Comparison · accessibility audit tools
Searching for a website accessibility audit tool returns browser extensions, scanners and command-line tools. They have a lot in common: each automates part of WCAG and none can certify a site as accessible. This page sets three widely used ones, axe DevTools, WAVE and Pa11y, beside Sybqa, which runs the axe-core rules as one part of a wider browser check. It says what each is built for, so you can pick the one that matches how you work.
Facts checked
| Point | Sybqa | axe DevTools | WAVE | Pa11y |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Built for | Checking journeys, layout and accessibility together and reporting evidence | Deque’s automated accessibility testing for web and mobile, across the browser, IDE and CI/CD | A suite from WebAIM that helps authors evaluate web content and supports human evaluation | Free, open-source tools from Team Pa11y that load pages and highlight accessibility issues |
| How you run it | Paste a link, review a plan, and a real browser runs it | Free browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Edge; the axe-core API for automated tests; paid DevTools products | Enter a page address in the online tool, or use the Chrome, Firefox or Edge extension; a subscription API and a stand-alone testing engine for many pages and CI | A command line for one-off tests; Pa11y CI for lists of pages in CI; a dashboard that tests pages daily |
| Pages covered | The pages and journeys in a reviewed plan, within the scope you set | The page in front of you in the extension; whole suites through axe-core in your tests; Axe Monitor is listed as a separate product | One page at a time online; its APIs collect data on many pages; its page points to a partner, Pope Tech, for site-wide monitoring | Pa11y CI iterates over a list of pages; the dashboard graphs changes over time |
| Beyond automated rules | Journey outcomes, layout at three widths, page errors, screenshots and steps to reproduce | Intelligent Guided Tests in the extension for issues automation alone cannot decide | Tools for human evaluation; an AIM report adds expert manual test results | Accessibility issues only |
| Public pricing | A free plan after sign-up (10 runs a month, no AI review) and a paid plan with AI credits | axe-core is open source (MPL-2.0) and the extensions have a free start; paid products list a free trial and no prices | Prices are not shown on its home page; the subscription API and AIM report are separate services | Free and open source |
See Automated accessibility testing for what rule engines catch and what they miss.
Yes. axe-core runs in the page at desktop, phone and narrow widths, alongside contrast measurements and checklist rules for touch targets and labels. Sybqa does not add guided manual tests.
No. Automated rules cover only part of WCAG, and axe-core returns “incomplete” results for a person to review. A clean automated run is a floor, not a conformance statement.
Paste a link, review the plan, and read the evidence report. The free plan gives 10 runs a month without AI review after you sign up.