The Budget Banner, Compared
CookieYes is one of the most popular low-cost consent tools, especially on WordPress, where its plugin is a quick install. It's cheap, it's easy, and it does something most budget tools don't: it puts Google Consent Mode v2 on the free tier. For a small site that needs a working banner tomorrow, that's a strong offer.
CookieBeam sits a step deeper. It also has a free tier that actually enforces consent, but it adds connection scanning, hosted server-side tagging, per-country regional rules, and A/B testing on top. The question is whether your site needs that depth or whether a clean, cheap banner is enough. This guide compares the two honestly at each price point. For the wider market, see our comparison of cookie consent tools, and if you're on WordPress specifically, our WordPress cookie consent guide.
What CookieYes Does Well
CookieYes is easy to like at the low end. Its free plan gives you a working banner with basic customization on one domain, an automatic cookie scan, a consent log, and, notably, Google Consent Mode v2, which many competitors gate behind paid tiers. The free tier carries CookieYes branding and a monthly pageview cap.
Paid plans are cheap and simple. As of mid-2026 they run roughly $10/month for Basic, $20/month for Pro, and around $40/month for Ultimate, with higher pageview allowances and features as you climb. Paid tiers add automatic scheduled re-scans (the free and lowest tiers don't re-scan on a schedule, so new cookies can go undetected), plus auto-blocking of third-party scripts before consent and the ability to let visitors toggle categories.
For a small business, a blog, or a brochure site that mainly needs a compliant-looking banner with Consent Mode wired up, CookieYes gets you there with very little effort and very little money. That's a real strength, not a backhanded compliment.
Where CookieBeam Is Different
CookieBeam's free tier also enforces (real script blocking, scanning, and consent logs), but the platform is built to go further.
Connection scanning, beyond cookies. CookieBeam records the outbound network connections and scripts a page loads, on top of the cookies it sets, and monitors for drift. That catches cookieless tracking and trackers added later that a cookie-only scan can miss.
A real per-country regional engine. CookieBeam ships presets for GDPR, CCPA, the US opt-out states, LGPD, PIPEDA, and UK GDPR, and adapts the banner's text and behavior by visitor location. If you serve visitors across multiple regulations, that's the difference between one generic banner and the right banner per region. See running one banner across regions.
Hosted server-side tagging. CookieBeam can host your server-side Google Tag Manager as a metered add-on and gate it by consented purposes, which keeps measurement working as third-party cookies fade. CookieYes is a client-side banner and isn't a server-side tagging host. See server-side consent enforcement.
A/B consent testing. Built-in experiments and purpose-level analytics let you measure and lift consent rates instead of guessing.
CookieBeam vs CookieYes (as of mid-2026)
| Aspect | CookieBeam | CookieYes |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Script blocking, cookie + connection scanning, consent logs (10k logs, 10k pageviews, 3 scans) | Banner, basic customization, 1 domain, one cookie scan, Consent Mode v2, branding, pageview cap |
| Entry paid price | Flat per domain (a few euros/domain/month), EUR | ~$10/mo Basic, $20 Pro, ~$40 Ultimate, USD |
| Consent Mode v2 | Supported | Supported, including on the free tier |
| Scheduled re-scans | Automated scanning with drift monitoring | Scheduled monthly re-scans on Pro/Ultimate only |
| Scanning depth | Cookies + scripts + outbound connections | Cookie/tracker scanning |
| Regional consent rules | Per-country engine: GDPR, CCPA, US opt-out states, LGPD, PIPEDA, UK GDPR presets | GDPR/CCPA banner support |
| Server-side tagging | Hosted server-side GTM as a metered add-on | Not a server-side tagging host |
| Signature extra | A/B consent testing + purpose-level analytics | Low price and fast WordPress setup |
Pick CookieYes If...
CookieYes is the right fit when simple and cheap is the whole brief:
- You run WordPress and want a five-minute setup. The plugin is quick, and the free tier gets you a banner with Consent Mode v2 at no cost.
- Your site is one domain with modest traffic. Basic and Pro cover a lot of small sites for $10 to $20 a month.
- You don't need server-side tagging or multi-region rules. If a straightforward GDPR/CCPA banner is enough, paying for more is wasted.
Watch two things: scheduled re-scans only kick in on higher tiers, so free and Basic sites can miss newly added cookies, and the free tier's pageview cap and branding are real limits.
Pick CookieBeam If...
CookieBeam fits sites that will outgrow a basic banner:
- You serve multiple regulations. The per-country engine shows the right banner and behavior per region instead of one generic version.
- You want to catch cookieless tracking. Connection scanning and drift detection flag what a cookie-only scan misses.
- Server-side tagging is in your plan. Hosted server-side GTM tied to consent is built in.
- You want to improve consent rates with data, using A/B testing and purpose-level analytics. See consent-rate optimisation without dark patterns.
Where CookieBeam isn't the pick: if you truly just need the cheapest possible working banner on one small WordPress site, CookieYes is hard to beat on price.
The Fast Answer
One small WordPress site, tight budget, just need a compliant banner with Consent Mode? CookieYes.
Multiple regions, server-side tagging, connection scanning, or you want to A/B test consent? CookieBeam.
Either way, confirm the one thing that actually matters for compliance: non-essential scripts stay blocked before consent. Our GDPR compliance checklist shows how to test it.
The Bottom Line
CookieYes wins on price and simplicity, and its free-tier Consent Mode v2 is a genuinely good deal for a small site. CookieBeam's free tier also enforces consent, then adds connection scanning, a per-country regional engine, hosted server-side tagging, and A/B testing, the things a growing or multi-region site eventually needs. If your site is small and single-region, CookieYes is enough and cheaper. If it's growing, multi-region, or serious about measurement, CookieBeam gives you room to scale without switching tools later.
Primary sources: CookieYes pricing. Free-tier pageview caps and the top Ultimate price are reported inconsistently across third-party trackers; confirm current limits and pricing on CookieYes's own pricing page before deciding.