accessiBe’s accessWidget adds a script to your site and promised automatic compliance, a claim the FTC fined the company $1 million over in 2025. These seven alternatives find the real WCAG issues so they can be fixed in the code. Most of them are free to start.
No widget on your site · finds real issues · runs locally
If you are searching for an accessiBe alternative, you have probably already hit the question that brings most people here: can a single line of JavaScript really make a website accessible? The US Federal Trade Commission has now answered that in public. In January 2025 the FTC announced a $1 million settlement with accessiBe over claims that its accessWidget product could make any website WCAG compliant, and the Commission approved the final order in April 2025. Loupe exists for the other approach — find the actual issues in your code and fix them.
Every option below finds real accessibility issues instead of adding a widget on top. We make Loupe, so it is listed first, but each tool here is a good choice for someone.
A Chrome and Edge extension that runs the axe-core engine on any page, highlights each failing element in place, and explains the fix in plain English. It never touches your live site. Pro adds full-site crawl and AI explanations; Agency adds white-label PDF reports with your own logo.
A browser extension built on axe-core, the open-source rules engine that also powers Lighthouse’s accessibility audit. It runs inside Chrome DevTools and points at the failing DOM nodes.
A free extension from WebAIM, based at Utah State University, that puts icons for errors, alerts and structure directly onto the page you are viewing.
Microsoft’s open-source extension. FastPass runs quick automated checks, and Assessment walks you step by step through the manual checks for keyboard, focus and screen readers.
A platform that scans whole websites on a schedule and tracks accessibility over time. It also has a free Chrome extension with disability simulators.
An enterprise platform covering accessibility, SEO and content quality across large websites, with dashboards for many teams.
An accessibility specialist tests your site by hand with a keyboard and screen readers, then writes up every barrier against WCAG. This is also how you get a VPAT or Accessibility Conformance Report.
| Tool | Type | Free option | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loupe | Browser extension + reports | Yes, scanning is free | Freelancers and small agencies who fix the code themselves and need a report to hand a client. |
| axe DevTools | Browser extension | Yes, automated checks | Developers who already work in DevTools and want trusted pass/fail results. |
| WAVE | Browser extension | Yes | Designers and content editors who want to see problems in place without opening the code. |
| Accessibility Insights for Web | Browser extension | Yes, open source | Teams that want a structured, guided review before a launch. |
| Silktide | Monitoring platform + extension | Extension only | Organizations with many pages and many editors that need ongoing monitoring. |
| Siteimprove | Enterprise platform | No | Large organizations, universities and public bodies with procurement teams. |
| A human accessibility audit | Service | No | Formal conformance claims, procurement requirements and legal risk. |
accessiBe’s accessWidget is a script you add to your site. It injects a floating accessibility menu — font sizing, contrast modes, spacing and similar user preferences — and applies automated adjustments to the page at runtime. Some of those preference controls are genuinely useful for some visitors. The contested part was never the toolbar; it was the marketing claim wrapped around it, that the widget automatically brings a site into WCAG conformance.
That distinction matters, because the underlying HTML never changes. Your headings stay in whatever order they were, your form inputs keep whatever labels they had, and your images carry whatever alt text a person wrote — or did not write.
This is a matter of public record, so it is worth stating precisely rather than vaguely:
Source: the FTC’s own press releases from January and April 2025. We would rather point at the facts than paraphrase them into something stronger than they are.
| Feature | Loupe | accessiBe accessWidget |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Finds the real issues so you fix the code | Adds a script and a toolbar on top |
| Changes your underlying HTML | You do, permanently, in your repo | No — adjustments happen at runtime |
| Touches your live production site | No — scans locally, changes nothing | Yes — a widget loads for every visitor |
| What you are buying | An audit, plain-English fixes, a report | A widget subscription |
| Evidence for a client | White-label PDF report (Agency) | A badge, not a record of work |
| Cost model | Free scan · $14/mo or $140/yr Pro | Ongoing per-site subscription |
| Best for | Developers and agencies who will fix it | Owners who want a fast badge |
accessWidget does offer real user-preference controls. The comparison above is about reaching genuine WCAG conformance, which is a different job from offering a font-size button.
Real accessibility is a short, repeatable loop: find the issues, fix them in the code, keep a record. That is the loop Loupe is built for. Open any page, click once, and every issue appears in plain English with the WCAG success criterion behind it and how to resolve it. Fix it in your markup, re-scan, and export a report when you are done — proof of the work, with your own branding if a client is paying for it.
And here is the part a widget vendor will never put in a sales page: no automated tool, Loupe included, catches everything. Automated scanning is a fast first pass that handles the mechanical issues — contrast, alt text, labels, ARIA, heading order. A person still has to judge reading order, whether alt text is actually meaningful, and whether the keyboard path makes sense. Loupe is upfront about that line and points you at the real work rather than hiding it.
Add Loupe, open any page, and click once. Every accessibility issue in plain English, with the fix — and a client-ready report when you need one.
Add Loupe to Chrome — freeFree forever for scanning. Pro ($14/mo or $140/yr) adds full-site crawl, AI explanations, and saved projects. Agency ($39/mo or $390/yr) adds white-label reports with your own branding.
Loupe, axe DevTools, WAVE, Accessibility Insights for Web, Silktide and Siteimprove all find real WCAG issues so they can be fixed in the code, unlike a widget. Loupe suits freelancers and agencies who need client reports, axe DevTools suits developers, WAVE suits designers and editors, Accessibility Insights suits guided manual reviews, and Silktide and Siteimprove suit large organizations. For a formal conformance claim, add a human audit.
If your goal is genuine WCAG conformance rather than a compliance badge, the alternative to an overlay is an audit tool. Loupe scans any page with the axe-core engine, shows every issue in context with its WCAG success criterion and a plain-English fix, and can export a white-label PDF report. Scanning is free in Chrome and Edge; Pro is $14/mo for full-site crawl, and Agency is $39/mo for branded, white-label reports.
In January 2025 the US Federal Trade Commission announced a $1 million settlement with accessiBe, alleging its claims that accessWidget could make any website WCAG compliant were false, misleading or unsubstantiated. The complaint also alleged the company presented third-party articles and reviews as independent opinions without disclosing its material connections to the reviewers. The FTC approved the final order in April 2025.
No product can guarantee that, and the FTC action concerned claims of exactly that kind. An overlay does not change your underlying HTML, so heading structure, form labels and alt text remain whatever they were. Businesses using overlays have still received ADA demand letters and lawsuits. Genuine risk reduction comes from finding real barriers, fixing them in code and keeping a record.
No, it is the opposite. Loupe never injects anything into your live site and makes no automatic-compliance claim. You scan a page, it reports the real WCAG issues with how to fix each one, and you fix them in your own code. Nothing changes for your visitors until you ship an actual fix.
Each vendor sells a slightly different package, so the switch looks a little different depending on which one you are on: