Introduction

With 2,019 digital accessibility lawsuits filed in the first half of 2025, this year is on track to set a new record, surpassing all previous annual totals.

Organizations need robust testing strategies to avoid costly litigation and ensure their digital products are genuinely usable by people with disabilities.

Here's the reality: no single accessibility testing tool can catch everything. Even the most advanced automated solutions detect only 20-50% of WCAG issues. The remaining barriers require human judgment, manual testing, and validation with real users who have disabilities.

This guide covers 15 essential accessibility testing tools across various categories, including their strengths and limitations.

5 Steps to Finding the Right Accessibility Testing Tools

1. Define your testing goals‍

Decide whether your priority is compliance, usability improvements, or both. Clear goals help narrow down the right set of tools.

2. Match with workflows‍

Pick tools that integrate with your existing development and QA pipelines. Smooth fit ensures your team actually uses them consistently.

3. Balance automation and manual checks‍

Automation speeds up detection of common issues, but manual reviews catch real-world usability gaps. A good mix gives full coverage.

4. Verify standards support‍

Make sure the tools align with the accessibility guidelines you must follow, such as WCAG or Section 508. This keeps your product legally and ethically sound.

5. Evaluate ease of use and reporting‍

Select tools that are easy to adopt, offer clear insights, and enable reports to be shared across teams for faster action.

List of Accessibility Testing Tools for Software Applications

Enterprise Platforms

1. HeadSpin‍

HeadSpin integrates accessibility testing directly into functional and performance test flows. It scans critical user journeys on real devices to identify accessibility issues and ensure compliance with WCAG 2.1 AA standards. This makes it valuable for enterprises that want accessibility checks to be part of their end-to-end testing strategy instead of an isolated step.

Key features:

• Automated accessibility scans as part of CUJs
• Real-device testing across devices and OS versions
• Actionable reports with issue details and fixes
• WCAG 2.1 AA compliance validation

2. Level Access‍

Level Access provides an enterprise-grade platform that helps organizations build, monitor, and maintain digital accessibility. It combines automated scans, manual testing, training resources, and compliance management. This makes it particularly suited for large teams that need to meet strict accessibility standards at scale.

Key features:

• Accessibility audits with automated and manual reviews
• Centralized compliance management
• Training and resources for developers and designers
• Continuous monitoring and governance
  

3. IBM Equal Access Accessibility Checker‍

IBM’s tool works as both a standalone checker and an integrated part of enterprise workflows. It validates web applications against WCAG and provides detailed guidance for fixing issues. IBM also offers broader accessibility consulting and governance support for large organizations.

Key features:

• WCAG-based automated scanning
• Integrations with CI/CD pipelines
• Developer guidance with remediation steps
• Enterprise support for compliance programs

Automated Scanners

4. WAVE (Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool)‍

WAVE helps teams quickly identify accessibility issues by overlaying icons and indicators on the tested webpage. Its visual reporting approach makes it a great tool for developers, designers, and content editors who need clear, non-technical feedback.

Key features:

• Visual feedback with icons on web pages
• Detection of structural and content-level issues
• Browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox
• API access for batch testing
  

5. Tenon‍

Tenon provides an API-first approach to accessibility testing, enabling teams to integrate accessibility checks into existing development and QA workflows. It emphasizes flexibility and automation, making it a strong fit for teams running frequent code changes.

Key features:

• REST API for automated testing
• Custom rule sets for project needs
• Integration with CI/CD and DevOps pipelines
• Detailed reports with fix recommendations
  

6. Siteimprove Accessibility Checker‍

Siteimprove offers a Chrome extension that provides in-browser accessibility analysis. It highlights issues on live web pages and offers step-by-step guidance to resolve them. For enterprises, Siteimprove also ties accessibility into analytics, SEO, and compliance dashboards.

Key features:

• Chrome extension for quick scanning
• Visual overlay highlighting issues
• Prioritized recommendations for fixes
• Integration with Siteimprove’s broader platform
  

7. Accessibility Insights by Microsoft‍

Accessibility Insights is a free toolset from Microsoft for testing web, Windows, and Android applications. It supports fast automated checks as well as guided manual assessments, helping teams catch both obvious and subtle accessibility issues.

Key features:

• Fast automated tests for common issues
• Step-by-step manual testing guidance
• Available for web, Windows, and Android
• Open-source and actively maintained

8. Pa11y‍

Pa11y is an open-source accessibility testing tool that can be run from the command line or integrated into CI/CD pipelines. It’s a good option for development teams that want flexibility, automation, and customization without enterprise licensing.

Key features:

• Command-line accessibility testing
• Configurable to run on single pages or large sites
• Integrates with CI/CD workflows
• Generates reports for quick review
  

9. SortSite‍

SortSite is a one-click website testing tool that scans for accessibility, usability, SEO, and broken links. Its accessibility checks cover WCAG and Section 508 standards, making it a good fit for teams that want a broad website QA tool with accessibility included.

Key features:

• Full-site scanning in a single run
• Accessibility checks alongside SEO and usability
• Works across browsers and platforms
• Detailed reports for compliance audits

Screen Readers & Simulation Tools

10. NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access)‍

NVDA is a free, open-source Windows screen reader used worldwide by people with visual impairments. It allows developers and QA teams to test how well their applications and websites work with screen readers, ensuring compatibility with real-world assistive technology.

Key features:

• Free and open-source
• Supports multiple languages and braille displays
• Frequent updates and community support
• Runs on Windows desktop and web apps
  

11. JAWS (Job Access With Speech)‍

JAWS is one of the most widely used commercial screen readers, particularly in enterprise and government settings. Testing with JAWS helps ensure accessibility for users who rely on its advanced navigation and customization features.

Key features:

• Robust support for Windows apps and browsers
• Custom scripts for advanced accessibility testing
• Strong support for Braille displays
• Widely adopted in professional environments

12. Color Oracle‍

Color Oracle is a color blindness simulator that lets designers preview how graphics and interfaces appear to users with different types of color vision deficiencies. It ensures that visual content remains accessible to all users.

Key features:

• Real-time simulation of color blindness types
• Works across operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux)
• Simple UI for designers and developers
  Helps ensure accessible color choices in design
  

13. Funkify‍

Funkify is a Chrome extension that simulates a wide range of disabilities, including dyslexia, vision impairments, motor challenges, and more. It helps developers and designers experience digital products from the perspective of users with different accessibility needs.

Key features:

• Simulates multiple disability experiences
• Easy-to-use Chrome extension
• Useful for empathy-driven design testing
• Complements automated scanning tools

Design & Audit Tools

14. tota11y‍

tota11y is an accessibility visualization toolkit developed by Khan Academy. It overlays visual indicators on web pages, showing common accessibility issues in real time. It’s particularly useful during early design and development to catch problems before launch.

Key features:

• Browser-based visualization of issues
• Highlights headings, landmarks, labels, and contrasts
• Lightweight and developer-friendly
• Works directly on live web pages
  

15. Silktide‍

Silktide is a website governance platform that includes accessibility testing as part of a broader suite for analytics, SEO, and content management. It helps organizations track accessibility across large websites and provides training resources for improvement.

Key features:

• Automated website-wide accessibility scanning
• WCAG compliance monitoring
• Dashboards for enterprise reporting
• Training and support for accessibility programs

Wrapping Up

As we move forward, it is important to remember that accessibility is about making the digital world open, usable, and empowering for everyone, regardless of their abilities. The real question for engineers is whether they can afford to avoid comprehensive accessibility testing.

Deliver accessible user journeys with HeadSpin Accessibility Testing. Connect With Experts!

FAQs

Q1. What's the biggest mistake teams make when starting accessibility testing? 

Ans: The biggest mistake is treating accessibility as a final checklist before launch. This "last-minute" approach leads to costly delays and extensive rework. The most effective strategy is to integrate accessibility testing throughout the development process, from design to deployment.

Q2. How often should we run accessibility tests during development? 

Ans: Accessibility testing should be a continuous part of the development cycle, including running automated scans with every code commit. Teams should also conduct manual testing during sprints to evaluate complex interactions that automated tools miss.

A comprehensive audit should be performed before every major release to ensure the product is fully compliant.

Q3. Do we need separate accessibility testing tools for mobile apps? 

Ans: Yes. Web tools can't evaluate native mobile apps. You need platform-specific tools: Xcode's Accessibility Inspector for iOS and Accessibility Scanner for Android. These tools handle mobile-specific features like touch targets and platform screen readers.