accessiBe alternatives that fix your code, not the page on top
If you are looking for an accessiBe alternative, this list holds no widget. An overlay is a third-party widget or toolbar script sold as making a site conform without changing its source, so the faults are still in the code. In April 2025 the FTC approved a final consent order, and the order bars accessiBe from claiming its automated products can make any website WCAG-compliant, or keep it compliant over time, without competent and reliable evidence. Below are three testing tools and three audit services that work on the code itself, compared on the four steps that replace a widget: test, fix in the source, retest, write it down. The FTC record is set out in why no overlay is on this list.
The verdict by use case
Best first check once the widget is off
It shows each fault where it sits on the page, names the WCAG criterion, and sends nothing to WebAIM's server.
Best full audit by hand, with a retest
Trusted Tester auditors work by hand, each issue carries its criterion and code, and your fixes are validated before a conformance statement.
Best if you want the fixes made for you
It fixes WordPress sites in the source code itself and keeps reviewing while the work is done.
Side by side
Scroll sideways to see all vendors.
| Requirement | WAVE | Accessibility Insights for Web | axe DevTools (free) | Accessible.org | Equalize Digital | Knowbility |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Test: each finding names its WCAG criterion | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Check with the vendor |
| Test: you can run it yourself, any time | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
| Test: a person tests your pages by hand | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Fix: makes the fixes in your source for you | No | No | No | No | Yes | Not stated |
| Retest: a person checks your fixes afterwards | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Document: a report you can keep | Not stated | Yes | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Document: a written statement or letter at the end | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
The vendors
WAVE
- What it is
- WebAIM's free browser extension. It marks errors and alerts on the page itself, so you can see what is in your code once nothing is layered on top.
- Who it fits
- The first look after you switch a widget off, and the quick recheck after each fix.
- Each finding names its WCAG 2.2 criterionYes
- Alerts kept apart from errorsYes
- Text contrast checkYes
- Page never leaves your browserYes
- Export to a fileNot stated
Accessibility Insights for Web
- What it is
- Microsoft's open-source extension for Chrome and Edge. Its Assessment walks you through the manual tests for WCAG 2.1 AA, keyboard included.
- Who it fits
- An owner or developer who will do the hand testing themselves and wants a saved report of it.
- Assessment report grouped by success criterionYes
- Results it cannot decide sent to a personYes
- Tab stops helper for the keyboard walkYes
- Export as HTML or JSONYes
- Runs in FirefoxNo
axe DevTools (free)
- What it is
- Deque's free extension running the open-source axe-core rules on one page at a time, each tagged with its WCAG criterion.
- Who it fits
- The developer making the fixes in your theme or templates, who checks each one before it ships.
- Rules tagged with WCAG criterion numbersYes
- Uncertain results marked for manual reviewYes
- Text contrast checkYes
- Guided keyboard test in the free versionNo
- Export to a file in the free versionNot stated
Accessible.org
- What it is
- An audit firm that tests by hand and returns a spreadsheet naming the criterion, the element and the code for each issue. It makes no fixes during the audit and checks yours afterwards.
- Who it fits
- An owner with a developer who wants a full manual audit, a retest and a written statement at the end.
- WCAG 2.1 AA or 2.2 AA named as the targetYes
- Keyboard and screen reader testing namedYes
- Each issue cites its success criterionYes
- Your fixes checked again afterwardsYes
- Works with your CMSNot stated
Equalize Digital
- What it is
- A WordPress accessibility agency that audits and then makes the fixes itself, in the source, as long as they are in WordPress.
- Who it fits
- A WordPress site whose owner has no developer and wants one team to test, fix and recheck.
- WCAG 2.1 AA or 2.2 AA named as the targetCheck with the vendor
- Keyboard and screen reader testing namedYes
- Fixes made in your source codeYes
- Your fixes checked again afterwardsYes
- Works with your CMSYes
Knowbility
- What it is
- An Austin, Texas accessibility organisation that tests a sample of screens, explains each fix down to the code, and retests the sample.
- Who it fits
- A team that will make its own fixes and wants a letter of validation for the screens examined.
- WCAG 2.1 AA or 2.2 AA named as the targetYes
- Keyboard and screen reader testing namedCheck with the vendor
- Fix advice down to the codeYes
- Your fixes checked again afterwardsYes
- Writes an ACR (a completed VPAT®)Not stated
Why no overlay is on this list
An overlay is a third-party widget or toolbar script sold as making a site conform without changing its source. Added to your site, it changes the page in the visitor's browser after it loads; your own code is left as it was. The image with no alt text, the form field with no label and the menu the keyboard cannot open are all still in the source, and they are what a visitor meets wherever the script does not run. A replacement for an overlay that is itself an overlay changes nothing about that, so none is listed here, at any price.
There is also a public record. The FTC alleged accessiBe claimed its accessWidget plug-in could make any website WCAG-compliant when it did not, and that paid reviews were dressed as independent ones. accessiBe agreed to a consent order to settle those allegations: a settlement, not a court finding.
| Date | What happened | Primary source |
|---|---|---|
| The FTC announced a proposed order requiring accessiBe to pay $1 million (Commission vote 5-0). | FTC release on the proposed order | |
| The FTC's analysis of the proposed order, provision by provision, was published for public comment (90 FR 647). | Federal Register notice | |
| The FTC approved the final consent order (vote 3-0). FTC matter: accessiBe Inc., File No. 222-3156. | FTC release on the final order |
What the order requires
- The order bars accessiBe from claiming its automated products can make any website WCAG-compliant, or keep it compliant over time, without competent and reliable evidence.
- The order requires accessiBe to disclose that its widget does not fix barriers on third-party domains or subdomains unless they also run it.
From the FTC's analysis of the order in the Federal Register.
The order names one company. We leave out every overlay for the reason in the first paragraph, not because of the order. The longer explanation, with what a widget can and cannot change, is in our guide to accessibility overlays.
What to do instead: test, fix in the source, retest, write it down
The work an overlay promises to skip comes in four steps, and each alternative above covers some of them. The table rows follow the same four steps.
- Test. A free checker finds the faults a machine can see in minutes. A person with a keyboard and a screen reader finds the rest. Start with the contrast check and the free checkers compared in accessibility testing tools.
- Fix in the source. Each fix goes into the theme, the template or the content, so it is there for every visitor and every device. On WordPress, the plugins and themes compared leave toolbar plugins out for the same reason this page does.
- Retest. A person checks the fixed pages again, because a scan that stops flagging a fault has not proved the fault is gone. The audit services compared say on their own pages whether they retest.
- Write it down. Keep the report, the dates and the fixes, tick off the WCAG 2.2 AA checklist, and publish an accessibility statement that tells visitors how to reach you if something still fails.
Choose where you are. The next step changes as you choose.
Step 1 of 4: Test the code under it
Turn the widget off on a staging copy, or for an hour on a quiet day, and check the page that earns money: the booking form, the cart, the quote request. That is the page a visitor's own screen reader meets.
Who can help
Before you switch the widget off
Taking an overlay off a live site is quick. Three things are worth doing in the same week.
- Rewrite your accessibility statement. If it says the widget makes the site accessible or conformant, it now describes something that is not there. State the WCAG version and level you are working to, the date, and how to report a problem.
- List the pages that live somewhere else. The order requires accessiBe to disclose that its widget does not fix barriers on third-party domains or subdomains unless they also run it. Booking engines, payment pages and hosted forms often sit on another domain. Test those as well, and ask each provider what it has tested.
- Keep a dated record from day one. DOJ's guidance says automated checkers and overlays need to be used carefully and that a clean report does not mean a site is accessible. A record of manual tests, fixes and retests shows the work that was done.
If a demand letter is what brought you here, the demand letter response checklist lists what to gather, and what the ADA asks of a website sets out the rules. This is general information, not legal advice. For your own situation, ask a lawyer.
How we compared
Vendor pages read on
We kept to tools and firms that work on a site's own code and sell no overlay widget, and took them from our two wider lists, the testing tools and the audit services, so a status word here matches the same row there. The rows were then read again on each vendor's own page for the steps this page adds.
Yes means the page says it. No means the page says otherwise, or the product is software and the row asks for a person. Not stated means we did not find it there, which is not the same as no. Check with the vendor means the page says part of it.
Verdicts are editorial: no vendor can buy a verdict position or displace another vendor.
No overlay widget is listed. By an overlay we mean a third-party widget or toolbar script sold as making a site conform without changing its source. In April 2025 the FTC approved a final order that bars one overlay vendor from claiming, without evidence to support it, that its automated products can make any website WCAG-compliant. Read the FTC's announcement of the order.
Nothing here is legal advice. For a specific case, ask a lawyer.
Questions
Is there an overlay widget that avoids these problems?
No. Whatever the brand, an overlay leaves your source as it was, which is where the faults are. The alternatives on this page work the other way round: they find the faults in your code, or fix them there.
Does the FTC order cover other overlay vendors?
No. The order is against accessiBe Inc. and accessiBe Ltd., FTC matter 222-3156, and binds them alone. We leave out every overlay because of what an overlay is, not because of who was named in an order.
Should I test with the widget switched on or off?
Off. What you are fixing is the code under it, and that is what a visitor meets wherever the script does not run. Whether you then keep the widget is your decision; nothing on this page depends on it.
Is a free checker enough to replace the widget?
It is the right first step, not the last. DOJ's guidance says a clean report does not mean everything is accessible and pairs automated checkers with a manual check. WAVE plus a keyboard walk with Accessibility Insights covers a lot for a small site; a manual audit covers the rest, and what an audit and the fixes cost explains what drives the price.
Will any of these make my site ADA compliant?
No tool or firm can certify that. DOJ has no regulation setting detailed web standards for businesses open to the public; its position is that the ADA's general rules still apply to websites. What these alternatives help you show is a site that meets WCAG 2.2 Level AA, tested by a person and recorded. Official lists of tools and certified testers are on our evaluation tools and auditor lists page.
This is general information, not legal advice. For your own situation, ask a lawyer.
Related
- Accessibility overlays: what they do and what they don't8 min read
- WCAG audit services comparedWho audits a small-business site by hand against WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 AA, verdict by use case.
- Accessibility testing tools comparedCheckers you run page by page, judged on rules mapped to WCAG and what they leave to a person.
- Accessibility statement generatorFill in a short form and get a plain statement in W3C's structure, to copy as text or HTML, or print.