Screen Reader User Survey #9 Results
Einführung
In May - June 2021, WebAIM surveyed preferences of screen reader users. We received 1568 valid responses. This was a follow-up to 8 previous surveys that were conducted between January 2009 and September 2019.
A few disclaimers and notices:
- Totals may not equal 100% due to rounding.
- Total responses (n) for each question may not equal 1568 due to respondents not answering a particular question.
- The sample was not controlled and may not represent all screen reader users.
- We hope to conduct additional surveys of this nature again in the future. If you have recommendations or questions that you would like us to ask, please contact us.
Demographics
Region
Region | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
North America | 888 | 57.7% |
Europa | 362 | 23.5% |
Asia | 126 | 8.2% |
Australia and Oceania | 58 | 3.8% |
Africa/Middle East | 52 | 3.4% |
South America | 42 | 2.7% |
Central America and Caribbean | 12 | 0.8% |
This survey had more respondents outside North America and Europe than previous surveys, thus providing better representation of the global screen reader user audience.
Age
Age | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Below 20 | 114 | 7.3% |
21 - 40 | 600 | 38.3% |
41 - 60 | 491 | 31.4% |
60+ | 360 | 23.0% |
This survey had a much higher number of respondents aged 60 or older than any other previous survey.
Disability
Response | # of Respondents | % of Respondents |
---|---|---|
Yes | 1435 | 92.3% |
No | 120 | 7.7% |
Responses are predominantly very similar between respondents with and without disabilities. Any notable differences are detailed below to highlight differences in practices or perceptions between disabled and non-disabled respondents.
Disability Types
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Blindness | 1246 | 79.5% |
Low Vision/Visually-Impaired | 344 | 21.9% |
Cognitive or Learning | 50 | 3.2% |
Deafness/Hard-of-Hearing | 114 | 7.3% |
Motor | 37 | 2.4% |
Other | 57 | 3.6% |
295 respondents (18.8%) reported multiple disabilities. 101 respondents (6.4%) reported being both deaf and blind.
Screen Reader Proficiency
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Advanced | 887 | 57.5% |
Intermediate | 577 | 37.4% |
Beginner | 78 | 5.1% |
Those who use screen readers due to a disability reported themselves as more proficient with screen readers—60.5% of those with disabilities considered their proficiency to be "Advanced" compared to only 21.2% of those without disabilities.
Internet Proficiency
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Advanced | 1045 | 67.5% |
Intermediate | 477 | 30.8% |
Beginner | 26 | 1.7% |
Those without disabilities rate themselves as more proficient than those with disabilities.
Level of Employment
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Employed full time | 634 | 41.2% |
Not employed | 275 | 17.9% |
Retired | 272 | 17.7% |
Employed part time | 191 | 12.4% |
Student or too young | 167 | 10.9% |
83.2% of survey respondents who do not have a disability are employed full time, compared to 37.6% of respondents who do have a disability. The reported employment rate is significantly higher than the 29.5% for individuals with significant vision loss reported by the NFB in 2016. This survey had a much higher number of retired respondents than previous surveys.
Primary Screen Reader
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
JAWS | 832 | 53.7% |
NVDA | 476 | 30.7% |
VoiceOver | 100 | 6.5% |
ZoomText/Fusion | 72 | 4.7% |
System Access or System Access to Go | 12 | 0.8% |
Narrator | 8 | 0.5% |
ChromeVox | 5 | 0.3% |
Other | 43 | 2.8% |
The following chart shows historical trends for primary screen reader usage.
After a decade of declines, JAWS is once again reported as the most common primary screen reader, with NVDA and VoiceOver both showing notable decreases in primary usage over the last two years.
Respondents with disabilities are more likely to use JAWS and NVDA and less likely to use VoiceOver as their primary screen reader than respondents without disabilities. 5.5% of respondents with disabilities primarily use VoiceOver, compared to 18.5% of respondents without disabilities.
Primary usage varied greatly by region. JAWS usage was much higher than NVDA in Australia (71.4% vs. 21.4%) and North America (63.1% vs. 19.4%), though JAWS usage was lower than NVDA in Europe (40.2% vs. 41.6%), Africa/Middle East (38.5% vs. 61.5%), and Asia (31.5% vs. 39.7%).
Screen Readers Commonly Used
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
JAWS | 1097 | 70.0% |
NVDA | 922 | 58.8% |
VoiceOver | 648 | 41.3% |
Narrator | 577 | 36.8% |
ZoomText | 140 | 8.9% |
ChromeVox | 73 | 4.7% |
System Access or System Access to Go | 47 | 3.0% |
Window-Eyes | 24 | 1.5% |
Other | 99 | 6.3% |
Usage of JAWS and Narrator increased notably over the last two years, with NVDA and VoiceOver usage decreasing. Narrator—freely available in Windows for several years—is the primary screen reader of only .5% of respondents, but commonly used by 36.8% of respondents (up from 21.4% in 2017 and 30.3% in 2019).
71.3% of respondents use more than one desktop/laptop screen reader. This was up from 53% in July 2015 and 68% in 2017. 39% use three or more, and 15.9% use four or more different screen readers. VoiceOver users most commonly use additional screen readers, which is notable since the other screen readers run almost exclusively on Windows.
Browsers
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Chrome | 833 | 53.6% |
Microsoft Edge | 286 | 18.4% |
Firefox | 257 | 16.5% |
Safari | 79 | 5.1% |
Internet Explorer | 52 | 3.3% |
Other | 47 | 3.0% |
Chrome usage among respondents continues to increase with it being used as a primary browser more than all other browsers combined. Microsoft Edge usage also increased notably over the last two years—it is now the 2nd most used primary browser. Internet Explorer usage continued to decline to only 3.3% of respondents.
Screen Reader / Browser Combinations
Screen Reader & Browser | # of Respondents | % of Respondents |
---|---|---|
JAWS with Chrome | 500 | 32.5% |
NVDA with Chrome | 246 | 16.0% |
JAWS with Edge | 194 | 12.6% |
NVDA with Firefox | 149 | 9.7% |
JAWS with Firefox | 74 | 4.8% |
VoiceOver with Safari | 72 | 4.7% |
NVDA with Edge | 55 | 3.6% |
ZoomText/Fusion with Chrome | 33 | 2.1% |
JAWS with Internet Explorer | 30 | 1.9% |
VoiceOver with Chrome | 24 | 1.6% |
ZoomText/Fusion with Edge | 18 | 1.2% |
Other combinations | 144 | 9.4% |
There are many combinations of browsers and screen readers in use, with JAWS with Chrome by far the most common.
Operating System
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Windows | 1412 | 91.1% |
Mac | 101 | 6.5% |
Linux | 22 | 1.4% |
Other | 15 | 1.0% |
Respondents without disabilities were almost 4 times more likely to use Mac OS than respondents with disabilities.
JavaScript
Response | % of Respondents |
---|---|
Yes | 99.4% |
No | .6% |
JavaScript support was detected with the survey form submission. Nearly all respondents had JavaScript enabled.
Reason for Use
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Existing Comfort/Expertise | 707 | 46.3% |
Eigenschaften | 451 | 29.5% |
Availability | 149 | 9.8% |
Cost | 126 | 8.2% |
Support | 93 | 6.1% |
When compared to previous surveys, respondents indicated that existing comfort/expertise and features are increasingly important, whereas availability and cost are less important. This may at least partially explain the increase in usage of JAWS compared to the past.
Screen Reader Satisfaction
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Very satisfied | 998 | 64.6% |
Somewhat satisfied | 482 | 31.2% |
Slightly satisfied | 54 | 3.5% |
Not satisfied | 11 | 0.7% |
Respondents indicating that they are very or somewhat satisfied by their primary screen reader:
- NVDA - 97.3%
- JAWS - 95.3%
- VoiceOver - 93.7%
- ZoomText/Fusion - 91.5%
- Narrator - 87.5%
Home vs. Work
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Yes | 232 | 16.0% |
No | 1215 | 84.0% |
24.7% of respondents to this same question in 2015 reported using a different screen reader at work/school vs. home, compared to only 16% in 2021.
36% of VoiceOver users reported using a different screen reader at work/school vs. home, compared to 25% for Narrator, 17% for NVDA, and 13% for JAWS.
Mobile Screen Readers
Mobile Usage
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Yes | 1394 | 90.0% |
No | 155 | 10.0% |
90% of respondents report using a screen reader on a mobile device. This number has increased over the last 12 years. Respondents with disabilities (91.6%) are more likely to use a mobile screen reader than respondents without disabilities (71.4%).
Decreases in usage in particular years likely reflect differences in the survey respondent demographics rather than an overall decrease in mobile screen reader usage.
Mobile Platforms
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Apple iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch | 1083 | 71.9% |
Android | 388 | 25.8% |
Chrome OS | 4 | 0.3% |
Other | 30 | 2.0% |
Respondents with disabilities used iOS devices at a higher rate than those without disabilities. Usage of iOS devices was significantly higher in North America (82%), Australia (75%), and Europe/UK (71%) than in Africa/Middle East (54%), South America (33%), and Asia (27%). Respondents with more advanced screen reader and internet proficiency were much more likely to use iOS over Android.
iOS devices continue to dominate the mobile screen reader market. Usage of other platforms (Chrome OS, Windows Phone, Nokia, etc.) combined represent only 2.3% of usage.
Mobile Screen Readers Used
Response | % of respondents |
---|---|
VoiceOver | 71.5% |
TalkBack | 29.1% |
Voice Assistant | 7.6% |
Commentary/Jieshuo | 6.6% |
VoiceView | 6.1% |
Mobile Accessibility for Android | 3.4% |
Nuance Talks | 1.0% |
Mobile Speak | 0.5% |
IDEAL | 0.4% |
Other | 3.4% |
Primary Mobile Browser
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Safari | 897 | 61.5% |
Chrome | 353 | 24.2% |
Firefox | 62 | 4.3% |
IE or Edge Mobile | 38 | 2.6% |
Samsung Browser | 23 | 1.6% |
Android Browser | 16 | 1.1% |
Other | 68 | 4.6% |
Mobile App vs Web Site Usage
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
app | 781 | 51.8% |
web | 727 | 48.2% |
Respondents indicated that they are slightly more likely to use a mobile app than a web site for common online tasks. The preference for mobile app usage increased to 51.8% in 2021, up from 50.8% in 2019 and 46% in 2017.
"Skip" links
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Always | 260 | 16.8% |
Often | 223 | 14.4% |
Sometimes | 440 | 28.4% |
Seldom | 336 | 21.6% |
Never | 223 | 14.4% |
Usage of "skip" links is largely unchanged since 2017. It's important to note that "skip" links provide distinct benefits for sighted keyboard users, even if their usage among screen reader users is mixed.
Web Accessibility Progress
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Web content has become more accessible | 604 | 39.3% |
Web content accessibility has not changed | 650 | 42.3% |
Web content has become less accessible | 284 | 18.5% |
Perception of the state of web accessibility has generally not changed in recent years. Respondents without disabilities tend to be more positive about recent progress (47.4% thought it has become more accessible) than those with disabilities (38.6% thought it has become more accessible).
Landmarks/Regions
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Whenever they're available | 180 | 11.7% |
Often | 214 | 13.9% |
Sometimes | 428 | 27.8% |
Seldom | 364 | 23.7% |
Never | 351 | 22.8% |
The frequent use of landmarks and regions has continually decreased from 43.8% in 2014, to 38.6% in 2015, to 30.5% in 2017, to 26.6% in 2019, to 25.6% on this survey. It's difficult to know the reasons for this. It could be due to infrequent or improper usage of landmarks/regions in pages. Or perhaps because other mechanisms are continually better.
Finding Information
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Navigate through the headings on the page | 1047 | 67.7% |
Read through the page | 126 | 8.1% |
Use the Find feature | 215 | 13.9% |
Navigate through the links of the page | 110 | 7.1% |
Navigate through the landmarks/regions of the page | 49 | 3.2% |
Navigating headings remains the predominant method for finding page information. Those with advanced screen reader proficiency are much more likely to use headings (76%) than those with beginner proficiency (41%), who are more likely to read through the page or use the "Find" feature.
While 25.6% of respondents indicate that they always or often use landmarks when they are present, only 3.2% use this as a primary method for finding information on a lengthy web page.
Heading Levels
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Very useful | 813 | 52.8% |
Somewhat useful | 507 | 32.9% |
Not very useful | 147 | 9.6% |
Not at all useful | 28 | 1.8% |
I don't know | 44 | 2.9% |
The usefulness of proper heading structures is very high, with 85.7% of respondents finding heading levels very or somewhat useful.
Document Accessibility
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Word | 1036 | 68.9% |
194 | 12.9% | |
EPUB | 160 | 10.6% |
Other | 113 | 7.5% |
Respondents to the 2019 survey reported much higher levels of accessibility issues with PDF documents than with Word documents.
Document Preference
Response | # of respondents | % of respondents |
---|---|---|
Word | 912 | 60.6% |
261 | 17.3% | |
EPUB | 204 | 13.6% |
Other | 128 | 8.5% |
Email clients
Response | % of respondents |
---|---|
Outlook or Outlook.com | 59.0% |
Apple Mail on iOS | 46.3% |
Gmail with desktop browser | 45.9% |
Gmail on mobile | 37.4% |
Apple Mail on Mac | 11.2% |
Windows Live Mail | 6.6% |
Yahoo! | 4.6% |
Other | 19.8% |
Many respondents commented that they use Mozilla Thunderbird which was not provided as a response option on the survey.
Social Media Accessibility
Perceptions of social media accessibility are generally unchanged over the last several years.