Grackle GO vs IBM Equal Access Accessibility Checker

Grackle GO is a tool for automated PDF accessibility checks. It scans documents and provides tools for tagging, reading order, alternative text, and remediation guidance. It supports PDF/UA and OCR. The service is listed for the web, Windows, macOS, and Linux, and its stated WCAG coverage is categorized as other standard. Its Free plan costs nothing. Unauthenticated users can run 10 validations per hour, and files must be no larger than 25 MB. The tool does not include manual review tools, mobile testing, a browser extension, or CI/CD integration. Grackle GO is made by Grackle GO, headquartered in Barrie, Ontario, Canada.

IBM Equal Access Accessibility Checker automates accessibility checks for web content and applications, with tools aimed at web developers and accessibility auditors. Its rule engine connects checks to accessibility standards, including WCAG 2.2, and scans at page level. Results can identify the issue type, applicable WCAG success criteria, affected element, XPath, progression level, and a help link. Browser extensions are available for Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. They work in browser DevTools and include a visualization mode for keyboard checking. For CI/CD workflows, packages are available for Node, Cypress, and Java; the project Wiki also lists a Karma plugin and names Selenium, Puppeteer, Playwright, and Zombie as testing or parsing engines. The extension can combine up to 50 stored scans into a Microsoft Excel report. The Wiki says web data, rules, and the engine stay local rather than sending web data to servers or third parties. The tool is free at free. IBM cautions that automated checks cover only part of its accessibility requirements, so manual and screen reader testing should follow.