Choosing the right Consent Management Platform (CMP) is crucial to ensuring compliance with privacy regulations, enabling Google Consent Mode v2, and enhancing user trust.

There are more than one hundred Consent Management Providers on the market and new solutions are emerging, so the CMP comparison isn’t an easy task. Which Consent Management Providers should you consider and compare? What is the best Consent Management Platform? 

When comparing and choosing the best Consent Management Platform, compare the following criteria:

1. First, compare Google-certified CMPs.
2. Second, compare Consent Management Providers on peer-review sites.
3. Third, check the features and functionalities of CMPs that align with your needs and fit within your budget.

Compare Google-Certified Consent Management Providers 

To choose the right Consent Management Platform, first, compare only Google-certified CMPs. If you have European users and want to comply with the GDPR and use Google advertising and analytics products, you need to use a CMP that is certified by Google.

To appear on the list of Google partners, a CMP has to pass the criteria related to Google Consent Mode v2 and IAB TCF v2.2 integrations, among others. Google cooperates with CMP Partners: carefully evaluates them and certifies if they fulfill the criteria.

Moreover, Google carefully assessed all certified CMP Partners, evaluating objective criteria including customer support and ease of technical integration, and classified them into 3 tiers: Gold, Silver, and Bronze.

As of January 2025, there are 29 Google-certified CMP, 18 of which have Gold tier, 9 – Silver Tier, and 2 – Bronze Tier.

It’s worth comparing and working with only the best Consent Management Platforms: Google-certified CMPs that have the Gold tier.

Read more about how to choose a Google-certified CMP Partner for Ad compliance.

Compare Consent Management Providers on Peer-Review Sites

When you narrowed a list of potential CMPs to Google-certified CMP, second the most objective and reliable method to compare CMPs is to compare Consent Management Providers on peer-review sites, such as G2, Trustpilot, and Capterra. Customers review Consent Management Providers, and the average score is calculated based on many customers.

So, let’s look at peer-review sites and compare Google-certified Consent Management Providers that have the golden tier, to help you to choose the best Consent Management Platform.

Comparison of the most popular Google-certified CMPs on peer-review sites

The CMP comparison on peer-review sites G2, Trustpilot, and Capterra was done in January, 2025. We will review the list of the best CMPs regularly.

See the overview of top 12 Consent Management Providers. Hopefully, it will help you to choose the best Consent Management Platform.

How to Choose the Best CMP Based on Features and Functionalities?

Consider the following criteria when comparing and picking the best Consent Management Platform:

Privacy and compliance

First, the Consent Management Provider should offer a professional CMP that complies with data privacy laws applicable to your audience and automatically updates to the latest changes in the regulations. Ensure the CMP complies with all relevant laws, such as GDPR, CCPA, LGPD, and other privacy regulations.

Second, check the geographical scope: if your website serves a global audience, the CMP should handle regional consent requirements effectively. To do this, the CMP should have geo-targeting functionality that detects the users’ location and presents them with the right Cookie Banner and other compliance options.

Integration

Identify the systems and platforms (e.g., CMS such as WordPress, Joomla, Shopify), advertising tools, or analytics tools (e.g., Google Analytics), that the CMP needs to integrate with. Look for platforms that can integrate easily with your website, mobile apps, and other digital properties.

You should also check if the Consent Management Platform can be integrated with Google Tag Manager and Google Consent Mode v2. Note that if you want to use Google Ads or Google Analytics and target European users, you must implement Google Consent Mode v2 on your website or app.

Data security and hosting

To align with privacy laws, verify that the CMP ensures data security practices, including encryption and hosting locations. Prefer CMPs that offer hosting in regions compliant with GDPR or other relevant standards. Choose a CMP that has server location in Europe.

Features

Make sure the CMP has all the necessary features, including:

• Cookie banner that matches your brand’s design.
• Automatic cookie scanning.
• Granular consent options that allow users to choose cookie consent for specific categories (e.g., analytics, marketing).
• User consent recording, ensuring that the CMP stores consent logs securely and provides detailed reports for audits.
• Geo-targeting.
• Google Consent Mode v2 integration.
• IAB TCF v2.2 integration.
• Multiple languages.

Customization

Look for a CMP that allows for flexibility and customization to tailor the cookie consent collection process to your preferences.

The CMP should allow you to create a Cookie Banner that reflects your site’s or app’s design and branding. Make sure you can design your own fully customized consent banner.

Easy implementation and documentation

Look for an easy-to-use product. The installation of the CMP should be quite intuitive, followed by comprehensive documentation, a user guide, and a good support team.

Pricing

Compare pricing models and ensure the CMP aligns with your needs and fits within your budget.  

CookieScript CMP- the Best CMP

CookieScript Consent Management Provider is one the the best cookie consent providers according to all three criteria:

1. CookieScript CMP is a Google-certified CMP that has the golden tier.
2. In 2024, CookieScript was ranked the best CMP on G2 for small businesses. It offers seamless integration with Google Consent Mode v2 and Google Tag Manager, facilitating quick and easy setup.
3. CookieScript CMP has all features you would need for your website or app. See all functionalities of CookieScript here. 

Moreover, we have launched a trial for the PLUS pricing plan for 14 days. Now you can try the best product on the market for free, with all the functionalities, and no credit card is required!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Consent Management Platform (CMP)?

A Consent Management Platform (CMP) is a software solution that helps you collect and manage personal information and cookie consents in a way that complies with data protection laws. Cookie Consent and personal information is collected through cookie banners – when you visit a website and are asked for consent, you can allow or reject sharing your data. Choose the best CMP.

Why do I need a Consent Management Platform?

This is a requirement of data privacy laws. A Consent Management Platform (CMP) helps you collect and manage personal information and cookie consents. Data privacy laws such as GDPR in Europe, CCPA, OCPA, NHDP, and others in the US require businesses to get cookie consent to collect and process users’ personal information. Select the best CMP.

How does CMP work?

A Consent Management Platform (CMP) helps you collect and manage personal information and cookie consents. When a user enters a website, a Cookie Banner pops up and asks for Cookie Consent to collect personal data. If the user grants Cookie Consent, the CMP stores the consent and sets only these types of cookies to which Cookie Consent was given. Find your best CMP.

How to choose the right Consent Management platform?

When comparing and choosing the best Consent Management Platform, compare the following criteria: first, compare only Google-certified CMP, present on the list of Google-certified CMPs; second, compare Consent Management Providers on peer-review sites, such as G2, Trustpilot, and Capterra; and  third, check the features and functionalities of CMPs that aligns with your needs and fits within your budget. CookieScript CMP satisfies all three criteria: it is certified by Google, was ranked by users as the best CMP on G2, and offers all functionalities for compliance with the privacy laws.

How to set up a CMP?

There are two ways to set up a CMP: either using a Google Tag Manager template or as a custom HTML Tag. See instructions and a video guide on how to set up a CookieScript CMP, which was selected as the best CMP by users on G2. 

What is a Google Consent Mode and how does it work?

Google Consent Mode is a tool that uses APIs to communicate website users’ cookie or app identifier consent status to Google. When a user enters a website, a Cookie Banner pops up and asks for cookie consent to collect personal data. The user consent status is sent to Google, and Tags adjust their behavior based on users’ choices. Choose the best CMP to implement Google Consent Mode v2.