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axe-core vs Lighthouse CI: open-source accessibility testing tools compared

Metrics as of , from the GitHub or GitLab API of each repository. Refreshed monthly.

Summary

axe-core: JavaScript accessibility testing engine that checks HTML interfaces against WCAG rules inside existing test suites.

Lighthouse CI: Tool suite that runs, stores and asserts against Lighthouse results in CI, with a server and dashboard.

Both are listed under Accessibility testing. The table gives repository metrics from the GitHub API with their fetch date, then the documented facts used for every comparison in this category, each linked to the README or docs page it comes from. A cell reads "not documented" when the fact was not found in the project's documentation; that does not mean the feature is absent.

Side by side

axe-core and Lighthouse CI: metrics and documented facts, in the fixed row order used for accessibility testing comparisons.
Factaxe-coreLighthouse CI
Stars7,54217,0941
Forks93717171
Contributors26511271
Last release2026-08-0512025-06-261
Last commit2026-09-2112025-06-261
Commits in 90 days89101
LicenseMPL-2.01Apache-2.01
Primary languageHTML1JavaScript1
Statusactive1inactive1
Rules or standardsWCAG 2.0, 2.1 and 2.2 at levels A, AA and AAA; additional rules outside WCAG source: READMELighthouse regression checks for accessibility, SEO, offline support and performance source: README
BrowsersEdge 40+, Chrome 42+, Firefox 38+, Safari 7+; Internet Explorer 11 (deprecated) source: READMEChrome or Chromium (chromePath option) source: Docs: Configuration
Framework integrationsDeque packages for React, WebdriverJS, WebdriverIO, Playwright, Puppeteer; Selenium, Capybara, Cucumber, RSpec, Watir source: Docs: Projects that use axe-corePuppeteer scripts that prepare the browser before Lighthouse runs (puppeteerScript) source: Docs: Configuration
CI integrationAxe + Azure Pipelines samples, listed among community projects source: Docs: Projects that use axe-coreGuide with configs for GitHub Actions, Travis CI, CircleCI, GitLab CI, Jenkins, Google Cloud Build source: Docs: Getting Started
Report formatsJSON results object (passes, violations, incomplete, inapplicable) source: Docs: axe-core APILighthouse JSON and HTML reports with a manifest.json (filesystem target); LHCI server or temporary public storage source: Docs: Configuration
Install methodnpm (npm install axe-core --save-dev) or pnpm source: READMEnpm (npm install -g @lhci/cli) source: README

1 Fetched from the GitHub or GitLab API on . Hover a value for its own date.

When each fits

Written from each project's documented scope, not from preference. Neither tool is ranked.

axe-core

Fits projects that automate accessibility testing alongside functional tests; its README describes an accessibility testing engine for websites and HTML-based interfaces. source: README

Lighthouse CI

Fits projects that run Lighthouse on every commit in continuous integration; its README describes tools for running, saving, retrieving and asserting against Lighthouse results. source: README

More on these tools

Sources

  1. GitHub REST API: repository, read
  2. GitHub REST API: repository, read
  3. GitHub REST API: contributors, read
  4. GitHub REST API: contributors, read
  5. GitHub REST API: latest release, read
  6. GitHub REST API: latest release, read
  7. GitHub REST API: commits, read
  8. GitHub REST API: commits, read
  9. README, read
  10. README, read
  11. Docs: Configuration, read
  12. Docs: Projects that use axe-core, read
  13. Docs: Getting Started, read
  14. Docs: axe-core API, read

Documented facts collected 2026-09-22. See the methodology for how metrics and facts are gathered.