Side-by-side Comparison
ADAGuard vs Google Lighthouse
A Lighthouse accessibility score of 100 does not mean your site is WCAG 2.1 AA compliant. Lighthouse uses only a partial set of axe-core rules. ADAGuard tests what Lighthouse misses.
Try ADAGuard FreeNo credit card required · Free plan available
Why the approach matters
Google Lighthouse is built into Chrome DevTools and runs automatically in CI/CD pipelines — it's the most-used accessibility measurement tool in the world. The problem is that its accessibility score is deeply misunderstood. Lighthouse uses a subset of axe-core rules and weights them into a 0–100 score. A site can score 100 and still have dozens of WCAG violations that Lighthouse doesn't test. Color contrast errors, focus indicator problems, missing ARIA labels, keyboard trap issues, complex form errors — Lighthouse won't catch most of them. ADAGuard runs the full axe-core ruleset plus 22 custom WCAG 2.2 AA checkers, producing a violation report (not a score) that maps directly to WCAG criteria and legal requirements.
Real DOM scanning
ADAGuard reads your actual HTML, ARIA attributes, and rendered CSS — not a JavaScript overlay applied on top of broken code.
Element-level precision
Every issue includes the exact CSS selector, outerHTML snippet, and WCAG success criterion — so developers know exactly what to fix.
Legally defensible evidence
A time-stamped audit trail of discovered violations and confirmed fixes is your best protection against ADA demand letters.
Feature-by-feature comparison
ADAGuard vs Google Lighthouse — every key capability, side by side.
| Feature | ADAGuard | Google Lighthouse |
|---|---|---|
| Output format | Violation list with WCAG references | Score 0–100 |
| Test methodology | Full axe-core + 22 custom WCAG checkers | Partial axe-core ruleset (~30 rules) |
| WCAG 2.2 AA coverage | ~78% automated | ~30% automated |
| Color contrast detection | Partial (misses text on images, gradients) | |
| Keyboard accessibility testing | ||
| Focus indicator testing | ||
| Authenticated page scanning | ||
| Multi-page site scanning | Up to 1,000 pages | One page at a time |
| Code fix suggestions | Partial — basic descriptions only | |
| Compliance report generation | ||
| VPAT / ACR generation | ||
| API access for CI/CD | Via CLI / PageSpeed API | |
| Scheduled automated monitoring | ||
| Screen reader simulation | Partial (ARIA analysis) | |
| Free to use |
Why teams choose ADAGuard over Google Lighthouse
Real accessibility auditing — not a widget that masks problems.
ADAGuard reports violations — not a score. A score hides what's wrong. Developers need a list of specific, fixable issues mapped to WCAG criteria.
ADAGuard tests ~78% of WCAG 2.2 AA criteria automatically. Lighthouse tests roughly 30%. The gap is where your legal exposure lives.
Authenticated scanning means ADAGuard can test your actual product — the SaaS app, member portal, or checkout flow that Lighthouse can't reach.
Every ADAGuard violation includes the WCAG criterion, the failing HTML element (CSS selector + outerHTML), and a before/after code fix example.
ADAGuard generates dated compliance reports for legal teams, auditors, and federal procurement — Lighthouse has no reporting capability.
Multi-page scanning with smart layout detection: ADAGuard finds unique page templates and scans them all, identifying issues site-wide rather than page by page.
ADAGuard's API integrates into CI/CD the same way as Lighthouse CI — but with full WCAG coverage and structured violation data instead of a score.
Frequently asked questions
Everything you need to know about ADAGuard vs Google Lighthouse.
Ready to make the switch?
Scan your site for free. See the WCAG violations your current tool is missing.
Start Free — No Card RequiredFree plan: 1 scan/month, 20 pages, no credit card