Our verdict on Real Cookie Banner

Real Cookie Banner is a strong free option for an adult WordPress site with European traffic: consent records stay in your database and ad network tags can be blocked by URL without paying. It is built around EU rules, and its pages advertise no CCPA features, so a US-first paysite will find more for American laws elsewhere.

Real Cookie Banner page on devowl.io headed Cookie Banner and Consent Management for your WordPress website, with the Privacy preferences dialog on the right showing same-size Accept all and Continue without consent buttons, a Set privacy settings individually link and a notice for visitors under 16 — Real Cookie Banner

What the free version of Real Cookie Banner does

The free plugin documents each consent in your WordPress database, with statistics, and needs no devowl.io account. It honors the Do Not Track header, ships in 19 EU languages and works with WPML, Polylang, TranslatePress and Weglot. Most service templates and design presets are PRO only, so a free setup means describing more services by hand. The number of services is not capped: a one-star WordPress.org review titled “Free version is useless” claimed a one-service limit, and devowl.io’s managing directors replied that the free version allows unlimited services.

Its scanner looks for known services and flags unknown ones. It does not list cookies, and devowl.io argues that a cookie scanner misses much of what needs consent.

Blocking ExoClick or TrafficJunky tags by URL

A content blocker holds back a script, an iframe or an HTML element by URL, ID or class, and releases it once the visitor accepts the linked service. No adult ad network is among the templates, so ExoClick, TrafficStars or TrafficJunky get a marketing service and a blocker on their script URL. devowl.io also takes requests for new templates at no cost.

PRO features and pricing

Licence	Sites	Per year, incl. VAT
Single	1	€59
Starter	3	€89
Professional	5	€129
Business	10	€229
Agency	25	€299

PRO adds 160+ service and 130+ blocker templates, IAB TCF with a Google-certified CMP for AdSense, Google Consent Mode with Google Tag Manager and Matomo Tag Manager support, geo-restricted banners, consent forwarding across sites and a generated cookie policy. Each licence covers as many staging sites as live ones,, and devowl.io’s terms add a 14-day money-back guarantee on the first purchase.

Real Cookie Banner strengths and limitations

Strengths

Free consent records in your database.
URL blocking on the free version.
Google-certified TCF on PRO.

Limitations

No templates for adult ad networks.
No CCPA features advertised.
Consent Mode and geo rules need PRO.

Real Cookie Banner or GDPR Cookie Compliance

GDPR Cookie Compliance also keeps consent data on your server, but its consent log and geo-targeting are Premium, priced in pounds from £59 a year. Real Cookie Banner logs consent for free and lets you block tags by URL without moving them. For a site that wants proof of consent without a licence, Real Cookie Banner goes further.