Online Tool Store
· 5 min read
3 PWA Compatibility Checker Tools, Compared Honestly
Manesh Jayawardhana
CIO & Co-founder
You’re building a Progressive Web App and want to check whether it actually meets the core installability requirements — manifest, service worker, HTTPS, icons — before assuming it’ll show an “Add to Home Screen” prompt.
Every checker here validates against Chrome’s core installability criteria; the differences are in whether they generate a fixed manifest for you, validate an existing one against specific field requirements, or actually test offline behavior in a real browser rather than just checking configuration.
How to judge a PWA compatibility checker tool
Tests real installability criteria, not just presence of a manifest file. Having a manifest.json isn’t enough — it needs the right fields (icons at correct sizes, display mode, start_url) and a registered service worker to actually trigger an install prompt.
Distinguishes configuration checks from real behavioral testing. Checking that a manifest is well-formed is different from actually cutting network access and verifying the app genuinely works offline — both matter, but they catch different problems.
Covers iOS-specific requirements if relevant. Safari doesn’t fully support the web app manifest standard the way Chrome does — a checker aware of this and generating the needed Apple-specific meta tags covers a real gap.
Flags maskable icon issues. A common oversight is shipping a square icon without a maskable variant, which results in Android displaying it awkwardly inside a white circle rather than properly filling the adaptive icon shape.
The comparison
| Tool | Best for | Free tier | Watch out |
|---|---|---|---|
| consolelog.tools | Building a compliant manifest from scratch with a live 0-100 installability score | Free, no signup, client-side | Generator-focused — best for building new manifests rather than auditing an existing site |
| Zenovay Tools | A-F letter grade validation of an existing site’s manifest against Chrome criteria | Free, no signup | Validates configuration, doesn’t test actual offline behavior in a real browser |
| PWA Directory | Genuine offline behavioral testing — real browser, network cut, checking what survives | Free | Requires an email address to receive results, and results take up to a day |
| PWA Compatibility Checker | Manifest, service worker, HTTPS, and icons checked against core PWA requirements | Free, no signup | Configuration-based check rather than real network-disconnected behavioral testing |
Facts checked August 2026; tools change their plans.
consolelog.tools
consolelog.tools builds a complete installable manifest (name, icons, display mode, shortcuts, categories) with a live installability score from 0-100 shown as a readiness ring that turns red on any blocking issue with a plain-language fix, generates companion iOS meta tags (apple-mobile-web-app-capable, apple-touch-icon, theme-color) since Safari doesn’t fully support the manifest standard, and provides an optional network-first service worker skeleton — everything client-side with input never uploaded, and shareable via URL.
It isn’t for someone auditing an existing live site’s manifest — it’s built around generating a new manifest rather than checking one you’ve already deployed.
Zenovay Tools
Zenovay Tools validates an existing site’s manifest.json against Chrome’s installability requirements by automatically locating it from your entered URL, checking name, start_url, display mode, icons at 192×192 and 512×512, maskable icons, theme_color, screenshots, and HTTPS, assigning an overall A-F installability grade.
It isn’t for someone who wants to verify actual offline functionality — it validates the manifest configuration itself rather than testing real network-disconnected behavior.
PWA Directory
PWA Directory performs genuine real-world testing — loading your app in an actual browser, waiting for service worker activation, then disconnecting the network entirely and checking what remains accessible — verifying manifest presence and parsing, service worker registration and activation, actual cached files (flagging empty caches paired with registered workers as false positives), and app identity pinning to prevent orphaning installed versions.
It isn’t for someone who wants instant results — testing runs in batches and requires providing an email address, with results typically delivered within a day rather than immediately.
PWA Compatibility Checker
Our tool checks a site against core PWA installability requirements — manifest, service worker, HTTPS, and icons — with an example result shown.
A real limitation: it’s a configuration-based check rather than genuine network-disconnected behavioral testing — for verifying your app actually survives going offline in a real browser, PWA Directory’s approach covers that specific gap.
Which one to pick
If you want a quick check against core installability requirements, use our PWA Compatibility Checker.
If you’re building a new manifest from scratch and want a live scoring system, use consolelog.tools.
If you want an A-F grade on an existing deployed site’s manifest, use Zenovay Tools.
If you need to verify actual offline behavior in a real browser rather than just configuration, use PWA Directory.
How to do it with PWA Compatibility Checker
- Open the PWA Compatibility Checker.
- Enter your site’s details.
- Review the results against manifest, service worker, HTTPS, and icon requirements.
Browse the full tools directory for more free, browser-based SEO and web tools.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free PWA compatibility checker that doesn’t need an account?
Yes. Our PWA Compatibility Checker, consolelog.tools, and Zenovay Tools all work without requiring signup — PWA Directory needs an email address to deliver results.
Why isn’t having a manifest.json file enough for installability?
Chrome’s installability criteria require specific fields within the manifest — a name, icons at required sizes, a valid display mode, and a start_url — plus a registered service worker and HTTPS. A manifest file that exists but is missing required fields, or a site without a service worker, won’t trigger the install prompt even though a manifest technically exists, which is why field-level validation matters more than just checking for the file’s presence.
What’s a maskable icon, and why does it matter?
A maskable icon is a variant designed with extra padding so Android’s adaptive icon system can safely crop it into different shapes (circle, squircle, rounded square) without cutting off important content — without one, Android falls back to placing your square logo inside a plain white circle, which looks noticeably less polished than icons from apps that provide a proper maskable variant, a detail covered in Google’s maskable icon guidance.
Final thought
Configuration checks and real offline testing catch different problems — a manifest can be perfectly valid on paper while the actual service worker still fails to cache what’s needed, so pair a configuration checker with real behavioral testing before assuming your PWA genuinely works offline.