Integrations
Built for developers
The RESTful API, MCP server, and CI integrations make A11y Pulse a first-class citizen in your development workflow. Pa11y has the data, but you'll need to build the integrations yourself.
API, MCP, and CI included
A11y Pulse vs Pa11y
More features than Pa11y with no overhead. That's A11y Pulse.
Pa11y is the self-hosted, do-it-yourself option. A11y Pulse is the
managed alternative for teams who want more detailed dashboards,
developer integrations, and none of the operational overhead. Set up
in five minutes, with reporting and alerts included.
What is Pa11y?
The Pa11y team describe Pa11y as "a range of free and open source tools to help designers and developers make their web pages more accessible."
Pa11y Command-line interface and Node.js API
Generates a report for a single URL and provides a Node.js
API for more complex scenarios.
Pa11y CI Test multiple URLs at once
Aimed at simplifying CI integration and can be used for
local batch testing.
Pa11y Dashboard Self-hosted web app
Runs scheduled tests and graphs results over time. Similar
to A11y Pulse but has a very basic interface and lacks
alerting and reporting features.
Side by side
A11y Pulse vs Pa11y
Pricing
Setup time
Page discovery
JS-rendered pages
Authenticated pages
Continuous integration
Default engine
Scheduling
Regression alerts
Stakeholder reports
Security
RESTful API
MCP server
Best for
A11y Pulse Continuous, site-wide
Recommended $19 / month Hosted, monthly billing
About 5 minutes No maintenance required
Sitemap, crawl, or URL list
Real Google Chrome No config needed
Scripted login flow Write JavaScript that runs on every scan
Fully supported Fits into your existing CI/CD pipeline
axe-core No config needed
Daily, with unlimited rescans
Email, Slack, Teams
PDF report and monthly email
Security features included User roles, granular permissions, and encrypted credential storage
Included Retrieve scan results, trigger rescans, manage pages, and more
Included Query scan results from Claude, Cursor, and other AI tools
Teams who want powerful accessibility monitoring without the operating overhead
Pa11y Open-source CLI
For comparison Free Plus server + database costs
An afternoon Plus ongoing maintenance
Manual URL list
Supported Requires configuration
Pa11y actions API Convoluted and brittle scripting model
Supported Pa11y CI must be manually integrated
HTML CodeSniffer axe-core available with config
Configurable in dashboard cron
Build it yourself
Build it yourself
No built-in security features
Not available
Not available
Teams with engineering capacity to self-host a simple dashboard and build their own reporting and alerting
Why teams switch to A11y Pulse
Three things you get when the accessibility monitoring is hosted
Pa11y itself is free, but the costs show up everywhere else: the server, the database, the missing alerting layer, and the time someone spends keeping it all patched.
Maintenance
No maintenance required
A11y Pulse takes the operational tax out of accessibility monitoring. No server upgrades, no database management, no dependency patching. Pa11y is free, but you pay for it in time.
Five-minute setup
Reporting
Reports stakeholders can read
A11y Pulse has monthly email digests, Slack and Teams alerts, and PDF reports your stakeholders can actually read. Pa11y Dashboard graphs issue counts, but that's not a format most clients understand.
Reports and alerts built in
Where we fit
The same axe-core engine you know and trust
A11y Pulse runs axe-core under the hood, so the coverage is the same as you'd get with Pa11y configured with axe-core. The differences come from the layers around the engine: automated page discovery, issue grouping, reporting, and alerting are all built in.
- Axe-core in a real Chrome browser running across your entire site
- Powerful scripting engine for authenticated pages and complex user journeys
- Email, Slack, and Microsoft Teams alerts when something regresses
- MCP server so Claude and Cursor can access your scan results and fix your issues
The verdict
When each tool is the right call
Choose
A11y Pulse
- You want continuous monitoring without operating a server
- You manage multiple sites and want a single reporting view
- You need stakeholder-facing reports and Slack or Teams alerts out of the box
- Your team doesn't have spare capacity for accessibility devops
- You want pages behind a login tested with a sensible scripting model
- You'd rather pay $19 / month than spin up a VPS, MongoDB, and a cron
Choose
Pa11y
- You're happy operating Node and MongoDB and want full control over the stack
- Your primary use case is CI integration with build-it-yourself reporting and alerting
- You have a strong preference for self-hosted, on-premises tooling
- You only need to test a small, stable list of URLs
- The DIY route is part of your team's comfort zone
The information presented here about A11y Pulse and Pa11y is provided for comparison purposes and may change over time. Pricing and feature claims about Pa11y should be verified on their own website before making a purchasing decision.
Accessibility monitoring that runs itself
30-day free trial. No Node.js or MongoDB to manage.
Start your free trial