Sitemap comparison
Diff two sitemaps to see exactly which URLs appeared and disappeared.
Free, no signup, and it runs entirely in your browser.
Before
After
About this tool
Save a copy of your sitemap before a migration and compare it after, and the removed list is your redirect map — every URL on it needs a destination or it becomes a 404 that still holds backlinks. It is also the fastest way to catch a deploy that quietly dropped a section nobody noticed.
- The removed list is the one that matters. Each of those URLs needs a 301 to its closest equivalent, not to the homepage — a mass redirect to the root is treated as a soft 404 and passes nothing.
- A large added list after a routine deploy usually means a generation bug: pagination, filters or session parameters that should never have been in a sitemap.
- Compare like with like. Diffing an index against a urlset reports every URL as changed, which is true and useless.
- Both files stay in your browser.
Questions
- How do I plan redirects for a migration?
- Diff the old sitemap against the new one. The removed list is your work: each URL needs a 301 to the closest equivalent page.
- Why did URLs disappear from my sitemap?
- Usually pages that were unpublished, moved, or excluded by a rule change. Occasionally a generation bug, which is why noticing quickly matters.
- Should I redirect everything to the homepage?
- No. Google treats a mass redirect to the root as a soft 404, so the old page passes nothing on. Redirect to the closest equivalent, or return a genuine 410 if there is none.