WAVE

WAVE is a web accessibility evaluation tool for developers and teams that need page-level checks alongside human assessment. Its mix of browser extensions and automation options suits both individual reviews and recurring audits, but the right paid route depends on whether you need credits or a stand-alone license.

Overview

WAVE identifies many accessibility and WCAG errors and provides tools to help people evaluate web content. It targets WCAG 2.2, with a page-level scan scope and a stated scan limit of 250. That makes it a practical fit for checking individual pages, rather than a substitute for evaluating an entire site’s accessibility in context.

The maker, WAVE, is headquartered in Logan, Utah, and was founded in 2017. The product is freemium, with browser extensions, web access, API options and stand-alone tools for Linux, macOS and Windows.

Key features

Browser checks and human evaluation

Extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Edge can evaluate password-protected, locally stored and highly dynamic pages. WAVE also supports most authentication types, including intranet pages. This breadth is useful when the pages that matter are not publicly reachable; the product still frames automated findings as one part of assessment by providing tools for human evaluation.

API and automation

The API accepts GET requests containing an API key and page URL, and returns results in JSON or XML. Basic analysis uses one credit; advanced features can use two or three, so credit budgets depend on the depth of analysis. Stand-alone tools support continuous integration, including Selenium and Puppeteer, as well as regularly scheduled site audits. Custom viewport sizes let teams check mobile responsive breakpoints.

The stand-alone API runs on Linux, Mac or Windows web servers with PHP and Node installed. Its minimum requirements are 1 CPU, 1 GB memory and 100 MB storage. Support is provided through a contact channel at Utah State University.

Pricing

Credit-based API

New accounts receive 100 free API credits. After that, one-time credit purchases start at 250 credits for $10, billed at $0.04 per credit. Purchases of 1,000 to 9,999 credits are billed at $0.03 per credit; purchases of 10,000 or more are billed at $0.025 per credit. This option gives occasional users a low-commitment way to buy capacity, but the 250-credit minimum purchase sets the floor for paid use.

Subscription API plans begin at $10.00 per month, with a 250-credit minimum purchase and 250-credit minimum. Subscription tiers for 1,000 to 9,999 and 10,000 or more credits have custom pricing. Credit users should account for advanced analyses consuming up to three credits rather than one.

Stand-alone licenses

Stand-alone Basic costs $4,000.00 per year for 100,000 API requests, up to 3 domains and 1 installation. Expanded costs $8,000.00 per year for 300,000 requests, up to 10 domains and 3 installations. Unlimited costs $12,000.00 per year for unlimited requests, domains and installations; it also permits authorized data distribution, while Basic and Expanded restrict distribution to the licensee. These annual licenses suit organizations needing controlled deployments and predictable request capacity; the large up-front commitment is hard to justify for occasional checks.

Platforms

WAVE is available as a browser extension and web tool, with API and stand-alone support on Linux, macOS and Windows. The extensions cover Chrome, Firefox and Edge. The stated platform range is useful for teams working across common desktop systems, though stand-alone API deployments require PHP and Node on the server.

Who it's for

WAVE is a strong fit for web teams that want to combine automated page checks with human evaluation, test authenticated or dynamic pages, and integrate accessibility checks into CI or scheduled audits. Credit purchases accommodate smaller or intermittent workloads. Teams with larger, multi-domain deployments may prefer a stand-alone license. It is less suitable for buyers seeking a purely automated judgment of accessibility or a low-cost annual license for broad usage.

Pros and cons

Pros: Browser extensions can reach protected, local and dynamic pages, which helps teams assess content that a public-page-only workflow would miss.

Pros: CI support, scheduled audits and custom viewports support recurring checks and responsive breakpoint review.

Pros: Free credits and one-time purchases allow API use without beginning with an annual license.

Cons: Credit consumption rises to two or three credits for advanced features, making workload planning less straightforward.

Cons: Stand-alone licenses start at $4,000.00 per year and limit domains, installations and data distribution on the lower tiers.

Cons: Page-level scans and automated findings do not remove the need for human evaluation.

Alternatives

For a free option with a stated 25-page tier and two users, Pope Tech may suit small teams whose needs fit those limits. ADA Scanner is worth comparing for a $9.00 monthly plan with 250 scans, 10 pages and one site. Choose Axe DevTools if a free extension that checks one page at a time matches your workflow.

A11yInspect, Octopus Scanner, AccessLint, ADAWCAG.org and WCAG Toolkit are other accessibility-testing options to compare.

Browse Website Accessibility Tools or Accessibility Testing Software for more options.

Verdict

Choose WAVE if you need page checks that can reach authenticated content, plus human evaluation tools and a path from browser review to automated audits. Its flexible credit purchases are the strongest fit for modest API workloads; organizations needing extensive deployments should weigh the annual license costs and tier restrictions against their actual domain and request needs.