How Much Does an Accessibility Audit Cost in 2026?
How Much Does an Accessibility Audit Cost in 2026?
Short answer: a manual WCAG accessibility audit for a small website usually costs $1,000 to $3,000. Mid-size sites run $5,000 to $20,000, and large or enterprise audits can pass $20,000 to $50,000. The firms that publish their rates charge $100 to $350 per page, and most audits cover a sample of representative pages, not every URL.
Most accessibility vendors don't publish prices at all, which is why this question is so hard to answer. So instead of guessing, here's what the vendors who do publish actually charge, what moves the price up or down, and how to avoid paying for the wrong thing.
Every price below was checked on the vendor's own page in September 2026.
Published Accessibility Audit Prices
| Provider | How it's priced | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Accessible.org | Per page | $100 to $250 per main page, $25 to $100 per lighter page. Most audits land at $1,250 to $2,750 | Fully manual testing against WCAG 2.1 or 2.2 AA, with NVDA, JAWS and VoiceOver screen readers, keyboard testing and code review |
| DigitalA11Y | Per page or screen | $100 to $350 per web page (about $1,000 to $3,000 for a 10-page site); $150 to $250 per mobile screen | Automated scan plus manual testing, screen reader and keyboard checks, a report and 4 hours of consulting. Retests cost 50% of the audit fee |
| thefrontkit (us) | Fixed tiers by pages in scope | $499 (up to 5 pages), $2,400 (up to 12 plus a full user flow and a retest), $5,900 (up to 25, multiple flows, VPAT-ready documentation, two retests) | Automated scan plus manual keyboard and screen reader testing (NVDA and VoiceOver), a written report with fixes, and a walkthrough call |
| AudioEye | Not published | Its own cost guide puts manual audits at $1,500 to $5,000 for small sites, $5,000 to $20,000 for mid-size and $20,000 to $50,000+ for enterprise | Audits bundled with its managed plans |
| BoIA, Level Access, Deque, TPGi, Allyant, Siteimprove, WebAIM | Custom quote only | Not published | Typically enterprise-focused, often with ongoing monitoring |
Two things stand out. First, the published per-page rates cluster tightly at $100 to $350, so a small site with 5 to 15 key templates is a four-figure job, not five. Second, the enterprise vendors don't publish because their audits are usually part of annual platform contracts, which is a different purchase from a one-off audit.
What Drives the Cost of an Accessibility Audit
Pages or templates in scope. This is the biggest factor. A good auditor tests representative templates (your homepage, a product page, a blog post, the checkout) rather than thousands of near-identical URLs. A 2,000-page e-commerce site might only need 10 to 15 templates audited.
User flows. Testing a full journey (sign-up, checkout, booking) end to end with a screen reader takes much longer than checking pages one at a time, and it's where the most serious barriers usually hide. Expect flows to add meaningfully to the price.
Platforms. Desktop only is cheapest. Adding mobile web, touch gestures and mobile screen readers (VoiceOver on iOS, TalkBack on Android), or native apps, increases scope.
Standard. WCAG 2.1 AA is the usual baseline in the US. WCAG 2.2 AA adds a few criteria. Section 508 or EN 301 549 conformance reports add documentation work.
Retests. Some audits include one or two retests after your team fixes the issues. Others charge for them separately (DigitalA11Y, for example, charges 50% of the original fee).
Documentation. A VPAT or accessibility conformance report (ACR) usually costs extra. See the section below.
Deadline. Rush turnaround, for example when you're responding to a demand letter, often carries a fee. Accessible.org lists $250 to $750.
How Much Does a VPAT Cost?
A VPAT (Voluntary Product Accessibility Template) filled out for your product is called an accessibility conformance report, or ACR. Procurement teams in enterprise and government deals ask for one. Most vendors want a current audit first, since the report has to reflect real testing.
| Provider | VPAT / ACR price |
|---|---|
| Accessible.org | On top of an audit: WCAG edition $350, Section 508 $550, EN 301 549 $650, International $950 |
| DigitalA11Y | $1,000 to $3,000 (from $1,000 for WCAG 2.2 AA, $1,500 for Section 508, $2,000 for EN 301 549) |
| thefrontkit | VPAT-ready conformance documentation included in the $5,900 Compliance tier |
For more on what goes into one, see what a VPAT is.
Audit vs Automated Scan vs Overlay
These three get sold as if they're interchangeable. They aren't.
| Manual audit | Automated scanner | Overlay widget | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical cost | $1,000 to $3,000+ one-off for a small site | Free to about $400/month (Pope Tech's plans, for example) | About $450 to $4,000 a year (accessiBe, UserWay, Equally AI list plans in this range) |
| What it finds | Issues across all WCAG criteria, including keyboard, focus and screen reader problems | Only the issues a machine can detect | Nothing. It adds a toolbar on top of your site |
| Fixes anything? | No, it tells you what to fix | No | Claims to, but can't change your underlying code |
| Good for | Knowing where you stand, legal response, procurement | Catching regressions between audits | Not recommended |
How much do automated tools catch? Less than you'd hope. In a study of 2,000+ audits, Deque (which makes the axe scanner) found automated testing identified 57% of issues by volume. The UK Government Digital Service tested 13 tools against a page with 143 known barriers in 2017: the best single tool found 41%, and all tools combined found 71%. Either way, a meaningful share of problems (confusing focus order, unhelpful screen reader announcements, broken custom widgets) only show up when a person tests.
Why overlays aren't a shortcut. In April 2025 the US Federal Trade Commission finalized an order requiring accessiBe to pay $1 million and barring it from claiming its automated tools make websites WCAG-compliant without evidence. An overlay can't label your forms, fix your keyboard traps or restructure your headings.
A free scan is still a good first step. Run our free accessibility checker on your key pages to see the automated failures before you talk to any auditor.
Is an Accessibility Audit Worth the Cost?
For most businesses with real customers, yes, and the numbers explain why.
- Most sites fail. WebAIM's 2026 analysis of the top one million home pages found detectable WCAG failures on 95.9% of them, averaging 56.1 errors per page. The most common: low-contrast text (83.9% of pages), missing alt text (53.1%) and missing form labels (51%). See WebAIM Million.
- Lawsuits keep coming. UsableNet counted 5,114 digital accessibility lawsuits in 2025, across federal and New York and California state courts. Seyfarth Shaw counted 3,117 federal website accessibility cases in 2025, up 27% from 2,452 in 2024.
- Buyers ask. Enterprise procurement increasingly requires a VPAT, and the European Accessibility Act has applied to many consumer products and services, including e-commerce, since June 2025.
Compared with the cost of defending a demand letter or losing an enterprise deal, a $1,000 to $3,000 audit is small. The mistake is buying the cheapest thing that produces a report (an automated scan dressed up as an audit), because it won't find the issues that matter most.
What Does It Cost to Fix What an Audit Finds?
The audit is usually the smaller cost. Remediation depends on how many issues there are and where they live: fixing a shared button or form component fixes every page that uses it, while one-off pages need individual work.
For a ballpark, try our accessibility remediation cost calculator. It estimates hours by WCAG category and page count at a blended specialist rate of $125 an hour. For an exact figure, you need the audit's issue list. Ask auditors whether they credit the audit fee toward remediation if they do the fixes; we do.
How to Keep Audit Costs Down
- Run a free scan first and fix the obvious automated failures (contrast, alt text, labels) before the audit, so you're paying for expert time on the hard problems.
- Audit templates, not URLs. Give the auditor your 5 to 15 most representative templates and your critical flows.
- Prioritize flows that make you money. Sign-up, checkout, booking and contact forms first.
- Get a retest included. Paying separately for a retest can add 50% later.
- Ask for fixes in the report. A report that names the WCAG criterion, the affected element and the specific fix saves your developers days.
- Buy the VPAT only when someone asks for one. It's a procurement document, not a requirement for every site.
Questions to Ask Before You Hire an Auditor
- Is testing manual, automated or both? Which screen readers and browsers?
- Which pages, templates and flows are in scope, and how did you choose them?
- Which standard: WCAG 2.1 AA, 2.2 AA, Section 508?
- What does the report include for each issue: criterion, severity, location, fix?
- Is a retest included? How many?
- Is a VPAT or ACR included, or extra?
- How long will it take, and can you meet my deadline?
- Is the fee credited if you also do the remediation?
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does a website accessibility audit cost?
For a small website, usually $1,000 to $3,000 for a manual WCAG audit. Vendors who publish rates charge $100 to $350 per page and test a representative sample of pages. Mid-size sites often cost $5,000 to $20,000, and enterprise audits $20,000 to $50,000 or more. Our own fixed tiers are $499, $2,400 and $5,900 depending on pages and flows in scope.
How much does an ADA compliance audit cost?
The same as a WCAG audit, because they're the same work. The ADA doesn't publish technical standards for websites, so audits test against WCAG 2.1 AA, which US courts and settlements commonly reference. Expect $1,000 to $3,000 for a small site.
Is a free accessibility scan enough?
No. Automated tools only catch part of the problem (57% of issues by volume in Deque's study, and 41% for the best single tool in the UK government's test). A free scan is a great starting point, but it can't tell whether your site works with a keyboard or screen reader.
How much does a VPAT cost?
Published prices range from $350 on top of an audit (Accessible.org's WCAG edition) to $1,000 to $3,000 for a standalone report (DigitalA11Y). Most vendors require a current audit first.
How long does an accessibility audit take?
Typically one to two weeks for a small to mid-size site, longer for large estates or when mobile apps are in scope. Many vendors offer rush turnaround for an extra fee if you're facing a legal deadline.
How often should I get an accessibility audit?
After any major redesign or new feature launch, and at least once a year for sites that change often. Between audits, an automated scanner in your build process catches regressions cheaply.
Can I audit my own website?
You can do a useful first pass yourself: run a free scanner, try your site with only a keyboard, and test key pages with VoiceOver or NVDA. Our WCAG AA checklist and ADA compliance checklist walk through it. For legal responses or procurement, you'll want an independent audit.
The Honest Take
An accessibility audit isn't expensive by the standards of the risks it addresses, and the market is more transparent than it looks once you find the few vendors who publish prices. Budget $1,000 to $3,000 for a small site, scope it around templates and the flows that make you money, insist on manual testing, and be wary of anything that promises compliance for a monthly fee.
If you want a fixed price up front, our accessibility audits start at $499, with manual keyboard and screen reader testing and the fee credited toward remediation.
Want this checked on your own site?
Automated scans verify about 30% of WCAG 2.1 AA. We test the rest by hand: keyboard-only navigation, NVDA and VoiceOver output, focus management, and whether someone can actually complete your key flows. You get a report your developers can work from, mapped to criteria with severity and reproduction steps. Audits from $499.
