EAA Compliance Scanner vs Deque
An honest comparison of EAA Compliance Scanner and Deque — when a productized SMB tool is the right fit, and when Deque's enterprise consulting model is.
Deque is the maker of axe-core (the open-source rule engine we and many other scanners use under the hood) and operates an enterprise accessibility platform plus consulting practice. EAA Compliance Scanner is a productized SMB tool: a scanner, a VPAT generator, and monitoring, priced per month with no consulting required.
Why teams pick us
- Productized SMB pricing ($29–$299/mo) — no enterprise sales cycle.
- Self-serve from URL paste to VPAT in one session — no onboarding required.
- Plain-English fix list aimed at non-specialists, not WCAG-trained QA teams.
- Built around the EU Accessibility Act 28 June 2025 deadline for SMBs.
- Includes monitoring, alerts, and white-label without a separate platform contract.
Where they're stronger
- Deque has decades of accessibility expertise, an industry-standard open-source rule engine (axe-core), trained accessibility consultants, and enterprise platform features.
- If you have a large accessibility program, an in-house specialist team, or need expert remediation services, Deque's consulting model is a strong fit.
- Enterprise-grade integrations and customizations are deeper on a platform like Deque's.
Side-by-side comparison
Target customer
- EAA Compliance Scanner
- SMBs, agencies, in-house teams without an accessibility specialist
- Deque
- Enterprises with a dedicated accessibility program
Onboarding
- EAA Compliance Scanner
- Self-serve, URL paste → result in minutes
- Deque
- Enterprise sales and onboarding cycle (review current vendor process)
Pricing
- EAA Compliance Scanner
- $0 free / $29 / $99 / $299 per month, self-serve
- Deque
- Enterprise pricing — review current vendor terms
Engine
- EAA Compliance Scanner
- axe-core based with WCAG 2.2 extensions
- Deque
- axe-core (Deque is the maintainer)
Reporting style
- EAA Compliance Scanner
- Plain-English fix list, ranked by user impact, with code change
- Deque
- WCAG-spec-aligned reports, suited to specialist teams
VPAT
- EAA Compliance Scanner
- Generated draft VPAT 2.5 included on Business and Agency plans
- Deque
- Available through their platform or consulting services
FAQ
- Do you use axe-core under the hood?
- Yes. axe-core is open source and is the de-facto industry rule engine for automated WCAG checks. We build on it and extend it with WCAG 2.2 additions. Deque is the maintainer of axe-core, which we acknowledge openly.
- Should an enterprise pick you over Deque?
- Probably not, if they need expert consulting, a custom in-house program, or deep enterprise integrations. We are explicit about being a focused SMB product. Use the right tool for the job.
- Can I migrate from Deque to your tool?
- Yes. Run a scan, generate a VPAT, and compare findings. Many teams keep specialist expertise on retainer while running our scans for day-to-day monitoring.
How we wrote this comparison
We acknowledge Deque as the maintainer of axe-core, the rule engine the entire scanner industry — including us — depends on. We do not disparage their work. We position on price, audience, and self-serve onboarding, not on engine quality.
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Competitor descriptions reflect publicly available information from each vendor's marketing site at the time of writing. We avoid claims we cannot verify; rerun the comparison if a vendor changes their offering.
