Accessibility audit pricing varies enormously — from $500 automated scans to $50,000+ enterprise engagements. The difference is not markup; it is scope and methodology. Here is an honest breakdown of what drives cost and what you should expect to pay.
The three types of accessibility audits
Automated scan only ($300–$1,500)
Tools like axe, WAVE, or Deque's automated scanner check your site against rules that can be tested programmatically. These tools catch about 30–40% of WCAG issues — the ones with objectively determinable pass/fail states. They miss everything that requires human judgment: whether alt text is meaningful, whether focus order makes logical sense, whether error messages are helpful. An automated scan alone is not a WCAG audit and does not produce a defensible conformance claim.
Hybrid audit — automated + manual ($3,000–$15,000)
This is the standard for organizations seeking genuine WCAG 2.1 AA conformance. A certified auditor manually tests key user flows with keyboard navigation and screen readers (NVDA/JAWS on Windows, VoiceOver on Mac/iOS), supplemented by automated scanning. You receive a detailed report with severity ratings, screenshots, and fix-level guidance. This is what most ADA legal situations require as evidence of good-faith compliance.
Enterprise audit ($15,000–$80,000+)
Large-scale digital ecosystems — multiple properties, native apps, PDFs, back-office tools — require coordinated audit programs. These engagements include stakeholder interviews, accessibility management maturity assessment, organization-wide remediation roadmaps, and Voluntary Product Accessibility Templates (VPATs) for procurement purposes.
What drives the price
- Number of unique page templates — a 5,000-page site with 12 templates costs less than you think; a 200-page site with 80 custom components costs more.
- Complexity of interactive components — SPAs with custom widgets take significantly longer to test than server-rendered content sites.
- Whether native mobile apps are in scope
- Document remediation (PDFs, Word, PowerPoint) — often priced separately
- Turnaround time — rush audits (under 2 weeks) command a premium
- Whether a VPAT/ACR is required
What a good audit report includes
- Every issue mapped to a specific WCAG 2.1 success criterion
- Severity rating (Critical / Serious / Moderate / Minor) with impact description
- Screenshot or code snippet for every issue
- Recommended fix at the code level
- Prioritized remediation roadmap
- Executive summary suitable for leadership and legal teams
The cost of not auditing
The average ADA website lawsuit settlement ranges from $25,000 to $100,000, plus legal fees. Many plaintiffs' firms file dozens of cases per month using automated scanning to identify targets. A $5,000 audit that produces a remediation roadmap is insurance — and unlike insurance, it also makes your site better for 26% of the population who have some form of disability.
Priya Nair
Senior WCAG Auditor
A certified accessibility consultant at BuildWithAccess helping organizations achieve WCAG compliance and build more inclusive digital experiences.
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