Tool · Accessibility
Scan any public webpage or your entire website against WCAG 2.0, 2.1, and 2.2 (Level A and AA) using the open-source axe-core engine. Free, no signup for single-page scans. Built by accessibility engineers — not an overlay.
Web accessibility used to be a "nice to have." It is now a legal and commercial requirement for any business operating online:
Most websites fail WCAG without realising it. Color contrast misses, missing form labels, broken ARIA, and unkeyboardable widgets are the most common — and the most often cited in lawsuits. This tool catches them in seconds.
Run a scan below ↓ — it's free, takes 15 seconds for a single page, and requires no signup.
Enter a URL and choose the WCAG version to see accessibility findings.
Why this scanner
There are dozens of WCAG scanners on the web. Most fall into one of two buckets: paid SaaS that charges per scan, or overlay widgets that don't actually fix anything. We built this one because we needed a tool we could trust ourselves and recommend to clients.
Free
A single-page scan is free and requires no email. A full-site scan (up to 50 pages) is free with name + work email so we can deliver the report. There is no paid tier, no upsell — the tool is operated by OST as a public service.
Engine
axe-core is the open-source rules engine maintained by Deque Systems and used by Microsoft Accessibility Insights, Chrome DevTools' Lighthouse, and most professional accessibility freelancers. We do not add proprietary rules. You get the same automated findings a professional auditor's axe-core run would show. A full audit adds manual testing on top.
Real browser
Every scan loads the page in a real Chromium browser via Playwright. We see what the user sees — including JavaScript-rendered content, single-page-app routes, and dynamic ARIA states. Most free scanners can't do this.
Honest
Industry consensus: automated tools catch 30-40% of WCAG issues. We say that on the report and we tell you what still needs a human review. No false "100% compliant" badges.
Coverage
Most free scanners only test WCAG 2.0 or 2.1. We test the latest 2.2 success criteria too (target size, focus appearance, dragging movements, redundant entry, accessible authentication).
No overlay
OST does not use accessiBe, UserWay, EqualWeb, AudioEye, or any "one-line script that makes your site accessible." The accessibility community has been clear (see the Overlay Fact Sheet at overlayfactsheet.com, signed by 800+ practitioners) that overlays do not fix underlying WCAG violations. We removed accessiBe from our own site once we built this tool.
US engineering firm
OST has 14 years of public-sector and enterprise web experience including dozens of Section 508 audits. The tool is documented with a published VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template).
Privacy
Full-site reports are deleted after 7 days. Single-page scans need no signup. We never sell your data. Cloudflare Turnstile protects the tool from abuse. See the table below for exactly what we keep.
Methodology
1. Paste any public URL into the form above. The URL must be reachable from the public internet — pages behind a VPN, basic-auth, or login wall can't be scanned by an automated tool.
2. Choose Single page or Entire website.
3. Pick the WCAG version and conformance level. Most US businesses target WCAG 2.1 Level AA. EU EAA targets WCAG 2.1 AA. Federal government Section 508 maps to WCAG 2.0 AA. WCAG 2.2 (released October 2023) adds 9 new success criteria — most modern teams should test against it.
4. Click Scan. Single-page scans complete in about 15 seconds. Full-site scans take 5-15 minutes depending on the number of pages discovered.
5. Read the report. You get:
Single-page reports stay in the browser and disappear when you close the tab. Full-site reports stay at the private URL we email you for 7 days, then are deleted automatically.
The underlying rule engine is axe-core by Deque Systems — the most widely used open-source accessibility rule set, embedded in Microsoft Accessibility Insights, Chrome DevTools (Lighthouse), and Firefox DevTools. It's the de-facto industry standard for automated WCAG testing.
Automated accessibility scanners catch roughly 30-40% of WCAG issues. That's industry consensus, not a limitation of this tool. Every automated scanner — including paid tools — has the same ceiling.
If you're responding to an ADA demand letter, preparing a Section 508 procurement package, or producing a VPAT, combine the automated scan with a manual expert audit. Schedule a 60-minute discovery call — we can deliver a full WCAG 2.2 AA conformance audit in two to four weeks, with remediation if needed.
Yes. Single-page scans are free and require no signup. Full-site scans (up to 50 pages) are free in exchange for your name and work email so we can email you the report. There is no paid tier or upsell — the tool is operated by OST as a public service and as a demonstration of the accessibility services we offer to clients.
WCAG 2.0 was published in 2008 and is what Section 508 (US federal) maps to. WCAG 2.1 was published in 2018, adding 17 new success criteria focused on mobile and cognitive accessibility — this is what ADA Title III and the EU EAA target. WCAG 2.2 was published in October 2023, adding 9 more criteria (mostly around target size, focus, and authentication). Most modern projects should target 2.2 AA.
No, and no tool can. Automated scanners catch 30-40% of WCAG issues. The rest requires a human accessibility audit. If anyone — vendor or product — claims their tool makes your site "fully compliant" or "ADA proof," walk away. That's overlay-style marketing, and the courts have not accepted it as a defense.
All four are excellent and use overlapping technology. WAVE (WebAIM) is great for in-browser visual feedback. axe DevTools (Deque) is the gold standard browser extension and uses the same axe-core engine we do. Accessibility Insights (Microsoft) is best for guided assessment workflows. Our tool's edge: it runs in the cloud (no install), scans a full site at once, and gives you an emailed hosted report you can share with your team. For developers spot-checking single elements, use axe DevTools in your browser. For site-wide triage and shareable reports, use this tool.
Single-page results are kept on our scanner for 30 minutes, then removed. Full-site reports are hosted at a private link for 7 days, then deleted automatically. If you ran a full-site scan, your name, email and scanned URL are kept in our CRM (HubSpot) until you ask us to remove them (write to [email protected]). We do not sell your data.
OST employs accessibility specialists. For projects requiring a CPACC/WAS-credentialed lead reviewer, we engage IAAP-certified partners. Ask us about your specific procurement requirements.
Mostly yes. Overlays modify the rendered DOM at runtime, so an automated scan captures the post-overlay state — meaning some issues the overlay "patches" cosmetically (color contrast, font size) may appear fixed in the scan. But structural violations (semantic HTML, ARIA roles, keyboard order, form labels) remain visible. If your scan looks "clean" but your site has an overlay, run a second scan with the overlay script blocked (browser DevTools → Network → block the overlay URL) to see what's actually underneath. See the Overlay Fact Sheet (overlayfactsheet.com) for why this matters.
WCAG 3.0 (provisionally named the W3C Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG 3) is in early development. It's a multi-year effort to rethink accessibility scoring beyond pass/fail. There's no published timeline for it becoming a legal standard. Continue targeting WCAG 2.2 AA — that's what regulators and courts will use through at least the late 2020s.
Not currently. If you need API access or a white-label embed for client work, write to [email protected] — we may build this if there's demand from agency partners.
The tool's own accessibility is documented in our published VPAT 2.5 (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template). The tool's UI was scanned with axe-core and returned zero violations against WCAG 2.2 AA at the time of writing. An independent IAAP-certified audit is planned, and we will publish the results when it is complete.
Both, usually. axe-core (us, axe DevTools, Lighthouse, Accessibility Insights) and WAVE/Pa11y use different rule sets and severity scales. A result that one tool flags as 'Serious' might be 'Best Practice' in another. The underlying WCAG criterion is what matters. If two tools disagree on whether something is a violation, read the criterion text on the W3C WCAG Quick Reference (w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/quickref/) and make a judgment call — or contact us.
When you run a scan:
| Data | What we store | How long |
|---|---|---|
| The URL you scanned | Stored with the report | 7 days (full-site reports); single-page results are kept on our scanner for 30 minutes, then removed |
| The scan results (score, violations, failing elements) | Stored with the report | 7 days, then deleted automatically |
| Your name and email (full-site mode only) | Stored in our CRM | Until you ask us to delete it (write to [email protected]) |
| The IP address that submitted the request | Used for rate-limiting, and recorded in standard server logs | Rate-limit data clears after 1 hour; server logs follow our normal log retention |
We do not sell your data. If you request a full-site report, your name, email and the scanned URL are added to our CRM (HubSpot) so we can follow up, and the report is sent through our email provider (AWS SES). Like the rest of our site, this page uses Google Analytics, Google Ads, Microsoft Clarity and HubSpot to measure visits; see our privacy policy.
The Cloudflare Turnstile challenge protects the tool from automated abuse — it does not track you across sites.
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Cost to run a single-page scan | Free, no signup |
| Cost to run a full-site scan (up to 50 pages) | Free, lead-gated (name + work email) |
| API access | Not currently offered — contact us if you need it |
| White-label or embed | Not currently offered — contact us if you need it |
| Underlying engine | axe-core, MPL 2.0 license (open-source) |
| Per-IP rate limit | 10 scans/hour (preventing abuse, not normal use) |
The tool itself is not open-source. It is operated and supported by Opensource Technologies as a free public service and a demonstration of the accessibility services we offer to clients.
Questions, feedback, or partnership requests: [email protected]
Automated scan, keyboard testing, screen reader review, remediation plan, and executive-ready issue summary. 60 minutes, includes a written report.
