Guide
PDF remediation cost: what vendors charge per page
Most remediation is priced per page, and the price depends on what is on the page. Here is what one vendor publishes, what a recent roundup lists for others, what pushes a page into a higher tier, and how the main ways of getting the work done compare.
Published prices
Few vendors publish a price list; most quote after seeing a sample of your files. One that does is Accessible.org. Its PDF remediation page, read on 28 October 2026, lists three tiers:
| Tier | Price per page | Examples the vendor gives |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | US$4.00 to US$7.50 | Basic text, simple layouts, minimal tables, previously tagged files that need validation |
| Advanced | US$7.50 to US$11.50 | OCR, complex forms, complex tables, images that need detailed alt text, extensive tagging |
| Complex | US$11.50 and up | Heavy concentration of advanced items, custom fixes, nested forms or calculations |
The same vendor's general pricing page says PDFs start at US$4.00 a page in one place and US$7.50 a page in its FAQ, so ask for a written quote.
A third-party roundup by Venngage (updated 30 July 2026) lists Documenta11y from US$4 a page, Allyant at US$5 to US$8 a page for standard PDFs, and Softek at US$5 to US$30 a page. Those figures are the roundup's, not price lists we could read on the vendors' own sites, so treat them as a starting point for questions.
What makes a page cost more
- Tables. Every header cell has to be marked and connected to its data cells. Merged cells and tables that run across pages take the longest.
- Forms. Each field needs a label a screen reader can announce, a sensible tab order and correct tagging. Equidox's pricing article calls forms the most time-consuming documents to remediate.
- Scans. A scanned page is a picture with no text. It needs OCR (text recognition) first, then a person to check the recognised text, then tagging. See Scanned PDFs and screen readers.
- Images. Charts and diagrams need alternative text written by someone who knows what the image is for.
- Page count and volume. Vendors often offer bulk or public-sector pricing, so a large batch may cost less per page than a single report.
- Turnaround. Rush work usually costs more. Equidox lists turnaround among the main cost factors.
- Checking. Testing the result, by checker and by a person, is part of the price. Equidox calls validation the most important part of a remediation project.
Three ways to get it done
Do it yourself
If your files are made in Word or InDesign, the cheapest fix is often at the source: use real headings, lists and table headers, add alt text, set the document language, then export a tagged PDF. Repairing an existing PDF by hand usually means a paid editor such as Adobe Acrobat Pro and time to learn the tag tree. Free checkers help you see what is wrong: veraPDF (open source) and PAC (free, Windows) both test files against PDF/UA. The cost is staff time, which is real even when the software is free.
Software
Remediation software speeds up tagging, especially for repeating templates such as monthly reports. You still need someone trained to drive it and to judge the result, and licences vary widely; most vendors quote on request.
A service
A remediation vendor does the work and returns repaired files, priced per page by complexity as above. This suits a backlog or documents that need careful human judgment, such as complex forms and data tables.
A fourth option: automated repair with a list for a person
Automated repair sits between software and a service. Pagorin's entry plan is US$79 a month for 100 pages, which works out at US$0.79 a page if you use all 100 (unused pages do not carry over). What it includes: AI proposes each page's structure and fixed rules decide what is written, so the file gets tags, reading order, headings, lists, table cells, a title and a language; scanned pages get OCR; form fields get proposed labels; figures get proposed alt text. Each file is checked with veraPDF (PDF/UA-1) before and after, and each batch comes back within 5 business days.
What it leaves for a person: confirming that the alt text fits the purpose of each image, that headings and table headers are the right ones, and that form labels read correctly. It does not edit content, fix colour contrast or replace images of text. A checker pass is not the same as an accessible document, and nothing here is legal advice. If you want to know what still needs human checking in any approach, the guide to PDF/UA and veraPDF explains it.
Before you ask for quotes
- Count pages, and sort them roughly into plain text, tables, forms and scans. The guide to remediating many PDFs walks through this.
- Remove or archive what nobody needs, so you do not pay to repair it.
- Send each vendor the same sample of five to ten typical files and compare like with like.
- Ask what the price includes: OCR, alt text writing, human testing, and corrections after delivery.
Sources
- Accessible.org: PDF Remediation Services (tiers and prices, checked 28 October 2026)
- Accessible.org: Pricing (checked 28 October 2026)
- Venngage: PDF accessibility cost (third-party roundup, updated 30 July 2026, checked 28 October 2026)
- Equidox: PDF Remediation Pricing, Am I Getting a Good Deal? (cost factors)
- veraPDF: About
- Virginia Tech TLOS: PAC (PDF Accessibility Checker)
See what your own files need
The free quick check reads a PDF in your browser, without uploading it, and shows whether it is tagged, has a title and language, has pages with no text, and has unlabelled form fields. If you then want the repairs done, Starter repairs and checks 100 pages a month for US$79.