AccessComply vs accessiBe: A Shopify Due-Diligence Guide
An honest AccessComply-versus-accessiBe comparison starts by separating three things: automated scanning, the mechanism used to change a storefront, and any human or professional service included in the plan.
The FTC fact that belongs in this comparison
In 2025 the FTC approved a final order requiring accessiBe to pay $1 million and restricting certain unsupported automated-WCAG-conformance claims. Read the FTC announcement and final-order summary rather than relying on a vendor’s paraphrase.
The order does not prove that another product makes a store compliant. Its durable lesson is narrower: demand competent evidence for conformance claims and reject promises that automation alone settles the question.
What AccessComply can demonstrate
AccessComply scans discoverable storefront pages within the reported page scope and crawler limits. It reports eligible automated-rule findings. When a safely source-mapped candidate is available, the merchant reviews an exact candidate or scoped approval before a supported theme or Shopify content write.
Supported writes create restore records and run a post-change check. Only a confirmed finding is marked resolved. A failed, stale, unsupported, third-party, or judgment-heavy case remains for review rather than being counted as a successful fix.
This workflow does not amount to a full WCAG audit and does not establish legal compliance.
Questions to ask accessiBe and AccessComply
| Due-diligence question | AccessComply’s documented answer | What to verify with accessiBe |
|---|---|---|
| What pages are scanned? | Discoverable public storefront pages within plan, crawler, and time limits | Current scan scope and exclusions |
| Where does a change live? | Eligible approved writes can affect a supported theme file or Shopify resource | Which changes are source, runtime, or performed as a service |
| Is a merchant approval required? | Yes, before supported writes | Current approval and change-control workflow |
| What is checked afterward? | The applicable automated rule is checked after the supported write | Verification scope and failure handling |
| Is there a restore path? | Supported writes create restore records; restore requires merchant confirmation | Current rollback or removal behavior |
| What remains manual? | Unsupported, risky, third-party, and judgment-heavy work | Manual audit, remediation, and service boundaries |
| What happens on uninstall? | Theme writes stay only in the modified theme; content changes remain; extension behavior stops | Current product behavior and data lifecycle |
| What does it cost? | Current AccessComply pricing | Current vendor listing, quote, and contract |
Source changes still have limits
A source change is not automatically correct, permanent, or complete. Theme updates can overwrite it. A different published theme does not inherit it. Third-party apps may reintroduce the barrier. A post-change automated check verifies only the specific rule and state reached by that check.
That is why a production workflow needs scoped approval, expected-source checks, restore records, post-change verification, and manual QA—not a claim that source code alone is “lawsuit proof.”
Current AccessComply plans
- Free: three app scans per calendar month and three eligible deterministic fixes per rolling 30 days.
- Starter: $49 per month, unlimited deterministic fixes, quarterly monitoring, and remediation reports.
- Shield: $99 per month, AI-assisted alt-text and ARIA candidates plus monthly monitoring by default.
- Citadel: $399 per month, daily monitoring by default.
Optional annual Shopify billing is available for paid plans. See pricing for the current annual amounts.
Decision rule
Choose based on demonstrated behavior in a development theme, clearly documented exclusions, manual-service scope, current contract terms, and the quality of the evidence you can keep. Do not choose based on a promise of compliance or protection from a claim.
You can run an AccessComply automated scan without signup, then confirm the important results with manual keyboard and assistive-technology testing.
Find the storefront issues holding back growth
Scan SEO, speed, and accessibility by page. Review supported fixes before they run, keep saved originals, and verify the live result afterward.