Accessibility testing software scans websites and apps against WCAG and reports where people with disabilities will be blocked.
This guide ranks twelve products on first-ninety-day effort, the price once logins, APIs and PDFs are added, how results leave the tool, and whether you can buy without a sales call. Vendors selling compliance claims instead of testing are left out.
Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. How that works.
In short
What accessibility testing software does
Accessibility testing software checks web pages, documents and apps against WCAG success criteria, reports failures with the code involved, and tracks fixes over time. Some tools also guide manual checks.
Every accessibility testing tool was judged on five points in a fixed order: setup effort, cost in practice, how data is exported, how easily you can leave, and the buyer it was designed for. The ranking then gives places 1 to 3 to challengers outside the best-known brands, if the category has such vendors, and the incumbents follow. Why those five, and why there is no score out of ten, is on the how we work page.
WAVE-engine scanning with a permanent 25-page plan and unlimited users
Ranked #1 of 12 in Best Accessibility Testing Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingNorth America
The platform wraps the WAVE engine in scheduled scans, groups and reports, so a campus with hundreds of sites can assign each unit its own view. Page tiers rise from 50 to 500 on Team and beyond on Business Plus.
Manual testing is tracked, with guided tests, rather than performed for you. Pope Tech is a small US company with a Utah mailing address, and part of its software sales go to WebAIM.
What stands out
WAVE engine
Page tiers
Unlimited users
Where it costs you
The no-cost plan scans only a 25-page sample, so a real site needs a paid page tier.
Login-protected scanning, the API and SSO sit on Business Plus, which is sold after a demo.
Right for
Universities and agencies running site-wide WAVE scans with many reviewers, budgeted by page tier
Wrong for
Teams wanting a vendor to perform the manual testing for them
United StatesFree plan up to 25 pages; Team, Business Plus and Professional priced by page tier, published; Enterprise custom
Browser extension and credit-priced API from a university accessibility centre
Ranked #2 of 12 in Best Accessibility Testing Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
WAVE draws icons over the rendered page so reviewers see each error in context. Credits start at a 250-credit minimum purchase, with the per-credit rate falling at 1,000 and 10,000 credits.
A separate stand-alone API and testing engine can be integrated into internal infrastructure, including continuous integration. Teams wanting history, groups and tasks use Pope Tech, which is built on WAVE, or add their own tooling.
What stands out
Browser extension
Credit-priced API
University-run
Where it costs you
The WAVE pages we read give no price or licence for the extension itself.
Credits are consumed per page and advanced requests cost two or three, so large crawls need budgeting.
Right for
Accessibility reviewers checking single pages by hand, with a metered API for bulk checks
Wrong for
Organisations wanting scheduled monitoring and reports out of the box
United StatesAPI credits with published per-credit prices by volume; new accounts get 100 credits at no charge; extension price not stated
WordPress plugin that scans inside your install, priced per site licence
Ranked #3 of 12 in Best Accessibility Testing Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingNorth America
Reports appear on the post edit screen, so editors see problems before publishing. Paid plans are licensed by site count: one site on Professional, five on Small Business, twenty-five on Agency, with a thirty-day money-back guarantee and yearly pricing.
Because the engine runs in your install, there is no per-page meter, but a large site pays for the server time itself and still needs a person to resolve the warnings.
What stands out
WordPress plugin
Scans stay on server
Per-site licence
Where it costs you
It covers WordPress only, so a site on any other platform cannot use it.
Full-site scanning, audit history and CSV export are paid features; the free plan reports per post or page.
Right for
WordPress agencies and publishers wanting unlimited scans without any per-page fees
Wrong for
Sites built on any platform other than WordPress
United StatesFree Personal plan; yearly licences by number of sites, prices published; monthly billing on two tiers
Free command-line, CI and dashboard tools for automated page testing
Ranked #4 of 12 in Best Accessibility Testing Software in 2026.
Free tierOpen sourcePublished pricingElsewhere
The dashboard runs on the Pa11y Webservice, a JSON backend that can also feed a custom front end. Pa11y CI checks a list of URLs and is made for build pipelines.
The tools test automatically, so keyboard and screen-reader behaviour still need people. The dashboard repository was last pushed in March 2026 while the command line and CI runner were updated in the past week, so check which pieces you depend on.
What stands out
Open source
CI runner
Dashboard
Where it costs you
The pa11y.org pages name no company, country or support contract behind the tools.
The site lists no hosted service, so someone on your team must install and run the dashboard.
Right for
Developers adding automated accessibility checks to a build pipeline at no licence cost
Wrong for
Content editors needing guided fixes without engineering help
Not stated by the vendorFree; open source under LGPL and GPL licences
Guided WCAG checks in a browser extension and a Windows app
Ranked #5 of 12 in Best Accessibility Testing Software in 2026.
Free tierOpen sourcePublished pricingElsewhere
Where Pa11y and Pope Tech scan pages for you, this one coaches a tester through the checks. FastPass is the quick pass; the assessment is the longer route that records results against WCAG 2.1 AA.
Windows application testing is unusual in this list. The site gives no price and no country and carries a Microsoft copyright, so a buyer wanting a support contract has nobody to call on that page.
What stands out
Browser extension
Windows app
MIT licence
Where it costs you
The site describes assessment against WCAG 2.1 AA, while current WCAG work is at 2.2.
It tests what one person has open; the site describes no scheduled site-wide scanning.
Right for
Testers wanting guided WCAG checks of single pages or Windows apps at no cost
Wrong for
Teams needing scheduled monitoring and dashboards across many pages
Not stated by the vendorFree to use; MIT-licensed open source code on GitHub
Free on-page checker for content authors, as bookmarklet or CMS plugin
Ranked #6 of 12 in Best Accessibility Testing Software in 2026.
Free tierPublished pricingElsewhere
Installs come as a bookmarklet, plugins for WordPress, Drupal, Joomla and Pressbooks, or a developer install. It collects no personal data and uses browser storage only for settings.
Individual checks can be switched off and areas excluded, which helps with templated pages. Because it checks only what loads in the author's browser, results depend on who looks at which page, and nothing is stored centrally for managers.
What stands out
Content authors
CMS plugins
On-page tooltips
Where it costs you
The site states it is not a comprehensive code analysis tool.
The pages we read name no licence and no country for the project.
Right for
Editors working in a CMS who need plain-language prompts before they publish
Wrong for
Developers wanting automated checks in a build pipeline
Not stated by the vendorFree to use; source code on GitHub
Quoted website governance suite with website and PDF accessibility testing
Ranked #7 of 12 in Best Accessibility Testing Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestNorth America
Documentation includes an Accessibility Conformance Report in VPAT form, which helps when procurement asks for evidence. The company lists headquarters in Austin, Texas, with offices in Birmingham, Copenhagen, Berlin and Sydney, and separate registered companies for the US, UK, Denmark and Australia.
Testimonials come from UK councils and a regulator. Because Protect bundles governance features, buyers pay for scope they may never open.
What stands out
Quoted packages
PDF testing
Accessibility ACR
Where it costs you
Prices are set per proposal, so the cost cannot be compared before a sales call.
Manual testing and WCAG version are not named on the pricing page.
Right for
Councils and public bodies monitoring many pages and PDFs under one contract
Wrong for
Developers wanting accessibility checks inside CI or unit tests
United StatesQuoted per organisation in Grow, Protect and Complete packages; no trial stated
Developer-side accessibility testing SDKs for web and mobile test suites
Ranked #8 of 12 in Best Accessibility Testing Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestElsewhere
The product list runs from MCP Tools and a Chatbot to Web Flow Analyzer, Mobile Flow Analyzer, Unit Tester and Debugger, so one vendor covers design to test.
That breadth helps a platform team but means more to evaluate than a single scanner. Results come from running your own test flows, so coverage is only as wide as the flows your team writes.
What stands out
Test automation SDKs
Web and mobile
AI bug detection
Where it costs you
The pages we read give no price, trial or free option.
No headquarters or country appears on the pages we read.
Right for
Engineering teams adding accessibility assertions to existing automated UI test suites
Wrong for
Content teams wanting a crawl and report with no coding
Not stated by the vendorDemo-led; the pages we read list no prices
Free extension on an open engine, plus paid guided and monitoring tools
Ranked #9 of 12 in Best Accessibility Testing Software in 2026.
Free tierPricing on requestNorth America
Deque is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. Because axe-core is open source, many other tools embed it, so a team can use the engine without buying anything and add Deque products only for guided testing or site-wide monitoring.
Deque advertises zero false positives, a claim the page gives no method for. Its services arm sells audits and training, so a buyer may be steered to consulting.
What stands out
axe-core engine
Guided tests
Monitor
Where it costs you
The free extension is automated only and tests one page at a time.
Prices for Pro, DevTools and Monitor are not on the pages we read.
Right for
Developers starting free with axe-core who may later add monitoring and audits
Wrong for
Buyers who need a published price before talking to sales
United StatesExtension at no cost; Pro, DevTools and Monitor sold on demo; 14-day Pro trial
Danish multi-module platform with accessibility agents, quoted per organisation
Ranked #10 of 12 in Best Accessibility Testing Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestEurope
The toolkit pages list an accessibility checker, EAA and ADA Title II checkers, a PDF checker, a colour contrast checker and a browser extension. A VPN Connect feature covers sites behind a VPN, and a Dynamic Content Checker handles changing content.
Four offices are listed: Bellevue, Copenhagen, London and Minneapolis. It bought MarketMuse in 2024, so the platform keeps widening beyond accessibility.
What stands out
Quoted
Accessibility agents
Multi-module platform
Where it costs you
No prices are shown on the pricing page we read, only demo requests.
Accessibility is one module of a wider platform, so scope beyond testing may be bundled in.
Right for
Large organisations managing accessibility, content quality and search in one platform
Wrong for
Small teams wanting a published price and a single focused tool
DenmarkQuoted per organisation; the pricing page shows demo buttons and no prices
Demo-led platform joining scanning, expert audits, mobile testing and CI checks
Ranked #11 of 12 in Best Accessibility Testing Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestNorth America
Offices are listed in Stafford, Virginia, Toronto and Bristol. Add-ons such as Level CI, Mobile Testing and LevelDocs are separate items, so a normal buyer's bill depends on which of them join the core platform.
The company page names executives but gives no ownership detail. Because audits are delivered by Level Access staff, the vendor and the tester are the same party.
What stands out
Platform plus audits
Mobile testing
VPAT and ACR
Where it costs you
No price, trial or export description appears on the platform page we read.
The page does not say who owns the company.
Right for
Enterprises combining automated scanning with expert audits and procurement documents in one contract
Wrong for
Teams wanting to self-serve and buy by card without talking to sales
United StatesSold after a demo; the platform page lists no prices
Automated monitoring dashboards from the maker of JAWS, sold by consultation
Ranked #12 of 12 in Best Accessibility Testing Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestNorth America
Vispero lists a Clearwater, Florida address and offers ARC Toolkit and a colour tool as free items, with JAWS Inspect for testers. The ARC page does not describe issue tracking beyond progress shown in dashboards.
Ownership of Vispero is not stated on the page we read. Anyone buying should confirm what the name change from the older TPGi brand means for existing contracts, since the site does not explain it.
What stands out
Monitoring
Regression alerts
Executive dashboards
Where it costs you
ARC covers monitoring only; Vispero sends manual work elsewhere.
The page lists no price, trial or purchase requirements.
Right for
Organisations wanting scheduled monitoring and trend reports tied to an assistive technology maker
Wrong for
Buyers wanting testing, remediation and documents in a single product
United StatesDemo-led; the ARC page lists no prices or trial
Accessibility testing software checks web pages, documents and apps against WCAG success criteria, reports failures with the code involved, and tracks fixes over time. Some tools also guide manual checks. These are the questions that actually differ between vendors, in the order we would ask them.
01
Check who publishes a price
Prices are public at 6 products (Pope Tech, WAVE by WebAIM, Accessibility Checker, Pa11y, Accessibility Insights, Sa11y) and on request at the remaining 6, so budget time for quotes if your favourite is in that second group.
02
Look at where the vendor sits
The 12 companies behind this list are established in 3 countries, by region North America 7, Elsewhere 4, Europe 1. Disclosure obligations attach to the company, so they travel with the vendor even when the servers stay at home.
03
Decide if open source matters
Open source here means Pa11y, Accessibility Insights. The price of self-hosting is the time your team spends maintaining it.
What automated accessibility testing software cannot see
Every tool here is an automated checker first, and the vendors say so. Vispero keeps manual work outside ARC and says experts must test complex interactions. Accessibility Checker labels some findings as warnings for a person to review. Sa11y says it is not a full code analysis tool. Deque's extension lists Intelligent Guided Tests only under Pro, because keyboard flow and screen-reader behaviour need a human walking through.
Treat a green scan as the absence of detectable defects, not as conformance, and expect a few surprises once real users arrive. Decide who does the manual pass before you pick the scanner, and whether that is your staff, the vendor's audit team as at Level Access, or a guided tool such as Accessibility Insights.
Ask which checks need a person and which tool guides that pass
Ask who signs off conformance, the vendor or your own team
Test the tool on a page you already know is broken
Where the test runs: extension, pipeline or crawler
The same scan lands in three places and each fits different people. A browser extension such as WAVE by WebAIM or Accessibility Insights suits a tester looking at one page. A pipeline runner suits developers: Pa11y CI runs through a URL list on every build, Evinced attaches to Selenium, Cypress and WebdriverIO tests, and Pope Tech offers GitHub and Bitbucket templates on Business Plus.
A crawler such as Silktide or Siteimprove runs against live pages on a schedule and suits managers who need a trend line. Buying a crawler for a team that lives in pull requests, or the reverse, is the usual waste. Map the tool to the moment a defect is cheapest to fix.
Name the stage where your team can still change the code
Check that results land in the tracker developers already use
Confirm the tool can reach pages behind a login
Page tiers, credits and site licences: reading the real price
Accessibility pricing is metered in different units, so quotes are hard to compare. Pope Tech bills by page tier with unlimited users, WAVE sells API credits where one basic page costs one credit and advanced requests cost more, and Accessibility Checker sells yearly licences by number of sites. Silktide, Siteimprove, Level Access and Evinced publish no prices on the pages we read.
Convert each offer into one shared question: how many of your pages, how often, and how many reviewers. Then add what sits outside the base plan, such as scanning behind login, PDF scanning, a developer API or single sign-on, which Pope Tech places in higher tiers. A cheap base price that excludes the module you need is not cheap.
Count pages, scan frequency and reviewers before asking for quotes
List which of login, API, SSO and PDF scanning you need
Ask whether the free plan is a sample or a permanent tier
Evidence for procurement: VPATs, ACRs and who writes them
Many buyers need a document, not a dashboard: a VPAT or Accessibility Conformance Report for a customer or a tender. Silktide lists an Accessibility Conformance Report in its documentation, and Level Access lists VPATs and ACRs among its features and offers manual evaluations. A scanner alone cannot write one, because the report needs manual results.
Check whether the document is produced by the same vendor selling you the scan, and whether it can leave the product when you stop paying. Open tools such as Pa11y and the axe-core engine leave data in your own files, while hosted reports may sit behind a login. Ask for a sample export before signing, and read what it contains, since a PDF summary is not the same as the underlying issue list.
Ask for a sample ACR and who tested it
Ask for an export of scan history in a readable format
Check the document stays usable after the contract ends
What goes wrong most often when buying accessibility testing software
Reading a clean automated scan as proof of WCAG conformance, even though vendors such as Vispero say expert testing is still needed.
Buying a site-wide crawler for a team that really needs checks inside its build pipeline, or the other way round.
Counting only the base page tier or licence and forgetting login-protected scanning, the API and PDF scanning, which Pope Tech holds back for higher plans.
Buying from a vendor that sells compliance claims or overlay widgets, which are not testing and give no evidence of what is broken.
07
Frequently asked questions
7 answers
What is the best accessibility testing software in 2026?
Pope Tech takes first place among the 12 we reviewed. Pope Tech runs the WAVE engine from WebAIM and bills by the number of pages scanned instead of by seat: every paid plan lists unlimited users, websites and groups.
The no-cost plan covers a 25-page monthly sample for two users. Login scanning, the developer API, CI templates and single sign-on only arrive on Business Plus; PDF scanning is a beta add-on.
Which accessibility testing tools publish their pricing?
The ones that do, with the model each states:
Pope Tech: Free plan up to 25 pages; Team, Business Plus and Professional priced by page tier, published; Enterprise custom.
WAVE by WebAIM: API credits with published per-credit prices by volume; new accounts get 100 credits at no charge; extension price not stated.
Accessibility Checker: Free Personal plan; yearly licences by number of sites, prices published; monthly billing on two tiers.
Pa11y: Free; open source under LGPL and GPL licences.
Accessibility Insights: Free to use; MIT-licensed open source code on GitHub.
Sa11y: Free to use; source code on GitHub.
Everything else on the list is priced on request.
Is there a free accessibility testing tool?
Pope Tech, Accessibility Checker, Pa11y, Accessibility Insights, Sa11y, Deque axe can be used for free, either as a free plan or a self-hosted edition.
Where are these accessibility testing software vendors established?
The headquarters are spread over 3 countries and 3 regions, North America 7, Elsewhere 4, Europe 1:
Pope Tech: United States.
WAVE by WebAIM: United States.
Accessibility Checker: United States.
Pa11y: Not stated by the vendor.
Accessibility Insights: Not stated by the vendor.
Sa11y: Not stated by the vendor.
Silktide: United States.
Evinced: Not stated by the vendor.
Deque axe: United States.
Siteimprove: Denmark.
Level Access: United States.
Vispero ARC: United States.
Which accessibility testing tools are open source?
Pa11y, Accessibility Insights.
What should you use instead of Pope Tech?
WAVE by WebAIM and Accessibility Checker are the next two on this page.
WAVE by WebAIM is for Accessibility reviewers checking single pages by hand, with a metered API for bulk checks; Accessibility Checker is for WordPress agencies and publishers wanting unlimited scans without any per-page fees.
Who should not buy Pope Tech?
Teams wanting a vendor to perform the manual testing for them. The no-cost plan scans only a 25-page sample, so a real site needs a paid page tier..
Missing from this accessibility testing software ranking? Contact us with a short description of the product and its users. Adding it is an editorial choice, and software advice explains what a listing does and does not involve.
