An axe DevTools alternative

axe DevTools, from Deque, is the in-browser developer extension built on axe-core. It is a great tool, and this scanner uses the same axe-core engine, so for raw rule coverage the results are comparable. The difference is not the rules, it is how you run them and what you get back.

axe DevTools lives in your browser DevTools panel, which is ideal while you are actively building a component. This is a hosted scan: you paste a URL (or any public page) and get a report without opening DevTools, installing anything, or being the person with the code checked out.

• Share a result without a login. The report is a public link, so you can hand it to a client, a manager, or a contractor who does not use DevTools.
• Gate a build. The CLI and GitHub Action fail your pipeline when a new violation lands, so accessibility cannot silently regress between releases.
• Resolve gradient contrast. When text sits on a CSS gradient, axe marks colour-contrast as "needs review". This measures the worst-case stop and returns a real pass or fail instead.
• Hand it to an AI agent. An MCP server lets a coding agent scan a page and act on the findings.

axe DevTools Pro adds guided testing and intelligent rules inside the browser, on a paid plan. If that in-editor workflow is what you want, it is a strong choice. If you want a URL-in, report-out tool plus CI and sharing, this fits.

Both tools run automated checks, which cover the machine-checkable part of WCAG and not the whole thing. This scanner says so plainly and flags what still needs a human, rather than implying full coverage. Automated testing is the fast first pass, not the finish line.