When people talk about accessibility testing, the first thing that comes to most of their minds is color contrast checkers. These tools are easy and quick ways to find visual contrast issues, especially for users who have low vision or are color blind. Nevertheless, color contrast is only one of the accessibility issues. The real digital accessibility in 2025 is not only about colors. It also means considering users who navigate a page with a keyboard, how screen readers interpret the page, if interactive elements behave as expected, and if content is structured in a way that is understandable for people using assistive technologies.
In this guide, we explore 15 accessibility testing tools that go far beyond color contrast. Whether you’re a developer, designer, QA tester, or product manager, these tools will help you create inclusive websites and apps that everyone can use.
Why Color Contrast Alone Isn’t Enough
Color contrast is a significant factor in improving readability; however, it cannot be considered the complete solution to the wide variety of difficulties that users may encounter with digital interfaces. For instance:
- Visual impaired users are one of the groups who may have heavily relied on the screen reader to understand the content of the screen. In case the elements on the page are not labeled clearly or if the order of reading is illogical, the experience of the user will be confusing or even unusable.
- People with limited motor skills may depend on keyboard navigation or assistive switches. If your website requires precise mouse actions or uses hover-only elements, they will struggle to complete tasks.
- Users with limited motor skills often rely on keyboard-only navigation or assistive switches. If your site demands precise mouse actions or includes hover-only elements, many users will be locked out of basic functionality.
- Cognitive impairments can make it difficult to understand unclear labels or overly complex layouts. Interfaces need to be straightforward and organized.
- People with epilepsy or vestibular disorders may be sensitive to flashing animations or motion-heavy designs, which can lead to discomfort or seizures.
- Users who are deaf or hard of hearing depend on captions, transcripts, or visual indicators in video and audio content.
If you’re only testing for color contrast, you’re potentially ignoring critical usability issues. A comprehensive accessibility testing strategy needs to consider how users actually interact with your product, and adapt for those needs.
15 Accessibility Testing Tools That Go Beyond Color Contrast
LambdaTest
Ensuring your web application is accessible isn’t just about compliance; it’s about creating inclusive experiences for all users. LambdaTest is an AI testing platform, offers accessibility testing tools to help you identify and fix accessibility issues early in development.
Accessibility Testing Chrome Extension
- Quick, in-browser audits: Test any live webpage directly from your Chrome browser using the LambdaTest Accessibility Testing extension.
- WCAG 2.1 coverage: Automatically detect issues based on the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1), the global standard for accessibility.
- Highlight critical issues: Find common problems like missing alt attributes, improper ARIA roles, insufficient color contrast, inaccessible forms, and keyboard navigation gaps.
- Actionable reports: Get clear, categorized feedback with suggestions for fixing each issue—ideal for both developers and QA teams.
- No setup required: The extension works out of the box—no need to configure test environments or write scripts.
Broader Accessibility Coverage on the LambdaTest Platform
- Test across real devices and browsers: Ensure your fixes work not just in theory, but across various browsers and operating systems.
- Combine with visual and functional testing: Run accessibility checks alongside regression tests for a more comprehensive quality strategy.
- CI/CD integration: Include accessibility testing in your deployment pipeline to catch issues automatically during development.
axe DevTools by Deque
Built by Deque Systems, axe DevTools is a developer-friendly browser extension and testing suite. It’s based on the powerful axe-core engine.
What makes it useful:
- Real-time, in-browser analysis
- Works with Chrome, Firefox, Cypress, Selenium, Storybook, and more
- Direct WCAG mapping for each issue
- Supports component-level testing during early development
It fits perfectly into daily developer workflows and promotes a shift-left approach to accessibility.
Accessibility Insights by Microsoft
Microsoft’s Accessibility Insights helps you find and fix accessibility issues early, offering both web and desktop application support.
Highlights:
- “FastPass” lets you run an automated check in under two minutes
- Visualizes tab order for keyboard navigation
- Offers a guided manual assessment with clear step-by-step checks
- Aligned with WCAG 2.1 AA standards
A great tool for structured testing in both agile and traditional environments.
WAVE by WebAIM
WAVE is a long-standing browser extension used to visually flag accessibility issues.
Why people love it:
- Errors are shown directly on your webpage
- Identifies issues like missing labels, incorrect ARIA use, and bad heading structures
- Helps explain why something is an issue – great for learning
- WAVE is great for teams new to accessibility and for quick manual audits.
Pa11y
Pa11y is a command-line accessibility testing tool, perfect for developers who want to automate testing.
Features include:
- Headless browser support
- Handles JavaScript-heavy or dynamic content
- Generates reports in multiple formats (HTML, CSV, JSON)
- Includes a dashboard to monitor multiple sites
- It’s ideal for integrating accessibility into your CI/CD pipeline.
Tenon
Tenon takes an API-first approach, making it great for enterprise-grade automation and reporting.
Why it stands out:
- Seamless integration with CI tools like Jenkins, CircleCI, TravisCI
- Customizable rules and thresholds
- Prioritizes issues based on severity
- Designed for high-volume and large teams
Perfect for scaling accessibility testing across large, fast-moving codebases.
tota11y by Khan Academy
Tota11y is a lightweight JavaScript toolkit that adds visual overlays to your site.
Best for:
- Instant feedback on headings, labels, and ARIA roles
- Educating non-technical stakeholders with visual cues
- Quick validation during design and dev prototyping
Not a full audit tool, but fantastic for building awareness and doing early checks.
Lighthouse by Google
Part of Chrome DevTools, Lighthouse helps with performance, SEO, and accessibility.
Accessibility features:
- Checks for focusable elements, alt text, ARIA roles, etc.
- Assigns an accessibility score
- Integrates into CI via CLI or GitHub Actions
- Offers tips on improving page structure and labeling
Use it for a quick sanity check – especially useful when paired with other tools.
NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access)
NVDA is a popular free screen reader for Windows.
Why it’s a must:
- Helps developers experience how visually impaired users navigate
- Reveals unlabeled or inaccessible elements
- Ideal for manually verifying screen reader compatibility
Manual screen reader testing like this is essential for accessibility beyond automation.
VoiceOver (macOS/iOS)
VoiceOver is Apple’s built-in screen reader for macOS and iOS devices.
Benefits:
- No installation needed – it’s built right into every Apple device
- Helps test focus order, element roles, and navigation
- Verifies whether your product works properly for Apple users
A vital tool for anyone building for iPhones, iPads, or Safari.
TalkBack (Android)
TalkBack is Google’s screen reader for Android.
Why use it:
- Test how accessible your app is for visually impaired Android users
- Verify spoken feedback, gestures, and dynamic screen content
- Catch issues missed by emulators or web-based tools
- TalkBack helps ensure Android accessibility is tested realistically.
JAWS (Job Access With Speech)
JAWS is a widely used enterprise screen reader for Windows.
Why companies use it:
- Handles complex app structures and custom interfaces
- Supports scripting for customized workflows
- Commonly used in legal and compliance audits
Though it’s paid, JAWS is a critical tool in many enterprise accessibility stacks.
ANDI (Accessible Name & Description Inspector)
ANDI is a browser bookmarklet made by the U.S. government.
Features:
- Highlights accessible names and roles
- Real-time element analysis and suggestions
- Focuses on buttons, form fields, and links
- Lightweight and great for semantic testing in public-sector websites.
AChecker
AChecker is an older but still reliable tool for validating content against accessibility guidelines.
What it does:
- Supports WCAG and Section 508 validation
- Accepts URL, HTML, or file uploads
- Categorizes findings as known, likely, or potential issues
- Simple and effective for checking static pages.
Siteimprove Accessibility Checker
Siteimprove offers a Chrome extension for fast feedback on accessibility issues.
Why it’s helpful:
- Categorizes issues with WCAG alignment
- Highlights layout problems and ARIA misuse
- Provides education to help teams learn as they fix
- Especially useful for content creators and editors who work outside codebases.
Best Practices for Accessibility Testing in 2025
Tools are only one part of the solution. It’s how you apply them that leads to real, sustainable improvements. Here are some best practices to follow:
Start Early
- Fixing accessibility late in the process is time-consuming and expensive.
- Run early design reviews with accessibility in mind
- Add checks during component development
- Test keyboard flow and screen reader output during dev demos
Test with Real Users
Tools don’t replicate real-world challenges.
- Conduct usability testing with people using screen readers or keyboard navigation
- Include users with hearing, mobility, or cognitive disabilities
- Watch how they complete tasks – and where they struggle
Integrate with CI/CD
- Accessibility should be continuous, not occasional.
- Automate testing with axe, Pa11y, or LambdaTest in CI
- Block pull requests with critical accessibility issues
- Track score improvements over time
Train the Whole Team
Everyone – not just QA – is responsible for accessibility.
- Run internal training on ARIA, labeling, and semantic HTML
- Provide playbooks or checklists for dev and design
- Make accessibility a shared quality metric
Monitor and Re-Test
- Sites evolve. Accessibility can degrade over time.
- Schedule monthly scans using tools like Siteimprove
- Manually re-test flows every few sprints
- Stay current with WCAG and legal requirements
Final Thoughts
Accessibility has gone beyond being a mere option. It has become a duty that every product team to ensure that the commitment is actually delivered. Conducting color contrast checks is a tiny action leading in the right direction, but it barely touches on the whole list of user requirements.
The utilities enumerated in this handbook empower groups to go beyond mere adjustments and actually engage with the barriers faced by users in real life. It does not matter to what extent you are concentrating on a mobile-first app, an internal company network, or an online shopping site, you will certainly find here your fitting accessibility testing tools, which are also AI test tools.
Whether it be actual device experiments by LambdaTest or comprehensively exploring with JAWS or axe DevTools, you have a great variety of avenues to back up inclusive design and development. The teams that will be at the forefront in 2025 are the ones that consider accessibility not as something to tick off, but rather as an integral part of quality.
AI and accessibility are increasingly intertwined, with machine learning tools helping identify and fix usability barriers faster. From automated audits to personalized experiences, AI is redefining how we build inclusive web applications.