WCAG Audit vs Deque axe DevTools
Deque invented axe-core. We built everything around it that Deque didn't — screen-reader walkthroughs, AI vision review, 7 output formats, a CLI with framework discovery, and CI/CD gating.
The core difference
WCAG Audit (recommended)
Same axe-core engine PLUS 11 more checkers. Real VoiceOver walkthrough. AI vision review by Claude, included on every paid plan. 7 output formats including Excel with screenshots. CLI with automatic framework discovery. GitHub Action for CI/CD gating. $9-99/mo.
Deque axe DevTools (limited)
axe-core only. Browser extension only. No screen-reader testing. No AI vision review. No Excel export. No CLI for CI gating (paid add-on). In-browser results only. $40/seat/month.
"axe-core is open source and catches ~30% of accessibility issues. WCAG Audit starts where axe stops — adding keyboard testing, viewport reflow, motion detection, form validation, pointer gestures, and real screen-reader walkthroughs to cover the other 70%."
Feature-by-feature comparison
| Feature | WCAG Audit (recommended) | Deque axe DevTools |
|---|---|---|
| axe-core engine | Yes (same engine) | Yes (they created it) |
| Additional checkers | +11 (keyboard, viewport, forms, motion, etc.) | axe-core only |
| Screen-reader testing | Real VoiceOver/NVDA | No |
| AI vision review | Claude (included on paid plans) | No |
| CLI tool | Yes — curl -fsSL https://wcagaudit.io/install | bash -s -- <key> | No |
| CI/CD integration | GitHub Action + CLI | Paid add-on |
| Output formats | 7 formats | In-browser only |
| Excel reports | Yes, with screenshots | No |
| Authenticated scanning | Interactive Chrome login | Manual only |
| Price | $9-99/mo | $40/seat/mo |
| Self-hosted option | Yes | No |
| One-shot fix prompt | ✅ WCAG_FIXES.prompt.md — single-pass LLM-applicable fix | ❌ Report only; no fix output |
| Deterministic codemods (~60% auto-fix) | ✅ 10 built-in codemods auto-fix common WCAG rules without AI | ❌ Flags issues only; no automated remediation |
| Persistent false-positive memory | ✅ .wcag-audit/false-positives.json — dismiss once, gone forever | ❌ No false-positive registry |
| Exact source mapping (file:line) | ✅ @wcag-audit/next-plugin maps violations to exact file + line | ❌ Points at a CSS selector in rendered DOM |
What WCAG Audit tests that Deque doesn't
axe-core is a fantastic engine — we use it too. But it only covers the criteria that can be detected by static DOM analysis. WCAG Audit adds 11 checkers that go beyond what axe-core can do:
Keyboard navigation
Automated tab walk, focus order, focus visible, trap detection
Viewport reflow
Tests 320px-1280px breakpoints for content reflow and scrolling
Form validation
Error identification, labels, instructions, and input purpose
Motion & animation
Detects auto-playing content, parallax, and missing reduce-motion
Pointer gestures
Tests for single-pointer alternatives to multi-touch gestures
Screen-reader labels
Real VoiceOver/NVDA walkthrough, not just ARIA attribute checks
Timing & interruptions
Session timeouts, auto-refresh, and interruption handling
Consistent navigation
Cross-page navigation order and identification patterns
Error prevention
Legal, financial, and data submission reversibility
AI vision review
Claude reviews 13 visual criteria from screenshots (included on paid plans)
Start where axe-core stops
Install WCAG Audit for free. Same axe-core engine plus 11 additional checkers, real screen-reader testing, AI vision review, and a CLI for your CI/CD pipeline.
Need help? Book a demo