axe-core

Open Source

The accessibility testing engine behind most modern a11y tools — embeddable, fast, and standards-aligned.

Visit website GitHub

Pricing

Free / Open source

Type

Automation

Languages

JavaScript, TypeScript

// VERDICT

Reach for axe-core when you want to bake accessibility checks into your unit/E2E tests and CI with a trusted, zero-false-positive engine. Skip it when you want a visual in-browser checker (WAVE), a CLI-first scanner (Pa11y), or manual assistive-tech testing.

Best for

An embeddable open-source accessibility engine you drop into automated tests - it scans rendered HTML against WCAG rules with zero false positives, and is the de-facto engine that powers many other a11y tools.

Avoid when

You want a no-code visual checker, manual screen-reader testing, or a hosted monitoring platform rather than a library in your test suite.

CI/CD fit

npm library · @axe-core/playwright, cypress-axe, Selenium · Jest/Vitest · GitHub Actions · GitLab CI

Languages

JavaScript · TypeScript

Team fit

Dev/QA teams shifting a11y left · Automation engineers · Teams adding a11y gates to CI

Setup

Easy

Maintenance

Low

Learning

Beginner

Licence

Free / Open source

// BEST FOR

Embedding accessibility checks directly in automated tests
Scanning rendered HTML against WCAG 2.0/2.1/2.2 (A/AA/AAA) rules
Zero false positives - flagged issues are real
Integrating with Playwright, Cypress, Selenium, Jest and more
The de-facto engine (it also powers Lighthouse's a11y audit and axe DevTools)
Catching the automatable share of a11y issues early, in CI

// AVOID WHEN

You want a no-code visual in-browser checker (WAVE)
You prefer a CLI/sitemap scanner over a code library (Pa11y)
You need manual screen-reader / assistive-tech testing
You want a hosted monitoring platform with dashboards
You expect automation to cover all of WCAG (it covers a subset)
You don't have an automated test suite to embed it in

// QUICK START

npm install --save-dev @axe-core/playwright
// in a test:
// const results = await new AxeBuilder({ page }).analyze();
// expect(results.violations).toEqual([]);

// ALTERNATIVES TO CONSIDER

Tool	Choose it when
Pa11y	You want a CLI/CI scanner over URLs or a sitemap rather than a code library.
Lighthouse	You want a broader audit (a11y + performance + SEO) in one run.
WAVE	You want a visual in-browser checker for manual evaluation.