IBM Equal Access Toolkit vs axe DevTools

Free and open source

From $40 per user/month (indicative, Pro)

Free and open source. You pay in engineering time and CI minutes.

Free extension covers a lot. Pro adds guided manual testing; enterprise plans are quote-based.

Everything, self-hosted

Free browser extension with the core axe-core rule set.

Emerging

IBM · since 2020

Widely used

Deque Systems · since 2015

• Completely free including CI integration and reporting.
• Guidance is written for developers with concrete code examples.
• Includes design and content guidance beyond the code checker.

• Guided manual testing addresses the two thirds of WCAG that scanners cannot.
• Findings come with concrete code-level remediation advice.
• Deque's accessibility expertise is the deepest in the industry.

• Smaller community than axe-core, so fewer worked examples.
• Reporting is basic compared with commercial platforms.
• Rule set differs slightly from axe, which can confuse cross-tool comparisons.

• Per-seat pricing adds up across a large engineering organisation.
• The free extension is good enough for many teams, blurring the upgrade case.
• Enterprise deployment needs process design, not just a licence.

Teams wanting a free, well-documented alternative or complement to axe.

Organisations with a formal accessibility programme and compliance obligations.