Askem PDF Fixer vs Fruition PDF Accessibility

Askem PDF Fixer is a paid web service that checks PDF accessibility, applies automatic corrections, and validates results against PDF/UA-1 and applicable WCAG 2.1 AA criteria. Fixes cover document structure and tags, reading order, image alternative text, metadata, artifacts, and untagged content. Every document receives a validation result and a per-document record; Askem says more than 9 in 10 documents pass. A single upload accepts PDFs up to 500 pages and needs no integration, project, or procurement process. Batches can contain up to 200,000 documents. Files can be processed in any language, with the language set in PDF metadata. Scanned PDFs, complex tables or infographics with ambiguous meaning, context-dependent alternative text, and forms with conditional logic are flagged for manual handling. Documents are processed and stored on EU infrastructure and are not transferred outside the EU. OCR and API access are not available. Pricing is on request, with a 20-minute call offered for prospective customers.

Fruition PDF Accessibility is a web and API service for remediating PDF structure and adding AI-based content tags. Upload a valid PDF or submit it through the REST API, which accepts up to 100 pages per request and returns a remediated file. Structural remediation sets metadata, marks the PDF as tagged, adds a PDF/UA-1 identifier, sets tab order, builds structure and parent trees, checks page resources, and generates bookmarks. AI analysis identifies headings, paragraphs, lists, and tables, adds semantic tags and image alt text, and analyzes color contrast. The service targets WCAG 2.2 AA, PDF/UA-1, Section 508, and ADA compliance. Structural work is listed at under 2 seconds per document; AI content tagging takes 30–60 seconds. The free plan is free for 10 pages per month with basic structural remediation. Basic is $0.50, paid once after the monthly free pages; Full AI is $2, paid once and includes structural fixes and AI features.