XML Sitemap & Google News vs Virtual Robots.txt (2026)
Detailed side-by-side comparison of two WordPress plugins, based on real-time data from WordPress.org.
XML Sitemap & Google News
100K+ active installs
Free + Premium
Quick Verdict
As of April 2026, XML Sitemap & Google News has a higher user rating (4.4/5 from 83 reviews) and leads in active installations (100K+ vs 50K+). Both are free + premium WordPress plugins. XML Sitemap & Google News has accumulated 4.5M+ total downloads while Virtual Robots.txt has 442K+.
Detailed Comparison
| Metric | XML Sitemap & Google News | Virtual Robots.txt | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating | 4.4/5 | ◄ | 4.3/5 |
| Total Reviews | 83 | ◄ | 10 |
| Active Installs | 100K+ | ◄ | 50K+ |
| Total Downloads | 4.5M+ | ◄ | 442K+ |
| Support Resolution | 100% | N/A | |
| Last Updated | 2 months ago | ◄ | 3 months ago |
| First Released | 2009 | 2009 | |
| Age | 17 years | 17 years | |
| WP Requires | 4.4+ | 5.0+ | |
| PHP Requires | 5.6+ | false+ | |
| Business Model | Free + Premium | Free | |
| Latest Version | 5.7.2 | 1.10 |
Rating Breakdown
XML Sitemap & Google News
Virtual Robots.txt
Download Trends
Over the past 30 days, XML Sitemap & Google News averaged approximately 629 daily downloads while Virtual Robots.txt averaged 72.
Recent Reviews
XML Sitemap & Google News Reviews
perfect plugin with great support!
Didn’t work at first, the support offered to help and reinstalled it and it works. it has automatically submit to Google and Bing, that’s awesome feature. works perfectly now I guess. This top
Finally!
Finally! A sitemap plugin that allows me to edit my sitemap with ease. This is the 6th sitemap plugin I’ve tried and my favourite by far. Very easy to exclude certain pages, posts, tags or categories
Google Error, # Auffindbarkeit Sitemaps Vorübergehender Verarbeitungsfehler
Google Error, # vorübergehender Fehler bei der Verarbeitung Ihrer Sitemap.Dieser Fehler tritt leider erst seid kurzem auf.Meine Website wurde seid dem nicht mehr von Google crawling aktualisiert. V
Virtual Robots.txt Reviews
This plugin is working great for me
I have used this plugin for many years and never had a problem with it. So with that said, I do highly recommend it.
Doesn’t seem to work as described
I had an issue that I believed was being caused by the plugin but the plugin author was very quick to help and clear up the issue. Great and helpful customer service – thanks! This topic was m
Very useful
Simple and easy. Works perfectly.
More Robots Worth Comparing
Top alternatives in the same category as XML Sitemap & Google News and Virtual Robots.txt
Adds a custom set of <meta> tags to the <head> section of all posts & pages.
Create clean, complete, and up-to-date sitemaps for your WordPress website automatically.
Sends HTTP 410 (Gone) responses for deleted content, telling search engines the page is permanently removed.
Control search engine indexing with robots directives using HTML meta tags or HTTP headers.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is XML Sitemap & Google News or Virtual Robots.txt more popular?
Which has better ratings — XML Sitemap & Google News or Virtual Robots.txt?
Are XML Sitemap & Google News and Virtual Robots.txt free?
Which plugin has better support — XML Sitemap & Google News or Virtual Robots.txt?
Which plugin is updated more frequently?
Plugin data sourced from WordPress.org. Comparison and analysis by PluginSift.