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Data privacy laws like GDPR require businesses to manage user consent properly. This has led to the rise of Consent Management Platforms (CMPs), which help websites collect, store, and manage consent while ensuring compliance.
Many CMPs offer free plans, but there’s a catch. These plans come with limitations.
This article explores five Google-certified CMPs to understand what their free plans offer and where the limitations lie:
🔍 Not sure if a cookie consent banner even applies to your site?
Before picking a free Google-certified CMP, check our article Do I Need a Cookie Consent Banner on My Website? to see whether your website needs a consent banner.
Top 5 Free Google-Certified CMPs for Your Site
Cookiebot is arguably the most well-known Consent Management Platform on the market, and for good reason. It’s a Google-certified CMP trusted by over 2.4M websites worldwide in 47+ languages to handle cookie consent, privacy compliance, and consent signaling accurately and reliably.
Free Plan Includes:
- Covers up to 50 subpages per domain
- No limit on pageviews
- Google Consent Mode and Microsoft Consent Mode are included
Limitations:
- Websites with more than 50 subpages must upgrade
- Advanced features like customizing the consent banner are only in paid plans. Check the plan comparison on the official website.
Premium plan starts at €7 per month.
More details: Cookiebot Pricing
Use Cookiebot CMP to collect user consent, stay compliant with GDPR and other global regulations, and ensure proper implementation of Consent Mode. Trusted by millions, available in 47+ languages, it’s the most popular solution for balancing privacy and performance. Easy to set up, fully customizable, and Google-certified.
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2. iubenda
iubenda is also a well-established Consent Management Platform, trusted by over 150,000 customers and available in 27 languages.
Free Plan Includes:
- Allows up to 1,000 pageviews per month
- No limit on the number of pages
- Google Consent Mode and Microsoft Consent Mode are included
Limitations:
- Sites with more than 1,000 monthly pageviews must upgrade
- The free plan does not include features like banner customization. Check the plan comparison on their website.
More details: iubenda Pricing
CookieScript is a widely used CMP, supporting 42 languages and powering over 300,000 websites globally.
Free Plan Includes:
- Covers up to 10 pages per domain
- For up to 10,000 monthly pageviews
- Google Consent Mode and Microsoft Consent Mode are included
Limitations:
- Limited to 10 pages per domain, which makes it suitable for very small websites only
- No access to advanced features and customization. See plan comparison here.
More details: CookieScript Pricing
4. Osano
Osano is used by 1,000+ companies and supports 40+ languages. Its first paid plan starts at $199/month, putting it on the more expensive side.
Free Plan Includes:
- Allows up to 5,000 monthly pageviews
- No page quantity limits
- Google Consent Mode and Microsoft Consent Mode are included
Limitations:
- Businesses exceeding 5,000 pageviews monthly must upgrade
- The free plan lacks advanced features. See plan comparison on their website.
More details: Osano Pricing
CookieYes is used by over 1.5 million websites and supports more than 175 languages for its cookie consent banner, but only 41 languages are available with default auto-translation.
Free Plan Includes:
- 100 pages per scan
- 15,000 page views per month
- Google Consent Mode and Microsoft Consent Mode are included
Limitations:
- If you have over 100 pages or exceed 15,000 page views, you’ll need to upgrade
- Free plan has limited features. See plan comparison on website.
More details: CookieYes Pricing
Free CMP Plan Comparison at a Glance
The table below compares the free plans of five Google-certified CMPs, focusing on what matters most when evaluating a free option:
- Page or subpage limits
- Traffic or visitor caps
- Consent Mode support (learn what it is in our ultimate Consent Mode guide)
- How expensive the first paid upgrade is
| CMP | Free Plan Limits | Traffic / Pageview Limits | Consent Mode Support | Starting Paid Plan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cookiebot | Up to 50 subpages per domain | Unlimited pageviews | ✔️ | From €7 / month |
| iubenda | Unlimited pages | Up to 1,000 pageviews/month | ✔️ | From €5,99 / month |
| CookieScript | Up to 10 pages per domain | Up to 10,000 pageviews/month | ✔️ | From €8 / month |
| Osano | Unlimited pages | Up to 5,000 visitors/month | ✔️ | From $199 / month |
| CookieYes | Up to 100 pages per scan | Up to 15,000 pageviews/month | ✔️ | From $10 / month |
The table shows how much free CMP plans can differ. Cookiebot stands out with unlimited pageviews on its free plan, making it suitable for small and medium websites with up to 50 pages. At the other end, CookieYes applies two limits, offering more generous page coverage but still enforcing pageview caps that need to be taken into account.
Overall, the right choice depends on whether your website is constrained more by traffic or page count, and how soon you expect to scale.
What to Consider When Choosing a Free CMP
At first glance, a free CMP plan sounds like a no-brainer. But before committing, there are a few important factors to consider to avoid running into unnecessary issues later on.
1. Free Plan Limits
Free CMP plans usually restrict either the number of pages or monthly pageviews (sometimes both).
Ask yourself:
- Is my website page-heavy (blogs, documentation, ecommerce)?
- Or traffic-heavy (few pages but lots of visitors)? A quick look in Google Analytics 4 will give you the answer.
A “free” plan can quickly become unusable if you cross these thresholds unexpectedly.
2. Consent Mode Support (Not Optional Anymore)
If you run Google Ads, GA4, or Microsoft Advertising, Google Consent Mode and Microsoft Consent Mode support is essential.
All CMPs listed in this article support both, but always double-check.
Without it, you risk broken tracking or non-compliance.
3. Customization & UX Limitations
Most free plans severely limit:
- Banner styling
- Custom branding and logo
- Button placement (Accept / Reject / Customize)
- Localization options
This can hurt both compliance and user experience, especially if your site operates in regulated regions like the EU or UK.
4. Scalability (This Is Where Free Plans Break)
Free CMPs are fine for:
- Personal or small business websites
- Landing pages
- Early-stage projects
But if your website grows, you’ll likely need to upgrade sooner than expected.
💡 Tip: Check the pricing page before choosing a free plan. If the first paid tier is too expensive, you may be setting yourself up for a costly migration later.
Many website owners start by looking for a simple, free script they can drop onto their site. It seems like the fastest way to get a cookie banner live, but it’s also where most compliance issues begin.
Why Free Code Snippets Are Risky
Most free cookie banner scripts:
- Don’t perform cookie scans
- Don’t update when new cookies or trackers are added
- Don’t store or document user consent properly
- Don’t integrate with Google Consent Mode and Microsoft Consent Mode
This means you’re responsible for:
- Manually identifying cookies
- Creating and maintaining required consent-related documentation (including a Privacy Policy with a complete list of cookies and tracking technologies)
- Keeping your banner legally compliant as regulations evolve
- Updating consent logic every time your tracking setup changes
For websites running Google Analytics 4, Google Ads, or Microsoft Advertising, this usually leads to broken tracking, missing consent signals, or compliance gaps.
When Free Code Might Be Enough
Using a basic banner script can make sense if:
- You’re running a small website (1–5 pages)
- You don’t use advertising or analytics
- You’re comfortable maintaining the setup yourself
- You can keep up with ongoing privacy law and regulatory updates
Even then, it’s rarely future-proof.
A free CMP plan gives you:
- A compliant consent banner out of the box
- Automatic cookie scanning
- Built-in Consent Mode support
- Ongoing updates as laws, requirements and technology change
In practice, a free CMP plan is usually safer and less time-consuming than maintaining custom code, especially if your website or traffic grows.
Conclusion
Free CMP plans are a solid starting point, especially if you are running a small website or testing the waters. They allow you to meet basic consent requirements without upfront costs.
However, free plans come with clear limits on pageviews, number of pages, and available features. As traffic grows or compliance requirements become more complex, relying solely on a free plan can quickly become restrictive.
If you expect growth, the smarter approach is to treat a free CMP as a temporary solution and choose one with an affordable, logical upgrade path. When the time comes to scale, upgrading should feel like a natural next step, not an urgent fix.
Hana Kobzová is a freelance PPC specialist and the founder of PPC News Feed. Named among the TOP 50 Most Influential PPC Experts 2025, she is also a Google Ads Product Expert and a Microsoft Advertising Certified Professional. Hana delivers clear updates and actionable insights that help marketers save time and work smarter.