Different types of accessibility testing tools

Here is a wide range of accessibility testing tools that can be used to identify and address accessibility issues.

Automated accessibility platforms

These are large-scale tools that allow multiple users to perform checks across a webpage.

Browser extensions

These tools allow us to check aspects of accessibility directly in the browsers.

Lighthouse (Installed as part of Chrome)
axe DevTools (Chrome, Firefox or Edge)
Accessibility Insights for Web (Chrome or Edge)
Wave Evaluation Tool (Chrome, Firefox or Edge)
Web Developer extension (Chrome, Firefox or Opera)
ARC Toolkit (Chrome, Firefox, Edge)
Tota11y: Accessibility toolkit (Firefox)

Bookmarklets

Simple tests that allow us to test individual accessibility issues.

Colour contrast tools

These tools are focused on testing colour contrast.

Colour Contrast Analyzer (CCA) (Mac, Windows)
WebAIM Color Contrast Checker (Web)
Stark (Figma and Sketch plugins)

Automated mobile tools

These tools provide automated testing for accessibility on mobile devices.

Content testing tools

These tools will test readability levels of written content.

Screen readers

These are the most commonly used screen readers across desktop and mobile devices.

JAWS - Job Access With Speech (Windows)
NVDA - NonVisual Desktop Access (Windows)
VoiceOver (MacOS and iOS)
TalkBack (Android)

Screen magnification and low vision tools

ZoomText
Windows Magnifier
macOS Zoom
Browser zoom

Accessibility inspection tools

Chrome DevTools Accessibility pane
Firefox Accessibility Inspector
Safari Accessibility Inspector

Content testing tools