What Does a Website Accessibility Audit Cost?
Website accessibility audit cost depends on what’s actually being tested, and that’s the first thing to understand, because “audit” means wildly different things across the industry. A $99 “audit” is an automated scan report. A professional manual audit, where specialists test your templates, forms, and user flows with real assistive technology, is a different product entirely, and it’s the one that holds up legally and actually leads to a fixed website.
This guide breaks down what drives the price, what should be included, and how to make sure you only pay once.
Want a quick baseline before talking to anyone? Test a webpage in our web accessibility workspace, free, takes minutes.
The Four Factors That Drive Audit Pricing
1. Site size measured in templates, not pages
A 500-page site built from 12 templates doesn’t need 500 pages tested, it needs those 12 templates plus representative content tested. This is why an honest audit quote starts with questions about how your site is built, not just how many pages it has.
2. Complexity
Forms, checkout flows, modals, accordions, embedded tools, and custom widgets each need individual keyboard and screen reader testing. A brochure site and a web application with the same page count are very different audits.
3. Testing depth
Automated scanning catches roughly 20–30% of real issues, this is the cheap tier, and it’s cheap for a reason (here’s why automated checkers miss the most important issues). A full manual audit adds expert review against WCAG 2.1/2.2 plus testing with actual screen readers and keyboard-only navigation. That human time is most of what you’re paying for, and most of the value.
4. Deliverables
A raw issue list is cheaper than a prioritized roadmap with severity ratings, user impact, and remediation guidance your developers can act on. If the deliverable doesn’t tell your team what to fix first and how, you’ll pay again for someone to interpret it.
What a Real Audit Should Include
- Manual testing of templates, navigation, forms, and key user flows, not just a homepage scan
- Assistive technology testing with screen readers and keyboard-only navigation
- A prioritized report: what’s broken, why it matters, severity, and how to fix it
- Standards mapping to WCAG 2.1/2.2, ADA Title II, and Section 508, so it’s usable as compliance documentation
- A re-test path to verify fixes actually worked
If a quote is missing any of these, that’s what the low price is hiding.
Audit vs. Remediation: Budget for Both
The audit tells you what’s broken; remediation is the work of fixing it. Some teams take the audit roadmap and fix issues in-house; others have the auditor remediate directly, our manual website audit and remediation service does both, which means no knowledge is lost between finding a problem and fixing it. Either way, budget for the full journey, not just the diagnosis.
Why This Matters More in 2026 and 2027
For state and local governments, the DOJ’s ADA Title II rule requires WCAG 2.1 Level AA conformance by April 26, 2027 (populations of 50,000+) or April 26, 2028 (smaller governments and special districts). An audit is step one of that compliance path, and audit-plus-remediation projects take months, not weeks. The earlier you start, the cheaper and calmer it is.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do audit quotes vary so much between providers?
Because they’re quoting different products. Compare what’s actually included — manual testing hours, assistive technology testing, and deliverable quality, not just the bottom line.
Can’t I just use a free scanning tool?
Scanners are a fine starting point, we offer one free in our workspace. But they can’t detect most keyboard traps, focus problems, meaningless alt text, or broken screen reader experiences. Use them to get oriented, not to declare compliance.
How long does an audit take?
Small sites: typically one to two weeks. Larger, multi-template sites: several weeks. You’ll get a firm timeline when the audit is scoped.
Get a Scoped Quote, Free
Start with a free check: test a webpage in our web accessibility workspace, or request a free accessibility review and we’ll tell you exactly what an audit of your site involves and what it will cost, see our pricing page for how scoping works.
