Accessibility Testing Tools

This page contains a list of tools that support accessibility testing. Unless otherwise noted, these tools are all free to use. These are the tools recommended and/or used by the ICT Accessibility Program, you may use alternate tools if you prefer. 

Automated Testing Tools

Services that run on one or more pages and generate a list of potential accessibility violations. This is a good starting point for accessibility testing, but note that automated tests are never sufficient by themselves. Some accessibility criteria require manual review.

Siteimprove - Siteimprove is a Chrome browser extension that generates a list of accessibility issues on the current page. It displays these results in a sidebar, and can filter results by standard (WCAG 2.0 or 2.1) and by conformance level (A, AA, AAA). Siteimprove also offers a premium software package that will test entire domains at once. 

WAVE - Developed by WebAIM, the WAVE browser extension is available or both FireFox and Chrome, and generates a list of accessibility issues on the current page. It offers the same filtering options as Siteimprove. The primary difference is that WAVE adds icons on the page where the referenced accessibility issues are found.

Native Browser Accessibility tools

Many modern browsers now include built-in accessibility tools. The services vary by browser and are regularly updated. Like third-party automated testing tools, these are useful primarily as a first-pass.

Chrome Lighthouse Accessibility Testing

Firefox Accessibility Inspector

Microsoft DevTools Accessibility Tab

Color Contrast

Tools to verify sufficient contrast between adjacent elements or between text and backgrounds.

Colour Contrast Analyzer - A desktop application for Windows and Mac that tests for color contrast per WCAG 2.1 guidelines. It tests color contrast against all valid CSS syntax including hexadecimal values and RGB values. It also includes an eyedropper tool to grab colors off the screen.

WebAIM Color Contrast - A web-based WebAIM tool for testing the contrast of two colors. It tells you the numeric color contrast between two colors, and if it conforms with different WCAG standards. It only uses hexadecimal values, so it requires conversion if your website implements CSS colors using alternate formats, but has the added convenience of being wholly browser-based.

ColorZilla - A Chrome and Firefox browser extension for analyzing color contrast, including an eyedropper tool. 

Screen Readers

These tools are used by visually impaired persons to read page text, including alt text, using synthesized speech. These tools generally have a steeper learning curve than other accessibility tools, and are not necessary for most self-evaluations. Some common screen reader programs are:

NVDA - Desktop application for Windows computers. NVDA is a free, open-source screen reader that has grown steadily in popularity to now become the most widely used screen reader application. 

JAWS (paid) - Desktop application for Windows computers. JAWS was previously the biggest provider of screen reader software, and is a highly customizeable and full-featured application that requires a licensing fee to operate. 

VoiceOver - Screen reader built into Mac computers as of Sierra version, the most widely used screen reader for macOS. 

ChromeVox - A Chrome browser extension that performs rudimentary screen reader operations. ChromeVox is a lower-barrier option for sighted users who might be interested in understanding how screen readers operate, but should not be used to verify full screen reader functionality for people who utilize this technology.