iubenda vs Termly: Where the Consent Log and TCF Start

The short answer: if you must be able to show each visitor's consent choice without buying a top tier, iubenda keeps a consent log from its free plan and adds the IAB framework from Essentials, €4.99 a month per site billed yearly, while Termly keeps consent logs, IAB TCF 2.3 and Advanced Consent Mode for Pro+, $15 per website a month billed annually (iubenda pricing, Termly pricing, both checked on 26 October 2026). Termly's Starter, $10 a month billed annually, suits a site with mostly US visitors that needs two policies and a banner seen up to 50,000 times a month, in one language.

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Three checks before either checkout:

1. Put a year on each plan. iubenda Essentials is €4.99 x 12 = €59.88 a year before VAT. Termly Starter is $10 x 12 = $120 and Pro+ $15 x 12 = $180 on annual billing; on monthly billing they are $14 and $20, or $168 and $240 a year (iubenda pricing, Termly pricing).
2. Start from the documents you already publish. Termly's Starter allows two legal policies and ten policy edits; iubenda's Essentials writes the privacy and cookie policy with up to 20 clauses and leaves terms and conditions to Advanced. If your terms already exist and are maintained elsewhere, that difference shrinks.
3. Export a week of evidence. Whichever you run, pull seven days of consent records and check that refusals appear as well as acceptances. A log that holds only yeses proves nothing.

The rules that make the log matter

Cookie banners exist to meet Article 5(3) of the ePrivacy Directive, which since its 2009 amendment conditions any storage on, or reading from, a visitor's device on informed consent, save for transmitting a communication and for what a requested service strictly needs (consolidated text on EUR-Lex). Where consent is the legal basis for processing personal data, Article 7(1) of the GDPR adds that the controller must be able to demonstrate that the person consented (GDPR on EUR-Lex). A consent log is how a small team shows that; the Dutch reading of the analytics exception is in the consent-friendly analytics use case.

Neither vendor takes that duty off you. Termly's footer says it is not a law firm and that its software and information are for self-help purposes (Termly pricing). iubenda's auto-blocking guide warns that switching automatic blocking on or off changes the embed code, which then has to be pasted again (auto-blocking guide). Choosing the categories, the Consent Mode setting and the regions is configuration you own.

For publishers, Google's rule for AdSense, Ad Manager and AdMob is a certified platform integrated with the IAB framework for personalised ads in the EEA, the UK and Switzerland (Google's requirement). Its list, read on 26 October 2026, has Termly under CMP ID 412 for web and iubenda under 123 for web and app, with Google noting that certification is not a full compliance check; both IDs are on IAB Europe's CMP list, and both vendors hold Gold status in Google's CMP Partner Program.

Check by check

Prices on 26 October 2026

iubenda, per site, billed yearly, excluding VAT, checked on 26 October 2026: Free up to 5,000 pageviews; Essentials €4.99 a month for 25,000; Advanced €19.99 for 50,000; Ultimate €79.99 for 150,000; €0.05 per extra 1,000 pageviews (iubenda pricing).

Termly, per website, USD, checked the same day: Free for 10,000 banner views a month; Starter $10 a month billed annually or $14 monthly for 50,000; Pro+ $15 billed annually or $20 monthly with unlimited banner views; Agency on a custom plan from 10 websites (Termly pricing). The page also carried a seasonal discount code on 26 October 2026; budget on the list price.

An assistant that edits the policy

iubenda's connector for Claude and ChatGPT works on any plan, Free included (connector page). When you add a tool to the site, ask it to "Add Google Analytics to my policy"; it adds the clause and updates the live policy in place. The human check: before confirming, the privacy owner compares the clause with how the tool is set up on your site, its retention and its data sharing, because the policy now describes that setup to every visitor. Termly offers API access to partners and agencies through a request form, with functionality it describes as limited at launch (Termly API announcement); it documents no assistant connector.

The tier the log lives in

Termly's page leads with Starter at $10, and Starter leaves out consent logs; they arrive with Pro+ at $15, alongside the IAB framework and Advanced Consent Mode (Termly pricing). The record a European site would most need to produce is the feature that moves a buyer up a tier. If EU visitors matter, price Pro+ from the start rather than discovering the gap at an audit.

Choose iubenda if

• Your job is EU consent with evidence on a small budget: the log from Free, the IAB framework from Essentials.
• You run ads that need the IAB framework, or an app that needs the mobile SDK on Ultimate.
• You want an assistant to keep the policy in step with the site.

Choose Termly if

• Your job is a mostly US site that needs policies and a banner, where unlimited banner views on Pro+ remove the meter.
• You publish several legal documents, which Pro+ leaves uncapped.
• You prefer a 30-day refund window to a 14-day one.

FAQ

Does Termly's Starter plan keep consent logs?

No. The plan comparison marks consent logs for Pro+ and Agency only (Termly pricing).

Does iubenda's free plan record consent?

Yes. The free plan's limits page lists a database log for all consent or opt-out actions (free plan).

Is either vendor giving legal advice?

No. Termly says so in its footer (Termly pricing), and iubenda calls its help guides purely informative documentation (free plan); the configuration and the judgement remain yours.