dead URLs in a sitemap waste crawl budget and erode Google’s trust in the whole file. | Remove them, or fix the pages. The live check above lists which sampled URLs are broken. |
| URLs redirect | A sitemap should list the final URL. Listing a redirect adds a hop and can send mixed canonical signals. | Replace the redirecting URL with its destination. |
| Blocked by robots.txt or noindex | You are asking Google to crawl a URL you have also told it not to index or fetch. It will never be indexed. | Decide: keep it out of the sitemap, or remove the block. The checker flags these directly. |
| Unescaped ampersand | A raw & makes the XML malformed, so Google fails to read the sitemap at all. | Write every & as & in the URL. |
| Over 50,000 URLs or 50 MB | Google rejects sitemaps past either limit. | Split into multiple sitemaps and link them from a sitemap index file. |
| Invalid lastmod date | A non-W3C date is ignored, so it no longer helps recrawl timing (and a fake, always-today lastmod erodes trust). | Use real modification dates in YYYY-MM-DD or full ISO 8601 format. |
A valid sitemap is not an indexed sitemap
Passing validation only means Google can read your sitemap. It says nothing about whether the URLs in it are actually in the index. A page can sit in a perfectly valid sitemap for months, crawled and quietly dropped, while you assume the green checkmark means everything is fine.
That is the gap between a one-off validator and knowing your pages are found. The checker above tells you the truth about this moment. It cannot tell you when a URL you fixed today silently falls back out next month.
Monitor the URLs, not just the file
SearchOptimo takes the URLs from your sitemap, checks which ones Google has actually indexed, keeps a history per URL, and alerts you the day one drops out. You find out when it happens, not when you next remember to look.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I check my XML sitemap?
- Enter your domain or the full sitemap URL in the checker above. It finds your sitemap (from robots.txt or the common locations), confirms the XML is valid, checks it against Google's rules, and then live-tests a sample of the URLs for HTTP status, redirects, robots.txt blocks and noindex headers. Most free checkers only validate the XML structure; this one also tells you which listed URLs are actually broken or excluded from indexing.
- How do I validate a sitemap?
- A valid XML sitemap must be well-formed XML, declare the sitemaps.org namespace on the root element, use absolute URLs (starting with https://), stay under 50,000 URLs and 50 MB uncompressed, and use W3C dates in <lastmod>. Paste your sitemap into the tool above and it reports each of these, plus duplicates, cross-host URLs and invalid changefreq or priority values. For sitemap index files it expands the child sitemaps and validates their URLs too.
- How do I find a website's sitemap?
- The fastest way is to enter the bare domain above and let the tool locate it. By hand: check the site's robots.txt (it usually ends with a Sitemap: line), try /sitemap.xml and /sitemap_index.xml, or search Google with site:example.com filetype:xml. Large sites often use a sitemap index that links to many smaller sitemaps.
- What are the most common sitemap errors?
- The ones that actually hurt indexing are: listing URLs that return 404 or 5xx, listing URLs that redirect instead of the final destination, listing URLs that are blocked in robots.txt or carry a noindex, using relative instead of absolute URLs, unescaped ampersands that break the XML, an invalid or missing lastmod date, and exceeding the 50,000-URL limit. The checker above flags each of these and, unlike structure-only validators, catches the broken and noindexed URLs by fetching them.
- Is there a limit to how many URLs a sitemap can have?
- Yes. A single sitemap file can contain at most 50,000 URLs and must be no larger than 50 MB uncompressed. If you have more URLs than that, split them across multiple sitemap files and list those files in a sitemap index. The checker warns you when a file is over either limit.
- Why are the pages in my sitemap not getting indexed?
- A sitemap is a request to crawl, not a guarantee of indexing. Google still decides. The common reasons sitemap URLs stay unindexed are that the URLs return errors or redirect, are blocked by robots.txt, carry a noindex, are seen as duplicates of a canonical elsewhere, or are judged thin or low value. This tool catches the first three by live-checking the URLs. To see which sitemap URLs Google has actually indexed, and get alerted when one drops out, use SearchOptimo's index monitoring.
Related free tools: robots.txt checker, noindex checker and the bulk index checker.
Validate it once. Then watch it get indexed.
A checker confirms today’s sitemap is clean. Monitoring confirms the URLs actually reach Google, and warns you when one leaves. Free forever plan, no credit card.