PDF Remediation Service Comparison: Documenta11y vs CommonLook vs Continual Engine

If you are looking for document accessibility services, three names come up often: CommonLook, Continual Engine, and Documenta11y. They are usually listed side by side, as if you were picking between three versions of the same thing.

You are not. They work in different ways, and the differences matter more than any feature list.

What is the difference between CommonLook, Continual Engine, and Documenta11y?

It comes down to who does the work. CommonLook is Allyant’s remediation software: your team runs it, with managed services available if you want them. Continual Engine is a platform you can run yourself or hand over to its managed service. Documenta11y is a service: you upload documents and specialists send them back fixed. Same goal, three different models.

A quick comparison

CommonLook

CommonLook is remediation software from Allyant, offered alongside managed services and an API.

Automated tagging handles documents that follow a template. Complex files get a full manual review. Jobs can come with a per-document conformance certificate, which is useful if you need to prove compliance on paper rather than just achieve it.

What It Covers

The suite splits by where your document starts. CommonLook PDF fixes any existing PDF, as an Acrobat plugin or a web app. CommonLook Office works inside Word and PowerPoint, so the source file is right before it ever becomes a PDF. CommonLook Edu handles educational material including STEM, and can output braille and large print. Clarity scans a whole site to find PDFs you did not know you had.

Output targets PDF/UA and WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 AA, with a five business day turnaround and a listed 100% conformance guarantee on the service.

Best For

Enterprises with a large backlog that need documented, defensible compliance.

Watch For

It is priced and scoped for serious volume. For occasional work, it is more structure than you need.

Continual Engine

Continual Engine offers its PREP platform, which you can use yourself or through an API, plus a fully managed remediation service. Automation does a lot of the tagging, and an expert layer validates the output.

Output targets WCAG 2.2 AA, PDF/UA, Section 508, ADA Title II, and EAA. The platform includes a side-by-side screen reader preview, so you can check a file against real assistive technology instead of trusting a checker. It connects over a REST API and works with learning management systems.

What It Covers

PREP handles PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, HTML, and EPUB3, with built-in OCR for scanned files and conversion between formats. Around it sit separate tools for alt text, website audits, and video, three public APIs, and connections to Canvas, D2L Brightspace, and CivicPlus.

Best For

Higher education, government, and enterprise teams fixing documents at real scale who want automation with a safety net.

Watch For

The value shows up at volume. For one small job, the full platform is more than you need.

Documenta11y

Documenta11y is the simplest of the three to start using. There is no software to install and no training to book. You upload your files, or share a link from cloud storage, and the work comes back done.

How it works

Upload files or share a link, every document is checked for complexity, you get a quote, you pay in the portal, and finished files appear in your dashboard. The portal is open 24 hours, so you are not waiting on a sales call to begin.

What it covers

PDFs and PDF fillable forms, Word, PowerPoint, Excel, InDesign files,  and EPUB, including EPUB3. Scanned and image-based files are handled too. 

Output meets WCAG, ADA, Section 508, PDF/UA, AODA, ACA, EAA, and HSS.

How the work gets done

An AI engine called ADAPT AI does the first pass. It finds document elements, adds accessibility tags, sets the reading order, and runs OCR so scanned pages have real text behind them. It cuts remediation time by up to half. Then expert reviewers check alt text, color contrast, reading order, and structure on every file. Finished files are returned to your portal account for download. More than 100 accessibility specialists sit behind the portal, and the team has fixed millions of documents.

It also works further upstream. Documenta11y builds accessible InDesign templates, so structure is correct in the design file before a PDF is ever made. For teams who publish designed documents on a regular cycle, that turns a repeat job into a one-time setup.

Best For

Universities, government agencies, and organizations with a large backlog of old PDFs or a steady flow of new ones, who want the work done properly without hiring a team.

Watch For

It is a service, not a tool you run yourself. That is the right trade if you want the work off your plate, and the wrong one if you want a license and full internal control.

How do you choose between them?

Ask four questions.

1. Who will do the work? If the honest answer is that nobody has time, buying software will not help. You will pay for a license nobody opens.
2. How varied are your documents? Templates and repeat layouts suit software. A messy pile of old scans suits a service.
3. What are you really worried about? A deadline is an operations problem. A legal risk is a paperwork problem, and that is where a written guarantee earns its cost.
4. Is this a one-time job or a permanent one? Backlogs suit services. Ongoing publishing suits building a team.

What people get wrong

The most common mistake is comparing features. All three handle tables, reading order, and alt text. Knowing that tells you nothing.

The second is buying a tool when you needed capacity. A license gives you the ability to do the work. A service gives you the work done. Both are fine purchases. Trouble starts when you buy the first and needed the second.

All three do good work. The difference between a good result and a frustrating one usually has nothing to do with the provider and everything to do with whether the model fits your team. If you have the backlog but not the people, a managed PDF remediation service is the shortest path. If you have the people and want control, buy the tool. Work out which you are before you compare anything else.

FAQ