An axe DevTools alternative

axe DevTools is Deque's browser extension for Chrome, Edge and Firefox, built on axe-core, the engine Deque maintains as open source. The free extension runs the automated rules in a DevTools panel. The paid Pro tier adds Intelligent Guided Tests, which walk you through checks a machine cannot settle alone.

This scanner runs axe-core too, so on the automated rules the two agree. The difference is that nothing runs in your browser. You paste a URL, and the scan happens on our side, which means someone without the code checked out, or without DevTools open, can still run it and read the result.

• Contrast axe leaves unresolved. Text on a gradient, a background photo or a translucent scrim comes back from axe as "needs review". We sample those backgrounds and return a measured pass or fail. The method is in resolving contrast over CSS gradients.
• Focus-state contrast. axe has no rule that focuses a control and measures it. We tab to each control and check whether its text stays readable, which catches buttons that vanish on focus.
• A report without a login. Every scan is a link, so a client or project manager can read it.
• Before and after. Two scans of the same page can be compared, showing which issues were fixed and which are new.

If you are building a component and want feedback in the browser while you work, the extension is closer to hand. If you want guided manual testing inside the same tool, that is what Pro is for, and we do not offer an equivalent. Deque also sells axe Monitor for scanning whole sites on a schedule, aimed at larger organisations.

Either way, automated rules cover only part of WCAG. Keyboard operation, focus order and whether alt text makes sense still need a person.