Free Hreflang Checker: Check Hreflang Tags Online in Seconds
Enter a page URL. We read the hreflang link tags in its HTML and show every language code, whether x-default is set, and which codes are badly formatted.
Free with a Brainito account. No credit card required.
example.com
Example5 hreflang tags found.
- Hreflang tagsen, en-gb, de, es_ES, fr
- x-default presentfalse
- Invalid language codeses_ES
- How to fixAdd an x-default hreflang
Example result with sample data. Yours uses live data for your inputs.
How it works
From your input to a prioritised list of fixes in under a minute.
- Step 1
Enter your details
Your website, business or the item you want checked. Nothing to install.
- Step 2
We run live checks
Brainito fetches live data and tests it against the rules that matter.
- Step 3
Fix what matters first
Clear results with what to fix, in order of impact, and where to go next.
What you get
What the result tells you, and why it is worth the minute it takes.
Every Hreflang Code Listed
See each language and region code the page declares, so a missing market or a stray duplicate stands out at a glance.
X-Default Check
Find out whether the page sets an x-default fallback for visitors whose language or region matches none of your tags.
Format Errors Flagged
Catch codes like en_US or english that break the language-region pattern, so search engines are not left to guess.
The guide
What the hreflang checker does, how to use it, and what to do with the result.
A hreflang checker reads the hreflang tags on a page and tells you whether they are set up in a form search engines can use. Enter any URL and our checker fetches the page, collects every link rel=alternate tag that carries an hreflang attribute, and reports three things: the full list of language and region codes, whether an x-default tag is present, and which codes break the expected format, such as es_ES or english. If the page has no hreflang tags, it says so, which is normal for a single-language site.
How to Check Hreflang Tags Online
Paste the URL of one language version of your page, for example the English home page, and run the check. Our checker fetches the live page, renders it first if the content loads with JavaScript, and reads the link tags in the HTML. It returns a summary line such as 4 hreflang tags found, then up to three rows: Hreflang tags, x-default present and Invalid language codes. A How to fix list appears when something needs attention. Because hreflang has to be set on every version of a page, repeat the check on each alternate URL, such as the German and French versions, and compare the lists side by side. They should match. Results for the same URL are saved for up to seven days.
What the Hreflang Check Reports
Hreflang tags lists every code found on the page, in the order they appear, or None found. This row is information only, so read it against the versions you actually publish: a market missing from the list is a market the page does not point to. x-default present shows true or false and warns when it is false. Invalid language codes lists any code that does not follow the language or language-region pattern, meaning two letters, optionally followed by a hyphen and two more, and fails the check if there are any. Codes are tested for format, not looked up in the official ISO lists, so a well-formed but wrong code such as en-UK passes. The overall result is a fail when any invalid code is found and a warning when only x-default is missing.
Hreflang Tag Format: Language and Region Codes
An hreflang tag looks like link rel=alternate hreflang=en-gb href=https://example.com/uk/. The value starts with a two-letter ISO 639-1 language code such as en, de or fr. You can add a hyphen and a two-letter ISO 3166-1 region code to target a country, as in en-gb for English in the United Kingdom or es-mx for Spanish in Mexico. A region never stands alone, so gb by itself is not valid. Common slips are underscores, as in en_US, full words like english, and the wrong country code, since the United Kingdom is gb, not uk. Our checker catches the first two. Check region codes by eye. Valid but rarer forms, such as zh-Hant or es-419, do not fit the two-letter pattern and are listed as invalid; keep them if they are intentional.
Hreflang X-Default: When and How to Use It
The x-default value marks the page to show when a visitor's language or region matches none of your other tags. It is usually a language selector or your main international version. For example, a site with English, German and French pages might add hreflang=x-default pointing to its global home page. x-default is optional, but without it a visitor from an unlisted market gets whichever version the search engine picks. That is why the checker warns, rather than fails, when it is missing, and its fix list suggests adding one for users who match none of the listed locales. Add the same x-default line to every page in the set, pointing at the same fallback URL each time, so the annotations agree across all versions.
Hreflang Mistakes to Test by Hand
Some hreflang rules involve more than one page, and our checker reads one page at a time, so test these by hand. Return links: if the English page lists the German page, the German page must list the English page back, or search engines may ignore the pair. Self-reference: each page should include a tag pointing to its own URL. Absolute URLs: every href needs the full address, including https and the domain. Status: each alternate URL should load directly with a 200 response, not redirect or carry a noindex tag. Hreflang can also be declared in HTTP headers or in an XML sitemap. This checker reads only the HTML link tags, so a site that uses the sitemap method will show None found even when it is set up correctly.
Fix and Generate Hreflang Tags
When the check flags a missing x-default or a badly formatted code, fix it in the template that prints the head of the page, so every language version updates together. Most content systems and translation plugins have a language code setting; correct it there rather than editing pages one by one. If you are starting from scratch, the Hreflang Generator turns a list of language codes and URLs into a ready set of link tags, and reminds you to add x-default if your list lacks one. Paste the full set into the head of every listed page. Then run the hreflang checker on each version to confirm the codes and x-default appear. Keep a simple sheet of each market, its code and its URL, so new pages join the set correctly.
Frequently asked questions
Something else? Email support@brainito.com
How do I check hreflang tags on a page?
Enter the page URL in the hreflang checker. It reads the link rel=alternate hreflang tags in the HTML and lists every code, shows whether x-default is present, and flags badly formatted codes. Repeat the check on each language version of the page.
Is the hreflang checker free?
Yes. The hreflang checker is free with a Brainito account and uses 0 credits per check. Enter a URL and you get the list of tags, the x-default result and any format errors in seconds.
What is hreflang x-default?
x-default is an hreflang value that names the fallback page for visitors whose language or region matches none of your other tags, often a language selector or global home page. It is optional, so the checker warns rather than fails when it is missing.
Does the hreflang checker test return links?
No. It reads one page at a time, so it cannot confirm that each alternate page links back. Check the pages it lists by hand, or run the checker on each version and confirm every page shows the same set of codes.
What are valid hreflang language codes?
A two-letter ISO 639-1 language code such as en or fr, optionally followed by a hyphen and a two-letter ISO 3166-1 region code, as in en-gb. Use x-default for the fallback. Underscores, full words and uk for the United Kingdom are wrong.
What is hreflang used for in SEO?
Hreflang tells search engines which version of a page to show for each language or region, so a visitor in Germany sees the German page rather than the English one. It also signals that translated pages are alternates of each other, not unrelated duplicates.
Where to go from here
The hreflang checker answers one question. These are the next ones worth asking.
Make sure every market sees the right language version
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