Data privacy compliance continues to grow more complex for growing companies. Which laws do you need to comply with? What requirements have major tech platforms handed down? How do you meet consumers’ demands for more control over personal data?
What tools do we actually need for privacy compliance, and will they scale? What are the up front and ongoing financial and resource costs of achieving and maintaining compliance?
The answer is a privacy-first approach to marketing activities that enables reliable, flexible privacy compliance today and in the future, and that builds trust with your audience.
A consent management platform (CMP) helps companies navigate these complex challenges to balance data-driven business growth, regulatory compliance, and great user experience. Consent management solutions help you stay compliant with global privacy laws and be transparent with your website visitors.
A robust CMP scales with your business to continue to deliver compliance peace of mind and limit resource requirements for maintenance.
We look at 8 CMP solutions for growing businesses to help you learn which one is right for your company. Meet US and international privacy requirements, protect your monetization efforts, and demonstrate your respect for users’ privacy.
What is a consent management platform?
A consent management platform simplifies cookie consent and management for websites. It helps streamline the process of obtaining and managing user consent for the collection and use of personal data. This includes functions like advertising, website performance analysis, compliant handling of children’s data, and more.
These tools are essential to help websites comply with privacy regulations and frameworks like the CCPA/CPRA, VCDPA and many other state-level and international privacy laws and frameworks.
Consent management software enables consumers to make informed choices about their data collection, processing, and deletion, thereby enhancing individual control over personal information.
CMPs also play a crucial role in tracking individuals’ consent preferences, maintaining records of their decisions, and controlling marketing functions based on these preferences.
This functionality fosters transparency and accountability in data processing practices while enabling legal compliance and meeting requirements of important tech platforms like those for advertising.
How does a consent management platform work?
Consent solutions enable you to track and manage user preferences for collecting personal information. Website visitors interact with your CMP’s consent banner, which provides relevant information about your data processing operations and the regulations applicable to your business and customers.
The consent banner also enables visitors to opt in or out of granular types of data processing, depending on demographics and legal requirements.
Leading CMP software enables you to handle the entire personal data lifecycle, from initial consent notices to data deletion requests. They do so by detecting cookies on your website, displaying a consent banner to users, offering consent options, logging a person’s choices, and managing consent preferences.
Robust CMP offerings also include geolocation functionality, so the right audience sees the right banner and relevant information and choices, protecting your business’s compliance and providing visitors with peace of mind.
The 8 best consent management platforms
It can be challenging to choose the right CMP platform for your company given all the options available and the types of functions and compliance different options focus on.
They may seem similar, or include technical or legal options you’re not sure apply to your company. To make it simpler for you to choose the ideal fit, here’s a list of eight comprehensive options selected based on user reviews and ratings.
For each platform, we highlight features, any functionality not included, and pricing, including whether or not they offer a free trial or free version.
Usercentrics Cookiebot
Usercentrics Cookiebot CMP™ is a Gold Tier certified CMP in Google’s CMP Partner Program. Usercentrics Cookiebot CMP has been designed to be easy to set up, user-friendly, and provides automated scanning technology to detect all of the cookies and other tracking technologies in use on websites.
Usercentrics Cookiebot CMP scans your website regularly to detect all of the cookies and trackers in use, saving time for website owners. With the cookie declaration feature, data processing services automatically get added to your website’s privacy policy and can populate the consent banner for granular user notifications.
Usercentrics Cookiebot CMP integrates with Google Consent Mode, Google Tag Manager, and TCF 2.2, as well as with the WordPress Consent API. There is also a free WordPress plugin for sites built on that platform, and apps for popular platforms, like Usercentrics for Wix and Cookie Manager by Usercentrics for Shopify.
Usercentrics Cookiebot CMP offers pre-built templates in addition to customizable consent banners. Companies can customize fonts, colors, messaging, logo, and more. There is cookie banner support for nearly 50 languages to provide clear, transparent information and relevant consent options to users across the US or worldwide.
The Usercentrics Cookiebot CMP platform securely stores consent for 12 months, with consent information logs available for audit purposes or data subject access requests.
There are multiple pricing plans tailored to the needs of websites of varying sizes and complexities. There is a free plan for sites with fewer than 50 subpages. The paid plans are based on website size so you can choose the one that aligns with your compliance needs and budget.
The smallest paid plan is USD 8 per month per domain. New signups start with a 14-day free trial, enabling you to explore all the CMP’s features.
Usercentrics
Usercentrics has customers in over 180 countries and the consent management platform delivers a comprehensive list of features. Usercentrics CMP is a Gold Tier certified CMP in Google’s CMP Partner Program and enables compliance with US state-level and international privacy regulations for websites, apps, and connected platforms.
Usercentrics CMP provides numerous integration options with popular marketing tools, workplace apps, and platforms like Google tools, HubSpot, and Mailchimp. It can also manage consent preferences for services connected to YouTube, social plugins, Google Maps, and other social platforms.
Usercentrics CMP addresses the needs of growing businesses, with features that scale for enterprise-level companies.
For example, automated updates help you stay up to date with evolving regulations. Multiple levels of account and permissions management for security and resource distribution as more team members need access to digital properties.
Website owners can additionally benefit from in-depth analytics, A/B testing, full consent banner customization, support for over 60 languages, and more.
For companies needing more sophisticated integration of their marketing systems and a Privacy-Led Marketing approach, Usercentrics additionally provides solutions for preference management, Server-Side Tagging, and more.
Usercentrics CMP’s paid plans start at USD 8 per month per domain, and tiers are organized by number of sessions. There is a 14-day free trial, but no free plan.
OneTrust
OneTrust offers expansive CMP software with consent management for websites, apps, and over-the-top (OTT) and connected TV (CTV) channels.
The platform offered is highly comprehensive, and the suite of features includes ESG reporting, assessment automation, data mapping functions, and more. It is the most expensive solution on this list.
OneTrust also has a centralized repository to store customer communication preferences and opt-outs, making compliance easier. Additionally, companies can stay updated with privacy laws and provide self-service audit logs.
The OneTrust platform’s feature set includes cookie consent tools, website cookie scanning, and cookie autoblocking functionality. According to user reviews, integrating OneTrust with other systems can be challenging due to its sophisticated set of features, potentially leading to a lengthier implementation process.
OneTrust does not openly disclose its pricing on its website. According to various sources, contract sizes are reported to commence at approximately USD 50,000 per year. However, the price varies depending on the number of domains you manage and the modules you wish to use. Contracts tend to be long-lasting, which may limit flexibility for rapidly-changing companies.
Osano
Osano offers a powerful consent management solution designed to help businesses comply with data protection regulations and manage user consent preferences efficiently.
The US-based company has a strong commitment to legal policy management through its platform, and offers a unique “No Fines, No Penalties” Pledge, assuring coverage for fines up to USD 200,000 for users of Osano’s legal workflows.
Osano simplifies compliance with data privacy regulations and enables cookie consent banners to be customized, helping businesses enhance their data protection practices. The platform’s focus on legal policy management helps to ensure reliability with regulatory compliance.
Osano’s consent and preference management platform has a higher cost and pricing is based on a company’s website traffic. Their free plan allows for up to 5,000 monthly website visitors, and the next tier Plus plan is up to 30,000 per month.
Osano offers pre-designed legal templates for implementation rather than fully customizable options, which could impact users seeking tailored solutions.
Pricing starts at USD 199 per month for its Plus plan, though there is a free option geared toward individuals with a single domain. Only their paid plans include essential CCPA and GDPR compliance features.
Ketch
Ketch is also based in the US and offers privacy-focused software that provides a wide range of tools and features to help collect and enforce customer privacy preferences, including applications, infrastructure, and APIs.
The Ketch Trust by Design platform includes everything companies need to deploy responsive consent solutions and offers pre-built templates for sustained compliance with the CCPA/CPRA and GDPR, among other regulations.
Another noteworthy feature is its native identity resolution, which identifies users across devices and channels to enable custom-made privacy experiences utilizing user preferences.
The platform’s onboarding process requires companies to set up one domain at a time, which can be slow and could create high resource demands for enterprises with many websites.
The Ketch platform offers multiple pricing tiers. The Free plan is based on a self-service model and designed to suit small businesses, offering cookie banners and consent management for up to 5,000 monthly visitors. Their paid plans start at USD 150/month and for enterprise-level features like DSR automation and data mapping, there is the Pro plan. Pricing details for the Pro plan can be obtained through a customized demo to match each business’s requirements.
TrustArc
TrustArc is an established player in the cookie consent management business, offering a full suite of products and services with a robust set of features, including a gold-level offering that can provide industry and regulatory updates every quarter.
TrustArc provides a menu of services with its Privacy Management Platform, so you can select just the services that your company needs. It offers consent notifications in 45 languages, robust reporting capabilities, and has a user-friendly interface, making it a suitable option for organizations that do not have a dedicated data privacy team.
Users have often reported problems with TrustArc’s customer service, citing slow response times and difficulties resolving problems.
TrustArc’s website does not offer any pricing information so you must get in touch with a representative to procure that information.
Sourcepoint
US-based Sourcepoint’s tagline is “practical privacy for complex problems”. The company touts its enterprise-grade technology and provides solutions for consent and preference management, compliance monitoring, and data subject access request (DSAR) handling.
Sourcepoint’s CMP boasts extensive customizability and supports 43 languages. User reviews tout their very helpful support team, though it has been noted that the user interface could be better and the documentation is not always the most user-friendly.
Their packages start at USD 500 per month for the Essentials plan, but it only covers websites, not apps or connected TV. You have to contact the company directly for custom pricing for Enterprise needs. Preference management and DSARs are only available with the Enterprise plan, as is compliance monitoring for more than one region, among other features.
Termly
US-based Termly provides popular consent management solutions, as well as generators for privacy policies, EULAs, and more. They also offer a cookie scanner and support Google Consent Mode v2 and the TCF v2.2.
Termly notes that they enable companies to achieve and maintain compliance with the GDPR, CCPA, PIPEDA, and other laws. They claim to enable compliance right out of the box, though at present only support 17 languages. Users say the solution is easy to set up and use, though some users have noted that more regulatory coverage would be beneficial.
Termly offers a free plan for minimal compliance needs, which includes one basic legal policy and up to ten thousand pageviews per month. They list their Pro plan as the most popular for USD 15 per month, which supports unlimited legal policies, policy edits, and pageviews.
For agencies, resellers, and others with large portfolios of websites, there is custom pricing for which you need to contact the company. However, Termly restricts users to a single domain per license, which may not meet all companies’ needs, and could quickly get expensive.
8 best consent management platforms compared
We compare these 8 best consent management platforms so you can make an informed choice.
| CMP name | Pros | Cons | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cookiebot | – Google-certified CMP – Simple setup and onboarding flow – Automatically detects and controls all cookies and trackers – Fully customizable cookie banners – Supports nearly 50 languages | – Only for web – Free plan only available for small websites | – Free 14-day trial for all new accounts – Free plan available for 50 subpages or fewer – Premium Lite plan from USD 8/month per domain |
| Usercentrics | – Google-certified CMP – Intuitive interface with numerous integration options – Extensive analytics dashboard with options for A/B testing – Supports over 60 languages – Offers different admin roles – Customer Success Team and good customer support | – No free plan – Initial manual effort in the implementation process – Priority support only available in the Business plan | – Free 14-day trial available for web and app – Paid plans start at USD 8/month |
| OneTrust | – Offers many features for enterprise companies – Very up to date with privacy laws – Many integration options with other business intelligence platforms | – Complex and lengthy implementation process – Most expensive option on the market | – Offer a 14-day free trial – Pricing varies depending on the number of domains and the modules you need |
| Osano | – Strong commitment to legal policy management – Risk-free guarantee – Very customizable cookie consent banners | – Monthly cap on site traffic – Cut-and-paste legal templates may limit customization | – Do not offer a free trial – Paid plan starts at USD 199/month |
| Ketch | – Many advanced features and tools – Custom APIs available – Offers native identity resolution that identifies users across devices and channels | – Slow onboarding process that requires companies to set up one domain at a time – Clunky user experience and user interface | – Offer a free plan – Starter plan starts at USD 150/month – Pro plan pricing can only be obtained via a customized demo |
| TrustArc | – Offers consent notifications in 45 languages – Robust reporting capabilities – User-friendly interface | – Poor customer service – Unclear pricing | – No pricing information is available |
| Sourcepoint | – Extensive customizability and supports 43 languages – Pro plan supports unlimited legal policies, policy edits, and pageviews – Great support | – User interface and documentation could be improved – Enterprise focus and potentially too expensive for smaller companies | – Do not offer a free plan – Essentials plan starts at USD 500/month |
| Termly | – Popular CMP and a wide variety of generator solutions (e.g. privacy policies) – Easy to use – Enables “out of the box” compliance | – Restricts users to a single domain per license – Only supports 17 languages | – Offer a free plan – Starter plan starts at USD 10 per website/month |
How to choose the right consent management platform
To pick the right consent management solution for your company, you’ll want to look at:
- Privacy compliance for various regulatory and business requirements (including auditing)
- Degree of customization
- Integration options
- Technical resource requirements
- Scalability
- Pricing, particularly based on monthly, per domain, etc.
- Analytics and reporting functionality
If you have a simple website and an audience or customer base located in a limited area (e.g. only one state), and thus only need to comply with one regulation, pretty much all the CMPs can get the job done as they offer basic features for free.
Be sure to check CMP functionality against requirements of additional relevant regulations, frameworks, or requirements from platform partners.
Larger organizations will likely require robust and scalable functionality, multi-regulation and language support, extensive integrations, and full customization options. Therefore, an enterprise consent management platform that offers advanced features and customization with seamless scalability may better suit enterprises seeking to achieve compliance with multiple varying regulations across many sites and platforms.
If you’re just getting started, develop a thorough understanding of the cookies and other trackers or components collecting personal data on your website. Try the speedy cookie audit tool from Usercentrics to check your website and generate a detailed cookie audit report in minutes.
Usercentrics does not provide legal advice, and information is provided for educational purposes only. We always recommend engaging qualified legal counsel or privacy specialists regarding data privacy and protection issues and operations.
The information presented in this article is accurate based on publicly available sources as of the date of publication. Details about products, features, pricing, etc. may change over time.