# IBM Equal Access Accessibility Checker vs Pa11y

| Attribute | IBM Equal Access Accessibility Checker | Pa11y |
|---|---|---|
| **Vioscale score** | 51.1 (28% (low)) | 44.9 (30% (low)) |
| activity.commits_last_30d | 52 | 3 |
| adoption.dependent_repos | 104 | 1,668 |
| adoption.github_stars | 772 | 4,490 |
| deployment.options | - | `{"cloud":true,"self_hosted":true}` |
| description.long | Equal Access Checker provides automated testing across multiple environments to help developers verify accessibility standards are met. It offers browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge, plus integration packages for Node, Cypress, and Java CI/CD workflows. | A suite of free and open-source tools for identifying and tracking accessibility issues on websites. Provides both automated testing via a web dashboard and command-line utilities for developers. |
| features.capabilities | - | `{"open_source":true,"scan_method":"automated-rules-engine","ci_cd_integration":true,"continuous_monitoring":true}` |
| integrations.count | 9 | - |
| integrations.list | `[{"name":"Chrome"},{"name":"Firefox"},{"name":"Edge"},{"name":"Node"},{"name":"Cypress"},{"name":"Java"},{"name":"GitHub"},{"name":"Sketch"},{"name":"Figma"}]` | - |
| language.primary | JavaScript | JavaScript |
| license.spdx | Apache-2.0 | LGPL-3.0 |
| platform.support | `{"cli":true,"web":true}` | `{"cli":true,"web":true,"linux":true}` |
| pricing | `{"type":"free","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://www.ibm.com/able/toolkit/tools/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-17T21:35:08.738Z"}` | `{"type":"open_source","summary":"Free and open source","freeTier":true,"sourceUrl":"https://pa11y.org/","retrievedAt":"2026-08-21T13:21:08.576Z"}` |
| pricing.free_tier | yes | yes |
| pricing.model | commercial | open_source |
| pricing.price_level | free | free |
| pricing.transparent | - | yes |
| release.cadence_days | 3 | 131 |
| release.history | `[{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.31","date":"2026-08-21T16:09:23Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.31"},{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.30","date":"2026-08-04T22:04:24Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.30"},{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.29","date":"2026-07-14T19:00:46Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.29"},{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.28","date":"2026-07-14T17:44:39Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.28"},{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.27","date":"2026-07-14T14:32:38Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.27"},{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.26","date":"2026-06-01T20:23:12Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.26"},{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.25","date":"2026-06-01T19:30:44Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.25"},{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.24","date":"2026-05-28T00:12:23Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.24"},{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.23","date":"2026-05-28T00:01:29Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.23"},{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.22","date":"2026-05-27T23:57:40Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.22"},{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.21","date":"2026-05-27T23:50:08Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.21"},{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.19","date":"2026-05-27T23:03:04Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.19"},{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.18","date":"2026-05-19T20:58:39Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.18"},{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.17","date":"2026-04-28T22:26:35Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.17"},{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.16","date":"2026-03-27T04:15:24Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.16"},{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.15","date":"2026-03-23T16:41:12Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.15"},{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.14","date":"2026-03-20T20:00:06Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.14"},{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.13","date":"2026-03-04T19:22:37Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.13"},{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.12","date":"2026-02-07T20:18:52Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.12"},{"url":"https://github.com/IBMa/equal-access/releases/tag/4.0.11","date":"2026-02-06T20:45:12Z","type":"stable","version":"4.0.11"}]` | `[{"url":"https://github.com/pa11y/pa11y/releases/tag/9.1.1","date":"2026-02-26T14:45:52Z","type":"stable","version":"9.1.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/pa11y/pa11y/releases/tag/9.1.0","date":"2026-02-03T18:13:04Z","type":"stable","version":"9.1.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pa11y/pa11y/releases/tag/9.0.1","date":"2025-09-25T13:56:19Z","type":"stable","version":"9.0.1"},{"url":"https://github.com/pa11y/pa11y/releases/tag/9.0.0","date":"2025-05-09T01:30:35Z","type":"stable","version":"9.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pa11y/pa11y/releases/tag/8.0.0","date":"2024-03-27T03:22:52Z","type":"stable","version":"8.0.0"},{"url":"https://github.com/pa11y/pa11y/releases/tag/7.0.0","date":"2024-01-16T06:42:20Z","type":"stable","version":"7.0.0"}]` |
| security.scorecard | - | 7.3 |
| security.vulnerabilities | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=accessibility-checker&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` | `{"count":0,"source":"https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=pa11y&per_page=100","last_12m":0,"max_severity":null}` |

## Capabilities (Accessibility Testing)

| Capability | IBM Equal Access Accessibility Checker | Pa11y |
|---|:--:|:--:|
| **Capabilities** |  |  |
| Scan method | - | Automated rules engine |
| Wcag level | - | - |
| Ci cd integration | - | ✓ |
| Browser extension | - | - |
| Design stage plugin | - | - |
| CMS plugins | - | - |
| Continuous monitoring | - | ✓ |
| Vpat acr generation | - | - |
| Manual audit service | - | - |
| Overlay widget | - | - |
| Document PDF testing | - | - |
| Open source | - | ✓ |

*Source: Vioscale. Generated 2026-09-01T16:34:08.808Z. "-" = undocumented, not absent.*