If you’re attracting traffic from Europe, the UK then simply having Google Analytics on your site (or a Facebook Pixel or a YouTube embed) isn’t sufficient. The GDPR and CCPA require websites to tell users about their use of cookies and in many cases will require consent before certain tracking cookies can be enabled.

That’s where a cookie consent plugin comes in. It shows a consent banner, stops tracking scripts from firing until consent is given, records the user’s preferences and works with tools such as Google Consent Mode v2.

It’s vital to get the distinction between a cookie consent plugin and an analytics plugin. The analytics plugin is the one that actually collects the data, the consent plugin is the one that decides whether or not that data can be collected.

Some consent plugins work completely on your WordPress site, others work via a cloud service which will charge you per site visit. That difference can make a real difference to both your privacy and your ongoing costs.

In this roundup I’ve picked 8 of the best WordPress cookie consent plugins for blogs, business sites and online stores. Most of them have a free version, with the more obvious limitations of that version noted as we go.

Let’s take a look.

1. Cookie Compliance

Cookie Compliance by Hu-manity (formerly Cookie Notice) is one of the longest running cookie consent plugins for WordPress. It has over 800k active installations and a 4.8/5 rating from over 3k reviews.

The plugin has two modes. Banner Only mode just shows you a basic cookie notice (no account required) and does nothing to block tracking scripts or record consent. To get the full compliance suite you need to connect it to the Hu-manity.co web app. That gives you script blocking, consent categories, proof of consent and Google Consent Mode v2.

The Free Connected plan is capped at 1,000 visits per 30 days. Once that threshold is reached, automated script blocking is suspended and consent records cease to be collected until the next cycle. Large scale sites are therefore likely to need to upgrade to the Professional plan.

Professional removes the visit limit and adds in Global Privacy Control, geolocation based consent enforcement, Facebook and Microsoft Consent Mode support and CSV exports.

Features

• Simple Banner Only mode without an account
• Automatic script blocking (connected mode)
• Consent categories and proof of consent
• Google Consent Mode v2 support
• WP Consent API support
• Unlimited visits and consent records (Professional)
• Global Privacy Control (Professional)
• Geolocation-based consent enforcement (Professional)
• Facebook and Microsoft Consent Mode (Professional)
• Analytics and CSV exports (Professional)

Pros

• Very easy to get started
• Large user base and strong rating
• Basic notice mode doesn’t require an account

Cons

• Free connected plan is limited to 1,000 visits every 30 days
• No built-in cookie scanner
• No IAB TCF support
• No publicly listed pricing page

Pricing

The plugin is free to install. The Professional plan is $14.95/month or $149.50/year for one domain, $29.95/month or $299.50/year for five domains, $49.95/month or $499.50/year for ten domains (as per Humanity’s billing docs).

The first payment can be refunded within 14 days but all renewal payments are non-refundable.

2. Complianz

Complianz is one of the most complete cookie consent plugins available for WordPress. It has over 1 million active installations and a 4.7/5 rating from over 1,600 reviews on WordPress.org. It’s appropriate for everything from a small personal blog right through to a very busy WooCommerce store.

One of its major benefits is that it runs completely on your own site. No visitor consent data is sent to an external service and there are no pageview or session limits at all with the free version.

Getting going is pretty easy thanks to the setup wizard which will scan your site, identify the cookies and services you’re using and then generate a cookie banner and cookie policy. It can also detect the visitor’s location and apply the correct privacy requirements for the EU, UK, California and the various US states.

The Premium version includes a number of additional features: IAB TCF 2.2 support (Complianz is a Google certified CMP), geo-IP based consent, consent records, banner A/B testing and a number of additional wizards to generate your privacy statements, disclaimers and imprints.

Features

• Cookie scanning and automatic cookie policy generation
• Script and iframe blocking before consent
• Google Consent Mode v2 support
• GDPR, CCPA, and other US state privacy law support
• Region detection for EU, UK, and US visitors
• No pageview or session limits
• IAB TCF 2.2 support and Google-certified CMP (Premium)
• Consent records and statistics (Premium)
• Banner A/B testing (Premium)
• Privacy statement, disclaimer, and imprint generation wizards (Premium)

Pros

• Everything runs on your own server
• No pageview or traffic limits
• Generous free version with a cookie policy generator
• 30-day money-back guarantee on Premium

Cons

• The extensive settings can feel overwhelming for beginners
• Free cookie scanning has limitations, with custom post type scanning requiring Premium
• Yearly subscriptions only, with no monthly or lifetime option

Pricing

Complianz have a free version available via WordPress.org. The premium version is $59 per year for one site, $179 per year for five sites, or $399 per year for up to 25 sites. The Agency plan also includes multisite and cross domain consent.

All the Premium plans come with a 30 day money back guarantee.

3. WPConsent

WPConsent is a fairly new cookie consent plugin from the same team that made WPBeginner and WPForms. It’s already got over 200k active installations and a 4.8/5 rating on WordPress.org (though that’s based on only 84 reviews).

Like Complianz it’s fully self hosted so your visitor consent data remains in your WordPress database. No need for a SaaS account and no pageview limits.

The free Lite version is actually quite generous too, with a cookie banner, automatic script blocking, Google Consent Mode v2, a cookie scanner which gives you a full cookie inventory, a cookie policy generator and support for Global Privacy Control.

The paid plans build on all of that by adding IAB TCF support, geolocation based consent rules, searchable consent logs, scheduled cookie scans with alerts and multilingual banners. There’s also a dedicated ‘Do Not Sell’ add-on for CCPA opt-outs which is available with the Plus plan and above.

Features

• Cookie banner with layout and logo customisation options
• Cookie scanner and cookie inventory
• Automatic script blocking before consent
• Google Consent Mode v2 support
• Cookie policy generator
• Global Privacy Control support
• IAB TCF support (Pro)
• Geolocation-based consent rules (Pro)
• Searchable consent logs with export options (Pro)
• Do Not Sell add-on for CCPA opt-outs (Plus and higher)

Pros

• Fully self-hosted with no pageview limits
• Generous free version that includes a cookie scanner
• Backed by a well-known WordPress development team
• Clean and straightforward settings

Cons

• Fewer reviews than more established alternatives
• Introductory prices increase upon renewal
• CCPA opt-out features require the Plus plan or higher

Pricing

WPConsent Lite is free via WordPress.org. The paid plans start at Basic (one site), Plus ($199 for up to 5 sites), Pro ($399 for up to 25 sites) and Elite ($599 for up to 100 sites).

These are the introductory prices, with renewals then at the full price. All paid plans come with a 14 day money back guarantee.

4. CookieYes

CookieYes is by far one of the most popular and most reviewed cookie consent plugins on WordPress.org (over 1 million active installations, 4.8/5 from over 3,200 reviews). It’s a very good option if you’re after a simple solution that will get you a professional cookie banner up and running in a matter of minutes.

The plugin can work on its own but most people will be using it in conjunction with the free CookieYes web app (where you’ll find the cookie scanner, the consent logs and the management dashboard). All plans (including the free plan) come with Google Consent Mode v2, exportable consent logs in CSV format and the cookie policy and privacy policy generators.

The big downside is the free plan’s traffic allowance which is 5,000 pageviews per month and 100 pages per scan. There’s also a “Powered by CookieYes” notice on the consent banner.

Paid plans increase these limits, the Pro plan adds IAB TCF v2.4 support and geolocation targeting.

Features

• Quick banner setup with ready-made templates
• Cloud-based cookie scanner
• Google Consent Mode v2 support
• Consent logs with CSV export
• Cookie policy and privacy policy generators
• US state privacy law opt-out templates
• Scheduled cookie scans (Pro)
• IAB TCF v2.4 and geolocation targeting (Pro)
• Remove CookieYes branding (Ultimate)

Pros

• Very easy to set up
• Large user base and strong WordPress.org rating
• Policy generators included in the free version
• Monthly billing available

Cons

• Free plan is limited to 5,000 pageviews per month
• Additional usage fees may apply to Basic and Pro plans
• Removing CookieYes branding requires the Ultimate plan
• Cookie scans and consent logs rely on the CookieYes cloud service

Pricing

CookieYes have a free plan and then you pay per domain for the other plans. The basic plan is $10/month and includes up to 100k pageviews. The Pro plan is $25/month for up to 300k pageviews. The Ultimate plan is $55/month and includes unlimited pageviews.

Annual billing gives you two months free. There’s also a 14 day free trial (though it’s worth noting that once the trial has converted to a paid subscription you’re subject to the standard refund policy which is very restrictive).

5. Cookiebot

Cookiebot from Usercentrics is one of the most well known Consent Management Platforms (CMPs) out there. Their WordPress plugin has over 100k active installs and a 4.4/5 rating (from around 440 reviews) on WordPress.org.

Cookiebot is a cloud based SaaS product. The WordPress plugin links your site to a Cookiebot account where the banner, the cookie scans and the consent records all live. It has a scanner which will go through your site against a database of over 13,000 known trackers and will do automatic monthly scans to help you spot any new cookies that may be installed as a result of you adding a plugin or a service.

Free plan covers one domain with up to 50 subpages and includes GDPR, US state privacy law and Google Consent Mode. The premium plans add in IAB TCF 2.4 support, geolocation targeting, automatic translation into over 47 languages, consent analytics and CSV exports. All of this makes Cookiebot very much a product that would be of interest to sites that are reliant on advertising and third party tracking.

Features

• Automatic monthly cookie scans
• Database of more than 13,000 known trackers
• Google Consent Mode v2 support
• GDPR and US state privacy law support
• Free plan for smaller websites (up to 50 subpages)
• IAB TCF 2.4 support (Premium)
• Geolocation-based consent targeting (Premium)
• Automatic translation into more than 47 languages (Premium)
• Consent analytics and CSV exports (Premium)

Pros

• Comprehensive automatic cookie scanning
• Established and well-known brand
• Free plan available for smaller websites
• No long-term contracts, with the option to cancel at any time

Cons

• Pricing depends on the number of subpages, and plans automatically upgrade as your website grows
• Each subdomain is counted as a separate domain
• Relies entirely on an external cloud service

Pricing

Cookiebot have a free plan which covers one domain and up to 50 subpages. Their premium plans are priced per domain and the cost is dependent on the number of subpages on your site. The plans are split into Lite, Small, Medium, Large and XLarge.

A 14 day free trial is available for the Premium features. Prices are shown in your local currency on the Cookiebot pricing page so it’s worth checking which tier you’re looking at in terms of your website page count prior to subscribing.

6. Iubenda

iubenda offers much more than just a cookie consent banner. It’s a full website compliance suite which can also generate your privacy policy, cookie policy and terms and conditions. The WordPress plugin has over 200k active installations and a 4.7/5 rating from just under 400 reviews on WordPress.org.

Like Cookiebot, iubenda is a cloud-based SaaS solution. You configure everything via your iubenda account and the WordPress plugin will then display the consent banner and block the tracking scripts on your site.

All the paid plans come with a cookie banner, consent logs, Google Consent Mode v2, IAB TCF support and a policy generator. There are also automatic updates to ensure your policy stays in line with the ever changing landscape of privacy regulation.

Pricing is on a monthly pageview basis with different features depending on your plan. The Advanced plan includes geolocation targeting, multi-language support and a terms and conditions generator. Ultimate takes it further with complete brand removal, consent recovery and data subject request tools.

One benefit is that if you go over your monthly pageview allowance your banner won’t go offline. Any additional usage is simply charged to you via a small overage fee.

Features

• Cookie consent banner and privacy controls
• Privacy and cookie policy generator with automatic updates
• Consent logs
• Google Consent Mode v2 support
• IAB TCF support
• Integrations for WordPress, Shopify, and Google Tag Manager
• Geolocation targeting and multiple language support (Advanced and above)
• Terms and conditions generator (Advanced and above)
• Complete branding removal (Ultimate)

Pros

• Privacy policies and consent management in one place
• Policies are automatically updated
• Relatively low starting price
• 14-day refund window

Cons

• Relatively low pageview allowances, with additional usage fees
• Only one language supported on the Essentials plan
• Some iubenda branding remains unless you upgrade to Ultimate
• Relies on an external cloud service

Pricing

iubenda have a free plan with the basic features. The paid plans are priced per website with annual billing. The Essentials plan is $5.99 per month (25k pageviews), the Advanced plan is $24.99 per month (50k pageviews) and the Ultimate plan is $99.99 per month (150k pageviews).

Monthly billing is a bit more expensive and you get charged €0.05 per 1,000 pageviews. Refunds are possible within 14 days of the original purchase or the renewal of a subscription.