The overlay problem, in plain numbers
- • In 2024, over 1,000 companies running an accessibility overlay were still sued under the ADA. The widget did not stop the lawsuit.
- • In January 2025 the FTC fined accessiBe $1,000,000 for deceptive claims that its overlay made websites WCAG- and ADA-compliant.
- • 69–72% of disabled users rate overlays "not effective" (WebAIM screen-reader survey); the National Federation of the Blind banned accessiBe as a sponsor.
An overlay layers JavaScript on top of your site at runtime. Your underlying HTML — the code a screen reader and a plaintiff's tester actually read — stays broken. That's why "we already have an overlay" is exactly the profile that keeps getting demand letters.
What a real accessiBe alternative has to do
A genuine alternative fixes the code, not the appearance of compliance. Look for these four things:
Overlay vs. real accessibility monitoring
| Overlay (accessiBe/UserWay) | Code-level monitoring | |
|---|---|---|
| Fixes the underlying code | No | Yes — tells devs what to fix |
| Stops ADA lawsuits | No (1,000+ sued in 2024) | Reduces exposure + gives evidence |
| Legal / audit evidence | No | Timestamped WCAG/VPAT export |
| Catches regressions | No | Re-scans every deploy |
| Rated effective by users | No (69–72% say not effective) | n/a — it fixes the real barriers |
How to choose — and try one free
The fastest way to see the gap is to scan your own site. If you run an overlay today, a real scan will show you the failures it's hiding. Run a free WCAG check (no signup, no widget), or scan a specific URL. You'll get your score, the exact issues ranked by lawsuit risk, and how to fix each.
Where Proveform fits
Proveform is a code-level accessibility monitoring alternative to overlays. We scan your real HTML with the WCAG ruleset, re-check on every deploy, alert you the moment something regresses, and export timestamped WCAG/VPAT evidence for auditors and legal — from $149/mo. We are not an overlay and we don't inject anything into your site. It's the honest version of "are we compliant?" — proof, not a widget.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free accessiBe alternative?
Yes — you can run a free, real-code WCAG scan of any site with no signup using Proveform's free accessibility checker. Unlike an overlay, it doesn't inject a widget; it reads your actual HTML and shows the failures a screen reader hits, ranked by lawsuit risk.
Does accessiBe protect you from ADA lawsuits?
No. Courts have repeatedly allowed ADA web-accessibility suits to proceed against sites running overlays, and in 2024 over 1,000 companies using an accessibility overlay were still sued. In January 2025 the FTC fined accessiBe $1M for deceptive claims that its overlay made websites compliant.
What's the difference between an overlay and a real accessibility tool?
An overlay (accessiBe, UserWay, AudioEye) adds a JavaScript widget on top of your site and leaves the underlying code failing. A real tool scans your actual code against the WCAG ruleset, tells your developers exactly what to fix, and re-checks on every deploy so it doesn't silently break again.
Why do people switch away from accessiBe?
Three reasons: it doesn't provide legal cover (lawsuits continue), disabled users report overlays as ineffective (WebAIM found 69–72% rate them 'not effective'), and it's a subscription that hides the problem rather than fixing the code. Teams switch to code-level scanning plus continuous monitoring and audit-ready evidence.