A likeable banner is not proof. CookieSentry shows what actually fires before consent and generates the GDPR documents to back it up.
Axeptio is a French consent management platform (SaaS, with WordPress and Shopify SDK integrations) best known for friendly, conversational, brand-rich banner UX, complete with video, motion design and native A/B testing. It is a Google-certified CMP with Gold status, certified for Google Consent Mode v2 and IAB TCF v2.3, ISO/IEC 27001 certified, and runs on a tiered subscription that scales with traffic and feature level, from a small free plan up to enterprise. If your priority is a beautiful, configurable consent widget, Axeptio is a strong, well-credentialed choice. CookieSentry is a different kind of tool: it is not a consent banner and not a CMP. It is an audit-and-evidence layer that loads your live site like a real visitor, catches the cookies and trackers that fire before consent, names their source, and generates localized GDPR documents mapped to the national rules that actually apply. Where Axeptio gives you the banner, CookieSentry proves the banner is working and documents it.
€325M + €150M
CNIL cookie fines on Google and Shein in a single day (3 Sep 2025) for consent violations
CNIL sanctions 2025
€486M+
Total CNIL sanctions across 83 decisions in 2025, with cookies a leading theme
CNIL, Sanctions and corrective measures 2025
11
Organizations put on formal notice by the CNIL in Dec 2024 over dark-pattern cookie banners
CNIL formal notices, Dec 2024
0
Subpage surcharges with CookieSentry: flat pricing that does not scale by page count
CookieSentry pricing
Axeptio's Shake scanner inventories cookies to help you configure the banner. CookieSentry runs an independent, visitor-perspective scan that flags every cookie and tracker firing BEFORE consent and names its source, the exact gap a regulator looks for. It is verification of your live behavior, separate from the tool that serves the banner.
Beyond auditing, CookieSentry generates GDPR documents such as cookie and privacy policies localized to the rules that actually apply, Germany's Section 25 TDDDG, plus Poland, Denmark, Sweden and pan-EU ePrivacy, not a France-only or generic baseline. A CMP gives you a banner; CookieSentry gives you the paperwork that has to match it.
Anyone can run a free CookieSentry scan with no signup and get an indexable report plus a downloadable PDF to hand to a privacy team, agency or counsel. That exportable audit evidence is the artifact you produce when a DPA asks you to demonstrate compliance, not a screenshot of a banner.
Axeptio was founded in France and built its reputation on rehumanizing the cookie banner: instead of a generic compliance wall, it offers a conversational, brand-rich consent experience with video, motion design, custom typography and native A/B testing. It is a Google CMP Gold partner, certified for Google Consent Mode v2 and IAB TCF v2.3, ISO/IEC 27001 certified, and reportedly running on well over 200,000 sites. That is a serious CMP, and the banner is the product.
But the banner is also the boundary. A CMP's core job is to collect and signal consent; its scanner exists mainly to populate the banner's vendor list. The harder regulatory question, what actually fired on your page before the visitor clicked anything, sits just outside that remit. CookieSentry is built specifically for that question, which is why the two tools are complementary rather than competing.
No regulator illustrates the gap between a nice banner and demonstrable compliance better than France's CNIL. On 3 September 2025 it fined Google EUR 325 million and Shein EUR 150 million for cookie consent violations, part of more than EUR 486 million in sanctions across 83 decisions that year. In December 2024 it put eleven organizations on formal notice over dark-pattern banners, where refusing cookies was made harder than accepting them under Article 82 of the French Data Protection Act.
The lesson is that enforcement turns on behavior, not aesthetics. A friendly, well-A/B-tested banner can still sit on top of a page that drops analytics and advertising cookies before consent is given, and that is precisely what gets penalized. CookieSentry exists to catch that mismatch before a regulator does: it shows you, in plain terms, which trackers fire pre-consent and where they come from.
This is not a rip-and-replace pitch. If Axeptio runs your consent UI, keep it, especially if you rely on its TCF and Consent Mode integrations for advertising. CookieSentry slots in alongside as the independent layer that verifies what your stack actually does and produces the GDPR documents to match.
If a team adopted Axeptio largely for its Shake scanner and audit reporting, CookieSentry can take over that half: continuous, visitor-perspective scanning plus exportable PDF evidence, plus national-law document generation that goes well beyond France. You get a clean separation of duties, the CMP serves consent, CookieSentry proves and documents it, which is exactly the kind of accountability trail Article 5(2) of the GDPR expects.
'Consent' of the data subject means any freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the data subject's wishes by which he or she, by a statement or by a clear affirmative action, signifies agreement to the processing of personal data relating to him or her.
| Capability | CookieSentry | Axeptio |
|---|---|---|
| Consent banner / CMPAxeptio is a full CMP; CookieSentry deliberately does not serve a banner. | ||
| IAB TCF supportAxeptio is IAB TCF v2.3 certified for programmatic advertising. | ||
| Automatic pre-consent cookie scanningAxeptio's Shake scans to populate the banner; CookieSentry independently flags what fires before consent and names the source. | ||
| Free public scan (no signup)Axeptio offers a free Shake checker; CookieSentry's public scan needs no account. | ||
| GDPR document generationCookieSentry generates localized privacy/cookie policies and records. | ||
| Exportable audit evidence (PDF)Axeptio logs consent events; CookieSentry produces a shareable, downloadable audit report for counsel. | ||
| National-law overlaysCookieSentry maps to DE TDDDG, PL, DK, SE and pan-EU ePrivacy; Axeptio covers GDPR/Law 25/nFADP. | ||
| Google Consent Mode v2 certifiedAxeptio is a Google CMP Gold partner certified for Consent Mode v2. | ||
| Pricing modelAxeptio plans step up with visitor volume and capabilities. | Flat, does not scale by subpage count | Tiered, scales with traffic and feature level |
A CMP collects the consent signal, but cookies that fire before the visitor clicks are a separate, code-level reality. CookieSentry loads your live URL as a real visitor and reports exactly which trackers run pre-consent, the evidence a CNIL-style audit hinges on.
Axeptio's home regulator is the CNIL, but if you operate across the EU you also answer to Germany's Section 25 TDDDG, plus Polish, Danish and Swedish rules. CookieSentry's documents and checks are mapped to those national overlays, not a single jurisdiction.
Under GDPR Art. 5(2) accountability, you must be able to demonstrate compliance. CookieSentry's downloadable PDF report and indexable public scan give a privacy team, agency or counsel a concrete artifact, not a claim that the banner looks correct.
Axeptio is best for teams whose top priority is the consent experience itself: a polished, on-brand, conversational banner they can customize with video and motion design, A/B test for opt-in rate, and deploy with full Google Consent Mode v2 and IAB TCF v2.3 support. As a Google CMP Gold partner used on hundreds of thousands of sites, it is a credible, advertising-grade CMP, exactly the kind of consent UI CookieSentry deliberately does not build. If you run programmatic advertising that depends on TCF, or you want a designer-friendly banner builder, Axeptio's banner and CMP are a genuine strength that CookieSentry does not offer, and you should keep using it for that job.
Axeptio uses tiered subscriptions that step up with traffic volume and feature level, from a small free plan to enterprise, which is normal for a CMP but means costs rise as you grow. CookieSentry's pricing is flat and predictable and does not scale by subpage count, so a large multi-page site pays the same for full audit coverage. Because the two tools do different jobs, the honest framing is not cheaper-than-Axeptio but additive: a modest, fixed audit-and-documents cost on top of whatever banner you already run.
There is nothing to rip out. Keep your Axeptio banner exactly as it is, it remains your consent UI, your TCF signal and your Google Consent Mode v2 integration. Add CookieSentry alongside it as the layer that independently proves what fires before consent and generates and maintains your GDPR documents across EU national rules. If you originally adopted Axeptio mainly for its Shake scanner and audit reporting, CookieSentry can take over that audit half while your banner stays put. Never swap your consent script for CookieSentry; it is not a banner.
No. CookieSentry is not a consent banner and not a CMP, and it does not implement IAB TCF. Keep Axeptio (or any banner) for the consent UI. CookieSentry adds an independent audit that proves what fires before consent and generates your GDPR documents. The two are designed to work together.
Yes, Axeptio's Shake scanner inventories cookies, mainly to populate and configure the banner. CookieSentry runs a separate, visitor-perspective scan focused on what fires before consent, names the source of each tracker, and turns it into exportable evidence, an independent check rather than a setup helper for the banner.
If you genuinely operate only in France, Axeptio's CNIL-focused setup may be all the banner you need. But CookieSentry's value is audit evidence and documents, which apply regardless of jurisdiction, and the moment you serve visitors in Germany, Poland, Denmark or Sweden, the national overlays (such as Section 25 TDDDG) become relevant. CookieSentry covers those out of the box.
A shareable, indexable scan report plus a downloadable PDF listing every cookie and tracker that fired before consent and where it came from, alongside generated GDPR documents localized to the applicable national rules. That is the concrete accountability artifact GDPR Art. 5(2) expects, rather than a screenshot of a banner.
Weighing more than one option? See how CookieSentry stacks up against the other consent tools on the market.
Run a free CookieSentry scan on your live pages, catch early-firing cookies, and export evidence your privacy team or agency can act on — no signup required.
Run a free scan →Comparison last reviewed 2026-06-14. Axeptio is a trademark of its respective owner; competitor details are described in good faith and may change over time.