WAI-ARIA Screen reader compatibility

ARIA

Sep 11, 2022

Shows how different WAI-ARIA attributes behave in commonly used screen readers.

The results include two types of test:

Expected to work - these tests show support when accessibility features are used correctly
Expected to fail - these tests show what happens when accessibility features are used incorrectly (marked with )

ARIA support by user agent

ARIA role and attribute support in different screen reader / browser combinations. Expected failures (marked with ) are not included in the reliability graph.

The solid area in the graph shows percentage of tests that pass in all tested interaction modes. The cross hatched area shows partial passes that only work in some interaction modes.

An example of a partial pass is when form labels are read when tabbing, but ignored in browse mode.

Combo	Versions	Reliability	Test Changes
JAWS Chrome	JAWS 2022.2207.25 with Chrome 105	83%
JAWS Edge	JAWS 2022.2207.25 with Edge 105	83%
JAWS Firefox	JAWS 2022.2207.25 with FF102	79%	10 better
JAWS IE	JAWS 2019.1912.1 with IE11	86%	15 better
NVDA Chrome	NVDA 2022.2 with Chrome 105	83%
NVDA Edge	NVDA 2022.2 with Edge 105	83%
NVDA Firefox	NVDA 2022.2 with FF102	93%	13 better
NVDA IE	NVDA 2019.2 with IE11	52%	5 better
VoiceOver Mac	VoiceOver macOS 12.5 with Safari 15.6	83%	11 better
VoiceOver iOS	VoiceOver iOS 15.6 with Safari iOS 15.6	79%	7 better
WindowEyes IE	WindowEyes 9.2 with IE11	71%	10 better 1 worse
Dolphin IE	Dolphin SR 15.05 with IE11	48%
SaToGo IE	SaToGo 3.4.96.0 with IE11	19%
Average	Including older versions	74%

The average includes all versions, but some browser/AT combinations have tests for multiple versions (NVDA / JAWS / VoiceOver), while others only have tests for a single version (SaToGo and Dolphin).

ARIA support trend

This graph shows reliability over time for ARIA in NVDA, JAWS and Voiceover. Other screen readers don't have enough historical data yet to plot trends.

ARIA roles

columnheader

Screen Reader	NVDA			JAWS			VoiceOver
Browser	Edge	FF	Cr	Edge	FF	Cr	Mac	iOS
Reliability when used correctly (31% average)	0%	0%	0%	33%	82%	60%	0%	0%
Data table with `role=columnheader` headers but no `th`

grid

Screen Reader	NVDA			JAWS			VoiceOver
Browser	Edge	FF	Cr	Edge	FF	Cr	Mac	iOS
Reliability when used correctly (78% average)	100%	100%	100%	100%	82%	100%	89%	0%
Data table with `role=grid`

heading

Screen Reader	NVDA			JAWS			VoiceOver
Browser	Edge	FF	Cr	Edge	FF	Cr	Mac	iOS
Reliability when used correctly (93% average)	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
ARIA `role=heading`
Nested ARIA headings

note

Screen Reader	NVDA			JAWS			VoiceOver
Browser	Edge	FF	Cr	Edge	FF	Cr	Mac	iOS
Data table with `role=note`

presentation

Screen Reader	NVDA			JAWS			VoiceOver
Browser	Edge	FF	Cr	Edge	FF	Cr	Mac	iOS
Reliability when used correctly (94% average)	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	78%
Layout table with `role=presentation`
Data table with `role=presentation`
`input` with `aria-labelledby` pointing to `role=presentation` element

row

Screen Reader	NVDA			JAWS			VoiceOver
Browser	Edge	FF	Cr	Edge	FF	Cr	Mac	iOS
Reliability when used correctly (31% average)	0%	0%	0%	33%	82%	60%	0%	0%
Data table with `role=columnheader` headers but no `th`

rowgroup

Screen Reader	NVDA			JAWS			VoiceOver
Browser	Edge	FF	Cr	Edge	FF	Cr	Mac	iOS
Reliability when used correctly (31% average)	0%	0%	0%	33%	82%	60%	0%	0%
Data table with `role=columnheader` headers but no `th`

ARIA attributes

aria-describedby

Screen Reader	NVDA			JAWS			VoiceOver
Browser	Edge	FF	Cr	Edge	FF	Cr	Mac	iOS
Reliability when used correctly (92% average)	100%	100%	100%	100%	95%	100%	78%	100%
Click Here link with `aria-describedby` attribute
`input type=text` with `aria-describedby` attribute
`img` with `aria-describedby`

aria-label

Screen Reader	NVDA			JAWS			VoiceOver
Browser	Edge	FF	Cr	Edge	FF	Cr	Mac	iOS
Reliability when used correctly (76% average)	83%	80%	83%	83%	72%	86%	83%	67%
Link text replaced by `aria-label` attribute
`applet` with `aria-label` attribute
`area` with `aria-label` attribute
`audio` with `aria-label` attribute
`button` containing `img` with `aria-label`
`button` with `aria-label` containing `img` with null `alt`
`embed` with `aria-label` attribute
`img` with `aria-label`
`input type=image` with `aria-label` attribute
`input type=text` with `aria-label` attribute
`object` with `aria-label` attribute
`video` with `aria-label` attribute
Link with `aria-label` containing `img` with no `alt`
`button` with `aria-label` containing `img` with no `alt`
`img` with null `alt` and non-null `aria-label` attributes

aria-labelledby

Screen Reader	NVDA			JAWS			VoiceOver
Browser	Edge	FF	Cr	Edge	FF	Cr	Mac	iOS
Reliability when used correctly (67% average)	81%	79%	81%	81%	58%	84%	68%	64%
Link text replaced by `aria-labelledby` attribute
`applet` with `aria-labelledby` attribute
`area` with `aria-labelledby` attribute
`audio` with `aria-labelledby` attribute
`button` containing `img` with `aria-labelledby`
`embed` with `aria-labelledby` attribute
`img` with `aria-labelledby`
`input type=image` with `aria-labelledby` attribute
`input type=text` with `aria-labelledby` attribute
`object` with `aria-labelledby` attribute
`video` with `aria-labelledby` attribute
Link with `aria-labelledby` containing `img` with no `alt`
`img` with null `alt` and non-null `aria-labelledby` attributes
`input` with `aria-labelledby` pointing to `role=presentation` element

aria-level

Screen Reader	NVDA			JAWS			VoiceOver
Browser	Edge	FF	Cr	Edge	FF	Cr	Mac	iOS
Reliability when used correctly (93% average)	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%	100%
ARIA `role=heading`
Nested ARIA headings

role

Screen Reader	NVDA			JAWS			VoiceOver
Browser	Edge	FF	Cr	Edge	FF	Cr	Mac	iOS
Reliability when used correctly (74% average)	75%	74%	75%	83%	91%	90%	71%	44%
ARIA `role=heading`
Data table with `role=columnheader` headers but no `th`
Data table with `role=grid`
Layout table with `role=presentation`
Data table with `role=note`
Data table with `role=presentation`
Nested ARIA headings
`input` with `aria-labelledby` pointing to `role=presentation` element

Key

Tests expected to fail (due to authoring errors) are marked with .

Works in 100% of tested screen readers
Fails in 1% - 25% of tested screen readers
Fails in 26% - 50% of tested screen readers
Fails in 51% - 75% of tested screen readers
Fails in 76% - 100% of tested screen readers

Stable - works, or doesn't cause problems, in all versions of a specific combination of screen reader and browser
Better - works, or doesn't cause problems, in the most recent version of a specific combination of screen reader and browser (improvement)
Worse - causes problems in the most recent version of a specific combination of screen reader and browser, but used to work in older versions (regression)
Broken - causes problems in all versions of a specific combination of screen reader and browser

Test notes

All tests were carried out with screen reader factory settings. JAWS in particular has a wide variety of settings controlling exactly what gets spoken.

Screen readers allow users to interact in different modes, and can produce very different results in each mode. The modes used in these tests are:

Reading Content read using the “read next” command in a screen reader
Tabbing Content read using the “tab” key in a screen reader
Heading Content read using the “next heading” key in a screen reader
Touch Content read when touching an area of screen on a mobile device

In the “What the user hears” column:

Commas represent short pauses in screen reader voicing
Full Stops represent places where voicing stops, and the “read next” or “tab” or “next heading” command is pressed again
Ellipsis … represent a long pause in voicing
(Brackets) represent voicing that requires a keystroke to hear