How to Choose the Right Consent Management Platform?
Choosing the right Consent Management Platform (CMP) is crucial to ensuring compliance with privacy regulations, enabling Google Consent Mode v2, and enhancing user trust.
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.
Compare Consent Management Providers
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?
To choose the right Consent Management Platform, first, compare 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 CMP that is certified by Google. Read more about how to choose a Google-certified CMP Partner for Ad compliance.
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.
Second, the most objective and reliable method to compare CMPs is to compare Consent Management Providers on peer-review sites, such as G2 and Trustpilot. 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.
CookieScript
CookieScript Consent Management Provider is a Google-certified CMP that has the golden tier. 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.
See all functionalities of CookieScript here.
CookieScript review by users on G2.
CookieScript review by users on Trustpilot.
Usercentrics
Usercentrics review by users on G2.
Usercentrics review by users on Trustpilot.
Commanders Act
Commanders Act review by users on G2.
Commanders Act review by users on Trustpilot.
Consentmanager
Consentmanager review by users on G2.
Consentmanager review by users on Trustpilot.
CookieFirst
CookieFirst review by users on G2.
CookieFirst review by users on Trustpilot.
CookieHub
CookieHub review by users on G2.
CookieHub review by users on Trustpilot.
Cookie Information
Cookie Information review by users on G2.
Cookie Information review by users on Trustpilot.
CookieYes
CookieYes review by users on G2.
CookieYes review by users on Trustpilot.
Axeptio
Axeptio review by users on G2.
Axeptio review by users on Trustpilot.
Didomi
Didomi review by users on G2.
Didomi review by users on Trustpilot.
illow
illow review by users on G2.
Illow review by users on Trustpilot.
Iubenda
Iubenda review by users on G2.
Iubenda review by users on Trustpilot.
One Trust
One Trust review by users on G2.
Onetrust review by users on Trustpilot.
Secure Privacy
Secure Privacy review by users on G2.
Secure Privacy review by users on Trustpilot.
Sourcepoint
Sourcepoint user review on G2.
Sourcepoint user review on Trustpilot.
Termly
Termly user review on G2.
Termly user review on Trustpilot.
The CMP comparison was done in January, 2025. Hopefully, it helped you to choose the best Consent Management Platform.
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?
Google cooperates with CMPs by evaluating them and certifying them for using Google advertisement and analytics products. So, you need a Google-certified CMP. First, select a Google-certified CMP, present on the list of Google-certified CMPs. Second, compare Consent Management Providers on peer-review sites, such as G2 and Trustpilot. CookieScript CMP is certified by Google and was ranked by users as the best CMP on G2.
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.
