UserWay’s widget adds an accessibility menu to your site and adjusts things at runtime. Since Level Access bought it in 2024, it also sits inside an enterprise platform. These seven alternatives find the real WCAG issues so they get fixed in the code, and most are free to start.
No widget on your site · fixes stay fixed · runs locally
If you are looking for a UserWay alternative, the context has changed since you first installed it. UserWay, founded in 2016, was acquired by enterprise accessibility vendor Level Access in March 2024 in a deal reported at $98.7 million, and its widget now sits inside a much larger enterprise platform. That is a fine outcome for enterprise buyers with procurement teams. If you are a freelancer, a small agency, or one developer trying to get a client’s site right, it is worth asking whether a widget subscription is what you actually needed.
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. |
UserWay’s accessibility widget is a script you add to a site. It adds a floating menu offering user preferences — text sizing, contrast themes, link highlighting, spacing and similar — and applies some automated adjustments at runtime. Those preference controls help some visitors, and nobody sensible argues otherwise.
What the widget cannot do is restructure your document. It does not rewrite your heading hierarchy, it does not decide what a photograph should say in its alt text, and it does not fix a form input that was never associated with a label. Those live in your markup, and they are exactly what an auditor, a screen-reader user, or a plaintiff’s lawyer will encounter.
The reasons that come up again and again:
| Feature | Loupe | UserWay widget |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Audit — find issues, fix the source | Overlay — adjust at runtime |
| Who it is priced for | Freelancers and small agencies | Part of an enterprise platform |
| Touches your live site | No — scans locally in your browser | Yes — a script loads for every visitor |
| If you stop paying | Your fixes are still in the code | The site reverts to its original state |
| Evidence for a client | White-label PDF report (Agency) | A badge, not a record of work |
| Works with users’ own assistive tech | Does not interfere with it | Can conflict with screen readers |
| Cost model | Free scan · $14/mo or $140/yr Pro | Ongoing per-site subscription |
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.
For teams that want to fix accessibility rather than overlay it, the alternative is an audit tool. Loupe runs the axe-core engine on any page, highlights each failing element in place with its WCAG success criterion and a plain-English fix, and exports a white-label PDF report for clients (Agency plan). Scanning is free in Chrome and Edge; Pro is $14/mo, Agency $39/mo.
Yes. UserWay, founded in 2016, was acquired by enterprise digital-accessibility vendor Level Access in March 2024, in a deal reported at $98.7 million. Its widget is now part of a larger enterprise accessibility platform, which is worth factoring in if you are a freelancer or small agency evaluating it.
An overlay cannot deliver conformance on its own, because it does not change your underlying markup. Heading order, form labels and meaningful alt text all live in the HTML and are exactly what an auditor or a screen-reader user encounters. Accessibility professionals broadly agree that widgets are not a substitute for fixing the source.
The script stops loading and the site returns to exactly the state it was in before. That is the core difference with an audit-and-fix approach: corrections you make in your own code are permanent, get reviewed like any other change, and cost nothing to keep.
Each vendor sells a slightly different package, so the switch looks a little different depending on which one you are on: