Google Search Console vs Hreflang Tags Testing Tool (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, we pick Google Search Console: it is first in our ranking of technical SEO tools, and they share a 3.0 GPA.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Google Search Console grades higher on features. Hreflang Tags Testing Tool grades higher on ease of use. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Google Search Console
Free Google reports on a site's search traffic, indexing and issues
Free
Hreflang Tags Testing Tool
Free validator that checks hreflang tags across a list or sitemap
Free
Which one is for you
Pick Google Search Console if
- Fits if you own a site and want to know which Google searches bring visitors
- Works for finding out why pages are missing from Google's index
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need Bing, Yandex, Baidu or Naver data, as it covers Google Search only
- Not for you if you can't prove you own or manage the site, as nothing shows until you do
- Tight if you pull a lot through the API, which stops at 50,000 rows a day per search type and 25,000 per request
- Watch out: the BigQuery export needs a Google Cloud project with billing, and use beyond the free level is charged
- Too light for big teams on one property, which allows at most 100 non-owner users
Pick Hreflang Tags Testing Tool if
- Fits if you're checking a multilingual site's hreflang setup before launch
- Works for tracking down missing return tag errors from Search Console
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your hreflang lives in XML sitemaps or you use a sitemap index, as neither is read
- Not for you if you don't have LinkedIn, the only way to sign in for higher limits and the API
- Tight if your site is large: 30 URLs a test without signing in, and anything past the signed-in limit arranged by email
- Watch out: its pages give different signed-in limits (100 or 250 URLs a test), and the API docs mention a premium tier with no price
- Watch out: the maker describes it as a hobby project run by one person
How we grade them
| 3.0GPAGoogle Search ConsoleVery good | 3.0GPAHreflang Tags Testing ToolVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree, from Google, with every report, URL Inspection, email alerts, the API and up to 100 non-owner users per property. There is no paid plan. | AFree, with no paid plan to buy. Signing in adds test history and an API key at no cost. |
| Free plan and trial | AEverything is free once you verify the site. The caps are on the API, 50,000 rows a day per search type, which most sites won't reach. | AFree outright. Up to 30 URLs a test without an account, more with a free LinkedIn sign-in, and the free API allows 50 URLs a test and 10 tests a day. |
| Features | CPerformance by query and page, indexing and URL Inspection, Core Web Vitals, rich result and links reports, alerts and a BigQuery export. The gap: it's Google's view only, with no crawl you run yourself, and Bing, Yandex, Baidu and Naver need their own tools. | DOne narrow job: hreflang checks on a URL list or sitemap, covering return tags, codes, canonicals, x-default and status codes, with Excel export. It doesn't read hreflang declared inside XML sitemaps, and sitemap index files aren't supported. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. You prove you own or manage the site before seeing anything, and the indexing and performance reports take some learning. | BNo rating on record, and nothing to sign up for: paste URLs or a sitemap and run the test. Signing in is optional, for higher limits. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with the Search Console API, a scheduled daily BigQuery export and Site Kit by Google. | BWeb only, with a free REST API for signed-in users to submit URL lists or sitemaps and fetch results. No other integrations on record. |
| Best for | Google search traffic and indexing data | checking hreflang tags on a multilingual site |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Google Search Console and Hreflang Tags Testing Tool. How we grade
Price against what you get
Google Search Console has no paid plan and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Hreflang Tags Testing Tool has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
On this chart the two sit in the same place: the same score for the same starting price. Of the other technical SEO tools on the chart, none scores higher than Google Search Console for less, and none scores higher than Hreflang Tags Testing Tool for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Google Search Console also covers schema markup and page speed.
In commonFree planWebPublic APISite audit
At a glance
| Google Search Console | Hreflang Tags Testing Tool | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Free with a Google account for any site whose ownership you verify: every report and tool, email alerts, the API and up to 100 non-owner users per property. | Free to use. Tests up to 30 URLs at a time without an account; signing in with LinkedIn raises the limit, adds test history and gives an API key. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Nikhilesh Jasuja | |
| Price read from | support.google.com | hreflang.org |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Google Search Console
- Covers Google Search only; Bing, Yandex, Baidu and Naver each run their own webmaster tools.
- You must prove you own or manage the site before you see any data, and a property allows at most 100 non-owner users.
- The API exposes at most 50,000 rows a day per search type, at up to 25,000 rows per request.
- The BigQuery export needs a Google Cloud project with billing; storage and queries beyond the free usage level are charged.
Hreflang Tags Testing Tool
- Hreflang declared inside XML sitemaps is not analyzed; the sitemap is only used to find URLs.
- Signing in works only through a LinkedIn account.
- Its pages give different limits for signed-in users (100 or 250 URLs per test), and higher limits are arranged by email.
- The maker describes it as a hobby project; the API docs mention a premium tier with no published price.
Key features
Google Search Console
- Performance report
- Clicks, impressions, click-through rate and average position, by query, page, country, device, search appearance and date, for web, image, video and news results.
- Indexing and URL Inspection
- Review which pages Google has indexed, submit sitemaps and single URLs, and inspect a URL for its crawl, index and serving details straight from the Google index.
- Issue alerts
- Email alerts when Google finds indexing, spam or other problems, with the affected URLs and a way to tell Google once they are fixed.
- Experience and enhancement reports
- Core Web Vitals on mobile and desktop, plus reports on rich results from structured data such as recipes and jobs, and on AMP pages.
- Links report
- Shows which other sites link to yours, as part of the same set of reports as search traffic and indexing.
- API and BigQuery export
- The Search Console API queries search data, lists sites and manages sitemaps; a scheduled daily export sends all performance data, except anonymized queries, to BigQuery.
Hreflang Tags Testing Tool
- List or sitemap crawl
- Tests a pasted list of URLs, one per line, or every page in an XML sitemap. Sitemap index files are not supported.
- Return tag and cluster checks
- Confirms that every page in a language cluster links back to the others and references itself in its own hreflang set.
- Code, canonical and x-default checks
- Flags invalid ISO language and country codes, duplicates, canonicals pointing to another URL and a missing x-default.
- Page health
- Checks that every hreflang URL answers with a 200 status rather than a redirect, 404 or 403. Hreflang sent in HTTP headers is read too.
- Excel export and history
- Results can be exported to an Excel workbook, and signed-in users can see past tests, re-run them and save favorites.
- Free REST API
- Signed-in users can generate an API key to submit URL lists or sitemaps and fetch results; the free tier allows 50 URLs per test and 10 tests a day.
Plans
Google Search Console
Free$0
Performance, indexing, Core Web Vitals and rich result reports, URL Inspection, sitemaps, alerts and the API.
Hreflang Tags Testing Tool
Free$0
Hreflang tests on a URL list or sitemap, 30 URLs per test without signing in and more with a free LinkedIn login.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Google Search Console or Hreflang Tags Testing Tool?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Google Search Console and Hreflang Tags Testing Tool are free to use.
Which has a free plan, Google Search Console or Hreflang Tags Testing Tool?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Google Search Console and Hreflang Tags Testing Tool have a free plan.
More comparisons
- Google Search Console vs Bing Webmaster Tools
- Google Search Console vs Yandex Webmaster
- Google Search Console vs SEO Gets
- Google Search Console vs Search Analytics for Sheets
- Google Search Console vs Ahrefs
- Hreflang Tags Testing Tool vs Screaming Frog SEO Spider
- Hreflang Tags Testing Tool vs Sitebulb
- Hreflang Tags Testing Tool vs SEO Site Checkup
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.