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COMPARISON

Litmus vs axe DevTools

axe DevTools is an excellent browser extension for developers testing individual pages during development. But it's not a monitoring solution. You have to manually visit every page, run the scan, and record the results yourself. Litmus automates all of that — crawling your site, running axe-core on every page, tracking trends, and alerting you to regressions. If you need ongoing compliance monitoring (not just spot-checking), Litmus is the better fit.

Feature comparison

Side by side

Feature
Litmus
axe DevTools
Pricing
Contact for pricing
$0–399/mo
Scanning engine
axe-core (WCAG 2.1 AA)
axe-core (WCAG 2.1 AA)
Site-wide crawling
Yes — up to 100 pages
No — browser extension only
Scheduled scans
Daily or weekly
No
Trend analytics
Yes
No
PDF reports
Yes
Pro only ($399/mo)
Email alerts
Yes
No
Self-serve signup
Yes — under 2 minutes
Yes
Contracts
None — cancel anytime
None
Free trial
14 days, no credit card
Free tier available
Overlay widget
No
No
axe DevTools drawbacks
  • -Browser extension requires manual page-by-page testing
  • -No automated site-wide crawling or scheduled scans
  • -No trend tracking or historical compliance data over time
  • -Pro features locked behind $399/mo enterprise tier
Litmus advantages
  • +Litmus crawls your entire site automatically — no manual page visits
  • +Scheduled daily or weekly scans catch regressions before users do
  • +Built-in trend analytics show compliance progress over time
  • +Full scanning features without the $399/mo enterprise tier wall
Pricing

axe DevTools: $0–399/mo vs Litmus: Contact for pricing

Custom pricing for your needs

We tailor plans to your team and volume. Reach out and we'll get you a quote.

Contact for pricing
FAQ

Common questions about Litmus vs axe DevTools

Does Litmus use the same engine as axe DevTools?

Yes. Litmus uses axe-core, the same open-source accessibility testing engine that powers axe DevTools. The difference is Litmus automates the process across your entire site instead of requiring manual page-by-page testing.

Can I use axe DevTools and Litmus together?

Absolutely. Many teams use axe DevTools for in-development testing and Litmus for ongoing site-wide monitoring. They complement each other well.

Why pay for Litmus when the axe browser extension is free?

The free axe extension tests one page at a time with no scheduling, no trend tracking, and no alerts. Litmus automates scanning across your entire site on a schedule, tracks compliance trends, generates PDF reports, and sends email alerts when new issues appear.

Ready to switch from axe DevTools?

Start scanning your website for WCAG 2.1 AA violations in under 2 minutes. 14-day free trial, no credit card required.

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