Digital accessibility has always been my personal focus, and as I’ve worked deeper in this space, I’ve realized how many people are left out when websites and apps aren’t designed with their needs in mind. For example, 16% of the global population and 26% of Americans live with some form of disability. Yet, according to recent studies, over 90% of websites and apps still fail to meet basic accessibility standards. That means millions of users are effectively locked out of vital services, information, and opportunities.
When we talk about accessibility, we often think about ramps and elevators in physical spaces. But in the digital world, barriers are just as real. 🦯🦻 People who are blind or have low vision, those who are deaf or hard of hearing, and those who communicate in languages other than the dominant one often struggle to navigate websites and apps. That's the reason localization is not just about translation — it's a core part of accessibility. Making digital content available in the users' preferred languages removes a critical barrier to understanding and accessibility. When you take this factor into account while developing your products and services, you create a space that is welcoming for everyone, regardless of their ability.
With the European Accessibility Act now in place, many services in Europe are legally required to be accessible. This means that many businesses need to make sure their websites and apps work for everyone, no matter what their needs are. But it’s not just about following the rules; it’s about fairness and reaching more people. For businesses, ignoring accessibility isn’t just unfair: it’s risky. Think about lost customers or even potential lawsuits. Sure: prioritizing accessibility ensures compliance, but it also opens doors to a wider audience, making products easier for everyone to use. Language, whether spoken, written, or signed, can be one of the biggest hurdles for businesses in connecting with their audience. And when language barriers are addressed alongside disabilities, digital spaces truly belong to everyone.
Accessibility and localization are intimately tied. Making content available in the users' preferred languages removes barriers, but it's just the start — accessible products include users who communicate in non-dominant languages, who are blind or have low vision, or who are deaf or hard of hearing
In the end, products designed to address linguistic accessibility help us create spaces that everyone can use and understand. Below, I’ll share ten great tools that can help you make your services more inclusive, accessible, and impactful.
1. Readable 🔗
The last thing you want is for your audience to miss the point of your message. Readable makes sure it's always clear: it simplifies communication by improving the readability of digital content.
What is it good for? 🔗
The tool is ideal for those who want to make sure their content is clear and easy to understand, no matter whether it’s for a blog post, email, or website. Readable uses readability formulas to provide scores and actionable insights, which help you fine-tune your text for better engagement and comprehension. It uses tools like automatic spelling and grammar checks, passive voice detection, website scoring, and a readability toolkit, which includes scoring systems like Flesch-Kincaid and Gunning Fog. Marketers, educators, or business owners can benefit from it, as it makes sure your content is accessible to a wider audience. An additional benefit is that it can be integrated into your workflows in platforms like Dropbox and Slack.
Use cases 🔗
- 💬 Enhancing the clarity and engagement of your content.
- 📄 Improving readability across formats through URL, email, text file, and document analysis.
- 🗣️ Matching your content's voice to your audience with sentiment and tone analysis.
- 🔦 Optimizing your content for SEO with keyword density tracking.
Pricing 🔗
Readable offers three pricing plans: ContentPro at $4/month, CommercePro at $24/month, and AgencyPro at $69/month. ContentPro includes a 7-day free trial, and additional users or websites can be added to each plan for an extra charge.
2. Folx 🔗
Words have power, and Folx helps you use them wisely to foster diversity and inclusion in every message you send. It is a language inclusivity tool that encourages individuals and organizations to communicate with greater respect and impact.
What is it good for? 🔗
It automatically identifies and helps correct outdated language, unconscious biases, and microaggressions that could otherwise alienate your audience. The tool makes certain that your words resonate with everyone regardless of the format: job postings, customer communications, internal reports, blog posts... Its all-in-one toolkit includes an online editor that flags issues in real time, a website audit feature to analyze entire domains, and customization options that let you build a tailored style guide for your team.
Use cases 🔗
- ⚠️ Detecting outdated, offensive, and exclusionary language quickly. Identifying unconscious biases and subtle microaggressions.
- 🔎 Auditing entire websites and documents to detect language issues.
- 📔 Creating updated style guides for consistent, inclusive communication.
Pricing 🔗
Folx keeps things simple and affordable. Individual users can get started with the Pro plan at just $9.99 per month per member, and there’s a 7-day free trial so you can explore all the features risk-free.
📖 Recommended read: 5 ways to use inclusive language in IT and software localization
3. Amara 🔗
Sometimes, the difference between connection and confusion is a well-written subtitle — especially when your content speaks a language unfamiliar to your audience, and that’s where Amara shines. The company is dedicated to making video content accessible to everyone, regardless of language or ability. What sets Amara apart is its combination of powerful cloud-based software and an engaged global community.
As a nonprofit project of the Participatory Culture Foundation, Amara’s mission is focused on promoting accessibility, inclusion, and global understanding.
What is it good for? 🔗
Their award-winning subtitle and caption editor is designed to make the subtitling process as easy and effective as possible, whether you're working solo or managing a large team. You can integrate with popular platforms like YouTube and Vimeo, and for those who need professional assistance, Amara On Demand offers subtitling and translation services in over 50 languages.
Use cases 🔗
- ↪️ Customizing your subtitling workflows to fit your team's needs: you can invite your colleagues to collaborate, automate actions through their API, and integrate them with popular video platforms.
- 📼 Professionally translating and captioning your content.
Pricing 🔗
If you’re new to Amara, the free Public Plan is a great place to start for basic subtitling. The Plus Plan costs $24/month for up to two users, with additional users at $12 each, while the Enterprise Plan is customizable for larger teams.
4. Signapse 🔗
A live event, a video call, or a loudspeaker announcement — so much of our world relies on sound to communicate, but what happens when sound isn’t an option? That’s where tools like Signapse enter to bridge the gap. This platform uses generative AI to translate spoken, written, or visual content into British Sign Language (BSL) and American Sign Language (ASL). The tool, built by a team of Deaf and hearing professionals, has been backed by entrepreneurs, translation experts, and leading researchers from the University of Surrey.
What is it good for? 🔗
With features like customizable signer videos and integration-ready options, Signapse is ideal for businesses that communicate in English and want to create accessible digital experiences while meeting compliance standards. It can be used for real-time communication needs in public spaces, websites, or corporate environments. According to them, the tool is already generating over 5,000 BSL train announcements daily in the UK, which shows its impact in bridging communication gaps.
Use cases 🔗
- 👐 Translating videos, documents, or audio content into sign language.
- 🚊 Creating real-time sign language communication workflows for public announcements and corporate media, with multiple features like signer size and background options, bulk translation for large-scale projects, and whitelabel outputs for branding.
Pricing 🔗
Signapse provides four plans: Starter (£0/month, £32.50/minute), Pro (£100/month, 10 minutes included, £19.50/additional minute), Team (£300/month, 100 minutes included, £10.40/additional minute), and Enterprise (£600/month, 250 minutes included, £8.00/additional minute).
🎧 Learn more about the relationship between AI and accessibility for sign language users in our podcast episode with Sally Chalk from Signapse — and check the technology in action in this short video!
5. Ava 🔗
Ava’s story starts with one question: How do we make sure no one is left out of the conversation? Its founder, Thibault Duchemin, spent years watching his friends and family struggle to fully participate in everyday conversations because of hearing challenges. That frustration led him to create this tool, which provides live captioning and transcription services that are accurate, reliable, and easy to use.
What is it good for? 🔗
Ava helps users stay connected in a variety of situations, from work meetings to social gatherings. The platform supports captions in over 20 languages, with a mix of AI-powered captions and human transcription. This makes it suitable for international teams or individuals needing multilingual support for Deaf and hard-of-hearing users. It’s also great for businesses that want to make sure no one misses out during meetings or events.
Use cases 🔗
- 🔄 Translating voice into text in 20+ languages instantly, with additional access to sign language interpretation service and ADA-compliant captions.
- 🗣️ Getting heard by your peers with Ava Voice's text-to-speech.
- 🤝 Helping Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals follow along during company events, with features like speaker identification, unlimited captions on multiple devices, and integrations with video conferencing tools like Zoom, Teams, and Meet.
Pricing 🔗
Ava includes a free 15-day trial with no commitment. Paid plans vary depending on the features and team size, with options for small teams and larger organizations.
6. Signly 🔗
For many Deaf people, sign language is their first language, yet websites often cater to English-speaking audiences. Signly helps break down barriers by providing an inclusive experience that translates website content into the specific sign language used by Deaf users, recognizing that there is a wide variety of them and that they are unique, fully developed tongues in their own right. The tool is basically an easy-to-use, low-code solution that integrates with websites to provide sign language translations.
What is it good for? 🔗
Signly gives users more independence, privacy, and autonomy by helping them navigate websites without relying on friends, family, or interpreters. Companies can use it to capture their website text, which is then translated by proficient Deaf sign language translators. Through Signly QR, organizations can also make their information accessible to the Deaf community for a variety of content, including educational materials, healthcare information, and official documents.
Use cases 🔗
- 💻 Providing sign language translations for website content, easily integrating through a low-code process.
- 🛍️ Enhancing the shopping experience for sign language users in retail spaces.
- 🦻 Offering access to Deaf and hard-of-hearing users to official documentation, museum and park information, evacuation procedures, educational content, healthcare information, and more.
Pricing 🔗
Pricing details are customized based on the website's size and requirements. Some projects may be eligible for a free trial.
7. Hand Talk 🔗
Dubbed as the Best Social App in the world by the World Summit Awards (based on the UN's SDGs principles), Hand Talk is an automatic sign language translation platform designed to ease communication between Deaf and hearing individuals. With over 4 million app downloads and nearly 2 billion words translated, the app uses two AI virtual assistants, Hugo and Maya, to translate content into ASL (American Sign Language) and Libras (Brazilian Sign Language).
What is it good for? 🔗
The platform includes useful tools for individuals, businesses, and organizations seeking to connect better with the Deaf community and to make a difference in accessibility in digital and physical spaces.
Use cases 🔗
- ↔️ Automatically translating web content into ASL and Libras (Hand Talk Plugin).
- 📲 Text-to-voice translating on mobile devices from English to ASL and from Portuguese to Libras (Hand Talk App). It also supports sign language learning.
Pricing 🔗
The app is free to use with optional ad-free access for a minimal fee. For the plugin, the pricing is variable depending on the size and traffic of the site.
8. 3Play Media 🔗
The demand for quality captions, translations, and audio descriptions has never been higher than today. That's where platforms like 3Play Media come in. Based in Boston and trusted by over 10,000 organizations, including major players like Salesforce and Dell, the platform uses AI automation combined with human editing to deliver high-quality, accessible video content at scale.
What is it good for? 🔗
The company offers a mix of services ideal for businesses looking to make their videos accessible, compliant, and inclusive, including captioning, subtitling, dubbing, translation, live captioning, and audio descriptions. They are specifically built for large-scale projects in industries like education, sports, technology, entertainment, and media, with secure handling and API access.
Use cases 🔗
- 📝 Dubbing, captioning, and transcribing content for both recorded and live videos.
- ▶️ Providing audio descriptions that describe on-screen action for blind and low-vision audiences.
- 📹 Translating and subtitling video content in over 90 languages.
Pricing 🔗
3Play Media offers flexible pricing based on the volume and services you need. Their Express plan is for one-off projects, Pro suits occasional work, and Enterprise supports high-volume needs with full features and support. Pricing depends on video volume, turnaround time, and the services chosen.
9. Textio 🔗
Textio is an AI-powered platform that makes HR writing more inclusive, clear, and impactful. From writing job postings to giving feedback and shaping interview questions, the tool draws on real-world insights to help you attract diverse talent and support employee growth, making hiring fairer and career development clearer.
What is it good for? 🔗
The tool can be useful for companies looking to improve how they communicate with candidates and employees. HR teams and managers can use it as an auto-checker that removes hidden bias in recruiting and feedback. It's also a good resource to ensure conversations are growth-oriented rather than empty or non-constructive. It integrates easily with applicant tracking and performance systems to provide real-time suggestions that reduce bias and improve clarity, without adding extra steps to managers’ workflows.
Use cases 🔗
- 💬 Writing unbiased job descriptions that attract diverse candidates.
- 📊 Giving actionable, growth-focused feedback to improve team performance.
- 🔧 Simplifying interview question alignment and candidate evaluation.
Pricing 🔗
Textio offers flexible plans tailored to organizational size and needs. Pricing details are available directly through their sales team.
10. Localazy 🔗
As companies expand globally, they face the challenge of making their digital products available in multiple languages, which is a crucial part of digital accessibility. The process of translating and adapting software, websites, and mobile apps for different languages and cultures can be time-consuming, resource-draining, and error-prone. That’s where tools like Localazy come in handy: a powerful, cloud-based localization platform designed to make the translation process easier and reduce manual work.
What is it good for? 🔗
The tool is ideal for medium-sized businesses, startups, and agencies that are looking to scale their localization projects quickly and efficiently. With automated workflows and flexible collaboration options, it eliminates the hassle of manually managing translations in multiple formats, as the platform integrates with more than 50 popular frameworks. Localazy takes the guesswork and grunt work out of localization, freeing teams to focus on what they do best: creating great products and engaging global audiences.
Use cases 🔗
- 🦾 Automating translation workflows, reducing manual effort with tools like Duplicity Linking, Project Branching, and AI-powered translation suggestions from engines like DeepL and OpenAI.
- 🎯 Centralizing localization projects in a single platform where team members, professional translators, and community contributors can collaborate, review, and take care of the whole QA process.
- 🏄♂️ Creating a continuous, easy-to-integrate localization flow with quick translation updates for mobile apps, websites, and desktop software.
Pricing 🔗
You can start with a free plan, which includes essential features like unlimited projects and 200 source keys. Paid plans range from $33/month for the Professional Plan to $74/month for the Autopilot Plan, with the Business Plan priced at $166/month. Custom pricing is available for the Enterprise Plan, and all paid plans come with a 14-day free trial.
✅ Make all your users feel welcome 🔗
These tools are just the beginning of how you can create digital spaces that truly welcome everyone. Beyond legal obligations, digital accessibility should be about making sure that every person, regardless of their abilities or language, can connect with your content. Investing in accessibility builds trust, helps you reach new audiences, and shows that your brand values inclusivity.
We'll be sharing more about inclusive UX and accessibility in the weeks ahead, especially how language plays a deeper role in making the web more welcoming. But if you’re ready to take action now, Localazy has tools that can help make your product more accessible across languages and audiences. Try the platform for free today, or contact us with any questions or requests.
