We built Accessalyze as an AI company trying to solve a real pricing problem in the accessibility market. There's a massive gap between "free browser extension" and "$10,000 manual audit" — and most small businesses, freelancers, and web teams fall right into that gap. Here's what the market actually looks like, with honest notes on what you get at each tier.
A manual WCAG audit involves a human accessibility expert (or team) reviewing your website against the WCAG 2.1 AA success criteria. This includes both automated scanning and hands-on testing with screen readers, keyboard navigation, and cognitive review.
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View the 2026 ReportDeque Systems is one of the most cited names in enterprise accessibility. Their manual audits are typically scoped per engagement and priced for enterprise clients — expect $10,000–$30,000 for a comprehensive site audit depending on scope and page count. Deque is also the company behind axe-core, the open-source engine that powers most automated scanners including our own.
Level Access (formerly SSB BART Group) is another major enterprise player. Their WCAG audits are similarly scoped for large organizations — $8,000–$25,000 for full-site audits with VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) documentation for procurement compliance. Level Access focuses heavily on ongoing ADA compliance programs, not one-off reports.
Smaller accessibility consultants often charge $1,500–$5,000 for a focused manual audit of 5–10 key pages. These are typically freelance accessibility specialists or boutique firms. Quality varies significantly.
Federal contractors, enterprises with Section 508 procurement requirements, organizations facing DOJ investigations or active litigation, and any site requiring a signed accessibility conformance report.
Automated scanning tools check your site against machine-detectable WCAG rules. They typically catch 30–40% of violations — everything axe-core can find automatically, but not the judgment-intensive issues that require human review.
WAVE (by WebAIM) — Free browser extension and API. Shows violations visually overlaid on your page. No fix code, no shareable report, no monitoring. Great for developers doing spot checks.
Lighthouse (Google) — Built into Chrome DevTools. Runs axe-core under the hood. A 100/100 score does not mean WCAG compliance — Lighthouse only checks ~30 rules and explicitly states it is not a compliance tool. See our Lighthouse vs Accessalyze comparison.
axe DevTools browser extension — Free tier from Deque. Same axe-core engine, browser overlay. No reporting, no monitoring, no fix code.
Siteimprove runs $300–$500+/month for a full accessibility module. Enterprise-focused with dashboards, issue tracking, and team workflows. Built for large organizations with dedicated accessibility programs.
AudioEye offers a combination of automated scanning and an "Ally Toolbar" overlay. Pricing starts around $49/month for small sites and scales up significantly. AudioEye has faced criticism that overlay-based fixes create false compliance — the underlying code violations still exist.
accessiBe is another overlay tool starting around $49/month. Similar controversy around overlay accessibility — DOJ has made clear that overlays do not satisfy ADA compliance. See the Overlay Fact Sheet signed by 700+ accessibility professionals.
We built Accessalyze to fill the gap between "free tools with no reporting" and "$10,000+ enterprise audits." We use axe-core for detection — the same engine as Deque, Chrome DevTools, and Microsoft Accessibility Insights — and add AI-generated fix code on top.
You submit a URL. We run a full WCAG 2.1 AA scan, generate a report with every violation, the specific HTML element causing each issue, the WCAG criterion violated, severity rating, and AI-generated fix code. The report is permanent and shareable — useful for documenting compliance assessment, sharing with a developer, or including in a legal response.
$19 one-time
Full WCAG 2.1 AA scan · AI fix code · Shareable link · No subscription
Get your report →Full-site crawl (up to 50 pages), weekly monitoring with score alerts, team access, and PDF compliance summary for stakeholders. Priced for small and mid-size businesses that need ongoing monitoring, not just a one-time snapshot.
Our scanner catches everything axe-core can detect automatically — roughly 30–40% of all WCAG violations. This includes: missing alt text, color contrast failures, missing form labels, empty links, ARIA misuse, keyboard accessibility violations, and more.
We do not catch: whether alt text is meaningful, complex keyboard navigation flows through interactive components, screen reader usability in practice, or cognitive accessibility. For those, you need a human expert. See our automated vs manual testing guide.
| Option | Cost | Coverage | Fix code | Report | Monitoring |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WAVE / axe extension | Free | 30–40% | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Lighthouse | Free | ~15% | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Overlay tools (AudioEye, accessiBe) | $49–$200/mo | Surface only | ⚠ | ⚠ | ✓ |
| Siteimprove | $300–$500+/mo | 30–40% | ✗ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Accessalyze $19 one-time | $19 | 30–40% | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Accessalyze Pro $49/mo | $49/mo | 30–40% (50 pages) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Manual audit (boutique) | $1,500–$5,000 | ~70% | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ |
| Manual audit (Deque, Level Access) | $5,000–$30,000 | ~90%+ | ✓ | ✓ | Add-on |
⚠ = overlay tools apply client-side patches that do not fix underlying code violations and are not recognized as compliance by the DOJ.
If you've never audited your site, the fastest path is a free scan. Run your homepage through Accessalyze and see your violation count and score. That's free, instant, and no account required.
If the free scan shows issues and you need shareable documentation or AI-generated fix code for every violation, the $19 report is the next step. Most people who receive a demand letter or are preparing for a compliance audit start here.
If you need full-site coverage or ongoing monitoring, upgrade to Pro. If you're in litigation or need a VPAT, you need a qualified human accessibility auditor — look at Deque or a certified accessibility specialist (CPACC or WAS credentials from IAAP).
Start with a $19 report to understand your compliance gaps
Full WCAG 2.1 AA scan · Every violation with element-level detail · AI fix code for each issue · Shareable permanent link
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