Honest comparison · Updated April 2026
Aegis Firma vs accessiBe: Overlay Widget vs Honest WCAG Scanner
accessiBe (accessibe.com) sells accessWidget, an AI-powered overlay you add to your site with a single script tag — it is one of the most widely installed accessibility products on the web, and its ease of install is real. It is also the company the FTC ordered to pay $1 million in 2025 for falsely claiming the widget makes any website WCAG-compliant. Aegis Firma takes the opposite approach: a WCAG 2.2 AA scanner that finds the real, code-level violations on your site and tells you how to fix them — and never claims a widget alone makes you compliant. From $79/month.
Try Aegis Firma free — no sales callFeature Comparison
| Feature | accessiBe | Aegis Firma |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | Overlay widget (JS injected at page load) | Static scan of your actual rendered HTML |
| WCAG 2.2 A/AA criteria machine-tested | Not published | 23 |
| FTC enforcement history | $1M order, Jan–Apr 2025 (deceptive compliance claims) | None |
| Rewrites/fixes underlying HTML | Guidance provided — you or your developer fix the code | |
| Incomplete-scan disclosure when coverage is limited | ||
| Free scan, no signup required | ||
| VPAT / ACR document generator | Paid add-on, quote-only | Included from Pro tier |
| Scan diff + regression alerts | ||
| Lawsuit-risk scoring from real litigation patterns | ||
| Starting price | $49/month (accessWidget only) | $79/month (1 site, weekly scans) |
Pricing Comparison
accessiBe
accessWidget from $49/month, scaling with monthly site traffic (accessibe.com/pricing, verified August 2026). accessServices — user testing, expert audits, professional VPATs, litigation support — priced by quote only, not published.
Aegis Firma
$79/month ADA Starter (1 site, weekly scans) · $199/month ADA Pro (5 sites, daily scans, VPAT generator, remediation tracker) · $399/month ADA Unlimited (unlimited sites, real-time monitoring, agency dashboard)
accessiBe: Pros & Cons
Aegis Firma Advantages
Our Verdict
accessiBe has real advantages: distribution, brand recognition, and a script tag that is live in minutes. But the company was fined $1 million by the FTC in 2025 specifically for claiming its widget makes websites compliant — a claim the accessibility community had been documenting as false for years before that (800+ signatories on the Overlay Fact Sheet). If what you need is defensible, code-level remediation with an honest paper trail — for a demand letter, an audit, or genuine accessibility — Aegis Firma’s scanner tells you what is actually broken and how to fix it, and never oversells what a scan can prove. An overlay can still be one part of a broader accommodation strategy, but it is not a substitute for fixing the code.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does accessiBe’s widget make my site ADA compliant?
No — and as of 2025, accessiBe itself is under a legal order that limits how it can describe this. In January 2025 the FTC filed a complaint alleging accessiBe falsely claimed accessWidget made any website WCAG-compliant, and in April 2025 finalized a $1 million order against the company, in effect for 20 years with annual compliance reporting. The FTC found that sites running the widget still had real barriers: missing alt text, missing focus indicators, keyboard traps, and broken menus and tables. An overlay changes what a browser renders on top of your page; it does not rewrite the underlying HTML, which is what WCAG conformance actually requires.
Why does the accessibility community oppose overlays like accessWidget?
Since 2021, the Overlay Fact Sheet has documented the case against overlay products; as of 2026 it has more than 800 signatories, including accessibility practitioners from Google, Microsoft, Apple, Shopify, and other major companies. Their core objection: an overlay can create a false sense of compliance while leaving code-level barriers in place, and can itself interfere with screen readers and assistive technology.
Does Aegis Firma guarantee my site won’t be sued?
No, and we will not claim that. No automated tool — including ours — catches every accessibility barrier; some issues genuinely need human testing. Aegis Firma scans your actual HTML against 23 machine-testable WCAG 2.2 A/AA success criteria, discloses honestly when a scan is incomplete (for example, on heavily JavaScript-rendered pages), and gives you a prioritized, real fix list instead of a widget that papers over the problem.
Is Aegis Firma an accessibility audit firm?
No. Aegis Firma is a scanner and ongoing monitor — it automates the large, well-defined set of WCAG failures that most demand letters and lawsuits are built on. For a full legal audit, litigation defense, or certification-grade sign-off, you still want a specialist firm or counsel; the ADA Pro and Unlimited plans include a VPAT/ACR generator to support that process, not replace it.