Cookiebot
AcquiredFounded 2012 · 11 known investors
Cookiebot is a consent management platform that scans websites for cookies and trackers and collects visitor consent to help site owners comply with privacy regulations such as GDPR, CCPA, and Google Consent Mode. It is a Usercentrics product offering cookie banners, consent solutions, and related privacy compliance tools for websites and apps.
Also known as Cookiebot by Usercentrics · Cookiebot CMP · Cookiebot™ · Cybot
Investors · 11
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Cookiebot is a consent management platform (CMP) marketed as "Cookiebot CMP by Usercentrics." Its core function is threefold: a patented scanner crawls a customer's website to detect cookies, trackers and similar technologies; the platform generates a customizable consent banner and an embeddable cookie declaration; and it records each visitor's consent decision. Detected cookies are automatically categorized into necessary, preferences, statistics and marketing purposes, drawing on a repository the company says contains more than 13,000 cookie entries. Non-essential cookies are blocked until the visitor consents, after which only the permitted categories are activated. Scans run monthly by default and can also be triggered manually, and customers receive monthly email reports on tracking changes.
The product is sold in two tracks. Cookiebot Core targets solopreneurs and emerging businesses with automated consent management plus add-ons that run on the same script and dashboard, including an Audience Survey add-on for first-party attribution. Usercentrics Advanced targets advanced businesses and enterprises with region- and brand-specific consent experiences, user role management, premium support, analytics and reporting, API and SDK integrations, A/B testing, bulk editing for multi-domain setups, cross-device consent sharing and 60+ languages with geotargeting.
Compliance coverage spans GDPR and the ePrivacy Directive, US state laws such as CCPA/CPRA, and templates for LGPD and POPIA, with geotargeting for regional rules; the company references 50+ privacy regulations and frameworks worldwide. Cookiebot is a registered CMP under the IAB Europe Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF 2.2/2.3) and supports Google Consent Mode v2 as a Google Gold Tier certified partner, Microsoft UET and Clarity Consent Mode, and Amazon Consent Signal.
Founding story
Co-founder Daniel Johannsen states he created the first CMP in 2012 to demonstrate that data privacy could be made easy and available to all online companies and organizations. The company frames its founding conviction as making data privacy compliance available to every organization, not only those with substantial legal, development and budget resources.
Business model
B2B SaaS subscription. Customers install a script on their website, either directly, through Google Tag Manager, or via CMS plugins, and pay a recurring fee tied to site size. A reseller/partner program with commissions, co-marketing and dedicated partner support serves agencies deploying across client sites.
Tiered subscription priced per domain and billed monthly or yearly, with pricing determined by the number of subpages on a domain. A free plan covers one domain of up to 50 subpages; paid tiers run from Premium Lite at €7/month per domain (up to 50 subpages) through Premium Small (€15), Premium Medium (€30, up to 350 subpages), Premium Large (€50, up to 3,500 subpages) and Premium XLarge (€90, up to 7,000 subpages). Pricing is offered in multiple currencies including USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, DKK, NOK, PLN and SEK. All plans begin with a 14-day trial of premium features and there are no traffic- or user-based charges. A third-party review notes that the advertised €7 entry price is a floor rather than a fixed price, since subscriptions auto-upgrade when the scanner detects a higher subpage count.
Traction
Reported metrics include 2.4 million websites and apps, 8.8 billion monthly user consents, 600,000+ customers, 47+ supported languages and a 99%+ customer retention rate. A third-party review reports the platform can typically be configured to a live compliant banner in under 30 minutes without developer involvement.
Latest developments
The company is promoting an add-ons program within the Cookiebot dashboard, led by Audience Survey, which collects first-party attribution directly from visitors using the existing script; add-ons are included in current plans during a launch period and further add-ons are described as in development. Messaging increasingly focuses on preserving ad-campaign performance amid consent decline, citing an average EU consent decline rate of 40–54% and the multiplication of US state privacy laws.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history, risks & controversies
Market position
Described by a third-party reviewer as one of the most widely deployed CMPs on the market, with hundreds of thousands of installations and frequent inclusion in "best CMP" roundups. The company reports consent infrastructure for 2.4 million websites and apps, 8.8 billion monthly user consents and 600,000+ customers. The same review scored it 7.0/10 overall, rating features, ease of use and compliance coverage at 7.5, pricing at 6.5 and support at 5.5.
Emphasized differentiators include patented automated scanning with a 13,000+ entry cookie repository and a claim of detecting 63% more data processing services than competing CMPs; Google Gold Tier certified Consent Mode v2 support plus Microsoft and Amazon consent signaling from a single script; IAB TCF 2.3 registration for publishers; ISO 27001 and 27701 certifications and HIPAA readiness; accessibility conformance (WCAG 2.2, WAI-ARIA) and Global Privacy Control support; and an add-on model that extends functionality without additional code or vendors.
Technology
Patented automated scanning technology that crawls websites monthly (or on demand) to identify and classify cookies and trackers, backed by a repository of 13,000+ cookie entries; the company claims detection of 63% more data processing services than any other CMP. Consent banners support 47+ languages with auto-translation, CSS-level customization, WCAG 2.2 and WAI-ARIA accessibility standards, Global Privacy Control signals, and geotargeted rule sets. Integrations cover Google Consent Mode v2, Microsoft UET and Clarity Consent Mode, Amazon Consent Signal, IAB TCF 2.3, and API/SDK connections on the Advanced tier. Add-ons run on the same deployed script. The company cites ISO 27001 and ISO 27701 certifications and HIPAA readiness.
Go-to-market
Self-service, product-led motion: free website scan, free plan for sites under 50 subpages, and a 14-day premium trial with no credit card required. Distribution runs through direct plugins and app-store listings for WordPress, Wix and Shopify plus 30+ other CMSs, Google Tag Manager and Tealium tag-manager deployment, and a reseller partner program for agencies. Localized web presence includes a dedicated US site addressing state privacy laws, and a newsletter is used for ongoing marketing.
Website operators of varying sizes: small business owners and solopreneurs without legal or developer resources; marketing and growth teams concerned with ad-platform attribution as consent rates fall; agencies and web professionals managing compliance across many client domains; and, via the Usercentrics Advanced tier, advanced businesses and enterprises with multi-brand, multi-region needs. A third-party review describes an install base spanning e-commerce stores, SaaS products and publisher sites.
Geography
Originated in Copenhagen, Denmark (Cybot) and now part of Munich-based Usercentrics. The platform is sold internationally, with localized regional sites (including a dedicated US site), pricing in eight currencies including Nordic and Central European ones, banner support for 47+ languages, geotargeting for regional regulations, and compliance templates spanning the EU, US states, Brazil (LGPD) and South Africa (POPIA).
History
Cookiebot was founded in 2012 by Danish company Cybot, based in Copenhagen and led by CEO/co-founder Daniel Johannsen (also rendered Daniel Johansen), with the launch of what the company describes as the first CMP. Businessman Lars Kolind served as both investor and chairman of the board. In January 2021 US investor Full In Partners took a majority stake in Cybot in a transaction intermediated by Nordic M&A; Johannsen retained partial ownership and a director role while Kolind stepped down from his investor and chairman roles. Also in 2021 Cybot and Usercentrics, a Munich-based privacy technology company, merged, with the Cookiebot brand becoming part of Usercentrics. In September 2023 and January 2025 the account platform changed, producing separate legacy "Manager" and current "Admin" login paths.
Risks & controversies
An independent 2026 review flags pricing opacity as a concern: the advertised €7/month entry price is a floor, actual cost scales with automatically detected subpage count, and subscriptions auto-upgrade at the end of a billing cycle with no manual override. The same review notes support is email-only across all plans with no live chat or phone line, that automatic re-scans run only monthly (leaving a window in which newly added third-party scripts may fire before consent is collected), that deeper banner template customization requires higher tiers, and that the dashboard UX is dated relative to newer CMPs. Business risk is also tied to a fast-changing regulatory landscape across 50+ regimes and to declining consent rates in the EU.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 4
launches, deals, and filingsCookiebot promotes a new Audience Survey add-on that captures first-party attribution data from site visitors within the existing Cookiebot dashboard and script, alongside a broader add-ons program activated from the Add-ons tab.
US-based Full In Partners took over the majority of shares in Copenhagen-based Cybot, the developer of Cookiebot, in a deal intermediated by Nordic M&A. Founder Daniel Johannsen retained some ownership and a director role, while investor and board chairman Lars Kolind stepped down from both roles.
Cookiebot's about page records a 2021 merger of Cybot and Usercentrics; a third-party review describes Usercentrics, a Munich-based privacy tech company, as having acquired the Cookiebot brand in 2021. The product is now marketed as Cookiebot CMP by Usercentrics.
Cookiebot was founded in 2012 and launched what the company describes as the first CMP, created by co-founder Daniel Johannsen.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Cookiebotcookiebot.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Cookiebot do?
- Cookiebot is a consent management platform by Usercentrics that scans sites for cookies and automates visitor consent.
- Who are Cookiebot's investors?
- Cookiebot's investors include Bain Capital Ventures, Foundamental, GC Angels, Heartcore Capital, LocalGlobe, Maven Capital Partners, Mid Europa Partners, Next47 and 3 more.