The Best Accessibility Tools Compared (2025): What Really Matters and Who Delivers

Why Accessibility Testing Software Matters

Digital accessibility is no longer a nice-to-have; it's a must. Whether you're designing a web app, auditing an enterprise website, or ensuring compliance with WCAG and ADA guidelines, the right accessibility testing software can make or break your product's inclusiveness. But with so many accessibility testing tools claiming full WCAG compliance, zero false positives, and automation capabilities, how do you actually choose?

This guide breaks down what truly matters when evaluating accessibility testing software and compares the leading solutions head-to-head. It’s designed to offer clear, practical insights for developers, designers, product managers, and accessibility professionals.

Accessibility Compliance Basics

If you're new to digital accessibility, understanding compliance standards is essential before choosing a tool.

What is WCAG?

The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are the global standard for making web content more accessible to people with disabilities. The most widely adopted versions today are:

WCAG 2.1: Introduced improvements for mobile accessibility and cognitive disabilities.

WCAG 2.2: Builds on 2.1 with nine new success criteria focused on keyboard navigation, error prevention, and more.

What is "AA" or "AAA" Compliance?

AA is the widely accepted legal standard for most organizations.

AAA is more stringent and often difficult to achieve in real-world applications.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) mandates all websites to be WCAG 2.1 Level AA compliant.

If you're operating in regulated industries or public-facing digital platforms, it's essential to meet both WCAG and ADA compliance standards. When selecting accessibility testing software, ensure it supports WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 at the AA level at a minimum.

What to Look for in Accessibility Testing Tools

Before you dive into the comparison table, it’s important to understand the key features that determine whether a solution is truly valuable.

Audit Coverage & Standards

Not all accessibility testing tools audit equally. Solutions like Wally offer over 170+ accessibility checks, while others like Lighthouse or Wave are limited in scope. Look for:

Coverage of WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 (AA or AAA)

Support for ADA and WCAG legal requirements

Checks for ARIA attributes, keyboard navigation, contrast ratios, and more

Manual vs Automated Auditing

Automated testing can catch many issues, but manual audits are critical for identifying nuanced problems like screen reader order or dynamic content behavior. Some accessibility testing software also integrates both capabilities.

Issue Prioritization

Software should help you sort issues by severity or impact, not overwhelm you with data. Wally prioritizes issues by category and severity, while others sort by severity alone. This helps product teams focus on what truly matters.

Issue Information & Developer Guidance

Accessibility testing tools should empower developers, not confuse them. Tools with technical detail plus user-friendly fix guidance are ideal. Wally and Level Access offer this mix, while others provide only technical output or minimal guidance.

Issue Sharing & Dashboards

For team collaboration, sharing issues and saving audit data is key. Axe (paid), BrowserStack, and Level Access offer audit dashboards or sharing capabilities. Wally allows full audit sharing without extra cost.

False Positives

Nobody wants to fix problems that don’t exist. Accessibility testing tools like Wally, Axe, and Accessibility Insights are known for lower false positive rates.

Fix Guides & Recommendations

Fixing accessibility issues should be easier than finding them. Only Wally currently offers both manual fix guides and auto-generated fixes, helping dev teams go from audit to action faster than any other software.

Free Usage Limits & Login Requirements

Some tools restrict usage or require sign-in. For instance, Wally limits to 25 scans per day and requires login; Axe and Wave are free without login.

How Accessibility Testing Tools Fit Into Your Workflow

Accessibility needs to be addressed across every layer of the product: from your design files and UI components to your front-end code, tech stack, documents, and media assets. Many teams make the mistake of treating accessibility as a final checkbox just before launch. In reality, it should be embedded throughout your workflow.

During design: contrast, layout, focus indicators, keyboard navigation patterns

During development: semantic HTML, ARIA, dynamic content handling

In your code stack: components and libraries that enforce accessibility constraints

For content: alt text, link descriptions, structured headings

For documents and PDFs: tagging, reading order, contrast compliance

You could purchase separate tools for each of these touchpoints or choose accessibility testing software like Wally, which brings a 360-degree approach. Wally enables teams to test and remediate accessibility issues across code, UI, websites, and content with one integrated workflow. This reduces complexity and ensures consistency in WCAG and ADA compliance.

Accessibility Testing Tools Comparison Table

Expert Breakdown of Each Tool

Wally: Best suited for teams who want an end-to-end solution with minimal effort. Its broad audit coverage (170+ checks), low false positives, fix suggestions, and auto-generated code make it ideal for product teams that want to move fast while staying compliant. While it doesn’t support manual auditing, it excels in automation and real-world fixes.

Axe: Great for developers who prefer CLI tools and integrations. Its audit coverage is solid (85+), and it integrates well into CI/CD workflows. However, it lacks fix generation and issue dashboards in the free version.

Wave: Useful for quick visual audits. It's easy to use, free, and doesn’t require login. Best for educators, content writers, or solo designers doing surface-level accessibility checks.

Lighthouse: Mostly limited to basic audits via Chrome DevTools. Good for performance and SEO but too limited for deep accessibility analysis.

Level Access: Aimed at enterprises. While its audit scope is limited, it offers formal documentation, fix guides, and broader consulting. Suitable for compliance-heavy organizations.

SiteImprove: Designed for large content-heavy sites, with user-defined severity and good reporting. However, it has more false positives and lacks immediate fix generation.

Silktide: Offers manual auditing and some prioritization features, but the lack of detailed issue guidance and higher false positives make it harder for dev teams.

BrowserStack Accessibility Scanner: Useful for teams already using BrowserStack. Limited scans (5 free reports), but allows some sharing. Doesn’t scale well for ongoing needs.

IBM Equal Access: Technical and limited in UX. Works best for teams already in the IBM ecosystem.

Accessibility Insights for Web: Based on Axe. Strong manual audit support and low false positives. A great free resource, though not as polished as purpose-built platforms.

Barrier Break: Suited for formal manual audits and VPAT services. Ideal if you're outsourcing compliance, but lacks tooling for internal dev teams.

Where to Begin

If you’re completely new to digital accessibility, start by asking:

Who will use this tool: developers, designers, legal?

Do you need to fix issues or just report them?

Is automation enough, or do you need expert reviews too?

A good starting point is Wally, which covers most bases out of the box. It automates scans, suggests fixes, and is designed for cross-functional product teams. But if your organization needs in-depth manual audits or VPATs, pair Wally with a service like Barrier Break or Level Access.

Red Flags to Watch for in Accessibility Testing Tools

Choosing the wrong accessibility testing software can leave your product vulnerable to legal risk, poor user experience, or wasted development time. Be cautious of tools that:

Claim full WCAG and ADA compliance through automation alone

Don’t explicitly support WCAG 2.2

Have high false positive rates or vague issue reports

Lack fix suggestions or remediation guidance

Provide no way to share or save audit history

These red flags suggest the software may be more about appearances than results. Always prioritize solutions that support practical, lasting accessibility outcomes.

Final Thoughts: Making an Informed Accessibility Decision

Every accessibility testing software solution has its strengths and tradeoffs. If you need high coverage, low false positives, and practical remediation support, Wally stands out with advanced checks, fix guides, and auto-generated fixes.

Try Wally today with a free trial, or check out the many free products available: our Adobe Express and Figma plugins for designers, VS Code, Sublime Text, and NPM extensions for developers, and a Chrome extension to test your websites instantly.

If you want something quick and free, Axe and Wave offer basic coverage and ease of use. For manual audits and enterprise documentation like VPATs, tools like Silktide or Barrier Break may be more suitable.

The right accessibility testing software depends on your team size, budget, and commitment to WCAG and ADA compliance. Use the table and criteria above to assess what matters most and choose a partner, not just a scanner.