That sweet, sweet accessibility audit report you’ve been waiting 10 days for just hit your desk(top). Great, now you can start fixing the 155 issues and since we’re in the AI era, you can even have ChatGPT or Google Gemini help you with the fixes for free.
But let’s say that you’re a project manager, do you want your $50/hour developer to spend 70 hours ($3,500) on the project or 30 ($1,500)?
Because for all of the greatness and excitement of ChatGPT, your developer will still need to:
- enter a solid prompt that describes what information is needed
- paste the issue data from the report
- manually track each fix in the spreadsheet
So, yes, ChatGPT is free to use, but using it comes at a cost when you have an alternative that:
- has instantly selectable pre-prompts
- all issue data pre-loaded
- has the ability to update the status of each issue
| Audit Remediation Task | Free ChatGPT | Accessibility Tracker AI |
|---|---|---|
| Working from Excel audit | Copy-paste each issue manually | Upload audit spreadsheet once |
| Issue context | Manually input issue details, WCAG criterion, code | All audit data pre-loaded per issue |
| Tracking fixes | Update spreadsheet separately | Mark status in same dashboard |
| Time per issue overhead | 12.5 minutes extra per issue | 2.5 minutes per issue |
| 155-issue project overhead | 32 hours 17 minutes | 6 hours 28 minutes |
The ChatGPT Workflow Reality
With the free ChatGPT route, here’s your process for each of those 123 issues:
- Open the Excel spreadsheet.
- Find issue #1.
- Copy the issue description and other relevant row data.
- Open ChatGPT.
- Write a prompt that includes all this information. Get the response.
- If the response isn’t helpful, modify the prompt and/or provide more context.
- Copy and paste the answer.
- Go back to Excel.
- Mark the issue as complete.
- Move to issue #2.
You’re essentially becoming a human API between your audit spreadsheet and ChatGPT. Every single issue requires this manual data transfer. No context carries over between issues. Even similar issues need the full process repeated.
By issue #10, you’re already spending more time going through the 10-step process than fixing code.
The Accessibility Tracker Alternative
With Accessibility Tracker, you upload your audit spreadsheet once. That’s it for data entry.
Now when you view any issue, all the audit information is already there. The issue description, the WCAG criterion, the code, the URL, the recommendation – everything from your audit report is pre-loaded.
When you click “Analyze with AI,” the tools already know everything about that specific issue. You don’t type anything. You don’t copy anything. You just select which type of help you need.
Simple Math
Let’s use hypothetical data to illustrate our point. Let’s say a recent client had an audit with 155 issues on their mobile app. Using the manual ChatGPT approach, each issue took approximately 10-15 minutes extra when you factor in:
- Copying data from the spreadsheet
- Writing the prompt
- Re-prompting after unsatisfactory responses
- Updating the spreadsheet status
- Switching between windows constantly
That’s 32 hours and 17 minutes just on issue management, not counting actual code fixes.
With Accessibility Tracker, that same process takes 2-3 minutes per issue because the audit data is already loaded and the AI is pre-prompted. That’s 6 hours and 28 minutes total.
You’ve just saved 25 hours and 49 minutes saved on a single project.
Times $50 is how much?
What’s the cost of an Accessibility Tracker subscription again?
The Hidden Cost of Spreadsheet Management
Your audit spreadsheet isn’t just a list of issues. It’s your project management system. With free AI, you’re constantly updating it manually:
- Marking issues as started
- Updating completion status
- Adding notes about fixes
- Tracking who’s working on what
- Noting which fixes need validation
All while switching between Excel, ChatGPT, and your code editor.
Accessibility Tracker eliminates this spreadsheet gymnastics. The same dashboard where you access AI also tracks status, assigns team members, logs notes, and manages validation. Your audit report transforms from a static spreadsheet into a dynamic remediation platform.
Why “Free” Becomes Expensive
Free ChatGPT seems cost-effective until you calculate the true expense:
Developer time at $50/hour spending 10 extra minutes per issue across 155 issues equals $1,290 in lost productivity. Technical support at $195/hour for questions ChatGPT can’t answer properly adds another $1,950 for 10 hours. Project delays from inefficient workflow can cost thousands more.
Total quantifiable cost: $3,240 in lost productivity and support costs alone.
Accessibility Tracker’s subscription starts at $19 per month for just a single project.
The integrated AI is really bringing home the bacon.
The Audit-Specific Intelligence
Here’s what makes the biggest difference: Accessibility Tracker’s AI understands audit reports. When you select “Detailed Technical Answer,” it knows you’re fixing issue #47 from row 47 of your audit. It has the specific code from that issue. It knows the exact WCAG criterion being violated.
ChatGPT, even with perfect prompting, starts fresh every time. It doesn’t know your audit exists. It can’t reference previous issues. It can’t see patterns across your remediation project.
This context awareness means Accessibility Tracker’s AI gives you immediately actionable fixes instead of generic accessibility advice. You get code examples specific to your issue, not theoretical best practices.
The question isn’t really whether free AI can help with accessibility – it can. The question is whether you want to spend 50 hours managing a manual process or 20 hours actually fixing issues. When you’re working from an audit spreadsheet with dozens or hundreds of issues, that efficiency difference determines whether your project succeeds or stalls.
Five Specialized Tools vs. Generic Responses
ChatGPT gives you whatever your prompt generates. Sometimes it’s helpful, sometimes it’s too technical, sometimes it’s not specific enough.
Accessibility Tracker provides five purpose-built tools for different needs:
- Simplify and Explain when your junior developer needs plain English
- Detailed Technical Answer when you need code examples
- Alternative Approaches when the standard fix won’t work
- WCAG Standards when you need to understand the requirement
- Custom Analysis for specific questions
Each tool is pre-prompted with accessibility expertise. No prompt engineering required.
The Technical Support Savings
Even with ChatGPT helping, developers still need expert guidance. At $195/hour for technical support, a typical project needs 10-20 hours of expert help.
Accessibility Tracker’s integrated AI reduces those support hours by approximately 35%. On a 15-hour support project, that’s 5 hours saved. Another $975 in cost reduction.
Why Companies Choose Paid Tools
The math is simple. On a 155-issue project:
- Manual overhead with free ChatGPT: 32+ hours
- Overhead with Accessibility Tracker: 6.5 hours
- Time saved: 26 hours
- Cost of saved time at $50/hour: $1,300
- Cost of Accessibility Tracker: $19-$999/month
The subscription pays for itself in multiples as you stack more projects.
But it’s not just about the money. It’s about momentum. Projects using spreadsheets and free tools often stall around 30% completion. The friction of the manual process kills motivation. With Accessibility Tracker, the streamlined workflow maintains momentum through completion.
Summary
Free AI tools are great for occasional questions. But when you’re working through an audit spreadsheet with dozens or hundreds of issues, the manual overhead becomes expensive.
Every hour your developer spends copying and pasting is an hour not spent fixing code. Every context switch between Excel and ChatGPT is a disruption to flow. Every manual status update is a chance for errors.
Accessibility Tracker isn’t replacing free AI — it’s eliminating the friction around it. The AI is still doing the heavy lifting, but now it’s integrated into your workflow instead of living in a separate tab.
For the cost of less than one hour of developer time per month, you’re saving 26 hours per project. That’s not a subscription cost – that’s an investment with immediate returns.
Ready to try Tracker?
You can start with a free plan at AccessibilityTracker.com.
