Website accessibility audit cost: what small businesses really pay
The website accessibility audit cost for a small business site runs anywhere from $0 for a do-it-yourself scan to $1,250–$2,750 for a full expert audit, and $3,000 or more once developers fix what the audit finds. The price depends on how many pages are tested, whether a person tests by hand or only a tool runs, and whether the audit comes with the fixes. Below is each price tier with its source, what you actually get for the money, and the cheaper routes that still leave you with a real record.
The short answer: price by type of audit
| Type | Typical price | What you get | Fits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free scan with a browser tool | $0 | A list of automated errors on one page at a time | A first look at one page |
| Self-serve report from a scanner | $79–$199 (WCAG Repair's published range) | A report for up to a set number of pages; you or your developer fix it | Owners who can edit their own site |
| Small audit with the fix written out | $499 (our Site Record) | Up to 25 pages tested, each fix written for your platform, a statement page, monthly rechecks for 12 months | Owners with a web person or a platform theme editor |
| Audit credited to a fix | $450 audit, fix from $2,900 (Linnflux's published prices) | The audit fee comes off the repair price | Owners who want it all done by one firm |
| Expert manual audit | $1,250–$2,750 (accessible.org's published range) | Hands-on testing with assistive technology, a formal report | Larger sites, legal files |
| Audit plus agency fixes | $1,000 minimum, small-business totals $1,500–$3,500 (accessible.org, Clutch listings) | The whole job through a developer at $100–$200 an hour | Custom sites with an in-house team |
Prices are vendor-published figures collected on 2026-11-03 and change often. Check each vendor's page before you decide.
What an accessibility audit actually is
An audit tests your pages against a written standard. For websites in the United States that is almost always the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at level AA, the version courts, settlements and government guidance most often point to. A tool such as axe checks things a program can measure: missing image descriptions, low colour contrast, buttons with no name, form fields with no label, a missing page language. A person adds what a program cannot judge: whether an image description makes sense, whether the page works with a keyboard alone, whether a screen reader reads things in a sensible order.
Automated tools find a real share of problems, but not all of them. That is why a cheap automated report and an expensive manual audit can both be honest products. They answer different questions. Ask any seller which one they are giving you.
What drives the price up or down
Number of pages
Most quotes are per page template, not per URL. A restaurant site with a home page, a menu, a contact page and a reservation page may have four templates even if it has forty URLs. Ask the seller how many templates they will test and which ones.
Manual testing
Testing with a keyboard and a screen reader takes an expert hours. This is the main reason expert audits sit at $1,250 and up. A tool-only audit has almost no marginal cost, which is why it can be sold for under $200.
Platform
WordPress, Shopify and a custom build let someone edit the theme code. Hosted builders such as Wix, GoDaddy and Squarespace limit what can be changed, so some fixes are impossible and the audit has to say so.
Whether the fix is included
Fixing is where the real cost lives. A developer at $100–$200 an hour fixing contrast in a theme, adding names to buttons and labelling forms can run several hours or several days. An audit alone looks cheap next to that, but it is only the first step.
Retesting
Sites change. A new plugin, a new banner image or a new menu page can add errors the day after a clean test. A one-time audit with no recheck gives you a snapshot. A recheck schedule gives you a record.
Is a free audit good enough?
For a first look, yes. WAVE, the axe browser extension, Lighthouse in Chrome and Accessibility Insights are free and good. The limit is that each checks one page at a time and gives you a raw list. You still have to decide what matters, work out how to fix it on your platform, and keep dated proof. Our guide to the free website accessibility checkers compares them side by side.
Audit cost vs lawsuit cost
Website accessibility suits are common enough to price in. EcomBack counted 3,948 federal and state website accessibility suits in 2025, up 23.84% on 2024. The same report notes that a few dozen plaintiffs file about half of them, and that small sites are among the targets. Settlements for small businesses vary widely and are a matter for a lawyer, not a blog post. What a business can control is whether it has found its errors, fixed what it can, and kept a dated record of doing so. We are not lawyers and nothing here is legal advice. If you have received a demand letter, speak to an attorney first.
A worked example: a six-template local business site
Take a dental office or restaurant site on WordPress with six page templates: home, services or menu, about, contact, a booking or order page, and a blog post. Here is how the website accessibility audit cost changes by route.
| Route | Cost | Time from you | What is left to do |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free tools on six pages | $0 | 2–3 hours to run, read and sort the lists | Everything: decide, fix, retest, write the record |
| Self-serve report | About $79–$199 | 1 hour | Fixing and retesting |
| Site Record | $499 | Minutes to send the address; your web person's time to apply the fixes | Applying the written fixes |
| Expert audit plus agency fixes | $1,500–$3,500 | A few calls | Little, if the agency has edit access |
Notice that the cheapest route costs you the most hours, and the dearest route costs the most money. The sensible middle for most owners is to pay for a clear written list and apply the easy fixes themselves or hand them to the person who already maintains the site. Contrast fixes, image descriptions, link names and form labels are usually theme or content edits that take a competent web person an hour or two each, not days.
What does a website accessibility audit cost per page?
Quotes are rarely per page, but you can work it out. An expert audit at $1,250–$2,750 for 10 templates is $125–$275 a template. A tool-based report at $79–$199 for 10 pages is under $20 a page. Site Record at $499 for up to 25 pages is under $20 a page and includes the written fixes and twelve monthly rechecks. The sensible comparison is not price per page but what the page price includes: manual testing, fixes written out, and rechecks.
Cheaper ways to get a real audit
- Scan yourself, then pay for the fix list. Run a free tool on your five most important pages. If the result is long, pay for a written fix list rather than a full manual audit.
- Ask for per-template pricing. Send the seller your home page, one inner page, your contact page and your checkout or booking page.
- Bundle the retest. Prefer one price that includes rechecks to a price that charges again each time.
- Use your platform's accessible theme. A WordPress theme tagged accessibility-ready or a current Shopify theme removes a share of common errors before you start.
- Skip the overlay. A widget that sits on top of your site costs money every month and does not fix the code. See accessiBe alternatives for why.
What a $499 Site Record covers
We built Site Record for owners who are not developers. It tests up to 25 pages with automated tools and a keyboard walk, then writes the fix for each issue in your platform's terms: the exact passing colour for a faint button, the name a link should have, the title a frame needs. You get a page listing every issue, a ready-to-link accessibility statement, and a monthly recheck for 12 months with dated results on one page. We never change your site and never ask for a login. We do not say your site is compliant, because automated tests find part of what the guidelines ask, not all of it. See the Site Record page.
Questions to ask before you buy any audit
- Which standard and version do you test against? (WCAG 2.1 AA is a common answer.)
- How many pages or templates are included?
- Is any of it tested by a person?
- Will I get each fix written for my platform, or only a list of errors?
- Is a recheck included and for how long?
- Do you sell an overlay or widget as the fix?
- What will you not promise? Anyone promising legal protection is selling something they cannot deliver.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a website accessibility audit cost?
$0 for a free tool, $79–$199 for a self-serve report, $450–$2,750 for a professional audit, and $1,500–$3,500 or more with developer fixes for a small business.
How long does an accessibility audit take?
A tool scan takes minutes. A manual audit of 10–25 pages commonly takes days of tester time plus report writing; ask for a date in writing.
Do I need an audit if I have an accessibility widget?
Yes. A widget leaves the underlying code unchanged, so scanners and screen readers still meet the same errors.
Can I do the audit myself?
You can run the automated part yourself for free. Judging alt text, keyboard use and reading order takes practice, and fixing in a theme takes edit access.
How often should I recheck?
After every site change and at least monthly if your content changes often. That is why Site Record rechecks every 30 days for a year.
Is an audit proof that my site is accessible?
No. It is a dated record of what was tested and what was found. Say so honestly on your statement page.
Next step after the audit: see website accessibility remediation cost for fix prices and ADA website compliance cost for the whole bill.
Comparing providers? See accessibility audit services for websites.
On WordPress? See WordPress accessibility audit. On Shopify: ADA compliance Shopify.
Sources
- accessible.org, "Cost to make a website ADA compliant", audit and fix labour ranges.
- Linnflux, ADA compliance service page, published audit and fix prices.
- WCAG Repair, pricing page, $79–$199 self-serve reports.
- EcomBack, 2025 annual ADA website accessibility lawsuit report (3,948 suits).
- W3C, Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1.