Cookie Information vs. Cookiebot CMP: which is the best consent management platform?

Core functionality in Cookie Information vs. Cookiebot consent management platform (CMP)

When choosing a consent management platform (CMP), prioritize solutions that offer data privacy compliance, reliability, and adaptability to your business needs.

While other CMPs like Cookiebot CMP also provide key functionalities, Cookie Information stands out with fully automated scanning, EU/EEA-based consent storage, and a straightforward approach to regulatory compliance.

Both platforms offer integrations with popular CMS – integrating Cookiebot or Cookie Information with WordPress is simple through dedicated plugins and support for Google tools such as Google Consent Mode v2 and Google Tag Manager.

Cookie Information vs. Cookiebot comparison

Cookie Information’s Cookie Banner for websites and Cookiebot CMP are both European-based consent management platforms used and trusted by thousands of organizations. Both Cookiebot and Cookie Information help collect and store user consents, but there are a couple of significant differences between their advanced features and services. Compare them below to determine which alternative would be best for your business.

Cookie Information pros

Cookie Information is a Google CMP Partner with Gold Status, reflecting its high standards in cookie consent management and data privacy solutions.

As a Google-certified CMP, the website cookie banner offers seamless integration with Google Consent Mode v2 and easy implementation through Google Tag Manager, providing a streamlined approach to managing user consent.

In late 2023, Cookie Information and Piwik PRO joined forces to offer an integrated analytics and consent management solution. This means you can now get both platforms in one Cookie banner + Analytics plan, with seamless consent-to-data flow and unified pricing starting at €35/month.

From quick setup to exceptional customer support, Cookie Information ensures both enterprise and small businesses stay privacy compliant while enhancing user experience. Here’s a closer look at its key advantages:

1. Quick and easy setup

Installing a website cookie banner from Cookie Information is straightforward, with setup taking under 10 minutes, including the default integration with Google Consent Mode v2. The first step is always a free 14-day trial where you can test all the functionalities and premium features before subscribing.

2. Customizable design options

Cookie Information offers unlimited design options, with the banner being fully customizable. You can change colors, fonts, add your own brand logo, and adjust the text of your banner and buttons. Both consent solutions also offer the option to get support with the banner design if needed.

3. Secure data storage and regulatory compliance

The user consents collected are safely stored on EU Servers for 5 years. This ensures that you’re always ready for a data privacy audit and don’t have to worry about manually exporting records for safe-keeping.

Read more: How to handle audits

4. Advanced analytics, reporting and Compliance Dashboard

Cookie Information offers advanced consent rate insights and monitoring features that can be used for consent rate optimization. The platform’s Compliance Dashboard (part of their Professional package) enables users to monitor non-EU data transfers and identify new or unclassified third-party cookies and trackers as well as assign them to the right cookie categories.

By offering more comprehensive analytics and reporting, with analytics dashboarding with Piwik Pro integration, Cookie Information stands out from competitors such as Cookiebot.

5. Exceptional customer support

The customer service offered by Cookie Information has been highly praised across review websites, with a response time of under 4 hours. In the custom packages, you can also get personal guidance via phone and email for your business case from a dedicated personal account manager.

6. Integrated solution with privacy-compliant analytics

Cookie Information offers bundled plans with Piwik PRO Analytics Suite, giving you consent management and analytics in one package. This means you can:

• Get consent management and analytics for one vendor, one price (starting at €35/month)
• Connect consent data directly to your analytics with native integration
• Track visitor behavior even when they decline cookies using anonymous tracking
• Activate first-party data based on consent status

Cookie Information cons

Some parts of the cookie consent management platform can be improved in terms of design and UX. The flow is not always intuitive, but recent improvements in the product show it’s constantly developing and gaining new advanced features. To balance this out, customer support is always available with guidance, and they also provide an extensive library of support articles that help with implementing and customizing your website consent banner.

Cookie Information offers two paid plans. The paid plans are competitively priced but may initially appear slightly more expensive than some competitors (like Cookiebot). However, they offer added value, including enhanced support and more frequent website cookie scans. Pricing also varies based on the number of subpages on your site but also additional factors, such as monthly usage.

Cookiebot pros

Cookiebot is easy to start with and have a functioning cookie banner on your website in less than an hour. They offer a 14-day free trial to test the platform, and a free-forever plan for very small websites (up to 50 subpages) with limited features.

Like Cookie Information, Cookiebot is a Google-certified CMP supporting Google Consent Mode v2, offers multi-language support (47+ languages), and allows consent banners to be displayed based on visitor location.

Recent updates have improved their customization options, with Premium plans now allowing more flexibility in banner design. They’ve also added a Privacy Policy Generator feature.

For businesses needing enterprise features like SSO, A/B testing, or dedicated account management, Cookiebot offers an “Advanced” tier through their parent company Usercentrics – though this comes at a higher price point.

Cookiebot cons

While Cookiebot has improved its customization options (Premium plans now include HTML, CSS, and JavaScript customization), there are still some limitations in design flexibility compared to Cookie Information’s unlimited customization approach.

Customer support remains limited to email and online help articles for Core plans. While their AI-powered chat is available, reaching a real person for personalized guidance requires upgrading to their Advanced (Usercentrics) tier.

Key limitation: Cookiebot Core plans don’t offer integrated analytics capabilities. If you need consent management combined with privacy-compliant analytics, you’ll need separate tools – whereas Cookie Information’s Cookie banner + Analytics plan bundles consent management with Piwik PRO Analytics Suite.

Is Cookie Information a good Cookiebot alternative?

Features

As seen from the overview above, Cookie Information provides a couple of additional features essential for achieving privacy compliance, such as storage of consent logs for 5 years or advanced insights through their dashboard (enabling you to optimize conversion rates or quickly spot compliance risks).

Product roadmap

As seen from the overview above, Cookie Information provides a couple of additional features essential for achieving privacy compliance, such as storage of consent logs for 5 years or advanced insights through their dashboard (enabling you to optimize conversion rates or quickly spot compliance risks).

Integrated analytics offering

A key differentiator is that Cookie Information now offers bundles with Piwik PRO Analytics Suite, providing consent management and privacy-compliant analytics in one package. This is something Cookiebot doesn’t offer – if you need analytics, you’ll need to purchase and integrate a separate solution. For marketing teams who need both consent management and analytics, Cookie Information’s Business Plan offers a more streamlined and cost-effective approach.

Pricing

When it comes paid plans, Cookiebot can be a slightly cheaper solution depending on the pricing tear, and can be preferred by smaller companies with basic compliance needs. While Cookie Information’s prices are a bit higher, the features included and availability of support are often worth the small price difference.