Free tool
Free sitemap checker
Enter a domain or a sitemap URL. See whether the XML sitemap is findable, under the size limits, and listing URLs that match the live site. No signup. Also see the OG image checker and the favicon checker.
How to check a sitemap
Paste the bare domain, such as sidehunt.io, or the full sitemap address, such as https://sidehunt.io/sitemap.xml. A domain is looked up from robots.txt. Each line that starts with Sitemap: is fetched. If robots.txt has no sitemap line, the checker tries /sitemap.xml and then /sitemap_index.xml.
A urlset is the file that lists page URLs. A sitemap index is a file that lists other sitemaps. The checker opens a few child sitemaps, including .gz files, and stops at a short cap so a huge index still returns. Counts from a file larger than 2MB, or from children that were not fetched, are marked partial.
Pass means that check is fine. Warn means the sitemap will work better with a small edit. Fail means search engines may skip URLs until you fix the line under the flag. The usual fixes are a Sitemap line in robots.txt, a lastmod on each URL, https instead of http, one hostname, no duplicate loc values, and a split file once you pass 50,000 URLs or 50MB. The first 10 page URLs are checked with HEAD, then GET if the server refuses HEAD.
Private hosts, localhost, and link-local addresses are refused, including after DNS and redirects. The URL is not stored.
Questions
What does this sitemap checker look at?
It finds your XML sitemap, then reports how many URLs are listed, what share include lastmod, and whether any URL is on another host, uses http on an https site, or is duplicated. It also flags files over the 50,000-URL or 50MB sitemap limits, invalid XML, and the HTTP status of the first 10 URLs.
Where does it find the sitemap?
For a domain, it reads Sitemap: lines in robots.txt. If those lines are missing, it requests /sitemap.xml and /sitemap_index.xml. Paste a sitemap URL, including a .gz file, to check that file directly. Sitemap indexes are followed for a few child files so the result stays fast.
What are the 50,000 URL and 50MB limits?
A single sitemap file is supposed to stay at or under 50,000 URLs and 50MB uncompressed. A sitemap index has the same cap on the number of child sitemaps. Past either limit, split the file. Search engines can ignore the extra URLs.
Why flag http URLs or a different host?
If the site is https, an http URL in the sitemap asks crawlers to fetch the insecure address. A URL on another host is usually a staging domain, a typo, or a page that does not belong in this file. www and non-www are called out separately because they are the same site with two hostnames.
Does this store the URL?
No. The checker fetches robots.txt, the sitemap, and a short sample of page URLs, then leaves the result in your browser. Nothing you paste is saved. It only requests public http and https addresses.
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