PocketBase is an open-source single-binary backend providing SQLite database, authentication, file storage, and real-time REST APIs — but as a backend server, it has no WCAG accessibility audit, no Core Web Vitals scoring, and no front-end health monitoring for applications built on it. PageGuard audits the live URL of any PocketBase-powered web application externally — free, no server credentials needed, results in 30 seconds.
ADA Title II Deadline: April 24, 2026
State and local government websites must meet WCAG 2.1 AA by April 24, 2026. Government agencies, nonprofits, and educational institutions using PocketBase as their backend for public-facing web applications face this compliance deadline. PocketBase’s single-binary Go backend provides data and auth APIs but has no front-end WCAG quality gate — React and SvelteKit frontend deployments can introduce ARIA violations, color contrast failures, and keyboard navigation regressions without any automated accessibility check. User-uploaded files stored via PocketBase file storage may appear without alt text in the frontend. PageGuard provides continuous post-deployment front-end monitoring without requiring PocketBase server credentials or admin dashboard access.
| Feature | PageGuard | PocketBase |
|---|---|---|
| What is it? | External website health monitor — scans any URL for performance, accessibility, SEO, and best practices | Open-source backend-as-a-service in a single portable executable; written in Go; provides SQLite database, authentication, file storage, real-time subscriptions, and auto-generated REST and GraphQL APIs from a single binary; 36K+ GitHub Stars; MIT licensed; free self-hosted; no cloud version — runs on any Linux, macOS, or Windows server; loved by indie developers and small teams for its zero-dependency simplicity; admin dashboard included; embeddable as a Go framework for custom extensions |
| Free tier | ✓ Yes — unlimited one-off scans, no signup required | Fully free and open-source (MIT license); no cloud offering — self-hosted only; runs as a single binary or Docker container on any server; no usage limits, no monthly fees, no vendor lock-in; all data stored in a local SQLite database file; cost is only the server you run it on (as low as $5/month VPS) |
| Accessibility audit (WCAG / ADA) | ✓ Yes — WCAG 2.1 AA scored 0–100 with specific issue list | No — PocketBase is a backend server that provides REST and GraphQL APIs, authentication, file storage, and real-time subscriptions from a single Go binary; it provides no built-in WCAG or ADA accessibility auditing for any front-end HTML, CSS, or JavaScript output; front-end accessibility compliance is entirely determined by the React, Vue, SvelteKit, or plain JavaScript application that consumes PocketBase's REST APIs; PocketBase has no knowledge of how its JSON data responses are rendered as HTML in the browser |
| Technical SEO audit | ✓ Yes — meta tags, headings, canonical, structured data | No — PocketBase provides no SEO audit scores, meta tag validation, heading hierarchy analysis, canonical URL checking, or structured data verification; PocketBase is a backend data API that has no awareness of how its SQLite database contents are rendered in the front-end HTML; all SEO is determined by the frontend framework and code that consumes PocketBase's API |
| Performance audit (Core Web Vitals) | ✓ Yes — LCP, CLS, FCP scored 0–100 per scan | No — PocketBase provides no Core Web Vitals measurement (LCP, CLS, FCP, INP) for applications using its backend; PocketBase API response times and SQLite query performance are server-side metrics that do not reflect front-end rendering performance experienced by real users in a browser |
| Single-binary self-hosted backend | No — PageGuard is a cloud SaaS monitoring service | ✓ Yes — PocketBase is a single portable executable (~30 MB) with zero external dependencies; runs on any Linux, macOS, or Windows server; SQLite database stored as a single local file; built-in admin dashboard at /api/_/ ; auto-generated REST API with filtering, sorting, relations, and real-time via SSE; built-in file storage (local filesystem or S3); email/password auth + OAuth (Google, GitHub, Facebook, Apple, Discord, etc.) + anonymous auth; JavaScript hooks and JSVM for custom server-side logic without recompiling |
| Zero infrastructure complexity | No — PageGuard is a hosted SaaS tool | ✓ Yes — single binary deployment: download, run, done; no Docker required, no database servers to manage, no message queues, no Redis; SQLite scales to millions of rows for typical indie projects; embeddable as a Go package for custom extensions; migrations handled automatically; ideal for indie developers, side projects, and small teams who want backend functionality without DevOps complexity |
| Automated website monitoring | ✓ Yes — weekly or daily scans with email alerts on score drop | No — PocketBase monitors its own server health (uptime, API response times, database queries) but provides no automated front-end quality monitoring for WCAG compliance, Core Web Vitals regressions, SEO quality, or best practices for the rendered HTML output of web applications built on PocketBase |
| AI-generated plain-English report | ✓ Yes — explains issues in non-technical language | No — no front-end health report or AI-generated accessibility analysis for applications built with PocketBase |
| ADA Title II compliance monitoring | ✓ Yes — WCAG audit + alert on accessibility regression | No — PocketBase does not audit or alert on WCAG compliance for applications built on its backend; government agencies, nonprofits, and educational institutions using PocketBase for public-facing web applications face ADA Title II compliance requirements with an April 24, 2026 deadline; React and SvelteKit frontends consuming PocketBase APIs can introduce ARIA violations, color contrast failures, missing alt text on user-uploaded files stored in PocketBase's file storage, keyboard navigation gaps, and inaccessible form components with each frontend deployment — PocketBase's Go backend has no front-end quality gate; user-uploaded images stored via PocketBase file API may be displayed without alt text in the frontend |
| Works on any platform | ✓ Yes — scans any URL on any front-end or platform | PocketBase is a backend server that manages its own data; it does not monitor or audit front-end applications built with non-PocketBase backends |
| Independent external audit | ✓ Yes — third-party scan, shareable URL for clients/stakeholders | No — no built-in tool to generate a shareable external front-end health report for an application built on PocketBase |
| Instant on-demand scan | ✓ Yes — results in 30 seconds, no code changes needed | No — no on-demand front-end health scan; auditing web applications that use PocketBase as a backend requires separate tools like Lighthouse or axe-core after each frontend deployment |
| Multi-site dashboard | ✓ Yes — 1–50 sites depending on plan | PocketBase has a single admin dashboard per instance for managing collections, users, and files; there is no cross-application front-end health monitoring showing WCAG accessibility, SEO, and Core Web Vitals scores across multiple sites built on PocketBase |
| Pricing for health monitoring | ✓ Free + from $9/mo for automated monitoring | Health monitoring not available — PocketBase is a backend server; self-hosted only: free (MIT license); no cloud offering; no front-end quality monitoring included; server hosting cost varies (as low as $5/month VPS for small projects) |
Get WCAG accessibility scores and Core Web Vitals for any web application built on PocketBase. Results in 30 seconds. No PocketBase server credentials, admin access, or code changes required.
Results in ~30 seconds. 4 scores: Performance, Accessibility, SEO, Best Practices.
Yes — PageGuard scans the live URL of any web application that uses PocketBase as its backend. Enter your app’s public URL and receive a full health report in ~30 seconds covering Core Web Vitals, WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility, technical SEO, and best practices. No PocketBase server credentials, admin dashboard access, API keys, or application code changes are required.
No — PocketBase is a backend server with no built-in WCAG compliance checking. PocketBase provides SQLite database, authentication, file storage, and real-time REST APIs but has no awareness of how its JSON responses are rendered in the front-end HTML. Common accessibility problems in PocketBase-powered applications include React and SvelteKit component ARIA violations, inaccessible login forms, user-uploaded images displayed without alt text, keyboard navigation gaps, and color contrast failures. PageGuard audits your live site and provides a WCAG 2.1 AA score with a specific list of issues to fix.
PocketBase’s single-binary backend provides data and auth APIs but has no front-end WCAG quality gate. Each frontend deployment can introduce accessibility regressions without any automated check from the PocketBase server. Government agencies, nonprofits, and educational institutions using PocketBase for public-facing web applications face ADA Title II compliance requirements with an April 24, 2026 deadline. PageGuard provides continuous post-deployment accessibility monitoring with email alerts when WCAG scores drop — no PocketBase server access required.
No — they serve completely different purposes. PocketBase is an open-source single-binary backend that provides SQLite database, authentication, file storage, and real-time REST APIs for building web and mobile applications. PageGuard is an external quality monitoring tool for the rendered front-end output of web applications built on backends like PocketBase. Indie developers and small teams using PocketBase as their backend should add PageGuard to continuously verify WCAG compliance, Core Web Vitals, and SEO quality of the frontend applications that consume PocketBase’s APIs.