Alternative to Borlabs Cookie for WordPress websites
You find Borlabs Cookie too complicated to set up, you miss important features, or you are not sure if you are really legally compliant with this solution? Real Cookie Banner as an alternative to Borlabs Cookie for WordPress website tries to help you better in these points. Make your website GDPR and ePrivacy Directive compliant!
Why you should choose Real Cookie Banner
Real Cookie Banner is a cookie and consent management plugin. Obtain consent to load services and set cookies for your visitors in accordance with the GDPR and ePrivacy Directive. In addition, content blockers help you to be compliant even if your theme, plugin or content loads styles, scripts or iframes that would transfer personal data. Start now with our guided-configuration and avoid legal risks!
Content Blocker
Themes, plugins and co. usually load scripts, styles and content that transfer personal data and set cookies before you have the consent of your visitors. You usually cannot control this by yourself. Content blockers make sure that these features are only executed after you have obtained consent.
Customize design
You can design the cookie banner according to your wishes. 20+ design templates and 200+ options give you the flexibility to customize the cookie banner perfectly to your needs. From colors and effects to texts, you can unleash your creativity! All changes are displayed in a live preview.
Guided configuration
After installation, the checklist will guide you through all steps to be able to set up Real Cookie Banner in a legally compliant manner. We also explain the legalities of features and the legal consequences if you change settings. So, you can quickly and safely set up your cookie banner!
Documentation of consents
According to the GDPR, you have to prove that a visitor has consented to cookies and processing of personal data if he or she doubts this. We document consent completely and make it possible to trace the origin of the consent afterwards. You are on the safe side even in the worst case!
Native in WordPress
Real Cookie Banner is a cookie plugin specially designed for WordPress. It is fully installed in your WordPress as a native plugin. All consents are processed and stored on your server. Nothing is downloaded from a cloud in your visitor’s browser, which avoids further legal issues.
Compare us with Borlabs Cookie
Borlabs Cookie is a widely used solution as cookie banner for WordPress. Probably also because the plugin was the pioneer in WordPress, which implemented an opt-in cookie banner for the first time with many features. Unfortunately, compared to Real Cookie Banner, Borlabs Cookie offers fewer templates for popular services like Google Analytics, does not automatically respect youth protection regulations for obtaining consents or documents the consents only in parts (only accepted services/cookies). Real Cookie Banner tries to do that and much more better. Compare us with alternative WordPress plugins to get your own opinion!
Do you already use a similar solution like Borlabs Cookie?
Switch to Real Cookie Banner for 1 € in the first year.
Real Cookie Banner | Borlabs Cookie | Complianz | Cookiebot | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Yearly price (starts from; per site; incl. 19 % VAT) | €59.00 | €46.41 | €49.00 | €144.00 |
Free version available | only for one domain |
|||
Translations of plugin into # languages (> 90% completeness; language variants not counted) | 12 all texts in cookie banner are customizable |
6 all texts in cookie banner are customizable |
8 all texts in cookie banner are customizable |
48 all texts in cookie banner are customizable |
Audited by lawyer | Legally advised by meibers.rechtsanwälte |
Unknown or not advertised | Unknown or not advertised | Unknown or not advertised |
Cookie & Consent Management | ||||
Service (cookie) templates | 150+ templates |
28+ templates |
35+ templates; best results if the cloud service is activated |
visible after site scan |
Individual service groups | custom coding necessary |
predefined groups |
||
Consent possible per service directly in cookie banner | only in legal documents outside cookie banner |
|||
Technical specifications of HTTP cookies and cookie-like information | one complete technical cookie definition per service |
|||
Execution of opt-in and opt-out HTML/JavaScript code | not assignable to the consent of a service |
you have to code this feature by yourself |
||
Automatic deletion of 1st-party cookies in case of opt-out | for predefined cookies |
client-side |
||
Legal texts linkable in footer of cookie banner | any link depending on the country law |
only privacy policy and legal notice (imprint) |
only privacy policy, cookie policy and legal notice (imprint) |
only via custom link in e.g. description text |
Hiding of cookie banner on legally relevant pages (e.g. privacy policy or legal notice/imprint) | configurable for all legal links |
only privacy policy and legal notice (imprint) |
only privacy policy and legal notice (imprint) |
only via JavaScript SDK |
Accepting all services for bots | ||||
Use of “Do Not Track” header | ||||
Age notice to comply with GDPR youth protection regulations | ||||
Obtaining consent for data processing in unsafe countries | configurable per country |
only USA; no disclosure for which services |
||
Geo-restriction to show cookie banner only if necessary | predefined country list, not configurable |
|||
Native Swiss DSG compatibility | ||||
Scanner | ||||
Automatic check of all subpages for used services | each page indexed in sitemap |
each page indexed in sitemap |
||
Detection of external services (with and without template) | based on HTML markup |
based on first-party cookies in browser of administrator |
technical cookies not always automatically associated with a service |
|
Detection of known WordPress plugins | automatically blocks known plugins; services for consent must be manually created |
|||
Content Blocker | ||||
Content Blocker templates for popular services/plugins | 120+ templates |
7+ templates |
16+ templates |
|
Content blockers replace embeds with similar content (e.g. YouTube video replaced with video player) | ||||
Block already integrated link, inline style, (inline) script and iframe HTML tags until the consent of the visitor | works for 16 predefined services |
client-side for known or manually marked services |
||
URL blocking to block entire elements using a URL | always unblocks when opt-in for marketing services |
|||
Custom element blocking for blocking entire elements without modifying HTML markup | ||||
Splitting of inline styles to block individual CSS selectors | ||||
Automatic video playback after consent via content blocker | for YouTube, Vimeo, Dailymotion and Loom videos |
for YouTube and Vimeo videos |
||
Design customization | ||||
Cookie banner design presets | 20+ design presets |
|||
Customizable design of cookie banner | 200+ design settings |
110+ design settings |
60+ design settings |
8 design options |
Live preview of design changes | if TCF support disabled |
|||
Design options for optimized display on mobile devices | ||||
Accessibility | ||||
Cookie banner compliant with WCAG 2.1 Level AA or later | ||||
Scoring of design settings for accessibility requirements (to protect against inappropriate contrasts, font sizes, etc.) | Accessibility Score similar to PageSpeed Insights Score |
|||
Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF) | ||||
TCF v2 or newer support | ||||
Google certified CMP (AdSense, Ad Manager, or AdMob) | no version designated as stable available for use |
|||
Vendors can be selected from GVL | all vendors that use least one selected purpose or feature |
programmatic implementation through custom script tag |
||
Publisher restrictions can be applied to vendors | programmatic implementation through custom script tag |
|||
Stacks for user-friendly visualization | ||||
Individual selection for visitors integrated in cookie banner | visitor must switch to cookie policy |
|||
Proactive notice of design violations (e.g. contrast too low) | ||||
Content blocker for content/scripts from vendors without consent | ||||
Consents and documentation | ||||
Documentation of consents | without design settings and list of all cookies |
without design settings |
||
Creation of consents afterwards traceable through interactive visualization | including player (see how users clicked, scrolled, …) |
|||
Proactive obtain new consents after changing the content or behavior of the cookie banner | manually to trigger |
on adding new service, but not on changing e.g. texts |
when adding new services, but not when changing texts |
|
Statistics about visitor consents | three statistics with dynamic time range |
statistic with fixed date choice |
one opt-in chart |
one opt-in chart |
Links for viewing the history of consent, changing and revoking consent | as menu items or shortcodes |
as shortcodes or widget (floating) |
as shortcodes |
as HTML links or widget (floating) |
Technical solution | ||||
Native solution in WordPress | Cloud service loaded as external script |
|||
Anti-Ad-Blocker system to get consents from users with aggressive Ad-Blocker | ||||
Import and export settings | ||||
Export of collected consents | ||||
Support for Google Tag Manager (GTM) and Matomo Tag Manager (MTM) that loads tag manager only after consent | according to the documentation, GTM should also be loaded without consent |
GTM loads before user consent |
GTM loads before user consent |
|
Support for multilingual websites with WPML and Polylang | with cookie/service synchronization between languages |
|||
Support for multilingual websites with TranslatePress (advanced integration) | ||||
Support for multilingual websites with Weglot (advanced integration) | with machine translations |
with machine translations |
with machine translations |
|
Support for WordPress Multisites | ||||
Consent Forwarding to avoid multiple consents of a visitor on multiple sites of an organization | one-way and two-way sync |
consents shared via cookie, but without e.g. documentation of consent |
consents shared via cookie, but without e.g. documentation of consent |
within same domain group |
Support for automatic emptying of all known page caches after a change to the cookie banner | for 26 page-cache plugins |
for 6 page-cache plugins |
||
Compatible WordPress version | 5.9 or newer | 4.7 or newer | 4.9 or newer | 4.4 or newer |
The comparison was made in November 2023 on the basis of the following versions of the WordPress Plugins: Real Cookie Banner v4.0.0, Borlabs Cookie v2.2.66, Complianz v6.5.6, Cookiebot v4.3.1
You want to know more?
Have we caught your interest in Real Cookie Banner? The WordPress plugin offers you even more than what you’ve seen here. To learn more, have a look at the full list of features, services templates and more in the product description!
Real Cookie Banner as alternative to Borlabs Cookie
Real Cookie Banner tries to solve many weaknesses of Borlabs Cookie better. There is a free version of Real Cookie Banner with which you can try out before buying the PRO version, whether you like the cookie banner plugin. Real Cookie Banner does not leave you alone during the setup. In the dashboard you will find a list of all the important steps you should go through, whereas in Borlabs Cookie you have to explore these steps yourself or browse their knowledge base. When it comes to setup, you have more than 150 service templates and 120 content blocker templates at your disposal. With these, you can use a variety of WordPress plugins, embedded content, and external services with a consent without having to do a lot of research. Borlabs Cookie offers around a quarter of the templates, which is why more research work in privacy policies etc. is waiting for you as a website owner.
Did you actually know that according to the ECJ ruling C-673/17 (“Planet49”) you should list all technical cookies with expiration date etc. that a service sets? In Borlabs Cookie there is only one field per service (called “Cookie” there) for this information. In Real Cookie Banner you can enter the technical data in a clearly arranged table. In addition, we have thought ahead for you, and automatically display a notice to presume compliance with Article 8 of the GDPR (consent of children and adolescents), so that this age group does not illegally agree to cookies, etc., to which they cannot agree. If you use services from the USA such as Google Analytics, you should also ensure explicit consent for this after the end of the Privacy Shield by the ECJ. You can activate texts for this in Real Cookie Banner. In Borlabs Cookie you have to do it yourself for both topics (and dig through the laws) because it comes without such texts.
If you want to display your cookie banner on a multilingual website only in countries where you have to obtain consent, you are out of luck with Borlabs Cookie. There is no such feature. Real Cookie Banner, on the other hand, comes with a privacy-friendly locally stored IP-to-country database, which allows you to do exactly that.
You also need an alternative to Borlabs Cookie if you use page builders like Thrive Architect. For example, this page builder includes fonts as inline CSS in the same style block as the subpage’s custom CSS. If you need to block the loading of fonts before a consent, you usually use Borlabs Cookie to block away all other styles in the style block as well. Real Cookie Banner, on the other hand, can block each selector in a CSS block individually and thus avoid too many blocked styles. In addition, the Borlabs Cookie alternative offers you the programmatic blocking of user-defined HTML elements. And when you finally are allowed to play a video after the consent, the user does not have to click on consent and then on play, but the video plays automatically after the consent.
Borlabs Cookie can be fine-granularly customized to your website’s design with 85+ settings. That’s great, but since there’s no live preview of the changes, you’ll have to reload your site and thus the cookie banner after each change to see it in action. Also, there is only one default design and that’s it. So, you have to play designer yourself! Real Cookie Banner as an alternative, on the other hand, not only offers more options, which are displayed in a live preview immediately after customization, but also brings 20+ design presets. There should be the right design approach for every taste without complex configuration!
Professional website operators require consents according to the Transparency & Consent Framework (TCF). This standardized form of consent is required by more and more marketers like Google Adsense. If you don’t use TCF, your ad revenue can suffer greatly. Borlabs Cookie does not support this in version 2.2. With Real Cookie Banner, on the other hand, you can optionally make your cookie banner TCF compatible with a variety of features.
Once the cookie banner is set up, half the work is done. Now it’s the website visitor’s turn, and he has to consent on your website. But what if he doubts that he has consented correctly? According to Art. 82 GDPR, there is a burden of proof for the website operator. This practically means that you, as the website operator, must “prove” in case of doubt that your website visitor has consented. Borlabs Cookie stores for this purpose in which services and cookies were consented to, but not which services were available for selection, texts in the cookie banner, its design, etc. Here is a lot of scope that an opposing lawyer can successfully attack you. Real Cookie Banner wanted to create an alternative to this, in our opinion, incomplete documentation. That’s why our solution stores everything – services, texts, design, consent site, etc. – to be able to look back later on what exactly the cookie banner looked like and, in some cases, where consent was clicked. If that doesn’t convince a judge in the case – if you have set everything up correctly – then we don’t know what else to do.
Both Borlabs Cookie and Real Cookie Banner are installed natively in WordPress as a plugin. So, they don’t load a script “from the cloud” to display the cookie banner, but everything is played out directly from your webspace. However, visitors can thereby block Borlabs Cookie quite easily with an adblocker or cookie notice blocker. Real Cookie Banner, on the other hand, has several anti-adblocker mechanisms built in to make it as difficult as possible for such systems to block the cookie banner. After all, we want you to get to your consents!
In case you run a website in multiple languages you can use WPML, Polylang, TranslatePress or Weglot with Real Cookie Banner. For these plugins we offer in-depth integration, so you can manage your services, content blockers and texts as easily as possible. Borlabs Cookie, on the other hand, has explicit support for WPML and Polylang only. And if you use it, not only do you have to re-integrate all services/cookies in each language, but even the design settings with more than 85 options have to be done again for each language, which can take a lot of time.
Wow, you are still here looking for an alternative to Borlabs Cookie?
It looks like you are really interested in trying Real Cookie Banner. But if you don’t like or can’t install the free version into your WordPress right now, we have an alternative for you:
Just create a free sandbox. This is a WordPress installation in which Real Cookie Banner PRO is pre-installed for you. You can try all features without any risk. And if you break this test website, we won’t hold it against you. We promise!