What WAVE Evaluation Tool is

Instead of a report you read later, WAVE annotates the live page: icons mark missing alt text, low contrast, skipped headings, and ARIA problems. For developers and content authors it makes accessibility failures concrete and fixable.

Feature coverage

  • In-page error and alert overlays
  • Contrast checking
  • Heading and landmark structure view
  • ARIA usage flags
  • Local, in-browser evaluation

What stands out

  • Built by WebAIM with a documented methodology
  • Evaluates locally—WebAIM documents that no page data is sent to its servers
  • Free for everyday audits

Tradeoffs to know

  • Automated checks catch only part of accessibility—manual testing still required
  • Overlays can clutter complex pages
  • Small rating sample (159 ratings)

Permissions and privacy

Page access

It reads and annotates the page being evaluated when you trigger it.

Data notes

WebAIM documents that the extension evaluates entirely within the browser, and the listing discloses no data collection.

Pricing

Free; WAVE's API and enterprise tooling are paid. Pricing and plan limits change more often than store metadata, so use the linked developer page as the final check before subscribing.

Alternatives

AlternativeHelperbirdAlternativeWappalyzer

Sources

We used the official Chrome Web Store listing and first-party developer material. Public metrics can change after the fact-check date.

  1. Chrome Web Store listing

    Store facts and privacy disclosure.

  2. WAVE extension documentation

    WebAIM's official extension documentation.

  3. Extension Reviewer methodology

    How we verify public claims and weigh tradeoffs.

View in Chrome Web Store Developer site

More in Developer tools

See the developer tools guide