Design

Contrast Checker

WCAG accessibility contrast checker

Visit Contrast Checker
★4.4ratingPricing · FreeRising
The FalcoScan Intel PanelContrast Checker · Design
Data updated 2 November 2026
Opportunity
Moderate
Band
Saturation
Open
Band
Wrapper risk
Low
Band
Momentum
Rising
Market trend
Rating
4.4
of 5 · FalcoScan rating

Design AI has a narrow moat on average, from the moat scores of its rated products. What protects Design AI tools, and the widest moats

The Brief

What Contrast Checker does

Contrast Checker from WebAIM measures the contrast ratio between a foreground text color and a background color and reports whether the pair meets WCAG thresholds. It is aimed at designers and developers checking color choices for accessibility. Users enter hex values or use a color picker, adjust foreground transparency with an alpha setting, change perceived lightness with a slider and sample colors from the screen with an eyedropper. Results show pass or fail against WCAG AA and AAA for normal text, large text, and graphical objects and user interface components. Permalinks save a color pair, an API returns JSON results and a bookmarklet runs on any page. No price is listed for the checker.

How Contrast Checker compares with its closest alternatives

4 of the 5 closest alternatives have a free plan, as Contrast Checker does. Among the 2 that list a starting price, the cheapest is Stark at $7 a month and the median is $7. 1 of the 5 offers an API; FalcoScan's records show none for Contrast Checker. Contrast Checker offers a web app. Of the alternatives, all 5 offer a web app. Contrast Checker was founded in 2018; the alternatives were founded between 2017 and 2020, 1 of them earlier. The alternatives with a known headquarters are in the United States.

Market position · Design

How Contrast Checker compares in Design

Contrast Checker has moderate opportunity and sits in the top third of 352 live Design tools on FalcoScan. Across Design, the average opportunity score is 52.4 and the average saturation score 41.5. FalcoScan rates Contrast Checker's own market position as open. 54 of the 352 operating Design tools have hot momentum, and FalcoScan has recorded 23 shutdowns in the category.

Contrast Checker compared with its closest alternatives
ProductOpportunitySaturationPricingPricing fromFree planAPIPlatformsMomentum
Contrast CheckerFounded 2018ModerateOpenFree—YesNoWebRising
StarkFounded 2017LowOpenFreemium$7/moYesNoWebStable
Stark A11y DesignFounded 2019HighOpenFreemium—YesNoWebRising
Rive AnimationFounded 2018 · San Francisco, United StatesHighOpenFreemium—YesYesWeb, APIHot
Who Can UseFounded 2020LowOpenFree—YesNoWebStable
ContrastFounded 2019LowOpenPaid$7/moNoNoWeb, DesktopRising

Exact opportunity and saturation scores for all 6 of these, and where each ranks in Design.

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What it ships with

Capabilities & who uses it

The capabilities Contrast Checker exposes to builders and the verticals it currently serves.

AI Capabilities
Classification
Industry Verticals
Software
Tagged

Contrast Checker shows up when builders search for these

accessibilityWCAGcolor contrast
Similar tools · Design

Alternatives to Contrast Checker

Products still running that do the same job, from the design market and related ones, closest match first.

See the Design market
Design
Stark

The complete accessibility toolkit for design teams

★ 4.6Opportunity Low
Freemium
Design
Stark A11y Design

Accessibility checker built into Figma

★ 4.4Opportunity High
Freemium
Design
Rive Animation

Real-time interactive animation for products

★ 4.6Opportunity High
Freemium
Design
Who Can Use

See exactly who can read your color combinations

★ 4.6Opportunity Low
Free
Design
Contrast

Accessibility contrast checker built into your design workflow

★ 4.5Opportunity Low
Paid
Design
Rive Animation Pro

Interactive animations for apps and games

★ 4.5Opportunity High
Paid
Featured in
Questions

Contrast Checker: common questions

Does the WebAIM Contrast Checker have an API?

Yes. Adding &api to a permalink returns a JSON object with the contrast ratio and the AA and AAA results.

Source: webaim.org ↗

Is Contrast Checker free?

Yes. FalcoScan lists Contrast Checker as free to use.

What are the best alternatives to Contrast Checker?

The closest alternatives to Contrast Checker that are still running, matched on the AI capabilities, uses and audience they share, are Stark, Stark A11y Design, Rive Animation, Who Can Use, and Contrast.

Is Contrast Checker still running?

Yes. As of 2 November 2026, FalcoScan lists Contrast Checker as operating at webaim.org.

Does Contrast Checker have an API?

FalcoScan's records show no public API for Contrast Checker.

Who is Contrast Checker for?

Contrast Checker is built for designers and developers.

How do I sign in to Contrast Checker?

Sign in on Contrast Checker's own website, webaim.org. FalcoScan reviews Contrast Checker but does not run its accounts, so logins, passwords and billing are handled by Contrast Checker directly.

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