diff --git a/src/lib/alternatives.ts b/src/lib/alternatives.ts
index a147704d..dffcf322 100644
--- a/src/lib/alternatives.ts
+++ b/src/lib/alternatives.ts
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@ import { cache } from "react";
 import yaml from "js-yaml";
 import { z } from "zod";
 import { loadBenchmark } from "@/lib/spec";
+import { REMOVED_BENCH_SLUGS } from "@/lib/removed-benches";
 import type { Benchmark } from "@/types/benchmark";
 
 const ALT_DIR = path.join(process.cwd(), "alternatives");
@@ -72,6 +73,14 @@ export const loadAllAlternatives = cache(async (): Promise<Alternative[]> => {
   );
   return parsed
     .filter((a): a is Alternative => a !== null && a.status === "live")
+    // Prod-only gate: alternatives built on staging-pipeline benches
+    // never reach the prod listing, sitemap or tag clouds (the page
+    // itself already 404s there because the bench spec is filtered).
+    .filter(
+      (a) =>
+        process.env.VERCEL_ENV !== "production" ||
+        !REMOVED_BENCH_SLUGS.has(a.benchmark),
+    )
     .sort((a, b) => a.target_product.localeCompare(b.target_product));
 });