Compliapoint vs EqualWeb
EqualWeb sells four self-serve widget plans and one managed plan. The widget plans are the same JavaScript overlay approach as accessiBe and UserWay, and they hand the actual work back to you. Human remediation appears only on the managed plan, which is quoted on request. Here's what you're actually buying.
🔍 The Complexity Is the Problem
EqualWeb publishes four widget plans — $39, $49, $109 and $169 a month, or $390, $490, $1,090 and $1,690 a year — plus a Managed plan quoted on request. Liability and warranty cover, expert audits, expert remediation and a certificate of performance are all listed as not included on every widget plan. The AI-powered widget available on the entry-level plans? That's the same JavaScript overlay approach the entire accessibility community opposes. Most buyers land on the automated tiers and believe they're getting the hybrid experience. They're not.
What Each EqualWeb Plan Actually Gives You
Four widget plans and one managed plan. The widget plans differ only in how many pages they cover — every one of them is the same overlay, and none includes expert remediation.
The $1,000,000 Warranty — Read the Fine Print
EqualWeb heavily markets their $1M warranty. Here's what it actually covers and what it doesn't.
💰 What EqualWeb's Warranty Claims
EqualWeb advertises a warranty of up to $1,000,000 on its Managed plan as a headline feature. This warranty is meant to convey financial protection against accessibility-related legal claims. It's a compelling marketing message — until you examine the conditions attached to it.
What the fine print reveals:
Full Feature Comparison
EqualWeb's automated tiers vs Compliapoint's source-code remediation — compared on the metrics that matter for legal defense and actual compliance.
| Feature | EqualWeb | Compliapoint |
|---|---|---|
| Core Approach | ◐ Overlay widget on automated tiers; human remediation only on managed tier | ✓ Direct source-code fixes on every engagement |
| Source Code Modified | ⚠ Only on the Managed plan — and even then, the overlay widget remains installed | ✓ Yes — all fixes made directly in HTML, CSS, and templates |
| Pricing Complexity | ⚠ 7 tiers ranging from free to custom pricing. Most critical features locked to highest tier | ✓ One engagement model. Scope-based pricing. Everything included |
| Human Expert Remediation | ⚠ Only on the Managed plan, which is quoted on request | ✓ Included in every engagement |
| Accessibility Test Record | ⚠ Only on the Managed plan — requires an active subscription | ✓ Included. Dated, signed, and permanently yours |
| Liability & warranty | ◐ Managed plan only, advertised as up to $1,000,000. Terms not fully public. Void if the subscription lapses | ✓ No warranty needed — actual source-code remediation with compliance documentation for court |
| What Happens If You Cancel | ✗ Automated fixes disappear. Warranty void. Certificate invalid | ✓ All fixes remain. The test record still stands. Documentation is yours |
| Visible Widget on Site | ⚠ Widget displayed on every plan — including Managed | ✓ No widget. Accessibility built into the code |
| Legal Defense Documentation | ◐ Limited to managed tier. Tied to active subscription | ✓ Complete audit report, remediation docs, and accessibility test record |
| PDF Remediation | ◐ Sold separately through their PDF tools; no rate published | ✓ Available as an add-on, from $600 per engagement |
| VPAT / ACR Available | ✗ Not listed as a standard deliverable | ✓ Full VPAT for government and enterprise procurement |
| Delivery Timeline | ⚠ Widget deploys quickly; full remediation timeline unclear | ✓ 7–10 business days standard. Rush in 1–3 days |
| Screen Reader Compatibility | ⚠ Widget modifies DOM at runtime — timing conflicts with assistive technology | ✓ Source-level fixes work natively with every assistive technology |
The Two Models Compared
What you're actually paying for on most EqualWeb plans vs what Compliapoint delivers on every engagement.
EqualWeb's Automated Tiers ($390–$1,690/yr)
- A JavaScript widget is installed via one line of code in your site header
- AI scans the page and applies automated DOM modifications at load time
- OCR-based alt text generation for images — limited by plan tier
- An accessibility toolbar with contrast, font size, and cursor adjustments
- No human auditor reviews your site at these tiers
- No source-code changes are made to your HTML, CSS, or templates
- No accessibility test record provided
- No liability or warranty cover on any widget plan
- All automated "fixes" vanish if subscription cancelled
Compliapoint — Every Engagement
- Full manual audit of every page against WCAG 2.2 AA standards
- Violations fixed directly in your HTML, CSS, and template source files
- Alt text written by humans who understand the content context
- No visible widget, toolbar, or floating icon on your site
- Human expertise included — not locked behind a premium tier
- Accessibility test record included — dated, signed, and permanently yours
- Legal defense documentation included
- VPAT available for government and enterprise procurement
- All fixes are permanent in your source code — no subscription dependency
5-Year Cost Comparison
Whether you choose EqualWeb's automated tiers or their premium managed plan, the subscription model costs more over time — with no permanent result if you leave.
| Cost Factor | EqualWeb | Compliapoint |
|---|---|---|
| Year 1 (Medium tier) | $490 (overlay only — no human remediation) | One-time project fee (varies by scope) |
| Year 1 (Large tier) | $1,090 (still overlay only) | |
| 5-Year Total (Medium) | $2,450 with zero source-code fixes | One-time fee. 100% of identified violations fixed permanently |
| 5-Year Total (Large) | $5,450 with zero source-code fixes | |
| If You Stop Paying | ✗ All modifications disappear. Widget removed. No certificate. No warranty | ✓ Nothing changes. Code is yours. Test record is yours |
| Tax Credit Eligible | ⚠ May qualify — check with your CPA | ✓ IRS Form 8826 — some small businesses may qualify; ask your tax professional |
Common Questions When Evaluating
EqualWeb says they're a hybrid. How is that different from AudioEye's hybrid claim?
Both EqualWeb and AudioEye use the word "hybrid" to describe combining automation with human expertise. The key difference is pricing structure: AudioEye locks human expertise behind its Managed tier, which it quotes on request rather than publishing. EqualWeb locks it behind its Managed plan, also quoted on request. In both cases, the entry-level and mid-tier plans are pure overlay — identical in approach to accessiBe and UserWay. The "hybrid" label applies to the company's total offering, not to the plan most customers actually purchase.
Is the $1,000,000 warranty worth paying for?
A warranty is a promise to compensate you if something goes wrong. A accessibility test record is documentation that your site has been remediated and meets WCAG standards. Courts evaluating ADA claims look for evidence that you identified and fixed violations — not that you purchased an insurance policy from a widget vendor. Actual remediation with proper documentation is a stronger legal position than a warranty tied to a subscription that could lapse.
EqualWeb has been in business for over 20 years. Doesn't that mean they're reliable?
Longevity demonstrates business stability, not technical effectiveness. EqualWeb has evolved its product over two decades, and their premium managed service with human auditors does provide more thorough coverage than their automated tiers. However, the vast majority of their pricing tiers rely on the same JavaScript overlay approach that accessibility professionals have formally opposed. The company's age does not change the fundamental technical limitation of overlays.
What about EqualWeb's OCR-based alt text for images?
EqualWeb uses optical character recognition to generate alternative text for images. OCR can identify text within images, but it cannot determine the meaning or context of a photograph, chart, illustration, or infographic. A photo of a team meeting, a graph showing quarterly revenue, or a product image each require human-written alt text that describes the content in context. Automated OCR alt text frequently produces inaccurate or meaningless descriptions that fail WCAG success criteria.
I already have EqualWeb. What should I do?
Start with our free Site Accessibility Assessment. We'll evaluate your site's actual source-code compliance beneath the EqualWeb widget. If you're on one of the automated tiers, there's a high probability that significant violations remain unaddressed in your source code. We audit, remediate the source, deliver your compliance documentation, and you can remove the EqualWeb widget. Your site becomes natively accessible with permanent fixes and no subscription dependency.
Does Compliapoint offer a warranty?
Compliapoint delivers something more valuable than a warranty: actual remediation with documentation. Your accessibility test record documents that a WCAG 2.2 AA audit was conducted and all identified violations were remediated. Your audit report details every violation found and every fix applied. This documentation serves as direct evidence in legal proceedings — not a promise to pay if the evidence doesn't hold up. We also offer optional monthly monitoring to catch new violations introduced by content changes.
What the Widget Plans Leave You to Do
EqualWeb’s widget plans are a toolkit, not a service. Their own published plan comparison lists what you get — and reading it carefully tells you what stays your job.
| What EqualWeb provides | What that leaves you doing |
|---|---|
| “Errors fixing guide” | Reading the guide and making the fixes yourself |
| “Alt Text editor” | Writing the alt text for every image — and knowing what good alt text is |
| Automatic fixes, with custom fixes not included | Everything the automation cannot do. That is where the violations that get sued over live |
| Expert audits not included | Deciding for yourself which flagged issues are real and which are noise |
| Monitoring scan covers 100 pages | On the Huge plan, which covers a site of up to 100,000 pages, the other 99,900 go unmonitored |
| OCR alt text up to 1,000 images | Every image past the first thousand — the same cap on the $39 plan and the $169 one |
| Certificate of performance not included | Producing your own evidence if you are ever challenged |
| Liability & warranty not included | Carrying the legal risk yourself |
Every row above is taken from EqualWeb’s own published plan comparison, checked September 2026. The widget plans are self-serve by design: to get real value from one you already need to know WCAG — which is usually the reason someone went looking for help in the first place. A Compliapoint engagement is the opposite trade: we do the reading, the judging and the fixing, and you get the documentation. See what that costs.
The Two Questions That Decide This
Most of the detail on this page comes down to two things: whether your actual code gets fixed, and what it costs you over time.
| EqualWeb | Compliapoint | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Does it change your source code? | Only on the Managed plan — and the widget stays installed even then | Yes — fixes are written into your HTML, CSS and templates |
| If you stop paying | Automated fixes disappear; the certificate and the warranty lapse with the subscription | Nothing changes. The code is yours, the test record is yours |
| 2. What does it cost, and does it stop? | $390–$1,690 a year for the four widget plans. Managed is quoted on request | $4,995–$19,995 once, published in full |
| Over five years | $1,950–$8,450 on the widget plans, with no source-code change at all | The same figure. There is no year two |
When the product is an overlay this is not a close call. Nothing the widget does reaches your source code — which is what a plaintiff’s expert examines, and what a screen reader reads from before any script has run. In 2025 the FTC ordered accessiBe to pay $1 million over how its product was marketed, and in the first half of 2025, 22.6% of ADA website lawsuits were filed against sites that already had a widget installed. The entry subscription is genuinely cheaper per year. It is buying something different. See our published pricing.
Skip the Confusion. Fix the Code.
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.
Some eligible small businesses may qualify for the federal Disabled Access Credit for qualifying accessibility expenditures. Ask your tax professional whether your project qualifies.