By Shaheer Malik · Outside prices checked on 28 October 2026
Quick answer: A UX audit is a structured review of a website or app that finds where people get confused, slowed down or stopped, and says how to fix each problem. Mine takes 3 days and costs a fixed $499: you get a written report with every finding ranked by impact, a recorded video walkthrough, and a WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility check. If you book a sprint within 30 days, the $499 comes off its price.
What you get for $499
- A written report. Every finding with a screenshot, what goes wrong, why it matters and the fix, ranked by impact so the first page of the report is the first week of work.
- A video walkthrough. A recording of me going through your site or app and explaining the top problems on screen, so the team sees what I saw without reading every line.
- A WCAG 2.1 AA check. Contrast, keyboard focus, labels, text alternatives, reflow on small screens and information carried by colour alone, with each failure listed in the report.
Everything is yours to keep and share. The report is written for the people who will do the work, so a finding says what to change, not only that something feels off.
What a UX audit checks
| Area | What I look at |
|---|---|
| First impression | Whether a new visitor can tell what it is, who it is for and what to do next, in the first screen. |
| Navigation and structure | Whether people can find what they came for, and whether labels say what is behind them. |
| Your key flows | Sign-up, onboarding, checkout, booking or a demo request: every step, every field and every dead end. |
| Forms and errors | What is asked, in what order, and what happens when someone gets it wrong. |
| Copy and content | Whether the words do the work: plain language, the right promise in the right place, no unanswered questions. |
| Visual hierarchy | Whether the most important thing on each screen looks it, and whether patterns stay consistent. |
| Phone and small screens | The same flows on a phone, where most problems hide. |
| Trust | Whether the proof, pricing and policies a buyer looks for are where they look for them. |
| Accessibility | The WCAG 2.1 AA check described above, on the screens in your key flows. |
Each finding is ranked by how many people it affects and how close it sits to the thing you want them to do. A confusing label on the pricing page outranks a misaligned icon in the footer.
What one finding looks like
An example of a single entry in the report, for a web app's sign-up:
| Finding | The sign-up form asks for company size and phone number before the account exists. |
|---|---|
| Where | Sign-up, step 1 of 2, on desktop and phone. |
| Why it matters | Every extra required field is a reason to stop, and these two are not needed until later. |
| The fix | Ask for email and password only; move company size into onboarding and make phone optional. |
| Impact | High: it sits on the one flow every new customer has to finish. |
| Accessibility | The error message is shown in red only and is not announced to screen readers (WCAG 1.4.1 and 4.1.3). |
Every finding is ranked on the same three-step scale:
- High. Stops or loses people on a flow that makes you money. Fix first.
- Medium. Slows people down or costs trust, on a page many people see.
- Low. Polish: real, but nobody leaves because of it.
The report opens with the high findings, so you can stop reading after the first page and still know what to do this week. The video follows the same order.
The 3 days
- Day 1: goals and the first pass. Your goals and the flows that matter are agreed, then I go through the product as a new user would and note every problem.
- Day 2: the deep check. Each key flow step by step, on desktop and phone, plus the WCAG 2.1 AA check.
- Day 3: the report and the video. Findings written up and ranked by impact, the walkthrough recorded, and both delivered to you.
The 3 days start when I have access and know your goals.
What I can audit
- Websites. The URL is enough. Marketing sites, landing pages and online stores.
- Web apps. A test account, so I can go through sign-up and the logged-in product without touching real data.
- iOS and Android apps. The app from the App Store or Google Play, or a test build if it is not released yet.
What I need from you
- The URL, or access to the app or a test build
- A test login if the product has one
- The one to three things you want more people to do, such as sign up, book a demo or buy
- Analytics access if you want me to look at where people drop off (optional)
What a UX audit costs elsewhere
| Option | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace UX designer | $25 to $39 an hour | Upwork's figure; the total depends on hours |
| UX agency | $25 to $49 an hour for most | Clutch; user research runs $100 to $149 an hour |
| A UX agency project | Typically over $10,000 | Clutch's average is about $85,000 over 10 months |
| My UX audit | $499 fixed | 3 days, credited against a sprint booked within 30 days |
Sources: Upwork's UX designer cost page and Clutch's UX pricing guide, updated 21 September 2026, both read on 28 October 2026. Agency projects cover far more than an audit, so treat them as the ceiling, not a like-for-like price.
The $499 comes off the fix
An audit is most useful when someone acts on it. Book any of my sprints within 30 days and the $499 comes off its price. The ones that usually follow an audit:
- Landing page in 5 days, $700, when one page is the problem
- Website redesign in 14 days, $1,999, with every old URL redirected
- Product design in 14 days, $1,999, every screen designed for teams with their own developers
- Vibe-coded prototype to production, from $1,999, when the product was built fast and needs finishing
What a UX audit is not
- Not usability testing with your users. I review the product as an expert. Watching your own customers needs recruiting and sessions, which is a different job.
- Not a legal certificate. The WCAG check lists what fails and how to fix it. It is not a formal conformance statement.
- Not a redesign. Each fix is described, not designed. Redesigning the screens is what the sprints are for.
- Not an SEO audit. Search is a separate check. The free AI visibility score and the SEO + GEO plan cover it.
For search, start with the free AI visibility score; for ongoing work, see SEO + GEO, done for you.
Why the accessibility check uses WCAG 2.1 AA
WCAG 2.1 AA is a widely used benchmark. The US Justice Department's ADA Title II web rule for state and local governments uses it, for example. WCAG 2.2, a W3C Recommendation since October 2023, is backwards compatible and adds nine success criteria; the audit checks 2.1 AA, so those nine are not part of it. Whether a rule applies to you is a question for your lawyer, not your designer.
When a UX audit pays for itself
- Before a redesign, so the money goes to what is actually broken
- When sign-ups, demos or sales dropped and nobody can say why
- Before a launch, a raise or an ad campaign sends people to the product
- After a product was built fast, in Lovable, Cursor or similar, and nobody has looked at it as a user
- When you need to know where you stand on accessibility before fixing it
If you would rather run one yourself first, how to run a UX audit walks through the method.
UX audit questions
What is a UX audit?
A UX audit is a structured expert review of a website or app that finds where people get confused, slowed down or stopped, and says how to fix each problem. It covers the first impression, navigation, key flows, forms, copy, layout on phones and accessibility.
How much does a UX audit cost?
Mine is a fixed $499 for 3 days. For comparison, Upwork lists UX designers at $25 to $39 an hour, and Clutch says most UX agencies charge $25 to $49 an hour, with UX projects typically over $10,000, as I read on 28 October 2026.
What do I get from the $499 UX audit?
A written report with every finding ranked by impact, each with a screenshot, why it matters and the fix; a recorded video walkthrough of the top problems; and a WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility check of the screens in your key flows.
How long does a UX audit take?
3 days from when I have access and know your goals. Day 1 is the first pass, day 2 the deep check and accessibility, and day 3 the report and the video.
Can you audit a mobile app?
Yes. I audit websites, web apps and iOS and Android apps. For an app, I need it from the App Store or Google Play, or a test build if it is not released yet.
Does the $499 count towards fixing the problems?
Yes. If you book any of my sprints within 30 days of the audit, the $499 comes off its price, so the audit is effectively free when you go on to fix what it finds.
Is the accessibility check a WCAG certificate?
No. It checks the screens in your key flows against WCAG 2.1 AA and lists every failure with its fix. It is not a formal conformance statement or legal advice.
Who does the UX audit?
I do, personally: the same senior designer-developer who would design and build the fixes. It is not handed to a junior or run through an automated scanner alone.
Do you include redesigned screens?
No. Each fix is described clearly enough for your team to act on, but not designed. If you want the fixes designed and built, the $499 comes off a sprint booked within 30 days.
Keep exploring
- How to Run a UX Audit: Step by Step (2026) (guide)
- Product discovery in 5 days, $700 (sprint)
- Website redesign in 14 days, $1,999 (sprint)
- Product design in 14 days, $1,999 (sprint)
- Product Design (service)
- AI visibility score (free tool)
Find out where your product loses people
Book a 30-minute call or send a brief with your URL. The audit is $499 fixed and takes 3 days.