Pandus vs WAVE
WAVE is a free tool by WebAIM at Utah State University that checks one web page at a time and shows the problems as icons right on the page. Pandus checks every page of a site every week and turns the results into reports for business owners and agency clients in seven languages.
Updated October 14, 2026 · 4 min read · How we write and check our guides
WAVE is better for a quick visual review of a single page; Pandus is for ongoing monitoring and reporting. Facts below are from WebAIM's pages, checked on 14 October 2026.
Side by side
| WAVE | Pandus | |
|---|---|---|
| Made by | WebAIM, Utah State University | Pandus |
| What it checks | One page per run: online, in the browser extension or through the API | One page free online; every page of a site weekly on a plan |
| Rules engine | WAVE's own engine | axe-core plus our rule cards |
| How results look | Icons and panels placed on the page itself | A report for the owner: what to fix first, with screenshots and a fix for the platform |
| Report languages | English interface | English, Ukrainian, German, Polish, Czech, Romanian, Russian |
| Pages behind a login | Browser extension (runs locally) | Browser extension (runs locally) |
| Agency white-label | Not offered by WAVE itself | Agency plans with reports under your brand |
| Price | Online tool and extensions without charge; API $0.025–$0.04 per credit | One page free; plans on our pricing page |
What WAVE does best
- A visual review. WAVE draws its findings right on the page, which makes it easy to see where a missing label or a contrast error is. Many accessibility courses teach with it.
- Structure and order. Its outline of headings, landmarks and reading order helps a person check what no rule can decide.
- Local testing. The extension runs entirely in your browser, so it can test pages behind a login and local development sites without sending them to a server.
- Honesty about limits. WebAIM says plainly that WAVE cannot tell you whether content is accessible; only a human can.
Where Pandus is different
- The whole site, every week. WAVE online checks the page you enter. Pandus reads the sitemap and links, checks every page of the site (up to 2,000 per check) every week and shows what is new since the last check. For site-wide WAVE results, WebAIM points to Pope Tech, a separate product built on the WAVE engine.
- Reports a business owner can read. Each problem is explained in plain words, with who it affects and how to fix it on Shopify, WooCommerce, PrestaShop or Shoptet. Agencies send the same report under their own brand.
- Seven languages. Reports for clients in Germany, Poland, Czechia, Romania or Ukraine come in their language.
- The EAA context. A three-question filter shows whether the European Accessibility Act applies before any talk about the law.
Use them together
Run Pandus to see which pages have problems and to keep watch after every theme update. Open a page in WAVE when you want to look at its structure with the icons in place. Both find only what a machine can detect: keyboard and screen reader testing by a person is still needed. Pandus is an automated check, not a full audit.
More tools are compared in accessibility testing tools; all comparisons are on Pandus compared.
Frequently asked questions
Is WAVE free?
The WAVE online tool and the browser extensions for Chrome, Firefox and Edge can be used without charge. The WAVE API is paid per credit: $0.04 down to $0.025 per credit depending on volume, with 100 free credits for new accounts (WebAIM, 14 October 2026).
Can WAVE check a whole website?
The online tool and the extensions check one page at a time. For site-wide monitoring WebAIM points to Pope Tech, a separate product built on the WAVE engine.
Should I use WAVE or Pandus?
Both. WAVE is excellent for looking at one page with its icons in place. Pandus is for checking every page every week and giving the results to a business owner or a client in their language.
Sources
- WebAIM, WAVE: https://wave.webaim.org/
- WebAIM, WAVE API and pricing: https://wave.webaim.org/api/
- WebAIM, WAVE browser extensions: https://wave.webaim.org/extension/
- WebAIM, WAVE help ("WAVE cannot tell you if your web content is accessible"): https://wave.webaim.org/help