Resources & Free Tools
Free downloads, checkers, guidance and courses you can use to find and fix accessibility problems — or to get help when you need it. Everything here is free.
Hear how your content behaves — and navigate your own devices hands-free.
Free, open-source screen reader for Windows, and the one most often used for testing.
Screen reader already on macOS, iPad and iPhone. Nothing to install.
Screen reader already on Windows. Start it with the Windows logo key + Ctrl + Enter.
Screen reader already on Android phones and tablets.
Free screen reader for Linux.
Free checkers and testers. Run these before anything goes out the door.
Paste a web address and get a visual report of what is going wrong.
Microsoft's free tester for web pages and Windows apps, with step-by-step guided checks.
Free extension for Chrome, Edge and Firefox that scans a page and explains each issue.
A free bookmarklet for checking names, roles, headings and contrast, one element at a time.
Accessibility audit already sitting inside Chrome DevTools, under the Lighthouse tab.
Desktop tool for checking that text and buttons have enough contrast.
Simulates colour blindness across your whole screen, on Windows, Mac and Linux.
Free ways to check Word, PowerPoint and PDF files before you publish them.
The standard free checker for PDF/UA and WCAG. Gives you a detailed report per page.
Free online PDF accessibility check with a report you can export.
Word, Excel and PowerPoint flag accessibility problems for you under Review.
Free guidance, specifications and webinars on making PDFs accessible.
The official rulebooks, plus plain-language explainers for the tricky parts.
The standard everything is measured against, with a short summary of each rule.
How to build accessible menus, dialogs, tabs and more, with working examples.
Short, practical how-tos on the problems you will run into most often.
US federal accessibility guidance, checklists and training.
All of the WAI standards and guidance gathered in one place.
Structured courses you can work through at your own pace, at no cost.
W3C's own self-paced course, written for technical and non-technical learners alike.
The same W3C course hosted on edX, with an optional paid certificate.
Microsoft Learn's free learning path covering accessibility principles.
Free skilling resources and training across Microsoft products.
Know a free tool that belongs here? Ask and we will add it.