XML Sitemap Validator
Check a sitemap.xml or sitemap index for the problems that make Google report “Couldn't fetch” or “Sitemap has errors”: malformed XML, missing namespace, relative or cross-domain URLs, invalid lastmod dates, duplicates and size limits — then test whether the listed URLs actually return 200 OK.
Enter your sitemap URL (or your domain to check /sitemap.xml) or paste the XML. The validator parses it the way search engines do, lists every error and warning with example URLs, counts entries against the 50,000-URL limit, and can check the live HTTP status of up to 50 listed URLs.
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Suggest a Feature or Improvement for Sitemap Validator
Need custom options, higher limits, or extra format support? Let our engineering team know!
How to use Sitemap Validator
- 1Enter your sitemap URL, or paste the XML.
- 2Click Validate to see errors, warnings and a summary.
- 3Click “Check status” to test whether listed URLs return 200 OK.
- 4Fix the issues, then resubmit the sitemap in Google Search Console.
Common sitemap errors
The most frequent problems are unescaped ampersands (& must be written &), relative URLs instead of full https:// addresses, lastmod dates in the wrong format (use 2026-09-26 or a full ISO 8601 timestamp), a missing sitemaps.org namespace, and HTML error pages served where the XML should be.
Content problems matter too: listing URLs that redirect, return 404, are noindex or live on another domain tells Google your sitemap isn't reliable. Every URL should be the final, canonical, indexable version.
Sitemap indexes and limits
A single sitemap is limited to 50,000 URLs and 50 MB uncompressed. Bigger sites use a sitemap index that lists several sitemaps; the validator recognises both. Create a fresh file with the XML Sitemap Generator, and make sure robots.txt points to it using the Robots.txt Tester.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Search Console say “Couldn't fetch”?
Usually the URL returns an error, redirects, is blocked by robots.txt, or serves HTML instead of XML. Validate the exact URL you submitted here — the result shows the HTTP status and content type we received.
Does it check gzipped sitemaps?
Not yet — paste the uncompressed XML instead. Plain .xml sitemaps and sitemap indexes are fully supported.
Do priority and changefreq matter?
Google ignores both. They're valid and harmless, so the validator only notes them. Accurate lastmod dates are what Google uses.
What happens to the URLs I analyze?
Your browser can't read other websites directly, so our server fetches the public page once, returns the HTML to your browser, and the analysis runs on your device. We don't store the page, the results or a history of the URLs you check. Private and internal addresses are blocked. For pages behind a login, use the Paste HTML option.
Is this SEO tool free? Do I need to sign up?
It's completely free with no sign-up, no email and no daily credits. Use it as often as you like.
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