UserWay and AudioEye both sell website accessibility widgets, and both make big claims about compliance. But they’re not the same product wearing a different logo. Here’s what each one actually does, what they cost, and what real users and court records say about them, rather than what’s on the sales page.
What UserWay And AudioEye Actually Do
UserWay is a JavaScript widget that lets visitors adjust contrast, text size, spacing, and navigation, plus some AI-assisted fixes for things like alt text and ARIA labels. Level Access bought the company in 2023, and UserWay says it’s installed on more than a million sites.
AudioEye works a bit differently. It pairs automated scanning with IAAP-certified humans who write custom fixes for the stuff automation can’t handle on its own. It’s a publicly traded company, and its widget is branded as the Accessibility Help Desk.
Accessibility Widget Comparison: UserWay Vs AudioEye
Both UserWay and AudioEye have accessibility overlay tools that allow visitors to personalize websites in a way that works best for them. Here’s what you need to know about both products:
Which accessibility overlay has more features
Both are front-end widgets. They let a visitor personalise how a page looks and behaves, but do not change anything in the code underneath. UserWay’s panel is broad, with presets built for specific needs like low vision or ADHD-friendly reading. Meanwhile, AudioEye’s Help Desk widget covers similar ground and adds a reporting button so visitors can flag a problem right from the page.
| Feature | UserWay Widget | AudioEye Help Desk |
|---|---|---|
| Contrast and colour adjustment | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Text resizing and spacing | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Reading guide/reading mask | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Dyslexia-friendly font option | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Keyboard navigation controls | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Cursor size and highlighting | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Limited |
| Seizure-safe / low-motion profile | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Not a standard feature |
| Built-in visitor issue-reporting button | ⚠️ Not a standard feature | ✅ Yes |
| Language/translation controls | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Limited |
What are the pricing structures for each overlay?
UserWay’s widget starts around $490 a year for up to 100K monthly page views and climbs to $1,490 a year for busier sites. Some sources list monthly pricing between $49 and $249 instead.
AudioEye’s Help Desk widget usually comes bundled into plans priced from $199 to $799 a month. Both companies quietly push custom pricing for bigger accounts, so the published numbers aren’t the whole story once you’re talking to sales.
What do real users report about these products?
UserWay reviewers on Capterra and G2 tend to like how easy the widget is for visitors, and a few call out the contrast and highlighting tools as genuinely useful. The complaint that keeps coming up is cost, people feel it’s steep for what is, at its core, a widget. AudioEye gets similar praise for its personalisation panel, and several reviewers specifically mention the visitor reporting button as a nice extra that other overlays skip.
How easy are the overlays to install?
Both go in with a single script tag or a plugin, so you don’t need a developer on standby. UserWay has a WordPress plugin and a good number of CMS integrations, which makes it quick for smaller sites. AudioEye supports similar setups through tag managers and CMS plugins, though a handful of reviewers said they needed support to sort out an account or deployment mismatch.
Final verdict: Which are the best accessibility overlays?
For plain visitor-facing personalisation, UserWay gives you more presets out of the box. AudioEye covers the same core ground and throws in a direct feedback channel, which is genuinely handy if you want to hear from users as issues come up. Judged purely as a UX layer, either one holds up fine on its own.
Accessibility Checker Comparison: UserWay Vs AudioEye
Another major product for both UserWay and AudioEye is the website accessibility checker tool. Here’s how they compare:
Feature breakdown of Userway and AudioEye
Past the widget, both companies also sell a checker that scans a site for accessibility issues. UserWay treats scanning and monitoring as an add-on sitting on top of its core plans, feeding into dashboards and audit reports. AudioEye builds its checker into the platform from day one, mixing automated detection with a workflow that routes issues to either automation or a human reviewer.
| Features | AudioEye Checker | UserWay Checker |
|---|---|---|
| Full Site Scanning | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Progress Tracking | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Ai-based Autofixes | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| CMS Workflow Integration (e.g. Jira) | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| WCAG A Automation | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| WCAG AA Automation | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| WCAG AAA Automation | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Broken Links Checker | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| PDF Submission | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Browser Extension | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Results Download (e.g. CSV) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No |
| Site Crawler (Map Generation) | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Sitemap Submission | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Team Management | ❌ No | ✅ Yes |
| Domain Manager/Dashboard | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Code Level Remediation | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
Which accessibility checker is easier to use?
People describe UserWay’s dashboard as intuitive, with clear compliance tracking, though a few mention it can feel like too much information at once, or that it glitches occasionally.
AudioEye groups automated and expert-reviewed fixes into one view, which reviewers say keeps status tracking simple. The one gripe that keeps showing up: guidance on complex, low-confidence issues isn’t always clear.
How are these accessibility checkers priced?
Neither company breaks out checker pricing on its own in most public listings. UserWay folds scanning and monitoring into its Pro, Pro Plus, and Ultimate bundles, or sells them separately by page count.
AudioEye bundles its checker into tiered plans too, and saves the deeper monitoring for its higher, sales-quoted packages rather than selling it standalone.
What support services does each company offer?
UserWay offers chat support, dedicated account managers on the higher plans, and an Attorney-Led Legal Support Program that comes with annual subscriptions.
AudioEye offers email, phone, chat, and a knowledge base, and you can bring in IAAP-certified specialists for manual reviews or litigation-related documentation on its Assurance tier.
What do users report about each accessibility checker?
Feedback on both checkers is mostly positive day to day. But independent reviewers keep landing on the same honest point: an automated scan, no matter how well it’s presented, only catches a slice of real WCAG violations. Neither dashboard replaces a manual audit against a specific legal standard.
Final Verdict: Which company has the better accessibility checker?
AudioEye is the stronger pick if you want expert triage built into the workflow instead of bought separately. UserWay suits smaller sites that want a lighter scanning tool bundled with the widget, with room to add a full manual audit later if the business grows or legal risk goes up.
What other products and services do UserWay and AudioEye offer?
Accessibility overlays and checker tools are at the center of what brands like UserWay and AudioEye do. But they’re far from the only product or service. Here’s what else you can expect:
UserWay’s audit, VPAT, and legal support services
UserWay sells standalone accessibility audits and VPAT documentation for organisations that need formal proof of compliance for procurement. Plus, the Attorney-Led Legal Support Program is bundled into annual plans.
UserWay’s PDF and document remediation
There’s a separate service for remediating PDFs and other documents, priced per page, aimed at organisations sitting on a lot of public-facing paperwork. These services can be an excellent way for public sector bodies to meet compliance needs under ADA Title II and PSBAR.
AudioEye’s Assurance managed service
AudioEye’s top-tier Assurance plan pairs automated detection with ongoing, human-led remediation and a legal protection guarantee. It’s built for teams that want the vendor actively managing compliance rather than just handing over reports.
AudioEye’s AudioEyeQ learning platform
AudioEyeQ is a training resource for teams who want to actually understand accessibility principles, rather than leaning entirely on the tooling to think for them. It’s a great way to implement organisational change to address long-term behaviours.
Conclusion: Is UserWay or AudioEye the better accessibility platform?
Both platforms genuinely improve things for visitors using assistive technology. But both also fall short of the full code-level remediation that real WCAG conformance needs.
UserWay costs less and installs faster, which suits smaller sites or tighter budgets. AudioEye usually requires a greater budget but puts more human eyes on the problems automation misses.
Given the lawsuits both companies have faced over how they’ve marketed compliance, the safer move is to treat either one as part of an accessibility strategy, not the whole thing. This could include pairing the widget and accessibility checker with an actual manual audit against WCAG 2.1 AA.
UserWay Vs AudioEye FAQs
Looking for a quick recap? Here are answers to some of the most frequently asked questions on this topic:
No, neither overlay ensures ADA compliance. Both companies have faced lawsuits or scrutiny over how their compliance claims were marketed in the past.
Yes, both install via a simple script or CMS plugin and can be set up by a non-technical team member in most cases.
No, accessibility checker tools only catch between 30% and 60% of the WCAG compliance issues. You should pair automated and manual checking for the most effective strategy.