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QA Proof vs axe DevTools

An axe DevTools alternative for people who don't live in DevTools

axe is the engine developers trust for accessibility testing in the browser and in CI — and for that job it's the right choice. QA Proof is for everyone else on the project: paste a URL, get a hosted WCAG audit and a report a client can read, with the fix details a developer needs. No extension, no test code.

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TL;DR

axe DevTools, built on Deque's open-source axe-core engine, is the industry-standard accessibility tool for developers: it runs in browser DevTools and inside automated tests and CI pipelines. QA Proof is an alternative for people who don't work in DevTools — agency project managers, designers, site owners and WordPress teams. You paste a URL or use the WordPress plugin, and a hosted WCAG 2.1 audit returns a 0–100 score, issues ranked by severity with the WCAG criterion, CSS selector and HTML snippet, and a PDF report to share. There is nothing to install, but also no CI integration. You can try it on any public page with QA Proof's free, no-signup accessibility checker.

Developer tools assume a developer is running them

On most agency projects the person asked "is this site accessible?" is not the person with DevTools open. Account managers need a score and a report for the client, designers need to see which colours fail, and site owners need to know what to prioritise. QA Proof gives them a hosted audit they can run themselves — and still hands developers the selector and code snippet for every issue.

axe DevTools vs QA Proof, honestly

If you want accessibility checks inside your test suite and pull requests, use axe. If you want no-install audits of live pages with reports non-developers can read, that's QA Proof. Plenty of teams use both.

Feature axe DevTools (Deque) QA Proof
Built for Developers and QA engineers Agencies, site owners, designers and project managers — and the developers who fix the issues
Where it runs Browser DevTools extension; the axe-core library inside your automated tests Hosted cloud: dashboard, free WordPress plugin or REST API — nothing to install
Rule engine axe-core — open source and widely adopted; it also powers the accessibility audit in Google Lighthouse QA Proof’s own rule engine run in a real browser, plus an AI summary and recommendations
Price axe-core is free; the extension has a free version, with advanced features in paid plans Free no-signup checker; paid plans from $29/month
CI / pull-request checks Yes — works with test frameworks such as Playwright, Cypress, Selenium and Jest No CI integration; REST API for custom scripts
Guided manual testing Yes, in paid plans (Intelligent Guided Tests) No
Pages behind login, local dev Yes No — public pages only
How results read Rule, impact, affected element and remediation guidance in DevTools 0–100 score, severity, WCAG criterion, CSS selector, HTML snippet and screenshot markers
Sharing with clients Developer-oriented output; enterprise reporting is a separate Deque product PDF report to download or email, with saved test history
WordPress Test it like any other site Free plugin on wordpress.org runs audits from wp-admin

How a QA Proof accessibility audit works

1

Paste a URL

From the dashboard, the free WordPress plugin, or the REST API. No extension, no test code, no pipeline.

2

Pick a WCAG level

Audit against WCAG 2.1 Level A, AA or AAA. The page loads in a real browser and results arrive in a few minutes.

3

Read, fix, share

A 0–100 score and plain-language findings for the client; the criterion, selector and snippet for the developer. Export as PDF.

Which one fits your workflow?

axe DevTools is the right choice when…

  • Developers want to catch accessibility bugs while building, right in the browser
  • You want automated accessibility tests that run in CI and block a pull request
  • You're testing pages behind a login or on a local development server
  • You want guided manual testing for the criteria automation can't judge

QA Proof fits better when…

  • The people running checks are not developers and don't want to install anything
  • You need a client-ready deliverable: a 0–100 score, findings in plain language and a PDF
  • You audit live pages across many client sites and want the history in one dashboard
  • You run WordPress sites and want audits from wp-admin with the free plugin
  • You also want visual regression monitoring and Figma design checks in the same tool

An honest note: automation is the first pass, not the whole audit

axe and QA Proof both find measurable problems such as low contrast, missing form labels and invalid ARIA. Neither can judge whether alt text is meaningful or whether a complex widget works with a keyboard and a screen reader. Run an automated audit first, fix what it finds, then test your key user journeys manually. No automated result — from any tool — certifies WCAG conformance.

Common questions

No. QA Proof runs its own rule engine in a real browser, then adds an AI summary, category scores and recommendations. That means results will not match axe rule for rule — each engine flags some things the other does not. If your team already relies on axe-core in its test suite, keep it; QA Proof is designed to sit alongside it for the people who do not work in DevTools.
No — there is no CI/CD integration, no pull-request checks and no build gating. If you want accessibility checks to block a merge, axe-core inside your Playwright, Cypress, Selenium or Jest tests is the right tool. QA Proof does have a REST API with API keys, so you can trigger audits of live URLs from your own scripts.
The axe-core engine is open source (MPL 2.0) and free to use in your own tests. The axe DevTools browser extension has a free version; Deque’s paid plans add capabilities such as Intelligent Guided Tests, and Deque sells enterprise products for site-wide monitoring. Check Deque’s website for current plans and pricing.
Agency project managers, designers, site owners and WordPress teams who need to know where a page stands and what to fix, without installing a browser extension or reading DevTools output. Reports are scored 0–100 with plain-language findings, but every issue still carries the WCAG criterion, CSS selector and HTML snippet, so the developer who fixes it has what they need.
No automated tool will — including axe. Automated rules reliably catch measurable problems such as contrast, missing labels, invalid ARIA and heading structure. Criteria that need human judgement, like meaningful alt text, keyboard operation of complex widgets and screen-reader announcements, still need manual testing. Treat any automated audit as the first pass, not a compliance certificate.
The free accessibility checker needs no account and shows the score, severity breakdown and top issues for one page. A free account includes 10 AI generations as a one-time trial, with no credit card. Paid plans: Pro $29/month (100 AI generations), Business $79/month (300) and Scale $199/month (1,000). Annual billing is 20% off, with a 14-day money-back guarantee on annual plans.

Also looking at WebAIM's tool? See the WAVE comparison or our guide to the best WCAG checkers for agencies. More on the QA Proof accessibility audit.

Run an audit without installing anything

The free checker needs no account and usually takes 1–2 minutes. Create a free account for the full report and PDF.

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