accessiBe sells an AI-powered overlay widget. Compliapoint fixes your actual code. One of these approaches received a $1 million FTC fine. The other produces a compliance record that holds up in court.
The Federal Trade Commission fined accessiBe $1 million in January 2025 for deceptive business practices related to its accessibility overlay product. The FTC found that accessiBe's claims about automated WCAG compliance were misleading. This enforcement action followed years of criticism from the disability community and accessibility professionals who documented that overlay widgets do not deliver the compliance they promise.
How accessiBe's overlay widget approach compares to Compliapoint's source-code remediation on every metric that matters.
| Feature | accessiBe | Compliapoint |
|---|---|---|
| Approach | ✗ JavaScript overlay injected at render time | ✓ Direct fixes in HTML, CSS, and template source |
| WCAG 2.2 AA Compliance | ✗ Claims automated AI compliance — FTC found these claims deceptive | ✓ Full manual audit and remediation to WCAG 2.2 AA |
| FTC / Legal Standing | ✗ $1 million FTC fine (Jan 2025) for deceptive practices | ✓ No regulatory actions. Compliance certificate suitable for legal defense |
| Screen Reader Compatibility | ✗ Screen readers interact with the DOM before overlays execute | ✓ Fixes applied at the source — works with every assistive technology |
| Pricing Model | ⚠ Subscription starting at $49/month — ongoing indefinitely | ✓ One-time project cost. No forced recurring subscription |
| What Happens If You Cancel | ✗ All "fixes" disappear immediately. Site returns to non-compliant state | ✓ Fixes are permanent. They exist in your code regardless of relationship |
| Legal Defense Documentation | ✗ No compliance certificate. No legal defense package | ✓ Full audit report, compliance certificate, and legal defense documentation |
| Delivery Timeline | ⚠ Widget installs in minutes — but doesn't fix underlying violations | ✓ 7–10 business days standard. Rush available in 1–3 days |
| Survives Site Updates | ✗ Overlay conflicts with theme and plugin updates | ✓ Source fixes survive updates to themes, plugins, and content |
| Industry Reputation | ✗ 800+ professionals signed the Overlay Fact Sheet opposing this approach | ✓ Source remediation is the method endorsed by accessibility professionals |
| VPAT / ACR Available | ✗ Not available | ✓ Full VPAT generation for government and enterprise procurement |
| PDF Remediation | ✗ Not included — overlays only affect HTML rendering | ✓ Full PDF tagging and remediation available |
Understanding why the overlay approach fails requires knowing how assistive technology actually interacts with your website.
accessiBe's subscription model costs more over time — and the moment you stop paying, you're back to square one.
| Cost Factor | accessiBe | Compliapoint |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 | $490+ (subscription) | One-time project fee (varies by site scope) |
| Year 2 | $490+ (renewal required to maintain "fixes") | $0 — fixes are permanent in your code |
| Year 3 | $490+ | $0 |
| Year 4 | $490+ | $0 |
| Year 5 | $490+ | $0 |
| 5-Year Minimum Total | $2,450+ and still not actually compliant | One-time project fee with permanent results |
| If You Stop Paying | ✗ Site immediately returns to non-compliant state | ✓ Nothing changes. The code is yours |
| Tax Credit Eligible | ⚠ May qualify — check with your CPA | ✓ IRS Form 8826 — up to $5,000 annually for eligible small businesses |
In January 2025, the Federal Trade Commission ordered accessiBe to pay $1 million for making deceptive claims about its overlay product's ability to make websites compliant with WCAG standards. The FTC found that accessiBe's marketing misrepresented what its automated tool could actually accomplish. Overlay technology cannot fix structural HTML issues, missing alternative text for complex images, broken form labels, or keyboard navigation problems that exist in the source code.
The Overlay Fact Sheet is a statement signed by over 800 accessibility professionals, researchers, and advocates documenting the limitations and harms of accessibility overlay products. The document outlines why overlays cannot achieve conformance with accessibility standards, and why they frequently make websites harder — not easier — for people with disabilities to use. The fact sheet specifically names products like accessiBe, UserWay, and AudioEye.
Yes. Overlay scripts are visible in the page source code and are trivially detectable by automated scanning tools. Plaintiffs' law firms specializing in ADA website lawsuits have begun specifically targeting websites using overlays, because the presence of an overlay indicates the site owner knew they had accessibility issues but chose a cosmetic fix rather than actual remediation. In 2024, 25% of ADA website lawsuits involved sites running overlay products.
If you cancel your accessiBe subscription, every modification the overlay applied to your website disappears immediately. Your site reverts to its original non-compliant state. This is because the overlay never changed your source code — it only injected temporary modifications at render time via JavaScript. With Compliapoint, fixes are made directly in your HTML, CSS, and template files. They exist in your codebase regardless of your relationship with us.
Start with our free Site Accessibility Assessment. We'll evaluate your actual compliance level beneath the overlay and provide a clear scope of what needs to be fixed at the source. Many of our clients come to us after discovering their overlay didn't protect them from a demand letter. The transition is straightforward: we remediate the source, deliver your compliance documentation, and you remove the overlay script.
Yes. After initial remediation, we offer optional monthly monitoring to catch new violations introduced by content updates, plugin changes, or new pages. The difference is that monitoring is an option — not a requirement to stay compliant. Your source-code fixes remain in place whether or not you continue monitoring.
Our Site Accessibility Assessment takes about 3 minutes. We review your answers and respond with a clear written proposal — no obligation, no automatic charges, no pressure.
Eligible small businesses can recover up to $5,000 of accessibility costs annually via IRS Form 8826.