RatedWithAI
Best for: Fast, repeatable accessibility scoring with monitoring
RatedWithAI runs real browser scans using Playwright and axe-core — the same engine that powers most serious accessibility testing. You paste a URL, it spins up an actual browser session, runs WCAG validation checks, and returns a weighted severity score with grouped violations and a letter grade.
What makes it different from running axe-core yourself is the monitoring layer. You can schedule daily or weekly scans, get alerts when your score drops, and share exportable compliance reports with stakeholders or clients. For agencies managing multiple sites, the collaboration features and shareable reports save hours of manual reporting.
The scoring model uses severity weighting rather than raw issue counts, which gives a more accurate picture of real-world impact. A missing alt attribute on a decorative image doesn't tank your score the same way a broken navigation order does.
Key Features
- ✓ Real browser scans using Playwright + axe-core
- ✓ WCAG-aligned severity-weighted scoring (A-F grades)
- ✓ Daily/weekly scheduled monitoring with regression alerts
- ✓ Shareable, exportable compliance reports
- ✓ Email and Slack alert integrations
Pricing
- Free: Single scan with shareable report
- Starter: $29/mo — Weekly monitoring, alerts, 50 pages
- Pro: $79/mo — Daily monitoring, 500 pages, API access
Pros
- • Accurate scoring that reflects actual user impact
- • Monitoring catches regressions between deploys
- • Reports are client-ready without extra formatting
- • Affordable compared to enterprise solutions
Cons
- • Focused on automated testing (manual audit coordination not included yet)
- • Smaller page limits on lower tiers
accessiBe
Best for: Automated remediation for small business websites
accessiBe uses AI to automatically detect and fix accessibility issues on your website. Install a JavaScript snippet, and their system scans your site every 24 hours, applying fixes for things like alt text, ARIA labels, color contrast, and keyboard navigation. They also provide an accessibility interface widget that lets users adjust the site to their preferences.
accessiBe is polarizing in the accessibility community. Advocates for people with disabilities have criticized overlay-based solutions for sometimes interfering with assistive technology rather than helping it. That said, for small businesses without the budget for a full manual remediation, it provides a baseline level of compliance that's better than nothing.
Key Features
- ✓ AI-powered automatic remediation
- ✓ Accessibility interface widget for end users
- ✓ 24-hour automatic rescanning
- ✓ Compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA, ADA, Section 508
Pricing: Starts at $49/mo for up to 1,000 monthly sessions. $59/mo for up to 10,000 sessions. Enterprise pricing for larger sites.
UserWay
Best for: Widget-based accessibility with enterprise compliance services
UserWay offers an AI-powered accessibility widget similar to accessiBe, plus deeper compliance services for organizations that need manual auditing, PDF remediation, and legal compliance documentation. The widget handles automated fixes for common issues, while their professional services team handles the rest.
The tiered approach — widget for automated fixes, services for everything else — makes UserWay a reasonable middle ground between DIY testing and hiring an accessibility consultancy.
Key Features
- ✓ AI accessibility widget with automatic fixes
- ✓ Manual audit and remediation services
- ✓ PDF, video, and document accessibility
- ✓ Compliance monitoring dashboard
Pricing: Widget starts at $49/mo. Pro Bundle from $49/mo. Pro Plus at $119/mo. Enterprise pricing available.
AudioEye
Best for: Hybrid automated + expert remediation
AudioEye takes a hybrid approach, combining automated fixes with human expert testing. Their platform continuously monitors and auto-remediates common issues, while their team of certified accessibility specialists handles the complex manual remediation that automation can't solve. They estimate their automated system covers about 50% of WCAG issues, with expert testing covering the rest.
This makes AudioEye one of the more thorough solutions, but also one of the more expensive. It's best suited for mid-size to enterprise organizations that need documented compliance for legal purposes.
Key Features
- ✓ Continuous automated monitoring and remediation
- ✓ Certified human expert testing and fixes
- ✓ Legal compliance documentation and support
- ✓ Active monitoring with real-time accessibility scoring
Pricing: Multiple tiers from Basic (automated only) to Custom plans. Pricing based on page count and traffic. Contact sales for quotes.
WAVE by WebAIM
Best for: Free, instant accessibility evaluation
WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool) by WebAIM is the most widely-used free accessibility checker on the internet. Paste a URL or use the browser extension, and it overlays visual indicators directly on your page showing errors, alerts, features, and structural elements. It's fast, free, and doesn't require an account.
WAVE is a testing tool, not a remediation tool — it shows you what's wrong but doesn't fix anything. That's fine for developers who want to audit their own work, but it means you'll need separate processes for actually resolving the issues it finds.
Key Features
- ✓ Free browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox
- ✓ Visual overlay showing errors, alerts, and structural elements
- ✓ Contrast ratio testing
- ✓ ARIA and structural element validation
Pricing: Free. WAVE API for bulk testing starts at $100/year for 10,000 credits.
Axe by Deque
Best for: Developer-integrated accessibility testing
Axe is the open-source accessibility engine that powers many of the other tools on this list (including RatedWithAI and countless CI/CD integrations). The browser extension is free and gives you a detailed panel of WCAG violations with impact levels, affected elements, and fix suggestions. Deque also offers axe DevTools Pro with guided testing and intelligent testing flows.
For developers, axe is the gold standard. It integrates with every major testing framework (Jest, Cypress, Playwright, Selenium), so you can catch accessibility regressions in your test suite before they reach production.
Key Features
- ✓ Open-source accessibility testing engine (axe-core)
- ✓ Free browser DevTools extension
- ✓ CI/CD integration with all major test frameworks
- ✓ Guided intelligent testing in axe DevTools Pro
Pricing: axe-core and browser extension are free and open source. axe DevTools Pro from $40/user/month. Enterprise plans priced on request.
Siteimprove
Best for: Enterprise-grade accessibility governance
Siteimprove is an enterprise digital governance platform that includes accessibility testing as part of a broader suite covering SEO, content quality, and analytics. Their accessibility module provides site-wide scanning, issue prioritization by WCAG conformance level, and progress tracking dashboards.
It's overkill for a five-page marketing site, but for large organizations managing hundreds or thousands of pages across multiple properties, Siteimprove's centralized governance model is hard to match.
Key Features
- ✓ Site-wide accessibility scanning with WCAG conformance mapping
- ✓ Priority scoring and issue grouping
- ✓ Progress tracking dashboards and reporting
- ✓ Content quality and SEO modules included
Pricing: Enterprise pricing only, typically $15,000–$50,000+/year. Contact sales.
Pope Tech
Best for: Education and organizations scaling accessibility across teams
Pope Tech is built on the WAVE testing engine and wraps it in a platform designed for organizations that need to manage accessibility across many websites and many users. It's especially popular in higher education, where hundreds of department websites need regular scanning and non-technical staff need to understand and act on results.
The unlimited-users-per-plan model is unusual and valuable — most competitors charge per seat, which discourages organizations from involving the whole team.
Key Features
- ✓ Powered by the WAVE testing engine
- ✓ Unlimited users on all paid plans
- ✓ Group hierarchies for managing multiple websites
- ✓ Progress tracking and scheduled scanning
Pricing: Free for 25 pages. Team from $25/mo. Business Plus from $225/mo.
EqualWeb
Best for: Compliance-focused organizations with custom needs
EqualWeb combines an accessibility widget with monitoring and compliance services. Their platform includes automated scanning, a user-facing accessibility toolbar, and compliance documentation for ADA and WCAG standards. They work with government organizations and Fortune 500 companies, offering custom solutions beyond one-size-fits-all widgets.
Key Features
- ✓ AI-powered accessibility widget
- ✓ Ongoing compliance monitoring
- ✓ Customizable accessibility toolbar
- ✓ ADA and WCAG compliance documentation
Pricing: Free tier available. Paid plans are custom-quoted. Contact for pricing.
Lighthouse
Best for: Quick accessibility audits baked into Chrome
Lighthouse is Google's open-source auditing tool built right into Chrome DevTools. Run it on any page and you get scores for performance, accessibility, SEO, and best practices. The accessibility audit runs a subset of axe-core rules and returns a score out of 100 with specific issues linked to WCAG criteria.
It's not a comprehensive accessibility testing tool — it catches roughly 30-40% of WCAG issues through automation — but it's free, it's already in your browser, and it gives developers a quick baseline without installing anything.
Key Features
- ✓ Built into Chrome DevTools (no installation needed)
- ✓ Accessibility scoring based on axe-core rules
- ✓ Performance, SEO, and best practices audits included
- ✓ CI integration via Lighthouse CI
Pricing: Free and open source.
Overlay Tools vs. Testing Tools: The Accessibility Debate
This list includes both overlay/widget tools (accessiBe, UserWay, AudioEye, EqualWeb) and testing/scanning tools (RatedWithAI, WAVE, Axe, Lighthouse). These are fundamentally different approaches:
Overlay Tools
Add a JavaScript layer that auto-fixes accessibility issues on the fly. Easy to install, provide an immediate compliance baseline. The controversy: some advocates argue they can interfere with screen readers and create a false sense of compliance.
Testing Tools
Identify issues and help you fix them in your actual codebase. Require more effort but produce genuinely accessible websites. Recommended by most experts for long-term compliance.
Our take: Use testing tools to build accessibility into your development process, and use overlays (if at all) as a temporary measure while you work through your remediation backlog — not as a permanent solution.
Choosing the Right Tool
Solo developers: Lighthouse + WAVE (both free) covers quick audits. Add RatedWithAI for ongoing monitoring.
Small teams: RatedWithAI or Pope Tech for scheduled scanning and progress tracking.
Non-technical site owners: accessiBe or UserWay for automated remediation (with the caveats above).
Enterprise: Siteimprove for governance, AudioEye for hybrid automated + expert testing, axe DevTools Pro for developer teams.
Open-source projects: Axe-core integration in your test suite. It's free and it's the industry standard.
No single tool covers 100% of WCAG criteria through automation alone. The tools on this list cover roughly 30-57% of WCAG success criteria automatically. The rest requires manual testing — checking keyboard navigation flows, screen reader behavior, cognitive load, and content clarity. The best approach combines automated scanning with periodic manual audits.
Check Your Accessibility Score — Free
Paste any URL and get a WCAG compliance score in seconds. Real browser scan, severity-weighted scoring, shareable report.
Scan Your Website →