ClearA11y vs WAVE: Comparing Web Accessibility Testing Tools

WAVE is great for quick spot-checks. It's free, it's fast, and it highlights issues right on the page. If you just need to see what's wrong, WAVE does the job.

ClearA11y does something different. It's less about one-off scans and more about tracking accessibility over time. Think of it as an accessibility log—a record of what you scanned, when, what you found, and what changed.

Different Tools, Different Jobs

WAVE's Strengths

WAVE is completely free with no limits. The browser extension works on any page, including stuff behind logins. And the visual overlay—icons right on the page showing where issues are—makes it easy to understand problems in context.

It's been around since 1999, built by WebAIM, and accessibility professionals trust it. For quick "is this page broken?" checks, it's hard to beat.

Where ClearA11y Differs

It's Built Around Ongoing Tracking

WAVE gives you a snapshot. ClearA11y gives you a timeline.

Every scan gets stored. The history page for any domain shows all past scans with what changed between them—how many issues got fixed, how many new ones appeared. Over weeks and months, this builds into a record of actual progress.

This matters for compliance. One scan proves nothing. A history of regular scans with improving results shows genuine effort.

Projects Keep Things Organized

Scans can be grouped into projects. An agency might have one project per client. A dev team might have one per product. Each project tracks its own scan history and issue counts.

The free tier includes 1 project. Pro gets 5. Agency plans have no limit.

Scheduled Scans Run Automatically

Set up a weekly or monthly scan and forget about it. ClearA11y runs the scan on schedule and stores the results. Good for catching regressions before they pile up.

Free accounts get 1 scheduled scan. Pro gets 5. Agency gets unlimited.

Webhooks Push Results to Your Tools

On Agency plans, projects can have a webhook URL. When any scan completes, ClearA11y sends a POST request with the results—issue counts, what's new, what's fixed. Useful for piping into Slack, ticketing systems, or dashboards.

AI Generates Actual Code Fixes

WAVE says "image missing alt text." ClearA11y says the same thing, then shows fixed code:

<!-- Before -->
<img src="hero.jpg">

<!-- After -->
<img src="hero.jpg" alt="Team members reviewing wireframes at a whiteboard">

The AI looks at the image filename, surrounding content, and page context to suggest relevant alt text—not just "describe your image here."

Blockchain Certification Creates Proof

Pro and Agency scans can be certified on the Hedera blockchain. This creates a tamper-proof, timestamped record that anyone can verify. The scan happened on this date, with these results, and nobody—not even ClearA11y—can change that record after the fact.

This matters when someone asks "prove you were testing accessibility in March." A PDF can be faked. A blockchain record can't.

When to Use Which

Use WAVE when:

Use ClearA11y when:

Using both makes sense. WAVE for quick in-browser checks during development. ClearA11y for scheduled monitoring and documentation.

Neither Tool Catches Everything

Automated scanners find maybe 30-50% of real accessibility issues. Keyboard flow, screen reader experience, cognitive load—these need human testing. Any tool that claims 100% coverage is lying.

Use automated scans as a first pass. They catch the obvious stuff consistently. But don't skip manual testing.

Try It

ClearA11y has a free tier—3 scans, 1 project, 1 scheduled scan. Enough to see how the tracking and reporting works.

Already using WAVE? Keep using it. Add ClearA11y when you need documentation, scheduling, or client-ready reports.

Run a free scan and see what an accessibility log looks like.