Choose the right accessibility tool for your testing needs

BrowserStack provides powerful accessibility testing tools, each optimized for a specific use case. Whether you’re automating tests, manually evaluating complex interactions, or scanning thousands of pages, BrowserStack’s platform helps you create and maintain accessible webpages.

All tools are powered by Spectra™, a high-precision rule engine offering broad accessibility coverage.

This document highlights the key features of each tool and will help you choose the right tool based on your testing requirements.

On this page:

• Website Monitoring
  • Website Scanner
• Test Automation
  • Automated Tests
• Manual Testing
  • Workflow Analyzer
  • Assisted Tests
  • Screen Reader
  • PDF Scanner
• Combine tools for complete coverage

Website Monitoring

Monitor accessibility across your entire website with scalable scans and scheduled reports to track progress over time.

Website Scanner

Website scanner scans multiple pages and tracks accessibility over time with scheduled or on-demand tests. Ideal for monitoring large websites or products.

Key features:

• Scans publicly available pages, pages locked behind authentication, or pages on local environments
• Uploads a CSV file, adds URLs, or uses a sitemap to scan at scale
• Schedules recurring scans, such as daily, weekly, or monthly
• Runs on-demand scans to get quick accessibility insights
• Receives email notifications and monitors progress with trend graphs

When to use: Use it for ongoing accessibility monitoring of your full website or product to track progress and ensure consistent compliance.

Test Automation

Integrate accessibility checks into your existing functional test suites to catch issues early in the development cycle.

Automated Tests

With test automation you can integrate accessibility checks into your existing test suite seamlessly using the BrowserStack SDK. Ideal for catching issues early in the release cycle without creating a separate test suite.

Key features:

• Adds a single line to your .yml file to enable accessibility tests
• Uses the same test suite to run accessibility and functional tests
• Runs accessibility tests during development to identify issues

When to use: Use it when you already have automated functional tests in place and want to catch accessibility issues early in the release cycle.

Manual Testing

Manually test specific user journeys, interactive components, compatibility with assistive technologies, and identify issues that automated tools may miss.

Workflow Analyzer

Workflow Analyzer automatically detects accessibility issues when you explore and test specific workflows on your website by manually interacting with the page like a real user.

Key features:

• Automatically detects accessibility issues
• Scans the entire workflow from start to finish in real-time
• Groups and deduplicates issues
• Works locally as long as you can access the page in your browser

When to use: Use it to find accessibility issues or blockers in user workflows and user journeys, such as sign-up processes, checkout flows, or multi-step forms.

Assisted Tests

Assisted Tests guide you through the evaluation of specific aspects of your website, such as interactive elements, that may not be easily tested with automated tools. Based on your interaction with these complex interfaces or elements, the tool prompts you with questions to help identify potential accessibility issues.

Key features:

• Detects accessibility issues with keyboard navigation and screen reader compatibility, such as tab order
• Allows focused testing on specific components like modals, images, and forms
• Covers cases that automated scans typically cannot detect
• Supports bulk review of multiple elements
• Groups issues by severity for easier prioritization

When to use: Use it to test interactive experiences or complex UI states where automated testing alone might miss critical accessibility issues. You can use it to determine accessibility issues in keyboard navigation order, interactive elements, forms, images, layouts, and modals.

Screen Reader

Screen Reader Tests simulate how screen readers interpret your webpage and highlight issues that affect screen reader compatibility. It supports various real screen readers, such as NVDA, VoiceOver, and TalkBack, which you can use to understand how your content is read out aloud. It helps you simulate how users who rely on screen readers experience your website.

Key features:

• Tests using real screen readers on real devices
• Simulates how screen readers read out different sections of the page
• Supports Windows (NVDA), macOS (VoiceOver), Android (TalkBack), and iOS (VoiceOver)
• Provides real-time screen reader output

When to use: Use it to test how screen reader users experience your website, fix navigation issues for assistive technologies, and ensure interactive elements, form fields, and page structure are accessible and logically ordered.

PDF Scanner

PDF Scanner analyzes digital PDF files to detect accessibility issues that may affect screen reader users or users with assistive technologies.

Key features:

• Detects common accessibility issues such as missing tags, incorrect reading order, unlabeled images, and more.
• Checks for compliance with PDF/UA and WCAG 2.2 standards
• Supports bulk upload of multiple PDF files
• Provides detailed actionable reports

When to use: Use it to ensure your PDFs meet compliance standards and are accessible to users relying on assistive technologies.

Combine tools for complete coverage

You don’t have to choose just one tool. With BrowserStack Accessibility testing, you can combine tools to create a comprehensive accessibility testing strategy that fits your workflow, such as Workflow Analyzer for manual testing, Website Scanner for monitoring, Automated Tests for early detection of issues, PDF Scanner for document accessibility, and Screen Reader testing to validate assistive tech compatibility.