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A11y Pulse vs Silktide

Silktide is a deep accessibility platform.
A11y Pulse is the focused-scanner alternative.

Silktide has been refining the same accessibility platform since 2001, with an in-page inspector overlay, built-in training, and policy frameworks across ADA, EAA, AODA, and other regional standards. We're the alternative for teams who want published pricing, monthly billing, and a dashboard running this afternoon without a 12-month contract.
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What is Silktide?

Silktide is a UK-based accessibility platform that has been refining the same core product since 2001. The accessibility module crawls your site, renders each page in a real browser, and runs WCAG 2.2 checks layered with policies for ADA, EAA, AODA, and other regional standards. The depth of platform wrapping the engine is what sets it apart.

Inspector overlay In-page issue rendering
Pinpoints issues directly on top of the rendered page, so a content author can see where in the page an issue lives without translating a selector.
Training layer In-app courses
Structured training and in-app explainers built into the tool. A real differentiator if you're bringing non-technical authors up to speed.
Commercial model Quote-only, 12-month
No published prices. Quotes scale with page volume, support level, and modules. 12-month minimum contract.

Side by side

A11y Pulse vs Silktide

Pricing
Contract term
Trial
Setup time
Testing engine
Default scan cadence
Inspector overlay
Training layer
Auth + multi-step flows
Regression alerts
Stance on overlays
A11y Pulse Continuous, site-wide
Recommended
$19, $49, $159 / month Published, monthly billing
Cancel any time
30 days, no credit card, instant
About 5 minutes
axe-core Open source
Daily, unlimited rescans
Element screenshot + selector
Links to WCAG and remediation guidance
Scripted flow
Email, Slack, Teams
Does not offer
Silktide Quote + 12-month contract
For comparison
Quote-only Demo-gated
12-month minimum
Demo-gated, sales-led
Weeks of onboarding
Silktide proprietary Real-browser rendering
Every 5 days Unlimited ad-hoc
Full in-page overlay
Built-in courses and explainers
Well regarded
Email, in-platform
Publicly committed never to offer

Why teams switch to A11y Pulse

Three reasons to skip the demo

Silktide is a fair fit for tier-one government departments and large enterprises. For everyone else, the buying motion is heavier than the decision warrants.

1

Buying motion

Self-serve beats demo + quote

A demo, a quote, procurement, and a 12-month commitment is reasonable for a Fortune 500 buyer. For a smaller agency, product team, or in-house web team trying to get coverage in place this quarter, the rollout is disproportionate.

5-minute setup

2

Platform scope

Pay for what you'll actually use

Silktide's training layer, inspector overlay, policy framework, and CMS pre-publish checks all carry value for organisations that will use them. Teams with their own content workflow end up paying for a substantial chunk that sits unused.

Focused, on purpose

3

Pricing shape

Predictable monthly cost

Silktide scales with page volume across annual contracts, fine for stable enterprise estates but awkward for agencies whose page count shifts as clients come and go. A11y Pulse's three published tiers and monthly billing make it easy to add or remove a site.

From $19 / month, flat

Where we fit

A focused scanner, on purpose

A11y Pulse runs axe-core daily across your full sitemap. Every page loads in real Chrome so JavaScript-rendered content and authenticated flows are tested rather than skipped. Issues come into a triage-first UI with filters, template grouping, and a 30-day trend per rule. Alerting and stakeholder reports are included on every plan rather than bundled into a higher tier.

  • axe-core daily across your full sitemap
  • Scripted authentication and multi-step flow coverage
  • Email, Slack, and Microsoft Teams regression alerts
  • Monthly stakeholder reports comparing 30-day deltas
The A11y Pulse site overview showing the accessibility score, issues found, audits passed, and pages scanned with the latest scan timestamp.

The verdict

When each tool is the right call

Choose

A11y Pulse

  • Published pricing matters more than bundled training and consulting
  • You want to start in five minutes through self-service signup
  • Monthly billing fits better than an annual commitment
  • You manage many sites and need cost to scale predictably
  • Your team can read element selectors without an in-page overlay
  • You already have a content workflow and don't need CMS pre-publish hooks

Choose

Silktide

  • Your content authors need an in-page inspector overlay to find issues
  • You want a structured training and learning layer built into the tool
  • Your CMS supports a pre-publish accessibility check and you want one wired in
  • You operate in a procurement framework that prefers established vendors
  • Your buying motion requires a demo, quote, and 12-month contract anyway
  • Public-sector compliance documentation and a UK or US support footprint matter

The information presented here about A11y Pulse and Silktide is provided for comparison purposes and may change over time. Pricing and feature claims about Silktide should be verified on their own website before making a purchasing decision.

A dashboard running by morning, not next quarter

30-day free trial, no credit card, no demo. Monthly billing, cancel any time.
Start your free trial