- Free, no sign-up
- 100 URLs, or a migration map
- The hop to drop, named
Free Redirect Checker
Paste one URL or a hundred and follow every hop the way Googlebot does: the address, the code, the type and the time of each, and where it ends. The verdict in one line: fine, a chain and which hop to drop, a loop and the two rules that fight, a 302 where a 301 was meant, a meta refresh or JavaScript redirect on the final page, a landing on a 404, a noindex or the wrong canonical. Check the four versions of a domain together, test a migration map of old and new URLs, as a browser or as Googlebot, and download the CSV. No sign-up.
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How to use it
Every hop, the verdict, the fix
Paste the URLs, the domain or the map
Up to 100 URLs from a crawl or the Search Console "Redirect error" list; or one domain for its four versions (http, https, www, bare); or old and new pairs for a migration. Check as a browser, as Googlebot, as Googlebot on a phone or as Bingbot, because some servers redirect bots differently.
Read each chain and its verdict
Every hop with its code, its type (permanent, temporary) and its time; the extra hops marked; a loop drawn back to its start; the final page read for a 200, a meta refresh, a JavaScript redirect, a noindex and the canonical. One line says what is wrong and what Google makes of it.
Fix the rule named, then the links
The fix in words with the Apache, Nginx, Cloudflare or WordPress rule to copy. Then run the Broken Link Checker for the internal links that still point at the old URL, and the map again after launch.
Built forSearch Console "Redirect error"Site migrationshttp and www versionsAudits of old URLs
Quick answer
What does a redirect checker do?
A redirect checker requests a URL and follows each redirect the server sends, the way a browser or Googlebot would, and lists every hop with its status code: 301 or 308 for a permanent move, 302, 303 or 307 for a temporary one. It shows where the chain ends and whether that end is a working page. Google follows up to 10 hops and asks for one; a chain wastes crawl budget and adds latency, a loop or a landing on an error page keeps the page out of the index, and a temporary redirect keeps the old URL in results. This one also reads the final page for a meta refresh, a JavaScript redirect, a noindex and the canonical, checks the four versions of a domain together, and tests a whole migration map.
What each code means to Google
Permanent, temporary, and the ones HTTP tools miss
| Redirect | Google reads it as | Shown in results | Use it for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 301, 308 | Permanent | The new URL | A move, a merge, http to https, www or bare |
| 302, 303, 307 | Temporary | The old URL stays | A sale page, maintenance, a test |
| Meta refresh at 0 s, HTTP refresh at 0 s | Permanent | The new URL | Only when the server cannot redirect |
| Meta refresh with a delay | Temporary | The old URL | Almost never |
| JavaScript location | Followed after rendering | Usually the new URL | A last resort |
From Google's "Redirects and Google Search" and its HTTP status codes guide, checked 21 October 2026: Googlebot follows both kinds; a permanent redirect is a canonical signal and the target is shown, a temporary one keeps the source in results; Googlebot follows up to 10 hops, and the site move guide asks for one, at most three.
Why a chain happens
Three rules, three hops
http to https, bare to www, then the trailing slash: each rule adds a hop when they run one after another, and a second migration on top of the first adds more. Point every old URL straight at the final one, in one rule placed before the others. Loops come from two rules that fight: a plugin forcing a slash while the server strips it, a CDN forcing HTTPS while the origin forces HTTP. Search Console's "Redirect error" has four causes: a chain too long, a loop, a URL that grew past the maximum length, or a bad URL in the chain. The verdict names which.
The four versions of your domain
http, https, www and bare: one destination
Google treats them as four sites until the redirects say otherwise. All four should end on the one you chose, in a single hop. The Domain tab checks them together and names the rule to change: one rule that tests the https and the www condition at once, placed before the trailing-slash rule.
Testing a migration
The map, before and after launch
One row per old URL: the new URL and the code you meant (a 410 for pages that are gone). Paste the map and each row passes or fails with the reason: wrong target, an extra hop, a 302, a landing on a 404, a noindex on the new page, or no redirect at all. Run it on staging with the password lifted for the test window (we cannot send passwords, on purpose), and again after launch; then crawl the new site for the internal links that still point at the old addresses.
FAQ
Questions people ask
What is a redirect chain?
An old URL that reaches the final page through two or more redirects. Each hop is a request Google and the visitor pay for; the tool marks the extra ones.
How many redirects will Google follow?
Up to 10 hops; past that, Search Console shows a Redirect error. The site move guide asks for one hop, at most three.
Is a redirect chain bad for SEO?
It wastes crawl budget, adds latency on every visit, and a long one fails to index. One hop is fine.
301 or 302: which should I use?
301 or 308 for a move; 302 or 307 for something that comes back. Google treats a 302 as temporary and keeps the old URL as the canonical.
How do I fix a redirect loop?
Find the two rules that fight: trailing slash, https, www or language. Keep one, then test both versions of the address here.
Why does Search Console say "Redirect error"?
A chain too long, a loop, a URL that grew past the maximum length, or a bad URL in the chain. The verdict names which.
Does http to https count as a hop?
Yes. Point the http and the www versions straight at the final https URL in one rule, so a visitor on an old link pays one hop, not three.
Should the whole old domain redirect to the home page?
No. Map every old URL to its closest new one, one to one; a blanket redirect to the home page is a soft 404 to Google, and the tool flags it.
How long should I keep redirects?
At least a year, and longer if old links still bring visitors. Google says a move's old URLs fade on their own, but people and other sites keep using them.
Do meta refresh and JavaScript redirects work for SEO?
Google follows them: a 0-second meta refresh counts as permanent, a delayed one as temporary, a JavaScript redirect only after rendering. Server-side redirects are still the safe choice, and HTTP-only checkers cannot see the other two; this one reads the page.
Does a redirect pass PageRank?
Yes, 301 and 302 alike. A chain loses a little at each hop and a lot of patience.
Why does the redirect work in my browser but not for Google?
A user-agent rule on the CDN or the server, a cookie, or a JavaScript redirect. Check as Googlebot here and compare.
Can it check a password-protected staging site?
No, on purpose: the fetcher refuses credentials. Lift the password for the test window, or run the map after launch.
Keep going
More free tools and guides
- HTTP Status Checker: the status and the response headers of a URL, with a link here for every chain.
- Broken Link Checker: the internal links that still point at redirected URLs.
- Canonical Tag Checker and Noindex Tag Checker: the final page in detail.
- XML Sitemap Validator: the sitemap URLs that redirect.
- Redirects, chains and loops (Advanced, chapter 4) and site migrations (chapter 6).
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One hop, the right code, a page that answers
Every hop with its verdict and the fix. Free, no sign-up.