Rank Math vs XML Sitemap Generator for Google (2026): which should you pick?

Pick Rank Math if

• Fits if your site runs on WordPress and you want SEO settings in the editor
• Works for someone with several sites of their own, since PRO covers unlimited owned sites

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if your site isn't on self-hosted WordPress or WordPress.com's Business plan, as it runs nowhere else
• Not for you if you need keyword, backlink or competitor research, which it doesn't do
• Tight if you build sites for clients, as PRO excludes them and Business is €27.99 a month at renewal
• Watch out: prices are in euros before VAT, billed yearly only, with a lower first year, and the 30-day refund skips renewals
• Pricey if you want AI writing, a separate Rank Math AI subscription from €6.99 a month billed yearly

Pick XML Sitemap Generator for Google if

• Fits if your SEO plugin has no sitemap, or you've switched its sitemap off
• Works for developers who want to change what the sitemap holds with PHP filters

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if your site isn't on WordPress, as there's no standalone app
• Too light for your whole SEO setup, since titles, meta tags, schema and redirects need another plugin
• Watch out: two sitemap generators at once can conflict, so switch the other one off first
• Watch out: Auctollo's site describes a Premium Edition with news and video sitemaps but gives no price or way to buy it

Rank Math

• It runs only inside WordPress, on a self-hosted site or on WordPress.com's Business plan; there is no standalone app.
• The pricing page shows prices in euros before VAT, billed yearly only, with a lower first year; the 30-day refund does not cover renewals.
• PRO is for sites you own only; client sites need Business (100 sites) or Agency (500 sites).
• AI writing tools are a separate Rank Math AI subscription, from €6.99 a month billed annually, with a 15-day trial included on paid plans.

XML Sitemap Generator for Google

• It runs only inside WordPress; there is no standalone app.
• It handles sitemaps only; titles, meta tags, schema and redirects need another plugin.
• Auctollo's site describes a Premium Edition with real-time updates and news, video and mobile sitemaps, but gives no price or way to buy it.
• Other sitemap generators should be switched off first, since two sitemaps at once can conflict.

Rank Math

On-page content checks

Scores each post against 30+ SEO tests in the editor, with focus keywords per post and suggestions for what to fix.

Schema markup

The free plugin covers 16+ schema types. Paid plans add a schema generator for building your own types and reusable templates.

Sitemaps, redirects and 404s

Builds XML sitemaps with custom post type support, manages redirects at scale and logs 404 errors, all from the WordPress dashboard.

Rank tracker and analytics

Pulls rankings and traffic from Google Search Console and Analytics into WordPress: 500 tracked keywords on PRO, 10,000 on Business.

AI Link Genius

Listed on the paid plans: internal link suggestions while writing, automatic keyword-to-page links and a broken link checker.

WooCommerce and local SEO

The free plugin adds schema and meta tags for WooCommerce products and local SEO tools; paid plans list WooCommerce SEO PRO and multiple locations.

XML Sitemap Generator for Google

Automatic XML sitemap

Serves a sitemap at /sitemap.xml, generated on request since version 4, that updates itself when posts are published, edited or deleted.

Content coverage

Covers posts, pages, categories, tags, custom post types and taxonomies, WooCommerce products and external URLs you add by hand. WPML sites are supported.

Priorities and exclusions

Set change frequencies and priorities, let the plugin weight posts by comment count, and leave out chosen categories or pages.

HTML sitemap

An optional HTML version of the sitemap for visitors and for crawlers that do not read XML.

Search engine notification

Notifies Bing, Seznam, Naver and Yandex through IndexNow and can add the sitemap address to the virtual robots.txt file.

Developer filters

From version 4.1.20, PHP filters let a theme or plugin change sort order, entries per page, URLs and post types, or add other sitemaps to the index.

Rank Math

• Free€0

  The WordPress.org plugin: on-page checks, schema, sitemaps, redirects and Google Search Console and Analytics integration.

• PRO€8.99

  per month at renewal, billed annually (first year €7.99)

  Unlimited sites you own, no client sites, and 500 tracked keywords. €7.99 a month for the first year, then €107.88 a year, ex VAT.

• Rank Math + WP Rocket€13.99

  per month at renewal, billed annually (first year €11.99)

  PRO on unlimited sites you own plus the WP Rocket caching plugin for one site. €11.99 a month for the first year, ex VAT.

• Business€27.99

  per month at renewal, billed annually (first year €24.99)

  Up to 100 client sites and 10,000 tracked keywords, with priority support. €24.99 a month for the first year, ex VAT.

• Agency€64.99

  per month at renewal, billed annually (first year €54.99)

  Up to 500 client sites and 50,000 tracked keywords, with priority support. €54.99 a month for the first year, ex VAT.

XML Sitemap Generator for Google

• Community Edition$0

  The free WordPress.org plugin, for personal or commercial sites, with no published paid tier.

Rank Math

• Other savings

  Lower price for the first year

  Paid plans cost less in the first year, ex VAT: PRO €7.99 a month then €8.99, Business €24.99 then €27.99, Agency €54.99 then €64.99.

XML Sitemap Generator for Google

No public discounts listed.