Spec-Driven-Development vs AudioEye

Spec-Driven-Development operates before code exists. It runs a four-question conversational interview for greenfield work or reverse-engineers requirements from an existing codebase in retrofit mode, flagging every inferred assumption with [TO VERIFY]. Output is three repo-root files: requirements.md with "shall" language and traceable REQ-xxx IDs, design.md covering architecture, and tasks.md whose atomic steps cite origin requirements inline (TASK-007 [REQ-001]) and whose Phase 1 is a spec-verification pass, not new code. It then emits the matching agent config for each tool your team uses — CLAUDE.md, .cursorrules, .windsurfrules, .github/copilot-instructions.md, and .aider.conf.yml (beta) — each carrying the same Universal Instruction Block. AudioEye operates after deployment on your live site: 24/7 monitoring for new and changed content, automated fixes for roughly 50% of detected issues within minutes, Agentic Audits surfacing up to 50% more high-severity issues, the AudioEye MCP delivering fix suggestions to developers at the source, and an Accessibility Testing SDK for embedding checks in dev tools. Harder problems go to certified experts who write and ship custom fixes. Expert audits cover WCAG 2.2 A/AA plus VPAT/ACR for procurement. One produces Markdown your agents read; the other produces fixes your visitors and AI shopping agents experience.

The cost models share nothing. Spec-Driven-Development is free and open-source — you install a Claude skill and get requirements.md, design.md, tasks.md, and generated config files for Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, GitHub Copilot, and Aider at no charge. Your only real cost is the agent subscriptions and human review time you already pay for. AudioEye is a paid managed platform quoted per site based on traffic, page count, and scope; there is no public self-serve price. A free accessibility and AI-readiness scanner exists as a lead-in, giving a compliance-risk breakdown, but remediation requires a paid engagement. AudioEye Assurance — covering valid claims on certified pages before legal fees accrue — plus legal claim validation, custom legal responses, and expert testimony are part of the paid relationship and are the reason enterprises tolerate quote-based pricing. So the comparison is free-with-your-own-specs versus a managed-service budget line that replaces hiring an accessibility team. If the sticker question is "what do I pay?", the honest answers are nothing versus a negotiated enterprise contract.