Frequency
Daily, not once a quarter
If you ship a regression the day after a CWAC scan, your team sees it three months later when the next public dataset lands. A11y Pulse runs every day on the pages you care about.
Within 24 hours
A11y Pulse vs Centralised Web Accessibility Checker
A public quarterly snapshot.
A11y Pulse for the days in between.
CWAC is good public infrastructure for NZ government accessibility,
designed as a benchmark rather than a working tool. We run the same
axe-core checks every day, on the pages you care about, with alerts
the moment a regression appears.
What is CWAC?
The Centralised Web Accessibility Checker (CWAC, pronounced "quack") is an open-source accessibility programme created by the NZ Government Chief Digital Officer at the Department of Internal Affairs. It runs axe-core plus three custom audits, scans public service department websites quarterly, and publishes results to data.govt.nz and a public leaderboard.
Open-source tool GOVTNZ/cwac on GitHub
Node.js project that runs axe-core plus custom language,
reflow, and focus-indicator audits. MIT licensed.
Monitoring programme Quarterly scans
Public service depts, NZDF, NZ Police, PCO scanned
quarterly. Other agencies opt in voluntarily.
Public data data.govt.nz + leaderboard
CSV bundles published openly. Agency leaderboard on
digital.govt.nz from the September 2025 scan onward.
Side by side
A11y Pulse vs CWAC
Price
Scan frequency
Page coverage
Testing engine
Pages behind a login
Reporting interface
Regression alerts
Standards
Best for
A11y Pulse Continuous, site-wide
Recommended $19, $49, $159 / month Simple monthly tiers
Daily + unlimited rescans
Every page you choose Sitemap or crawl
axe-core Same as CWAC
Yes, scripted authentication
Web UI + monthly email
Email, Slack, Microsoft Teams Within hours
WAS 1.2, WCAG 2.1, 2.2, ADA, Section 508, EN 301 549
Agencies who want to fix issues continuously
CWAC NZ govt benchmark
For comparison Free Taxpayer funded
Quarterly
Up to 100 sampled pages per agency
axe-core + custom audits Language, reflow, focus indicator
Public pages only
CSV bundles on data.govt.nz
None Leaderboard updates next quarter
WCAG 2.2 + 3 custom CWAC audits
Public benchmarking and accountability
CWAC pricing reflects the NZ government's public programme. Self-hosting the open-source CWAC tool is also free but requires Node.js infrastructure and ongoing maintenance.
Why teams switch to A11y Pulse
Three things a quarterly benchmark can't do
CWAC is excellent public infrastructure for accountability. It just isn't designed to be the daily working tool a digital team operates from.
Coverage
Every page, not a 100-page sample
CWAC scans up to 100 randomly sampled pages per agency. If your site has more than that, a page that fails this quarter may not be tested next quarter, and you can't tell if scores moved because of fixes or sampling.
Every page tracked
Output
A triage UI, not a CSV bundle
CWAC results land on data.govt.nz as CSV files in a ZIP. There's no per-page drilldown, no template grouping, and no alert when something changes — the missing layer between a benchmark and a working tool.
Slack alerts, monthly digest
Where we fit
The same engine, on the team's schedule
A11y Pulse fits the daily working rhythm of a digital team.
axe-core runs against the pages you track, every day. Each page
loads in real Chrome so JavaScript-rendered content and
authenticated flows are tested rather than skipped, and issues
come into a triage UI rather than a CSV bundle. The underlying
axe-core findings line up with the equivalent axe_core_audit results in CWAC, so your A11y Pulse fixes show up on the leaderboard
the following quarter.
- axe-core daily across your sitemap
- WAS 1.2, WCAG 2.1, WCAG 2.2, and other standards
- Scripted authentication for pages behind a login
- Email, Slack, and Microsoft Teams regression alerts
The verdict
When each tool is the right call
Choose
A11y Pulse
- You want to find regressions within a day, not a quarter
- You manage more than 100 pages and want every page tracked, not sampled
- You need to test pages behind a login or behind a multi-step user journey
- You want stakeholders to receive monthly reports without anyone parsing CSVs
- You want alerts in Slack or Teams when accessibility breaks
- You're a non-government agency and CWAC doesn't cover you anyway
Choose
CWAC
- You only need the public quarterly snapshot for accountability reporting
- You have a dedicated accessibility analyst who can work directly from CSV exports
- You want to cross-reference your scores with other NZ government agencies on the leaderboard
- You're using CWAC as the external pressure that gets accessibility onto the agenda
The information presented here about A11y Pulse and CWAC is provided for comparison purposes and may change over time. Pricing and feature claims about CWAC should be verified on their own website before making a purchasing decision.
The working tool, alongside the public benchmark
30-day free trial, no credit card. Scans tonight, leaderboard
improvement over the following quarters.
Start your free trial