Google XML Sitemaps vs Yoast SEO: News
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| Feature | Google XML Sitemaps v4.1.25 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free · ★ 4.8/5 Visit Details | Yoast SEO: News v12.6 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Paid Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 1M+ | — |
| Last updated | September 18, 2026 | — |
| Editions | XML Sitemap Generator for Google | Yoast SEO: News ($) |
| Pros | Builds XML sitemaps for content and WooCommerce product taxonomies; Submits new URLs to IndexNow; Status page shows the last sitemap build and ping results | Adds NewsArticle schema for posts; Generates a Google News XML sitemap; Googlebot-News noindex control per post |
| Cons | Does not add schema markup, redirects or local SEO | Needs Yoast SEO installed and active; Paid licence needed for updates; Only useful for sites that publish news content |
| Mentioned in our posts | 2 | — |
| Features (SEO plugins checklist) | ||
| Schema markup | No | Yes |
| XML sitemaps | Yes | Yes |
| Redirects | No | No |
| Local SEO | No | No |
| WooCommerce | Yes | No |
| AI content | No | No |
| Free version | Yes | No |
| More features | ||
| Other features | XML sitemap generation for content and taxonomies, Sitemaps for WooCommerce product categories and tags, Submit URLs to IndexNow, Status of the last sitemap build and pings, Settings page under the admin menu | Google News XML sitemap ($), NewsArticle schema on posts ($), Googlebot-News noindex tag per post ($), Licence key and updates through Yoast ($) |
| Integrations | ||
| E-commerce | WooCommerce | — |
| Plugins | — | Yoast SEO |
| Other | IndexNow, Auctollo beta notice service | Yoast licence server ($) |
| Requires WordPress | 4.6 | 5.4 |
| Requires PHP | 5.0 | 5.6.20 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 5.5 |
| Phones home | Only if you agree | Only if you agree |
| External services | wordpress.org, api.auctollo.com, api.indexnow.org | my.yoast.com |