CookieConsent (Orest Bida) vs. Zest
CookieConsent by Orest Bida is the lightweight champion of the vanilla-JS consent world: a GitHub favorite with thousands of stars, no dependencies, and a v3 rewrite that made it smaller still. Zest plays the same sport: plain JavaScript, no framework, self-hostable. Two minimal tools, different philosophies.
Head to head
| CookieConsent | Zest | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, open source (sponsorware) | Free forever, MIT |
| Script weight | Lightweight; CSS ships as a separate file you load too | 16KB gzipped, styles included, no extra CSS link |
| Setup | Author a config module: categories, translations, modal sections, then CookieConsent.run() |
Paste one script; defaults work out of the box |
| Script blocking | Manual: block per script via API calls in your config | Automatic in safe mode: known trackers gated with zero listing, plus manual and strict modes |
| Geo rules | Not built in; you wire geo logic yourself | geo: true: each visitor mapped to GDPR, UK GDPR, 19 US state laws, LGPD, PIPEDA and more |
| Consent Mode v2 | Not built in | One config flag |
| GPC / DNT | GPC not built in | respectDNT with configurable behavior, GPC honored |
| Languages | Bring your own translations in config | 12, auto-detected from the visitor’s browser |
| UI | Two modals you compose and style | Shadow DOM, themes, no styling conflicts, follows system theme |
| Maintenance model | Solo maintainer, sponsorware | Open source with a company behind it |
Where CookieConsent wins
- Huge community: thousands of GitHub stars, answered issues, copy-paste recipes for every platform are easy to find.
- Battle-tested: years in production across far more sites than a young project like Zest has shipped to yet.
Where Zest wins
- No config authoring to get started: paste, publish, compliant defaults.
- Auto-blocking of known trackers means the failure mode (forgot to block one) is covered.
- Geo decisions, Consent Mode v2, and GPC are built in, not DIY projects.
- Styles live inside the bundle: one
<script>tag, no separate CSS link to manage.
Pick CookieConsent if
You want a consent UI you compose yourself, you are happy maintaining the config, and your site needs nothing geo-aware. It is a good tool made by one careful person.
Pick Zest if
You want the whole compliance surface, blocking plus geo plus consent mode, from a single script with defaults. Configure it in the playground, paste, done.
FAQ
Is CookieConsent the same as the old CookieConsent.com? No. This is Orest Bida’s vanilla-cookieconsent on GitHub. The similarly named old silktide/insites plugin is a different, abandoned project.
Does CookieConsent block scripts for me?
It gives you the API to block them, but you write the blocking logic per script. Zest gates known tracker domains automatically in safe mode.
Can I self-host either? Yes, both. Zest is one file; CookieConsent is a JS bundle plus a CSS file.
Why choose a sponsored solo project over a company-backed one? Both are legitimate. Solo projects ship great software; the risk is bus factor. Zest is MIT-licensed too, so if we vanish tomorrow, your banner keeps working and the code stays yours.
* Pricing and plan details for third-party products change often. This page reflects what we could verify on November 4, 2026 — check the vendor's current pricing before you decide.