Why Deque customers switch to AccessProof
Deque ships the gold-standard axe-core engine and a heavy enterprise suite around it (axe DevTools Pro, axe Monitor, axe Auditor). AccessProof uses the same axe-core 4.9.1 engine and packages it as a self-serve tool from $0/mo.
AccessProof vs Deque
| Criterion | AccessProof | Deque | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Audit engine | axe-core 4.9.1 (vendored, open-source) | axe-core 4.9+ (same engine, Deque builds it) | Tie |
| Pricing model | Self-serve $0-$199/mo, no seat licensing | Per-seat licensing $40-$80/dev/mo + enterprise monitoring tiers | AccessProof |
| Indie / agency friendly | $29/mo Starter covers 5 sites — no minimum | Enterprise positioning, seat counts matter | AccessProof |
| IDE / DevTools integration | CLI / API for CI — no IDE plugin | axe DevTools browser extension (free + Pro) | Competitor |
| CI/CD gate | REST API + JSON, block deploys with threshold | axe-core CLI (free) or axe Monitor (enterprise) | Tie |
| Court-ready PDF report | Timestamped PDF with WCAG citations + selectors | axe Auditor produces manual-test reports (services tier) | AccessProof |
| Multi-site portfolio | One dashboard, 5-25-unlimited sites by plan | axe Monitor — enterprise pricing per site | AccessProof |
Claims about Deque reflect public marketing as of 2026-05-19. Inaccurate? Email [email protected] — we correct factual errors.
Get the axe-core audit without the enterprise wrapper.
Deque built axe-core — the open-source accessibility engine that powers AccessProof, Siteimprove (in derived form), GOV.UK's audit pipeline, the W3C's testing tools, and dozens of other audit products. Credit where it's due: Deque's rule set is the reason automated accessibility testing works at all.
Where Deque's commercial products (axe DevTools Pro, axe Monitor, axe Auditor) get expensive is the surrounding suite: enterprise seat licenses ($40-$80 per developer per month), monitoring tiers in the thousands per year, sales-led contracts, and add-on services. For a single dev or a small team, axe DevTools Pro alone often runs $500-$1,000+ per year per seat.
AccessProof packages the same axe-core 4.9.1 engine (vendored, open-source) with a self-serve product around it: paste a URL, get a PDF, integrate with CI/CD, pay $0-$199/mo. We're not competing with Deque on rule depth — we're using their rules. We're competing on packaging and price.
Sources: deque.com (axe DevTools Pro, axe Monitor pricing tiers as of 2026-05) · github.com/dequelabs/axe-core (engine AccessProof ships) · public seat-license benchmarks.
Audits, not band-aids.
Vendored axe-core 4.9.1
We ship the audit engine ourselves. Same rule set used by Deque, GOV.UK, and the W3C — 90+ rules across WCAG 2.2 A/AA/AAA, Section 508, EN 301 549.
Court-ready timestamped PDFs
Each scan produces a signed PDF with site URL, scan time (UTC), exact element selectors, WCAG criterion citations, and remediation steps. Designed to be admissible.
Scheduled scans, regression alerts
Daily, weekly, or hourly cadence. Email + Slack + webhook alerts when a regression introduces a new critical or serious issue.
Multi-site, multi-tenant
One dashboard for a portfolio. Agencies manage 25+ clients on a single Pro account; enterprises run unlimited sites on Business.
REST API + CI/CD gate
Block deploys with an accessibility threshold in your pipeline. POST a URL, get JSON back with violations, score, and a fail/pass gate.
No JavaScript on your site
AccessProof does not inject anything into your pages. We render them in Chromium and inspect — your DOM stays exactly as your team built it.
Pay for an audit, not a widget.
1 site · monthly · HTML report
5 sites · weekly · PDF reports · email alerts
25 sites · daily · API + CI/CD · branded PDF
Deque's commercial products are priced by tier: axe DevTools Pro starts around $40-$80 per developer per month with annual commitment; axe Monitor (continuous monitoring) starts in the thousands per year; axe Auditor (manual test management) is enterprise sales-led.
Source: deque.com/axe (public marketing as of 2026-05) · industry seat-license benchmarks 2024-2025.
Business plan ($199/mo) covers unlimited sites and hourly scans — see /pricing.
Questions we hear from Deque customers.
Why not just use the free axe-core CLI from Deque directly?
You absolutely can — axe-core is MIT-licensed and the CLI is solid for one-off scans. The reasons teams use AccessProof instead: (1) hosted infrastructure — no headless Chromium to install in your CI; (2) PDF reports formatted for audit defensibility (not just JSON); (3) scheduled scans + alerts + score-over-time tracking; (4) multi-site dashboard for agencies. If you only need a single dev running scans locally, the CLI is enough. If you need a tool with reporting and history, AccessProof.
Is AccessProof affiliated with Deque?
No. AccessProof is an independent product that vendors the open-source axe-core engine (MIT license) as permitted. We do not use Deque's commercial axe DevTools Pro, axe Monitor, or axe Auditor products. Full credit to Deque for building the engine; this is the open-source ecosystem working as designed.
Should I pay for axe DevTools Pro and AccessProof?
It depends on your team shape. axe DevTools Pro is excellent for developers who want IDE-level feedback while writing code (live linting in DevTools, intelligent guided tests). AccessProof is excellent for the build-time / production-monitoring layer (PDF reports, scheduled audits, CI gate, multi-site dashboards). Many teams use the free axe DevTools extension during development and AccessProof for the CI + reporting layer.
Does AccessProof catch the same issues as Deque's axe?
Yes — same engine, same rule set. AccessProof ships axe-core 4.9.1 vendored in our worker. Both products will flag the same WCAG violations on the same DOM. The differences are packaging, pricing, reporting format, and whether you want a tool you self-serve vs. an enterprise platform you contract.
Run a free WCAG audit on your site.
No widget on your DOM. No long demo call. A timestamped report in ~42s.