Free SEO Tool

hreflang Checker

Validate hreflang tags on any page or check your entire sitemap at once. Verify reciprocal return links, detect missing self-references, and find implementation issues across all language versions.

Last updated: September 2026

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How this hreflang validator works

A hreflang checker exists because international SEO breaks in subtle ways. Google's rule is blunt: if two pages don't both point to each other, the tags are ignored. One template that forgets the link back, and a whole language pair stops working. You won't notice until the wrong language version shows up in search results for the wrong country.

This hreflang checker reads every <link rel="alternate" hreflang="..."> tag on a page, plus hreflang sent in the HTTP Link header. It flags a missing self-reference, a missing x-default, duplicate codes, malformed codes, HTTP links on an HTTPS page, mixed trailing slashes and a canonical that disagrees with the self-reference. One click on Check Return Links then fetches every alternate and confirms it links back. Switch to Sitemap mode to run the page checks on up to 2,000 URLs.

Common hreflang errors this checker finds

The usual suspects. A self-referencing tag missing on one version of a page. Return links broken because the alternate page doesn't link back. Trailing slashes mixed within one set, so /de/ and /de both appear. An http:// alternate on an https:// site.

Two errors it can't catch, so check them by hand. The code check is about format, not meaning: "en-UK" looks valid, but the ISO region code for the United Kingdom is GB. And "uk" is a real code (Ukrainian), just probably not the one you meant. hreflang entries inside the XML sitemap aren't read either, only the HTML tags and the HTTP header.

hreflang checker vs. Google Search Console

Google removed the International Targeting report from Search Console in 2022, and that was the only place GSC reported hreflang errors. There's been no replacement since. This tool checks every hreflang tag on a page the moment you paste the URL.

hreflang checker for large multilingual websites

If you run 10,000+ pages across 8+ locales, one-URL-at-a-time checking won't cut it. Switch to Sitemap mode, paste your sitemap URL (or a list of URLs) and pick a limit between 100 and 2,000. The default is 500, fetched three at a time, which takes about two minutes. Every page gets the same checks as in single mode except the return-link fetch, which runs in single mode only. Use it on the URLs the bulk run flags.

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FAQ

What is hreflang?+

hreflang is an HTML attribute that tells search engines which language and region a page targets. Google uses it to show the right language or regional version in search results. Translated pages aren't duplicates anyway: Google only treats localized versions as duplicates when the main content stays untranslated.

Do I need a self-referencing hreflang tag?+

Yes. Google's documentation says each language version must list itself as well as all other language versions. The checker flags a missing self-reference as a warning.

What is x-default?+

x-default specifies the fallback URL for users whose language/region doesn't match any hreflang tag. It's strongly recommended for all multilingual implementations.

Can hreflang errors hurt rankings?+

Not as a ranking penalty, but they decide which version shows up where. If two pages don't both point to each other, Google ignores the tags, and a code Google doesn't recognize matches no one. The result is the wrong language version showing up in the wrong market.

How many hreflang tags do I need?+

You need one hreflang tag for each language or regional version of a page, plus a self-referencing tag for the current page. Adding an x-default tag for the fallback version is also strongly recommended.

Can I check my entire sitemap?+

Yes! Switch to Sitemap mode and enter your XML sitemap URL. The tool will parse all URLs (up to 2,000) and check hreflang tags on each page. It supports sitemap index files with nested sitemaps, and you can paste a URL list instead. Only XML sitemaps work, HTML sitemap pages can't be parsed. hreflang entries inside the sitemap itself aren't read.

hreflang validation on every page

The Lumina extension lists every hreflang tag of the page you're on and checks the return links in one click.

Add Lumina to Chrome — Free