Web Accessibility
Report Card 2026
We scanned 50 of the world's top websites for accessibility. Here's what we found.
Each site was tested against 16 WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA checks across images, structure, forms, and document metadata. Scores range from 0 (inaccessible) to 100 (fully compliant). 5 sites (oracle.com, intel.com, aliexpress.com, homedepot.com, columbia.edu) blocked our scanner and are excluded.
Key Findings
62% at Elevated Risk
28 out of 45 scanned sites have HIGH or CRITICAL legal risk ratings. These sites have accessibility violations that are commonly cited in ADA lawsuits.
Average Score: 81.2/100
The average accessibility score across top websites is a B-minus. Even the biggest companies in the world struggle with basic accessibility. Only 13 sites earned an A.
Heading & Link Issues Everywhere
The most common failures are heading hierarchy violations and poor link text quality, each found on 64% of scanned sites. Skip navigation links are missing on 47% of sites.
Full Rankings
| # | Website | Score | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | walmart.com | 100 | A |
| 2 | costco.com | 100 | A |
| 3 | nytimes.com | 99 | A |
| 4 | cdc.gov | 97 | A |
| 5 | linkedin.com | 96 | A |
| 6 | irs.gov | 96 | A |
| 7 | harvard.edu | 96 | A |
| 8 | dropbox.com | 94 | A |
| 9 | slack.com | 94 | A |
| 10 | usa.gov | 93 | A |
| 11 | nih.gov | 92 | A |
| 12 | mit.edu | 90 | A |
| 13 | berkeley.edu | 90 | A |
| 14 | shopify.com | 89 | B |
| 15 | stackoverflow.com | 89 | B |
| 16 | bbc.com | 88 | B |
| 17 | target.com | 88 | B |
| 18 | apple.com | 87 | B |
| 19 | microsoft.com | 87 | B |
| 20 | stanford.edu | 87 | B |
| 21 | yale.edu | 86 | B |
| 22 | github.com | 86 | B |
| 23 | meta.com | 82 | B |
| 24 | whitehouse.gov | 80 | B |
| 25 | zoom.us | 79 | C |
| 26 | spotify.com | 78 | C |
| 27 | tumblr.com | 78 | C |
| 28 | notion.so | 77 | C |
| 29 | salesforce.com | 76 | C |
| 30 | nasa.gov | 76 | C |
| 31 | wikipedia.org | 73 | C |
| 32 | twitter.com | 72 | C |
| 33 | amazon.com | 71 | C |
| 34 | pinterest.com | 70 | C |
| 35 | tiktok.com | 70 | C |
| 36 | usatoday.com | 68 | D |
| 37 | forbes.com | 68 | D |
| 38 | google.com | 66 | D |
| 39 | netflix.com | 66 | D |
| 40 | facebook.com | 66 | D |
| 41 | cnn.com | 66 | D |
| 42 | theguardian.com | 64 | D |
| 43 | instagram.com | 62 | D |
| 44 | nordstrom.com | 62 | D |
| 45 | apnews.com | 58 | F |
Scanned on 2026-03-17. Scores based on 16 WCAG 2.1 checks. Risk tiers based on issue count and severity. 1 site(s) received an F grade.
Scores by Category
Tech
8 sites scannedSocial Media
7 sites scannedNews
7 sites scannedE-Commerce
5 sites scannedGovernment
6 sites scannedEducation
5 sites scannedDev Tools & Productivity
7 sites scannedMethodology
We selected 50 of the most-visited websites across seven categories: Tech, Social Media, News, E-commerce, Government, Education, and Developer Tools. Each site's homepage was fetched and analyzed using AccessScore's 16-check WCAG 2.1 scanner.
Scoring: Each check is weighted by category importance (Images & Media 25%, Structure & Navigation 30%, Forms & Interactions 25%, Document & Meta 20%). Scores range from 0 to 100. Grades: A (90-100), B (80-89), C (70-79), D (60-69), F (<60).
Risk Tiers: Based on total issues found, severity distribution, and publicly available ADA lawsuit data. LOW (0-3 issues), MODERATE (4-8), HIGH (9-15), CRITICAL (16+). A high score with a CRITICAL risk tier means the site passes many checks but has a large number of individual failing elements.
Limitations: This scan only tests the homepage of each site. Inner pages may have different accessibility profiles. The scanner is HTML-based and cannot evaluate JavaScript-rendered content, keyboard navigation, or color contrast. Scores represent a snapshot from 2026-03-17 and may change as sites update.
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