Borlabs Cookie vs Cookiebot
Which cookie consent tool fits your site best?
A comparison between Borlabs and Cookiebot is indicative of the most important choice you have to make in privacy software: do you opt for a local plugin in your CMS or an external cloud service (SaaS)? Both approaches make you compliant, but the execution is fundamentally different.
Where they are identical
Both platforms put the requirements of European privacy legislation front and center and support modern tracking requirements like Google Consent Mode v2 and IAB TCF. They ensure that scripts and cookies are only loaded after a website visitor has explicitly given consent. Neither provider includes a built-in generator for your privacy or cookie policy; you must draft these documents yourself.
Where the difference lies
Architecture. Borlabs (Germany) is a WordPress plugin. This means it runs locally on your web server, integrates seamlessly into the WordPress backend, and saves consent logs in your own database. Cookiebot (Denmark) is a cloud application. You place a JavaScript code on your website, regardless of the CMS you use, after which Cookiebot's external servers scan your site and load the consent banner.
Pricing Model. Borlabs operates with a fixed, annual license per website (around $5 per month). This gives you 100% financial certainty upfront. Cookiebot charges a variable rate (starting at $7 per month) based on the number of subpages found on your website by their scanner. For large websites or extensive webshops, Cookiebot's costs escalate much faster.
Audit Trails. While Borlabs relies heavily on the local database, Cookiebot provides highly detailed, external logbooks (audit trails) detailing when specific scanners ran and exactly which cookies were detected, aiding in official audits.
Quick overview
| Borlabs Cookie | Cookiebot | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $5/mo | from $7/mo |
| Free plan | ✗ | ✓ |
| EU-based | ✓ | ✓ |
| Consent Mode v2 | ⚡ Paid | ✓ |
Feature comparison
| Feature | Borlabs Cookie | Cookiebot |
|---|---|---|
| Google Consent Mode v2 Support | ⚡ Paid | ✓ |
| Automated Cookie Scanning | ⚡ Paid | ✓ |
| Automatic Script/Cookie Blocking | ⚡ Paid | ✓ |
| Customizable Consent Banners | ⚡ Paid | ✓ |
| IAB TCF 2.2 Support | ⚡ Paid | ✓ |
| Policy Generator (Cookie/Privacy) | ✗ | ✗ |
| Consent Audit Trail / Logs | — | ✓ |
| Self-hosted Data Processing | ⚡ Paid | ✗ |
| CCPA Support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Google Tag Manager Support | ✓ | ✓ |
✓ Included ⚡ Paid plan only ✗ Not available
Platform support
| Platform | Borlabs Cookie | Cookiebot |
|---|---|---|
| WordPress | ✓ | ✓ |
| Shopify | ✗ | ✓ |
| Wix | ✗ | ✗ |
| Squarespace | ✗ | ✗ |
| Webflow | ✗ | ✗ |
| Any HTML/JS Website | ✗ | ✓ |
Based on explicit mentions on the vendor's website.
Our recommendation
For websites running exclusively on WordPress, we generally recommend Borlabs. You keep the data on your own servers, prevent unpredictable subscription costs with a growing number of web pages, and the tool integrates technically superiorly with other WP plugins.
Choose Cookiebot if your website is not built on WordPress, or if you, as an agency, want to manage dozens of websites on various platforms (like Shopify or custom HTML) from a single central, external cloud dashboard.
Setting up a banner does not equal compliance. Most violations occur post-installation because scripts still load too early via Google Tag Manager. Always run a free scan after configuration to verify it actually works.
Check your own site
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