One runs a real WCAG scan on your store's markup and tells you what to fix. The other is a JavaScript overlay the FTC ordered to pay $1 million for overstating what it does.
accessiBe sells accessWidget, a script you drop onto your storefront that adjusts contrast, font size, and adds some ARIA attributes on the fly in the visitor's browser. Your store's underlying HTML never changes.
AccessKit scans the actual HTML your storefront serves, scores it against WCAG 2.1 AA, and lists every failure — missing alt text, unlabeled form fields, poor link text, heading order, language and zoom issues — with the exact success criterion each one fails, so you (or your developer) fix the real markup. AccessKit also generates and hosts the public accessibility statement the EAA requires.
| AccessKit | accessiBe accessWidget | |
|---|---|---|
| How it works | Scans your store's real HTML and reports WCAG 2.1 AA failures | JavaScript overlay layered on top of your existing markup |
| Fixes the source | No — you fix the code, and the issue clears on re-scan | No — the underlying markup is never edited |
| Regulatory record | — | Ordered by the FTC to pay $1,000,000 (2025) over misleading compliance claims |
| EAA accessibility statement | Generated and hosted for you | Not part of the product |
| Shopify pricing | Free plan, Pro $4.99/mo | Custom quote, typically billed annually |
The FTC's case against accessiBe. On January 3, 2025 the FTC announced a proposed order alleging accessiBe's marketing claimed accessWidget could make any website WCAG-compliant, when in fact it did not, and that the company presented paid, undisclosed reviews as independent opinions. The Commission approved the order as final in April 2025: accessiBe must pay $1 million and stop making the disputed claims.
An overlay can make a store look more accessible in a screenshot while the markup a screen reader actually depends on stays broken. That gap is exactly what the FTC's order and a wave of 2025 ADA lawsuits — many filed against sites that already had an overlay installed — have been about. Fixing the underlying HTML is slower than pasting in a script, but it's the difference that survives a real audit.
Install AccessKit and run a free scan — no overlay, no guesswork.
Scan my store