accessiBe alternative
If you want an accessiBe alternative, you probably want the page fixed rather than a widget on top of it. AltGrade scans the store and writes the fix list. It does not install an overlay.
Two different products
Overlay products add an interface in the browser. The templates stay as they shipped. AltGrade fetches the page, runs axe-core and extra checks, and lists what to change in Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress, Wix or Squarespace.
That difference matters when a customer cannot use the cart. A toolbar does not name the pay button. A theme edit does.
The FTC order
In January 2025 the U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced a $1 million order concerning accessiBe's claims about its widget. The Commission approved the order as final in April 2025. The release is the source: https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2025/01/ftc-order-requires-online-marketer-pay-1-million-deceptive-claims-its-ai-product-could-make-websites.
Read that page before you repeat a one-line claim. A scan lists fixes. It does not settle a lawsuit.
What you compare
Compare the output. A free scan in minutes. A £49 audit with a PDF. Monitoring from £19 a month with a dated history. Agency plans at £199 a month for 25 sites if you put your name on the report. No tax is added.
We do not publish another company's current price list. Compare the job: do you need a widget menu, or do you need the theme changed and watched?
How to switch
Remove nothing until you have the first fix list. Scan the live URL. Fix the critical issues in the theme. Rescan. If the widget is still installed, know that it is not doing that work. UsableNet's 2025 mid-year research recorded lawsuits against sites that had widgets, through the first half of that year.
Start with the free scan. You will see the score and the top five issues before you pick a plan.
What you should see in the first hour
Paste the store URL. The free scan covers up to 10 pages and shows the score and the top five groups. Open one product, the cart and the start of checkout if the crawl reached them. Those pages are where a widget is least help.
Pick one finding and fix it in the theme. A cart button with no name, or a sale price in grey on white, is enough. Publish. Rescan that URL. The finding should drop because the markup changed.
The £49 audit extends the crawl to 50 pages and adds a PDF plus a statement draft you edit. Monitoring from £19 a month emails you when a new critical issue appears. No tax is added. None of those plans install a widget.
Legal questions stay with your lawyer. The FTC order announced in January 2025, and approved as final in April 2025, is the public record on overlay claims. Link it. Do not paraphrase it into a promise. Your side of the comparison is the theme edit and the rescan, which you can finish the same day.
Keep the free scan result. When someone asks what you use instead of a widget, send the score and the first fix you already shipped. That is a clearer answer than a feature table. Include the URL you scanned and the date.
Questions
Is AltGrade an overlay with a different name?
No. There is nothing to paste into the theme. You get a report and you edit the site.
Will the scan settle a legal claim?
No. You get findings and fixes. Legal questions go to your lawyer.
What does the scan miss?
Automated scans cannot catch every WCAG issue. Use the list, then have a person try checkout.