SiteGuard vs WAVE
Short answer: WAVE, made by WebAIM, is a respected checker you run on one page at a time in your browser. SiteGuard runs on a schedule: every week it crawls up to 25 pages of your site, compares the results to last week, and emails what changed.
If you are fixing a few pages yourself and will remember to recheck them, WAVE may be all you need. SiteGuard is for owners who want the checking to happen without them.
Pricing, as published
As of October 2026, WebAIM’s site lists no price for the WAVE browser extensions (Chrome, Firefox and Edge). The WAVE API is sold in credits: new accounts get 100 free credits, then $0.04 per credit (250-credit, $10 minimum), $0.03 from 1,000 credits and $0.025 from 10,000; one basic page check is 1 credit. SiteGuard is $29 per site per month, or $99 for a one-time audit.
Side by side
| SiteGuard | WAVE | |
|---|---|---|
| How it runs | Automatically, every week, across up to 25 pages | On demand, one page at a time, in your browser (or by API) |
| Tracks changes over time | Yes: each report shows new and resolved issues since the last scan | No history in the browser extension; each check stands alone |
| Report format | Emailed plain-English fix list, scored, savable as PDF | Icons and details overlaid on the page you are viewing |
| Checks private pages | No, public pages only | Yes, the extension runs in your browser, including signed-in and intranet pages |
| Published pricing (October 2026) | $29 per site per month ($19 per site at 10 or more sites), month to month; or a $99 one-time audit | Extensions: no price listed. API: 100 free credits, then $0.025 to $0.04 per credit |
| Best fit | Owners who want ongoing checks without remembering to run them | Designers and developers checking pages as they build them |
When WAVE is the better fit
- You or your developer are actively building pages and want instant feedback while you work.
- You need to check pages behind a login or on an intranet.
- Your budget is zero and you will recheck your pages yourself.
When SiteGuard fits
- You want your whole site checked every week without anyone remembering to do it.
- You want to know when something new breaks, for example after a plugin update or a new page.
- You want a report you can hand to your web designer, with every issue listed by page and element.
Questions
Is WAVE free?
As of October 2026, WebAIM lists no price for the WAVE browser extensions. Its WAVE API, for automated checks, is priced per credit after 100 free credits. SiteGuard costs $29 per site per month for weekly scans, or $99 for a one-time audit.
Why pay for SiteGuard if WAVE is free?
WAVE checks the page in front of you, when you run it. SiteGuard checks up to 25 pages every week on its own, keeps the history, and emails you only what changed. If you will run WAVE regularly yourself, you may not need SiteGuard.
Do WAVE and SiteGuard find the same problems?
They overlap heavily but use different engines: SiteGuard uses axe-core, WAVE uses WebAIM’s own. Both are automated, and automated scans catch roughly a third to a half of WCAG criteria; the rest needs a person.
Automated scans catch roughly a third to a half of WCAG criteria; the rest needs a person. SiteGuard is monitoring and a fix list, not a compliance certificate, legal advice or lawsuit protection. WAVE is a trademark of its owner; SiteGuard is not affiliated with it. Competitor details come from WAVE’s own website as of 2026-10-14 and may have changed.
See where your site stands.
Weekly scans for $29 per site per month, or a one-time audit for $99.
More comparisons and guides
Last reviewed 2026-10-14.