Fascinating statistics on screen reader usage from WebAIM

WebAIM have published the third in a series of surveys investigating the preferences of screen reader users. The study of over 1200 responses indicates that JAWS is still the primary screen reader with 59 per cent of users, although that percentage has decreased in the last year. Significant increases in the use of NVDA and VoiceOver in particular account for the change.

More than 47 per cent of users commented that they often use more than one screen reader. 60.4 per cent of users responded that they see free or low cost screen readers such as NVDA or VoiceOver as being viable alternatives to the established commercial titles, demonstrating a healthy improvement in the perception of free and low cost screen readers.

66.7 per cent of users reported using a screen reader on their mobile device; that's a staggering 550 per cent increase in the space of two years! The most popular screen reader on the mobile front was Talks for Symbian-based devices, with Apple's VoiceOver in hot pursuit.

The statistics above are just a small selection of WebAIM's findings that we found fascinating in the Digital Accessibility Team. If we've peaked your interest, you can read the full survey here.