XML Sitemap Generator for Google vs Yoast SEO (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, XML Sitemap Generator for Google grades higher than Yoast SEO: 3.2 against 2.6 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
XML Sitemap Generator for Google grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. Yoast SEO grades higher on features. They get the same grade on platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
XML Sitemap Generator for Google
Free WordPress plugin that builds and updates XML and HTML sitemaps
Yoast SEO
WordPress SEO plugin with content analysis, schema and sitemaps
Which one is for you
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
Pick Yoast SEO if
- Fits if your site runs on WordPress and you want SEO checks shown while you write
- Works for writers who want readability notes next to the SEO ones
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your site isn't on WordPress, as Yoast for Shopify and the Google Docs add-on are separate products
- Tight if you stay free, since redirects, link suggestions and AI drafts all need Premium
- Pricey if you run several sites, as each needs its own $118.80 a year and bulk discounts start at 5
- Watch out: AI Brand Insights on AI+ checks 5 questions once a week, and another brand means another $358.80
How we grade them
| 3.2GPAXML Sitemap Generator for GoogleVery good | 2.6GPAYoast SEOGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree under the GPL from WordPress.org, for personal or commercial sites, with no paid tier you can buy. XML and HTML sitemaps, exclusions, priorities and IndexNow pings all cost nothing. | CPremium is $118.80 a year for one site before VAT, about $9.90 a month, a bit above this category's cheaper quarter ($8.25). WooCommerce SEO is $178.80 and AI+ is $358.80, each for one site or brand. |
| Free plan and trial | AEverything listed is free and there's no paid plan holding anything back, so there's no cap to reach. The Premium Edition on Auctollo's site can't be bought. | BThe free plugin writes meta tags, canonicals, sitemaps, schema, breadcrumbs and llms.txt, and checks one keyphrase per post. One site could run on it, but redirects, link suggestions and AI drafts aren't in it at all. |
| Features | CXML and HTML sitemaps covering posts, pages, taxonomies, custom post types and WooCommerce products, with exclusions, priorities, IndexNow and PHP filters. It does sitemaps fully, but that's a smaller job: no titles, meta tags, schema or redirects. | BContent and readability checks, meta tags, schema, sitemaps, redirects, internal link suggestions, Local, Video and News SEO, and an AI crawler blocker. It covers the whole job, with redirects and links on Premium only. |
| Ease of use | BNo rating on record, but there's nothing to build: once it's on, the sitemap is served at /sitemap.xml and updates itself as posts change. Any other sitemap generator should be switched off first. | CNo rating on record. It sits in the WordPress admin, but each post needs a keyphrase set before the checks tell you much, and there are site-wide settings to go through first. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, inside WordPress, with WooCommerce, WPML, IndexNow, Google Search Console, Bing Webmaster Tools and Site Kit by Google listed, and PHP filters for developers. No standalone app. | BWeb only, inside WordPress, with no app of its own. It works with Semrush, Wincher, Elementor, Site Kit, WooCommerce, Advanced Custom Fields, Algolia and Jetpack. The Shopify version is a separate product. |
| Best for | a free XML sitemap on a WordPress site | SEO checks inside the WordPress editor |
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: XML Sitemap Generator for Google and Yoast SEO. How we grade
Price against what you get
XML Sitemap Generator for Google has no paid plan and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Yoast SEO starts at $9.90 a month when paid by the year and scores 2.7.
They score the same, and XML Sitemap Generator for Google starts $9.90 a month lower. Of the other SEO plugins and apps on the chart, none scores higher than XML Sitemap Generator for Google for less, and 1 scores higher than Yoast SEO 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
- XML Sitemap Generator for Google is open source, according to its own site.
- Yoast SEO also covers AI search visibility, content optimization, schema markup and internal linking.
At a glance
| XML Sitemap Generator for Google | Yoast SEO | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free plan |
| Starts at | Free | $118.80 per year for 1 site, ex VAT |
| Free plan | The whole plugin is free under the GPL from WordPress.org: XML and HTML sitemaps, custom post types and taxonomies, priorities, exclusions, a robots.txt hint and IndexNow. | Free plugin from WordPress.org: SEO and readability analysis for one keyphrase, meta tags, canonicals, XML sitemaps, schema, breadcrumbs, llms.txt and a bulk metadata editor. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Auctollo | Yoast BV |
| Price read from | wordpress.org | yoast.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
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.
Yoast SEO
- It runs only inside WordPress; Yoast SEO for Shopify and the Google Docs add-on are separate products.
- Each paid subscription covers one site, billed yearly before VAT; bulk discounts start at 5 subscriptions bought together.
- Redirects, internal linking suggestions and AI drafting need Premium; the free plugin has none of them.
- AI Brand Insights runs one weekly analysis of 5 questions per brand, with no extra runs; another brand needs another subscription.
Key features
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.
Yoast SEO
- Content and readability analysis
- Red, orange and green ratings in the editor for SEO and readability. The free plugin checks one keyphrase; Premium checks up to five, with word forms in 20+ languages.
- Technical SEO and schema
- Writes meta tags, canonical URLs, XML sitemaps, breadcrumbs and Schema.org data automatically. Premium outputs more schema types and joins them into one graph.
- AI metadata drafts
- Premium drafts SEO titles and meta descriptions page by page or in bulk, and nothing saves until it is approved. There is no separate AI subscription or credit pack.
- Redirects and internal links
- Premium prompts for a redirect when a page is moved or deleted, imports redirects by CSV, suggests internal links while writing and finds orphaned posts.
- AI crawler controls
- Manages an llms.txt file on every plan; Premium adds a bot blocker for AI training crawlers such as GPTBot, CCBot and Google-Extended.
- AI Brand Insights
- On the AI+ plan, a weekly report on whether 5 set questions in ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity mention the brand, with sentiment, citations and competitor ranking.
Plans
XML Sitemap Generator for Google
Community Edition$0
The free WordPress.org plugin, for personal or commercial sites, with no published paid tier.
Yoast SEO
Yoast SEO$0
The free WordPress.org plugin: content and readability analysis, meta tags, sitemaps, schema, breadcrumbs and llms.txt.
Yoast SEO Premium$118.80
per year for 1 site, ex VAT
AI titles and descriptions, 5 keyphrases per page, redirect manager, internal linking, Local, Video and News SEO plugins and 24/7 support.
Yoast WooCommerce SEO$178.80
per year for 1 site, ex VAT
Everything in Premium plus product schema, product content checks, store sitemaps, canonicals and AI metadata for products.
Yoast SEO AI+$358.80
per year for 1 brand, ex VAT
WooCommerce SEO plus AI Brand Insights: a weekly check of 5 brand questions in ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude and Perplexity, with sentiment and citations.
Ways to pay less
XML Sitemap Generator for Google
No public discounts listed.
Yoast SEO
- Other savings
Bulk discount from 5 subscriptions
Yoast takes 5% off 5 or more subscriptions of the same product bought in one order, rising to 40% off 75 or more; 100 or more is quoted.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, XML Sitemap Generator for Google or Yoast SEO?
As of Oct 23, 2026, XML Sitemap Generator for Google is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $9.90 a month when paid by the year for Yoast SEO. XML Sitemap Generator for Google is free, and Yoast SEO starts at $118.80 per year for 1 site, ex VAT.
Which has a free plan, XML Sitemap Generator for Google or Yoast SEO?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both XML Sitemap Generator for Google and Yoast SEO have a free plan.
More comparisons
- XML Sitemap Generator for Google vs Rank Math
- XML Sitemap Generator for Google vs All in One SEO (AIOSEO)
- XML Sitemap Generator for Google vs Slim SEO
- XML Sitemap Generator for Google vs The SEO Framework
- Yoast SEO vs Rank Math
- Yoast SEO vs All in One SEO (AIOSEO)
- Yoast SEO vs SEOPress
- Yoast SEO vs The SEO Framework
- Yoast SEO vs Slim SEO
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.