GitHub Accessibility Scanner vs Octopus Scanner (formerly A11y Scanner)

GitHub Accessibility Scanner is a free, MIT-licensed GitHub Action for finding accessibility barriers in websites, repositories, and dynamic content. It checks against WCAG 2.2, using Axe by default, and also supports AccessLint and plugins. Findings can be filed as GitHub issues and tracked between runs to prevent duplicates; issues can also be closed when a finding no longer appears. Copilot is optional: without it, the scanner still files issues, while Copilot can be assigned an issue to suggest a fix and create a pull request. Users can configure scan URLs, authentication, screenshots, issue grouping, experimental and best-practice findings, and selectors for individual URLs. It works with public and private repositories and supports GitHub Enterprise Cloud. Setup requires GitHub Actions and Issues to be enabled, available Actions minutes, and a fine-grained personal access token with write permissions. The project is in public preview, with ongoing feature development, and suggested fixes are not guaranteed to be fully accessible. It does not scan mobile apps, desktop applications, documents, email templates, or PDFs. Support requests and bug reports are handled through GitHub Issues.

Octopus Scanner, formerly A11y Scanner, is a free desktop tool for auditing website accessibility on Windows and macOS. It uses browser automation and axe-core-powered checks to scan sites against WCAG 2.2; setup also supports requirements including Section 508 and EN 301 549. It can record and replay authenticated flows such as logins and checkouts without code, and handle dynamic interfaces, Shadow DOM, embedded frames and dark mode. Scans produce an interactive HTML report and a companion CSV, and the tool can check the structure of linked PDF documents. Scanning, analysis and reporting stay on the local machine. Scanned-site traffic can be routed through HTTP, HTTPS or SOCKS proxies. Optional update checks use official checksums and signatures, and updates can be reverted. The Windows download is 64-bit and the macOS download is ARM64. Listed version 5.0.9.8 is marked beta. The software is free; contributions to its independent developer are optional.