Free XML sitemap validator
Check that your sitemap is valid and that search engines and AI crawlers can use it - then list every URL in it and export them to CSV.
How it works
1. Find: Enter a sitemap URL, or your site's address and we'll find the sitemap from robots.txt or /sitemap.xml.
2. Validate: We follow sitemap indexes and check every file against the sitemaps.org protocol: format, URL limits, valid same-host URLs, lastmod dates and duplicates.
3. Spot-check: We fetch a sample of the listed URLs to confirm they return 200, and give you the full URL list as a table and CSV.
Sitemap Validator FAQs
What does the sitemap validator check?
It finds your sitemap (from robots.txt, /sitemap.xml, or the URL you enter), follows sitemap indexes, and checks each file: that it's real sitemap XML, the 50,000-URL limit, that every <loc> is a valid absolute URL on the same host, that <lastmod> dates use W3C Datetime format, duplicate URLs, and whether a sample of the URLs actually return HTTP 200.
Can I just list the URLs in a sitemap?
Yes - every result includes the full URL list (up to 10,000) with each URL's last-modified date, and a Download CSV button. It works as an XML sitemap parser for any site, not just your own.
Where should my sitemap be?
Anywhere on your site, as long as crawlers can find it. The reliable way is a Sitemap: line in robots.txt (e.g. Sitemap: https://example.com/sitemap.xml), which every major crawler reads. You can also submit it in Google Search Console and Bing Webmaster Tools.
What is a sitemap index?
A file that lists other sitemaps instead of pages, used when a site has more than 50,000 URLs or wants to split sitemaps by section. The validator checks the first 10 sitemaps an index lists. An index can't list another index - crawlers won't follow nested indexes.
Why does it flag URLs that redirect?
A sitemap should list only final, indexable URLs. Redirecting, broken or noindexed URLs waste crawl budget and send search engines mixed signals about which version of a page to index.
Do AI crawlers use sitemaps?
Search crawlers like Googlebot and Bingbot use sitemaps to discover pages, and AI answers built on their indexes - Google's AI Overviews, Copilot - benefit from that. AI-specific crawlers rarely document how they discover pages, so a sitemap declared in robots.txt is the safest way to make sure any crawler can find it.
Can AI crawlers actually reach you?
This tool checks one thing. The free AI Crawl Checker tests 45 AI crawlers live against your page - robots.txt, firewalls, rate limits, noindex, sitemaps and more - and gives you the fix for each one that fails.
Want to see which AI bots actually visit, continuously? Try Sona Agent Analytics or book a demo.