Best GDPR Compliance Software

The GDPR's primary purpose is to protect the rights of individuals and guard them against organizational overreach. It does so by mandating that businesses obtain the consent of customers to store, transfer, and process their data.

Clients must be able to know exactly how their data is used, and are entitled to have their data deleted or changed with proper requests. Companies must also invest in workflows to protect user data, and have to notify the public in the case of a data breach.

The EU has levied significant fines on companies for GDPR violations.

As such, all modern businesses must take the proper steps to ensure GDPR compliance. In this article, we'll discuss the best GDPR compliance software and show you which one meets your needs. 

The GDPR's primary purpose is to protect the rights of individuals and guard them against organizational overreach. It does so by mandating that businesses obtain the consent of customers to store, transfer, and process their data.

Best GDPR Services: Summary

This review will cover a range of aspects of GDPR, so while some of our recommendations are rival systems, others complement the pool of IT systems in operation because they cover different aspects of GDPR compliance requirements. The best of these tools are:

1. Enzuzo (Best All-Round Software) – A good choice for mid-market businesses
2. Termly – An affordable alternative for cookie consent management
3. Auditboard – Compliance management for network-centred companies
4. OneTrust – A range of privacy management services for large businesses
5. Transcend – Highly automated data privacy infrastructure
6. Axeptio – A fun, quirky consent banner
7. PrivacyPage – Provides a self-service DSAR framework
8. TrustArc – An extensive governance, risk, and compliance (GRC) platform

Do I Need GDPR for My Website?

Clients must be able to know exactly how their data is used, and are entitled to have their data deleted or changed with proper requests. Companies must also invest in workflows to protect user data, and have to notify the public in the case of a data breach.

The EU has levied significant fines on companies for GDPR violations.

As such, all modern businesses must take the proper steps to ensure GDPR compliance. In this article, we'll discuss the best GDPR compliance software and show you which one meets your needs. 

What Do You Need For GDPR Compliance?

GDPR compliance can be a complex topic to unravel, but the main focus is on highlighting transparency, accountability, and user consent. 

The main provisions for GDPR compliance include:

Website Consent Management

Your website must inform its users of all personal data collected, explicitly ask for consent to activate cookies that track, and keep a record of this consent. 

Enzuzo's consent management software covers this requirement from start to finish.

Right to be Forgotten

Under the GDPR, all customers have the right to request a copy of their data held by businesses and for it to be deleted from servers. This is typically done via a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR) form.

Enzuzo offers DSAR software to help organizations cater to data access and data deletion requests. 

Notice of Data Collected

Businesses must inform customers which personal data they collect and how long they store it for. This is outlined via a privacy policy that should be freely accessible. What's more, businesses must show legitimate reasons for collecting data and not store information they do not need.

Use a privacy policy generator to meet this GDPR requirement. 

Record of Processing Activities

Under GDPR Article 30, all businesses must have an accurate and reliable picture of the data currently stored and be able to present a record of it. This can be done via data mapping templates.

Data Breach Notifications

Under the GDPR, it is mandatory for businesses to inform both users and government authorities of any data breaches and keep them in the loop about remedial measures. That's why features like incident management and vendor risk assessment are critical tools in GDPR compliance software.

The Best GDPR Compliance Tools

Our list of the best GDPR compliance software is based on an ability to meet the GDPR compliance requirements listed above. We also consider cost, customer support, user experience, app integrations, and customer reviews.

A detailed breakdown of our criteria can be found towards the end of this post.

Here's our list of the top GDPR compliance platforms:

1. Enzuzo (Best All-Round Software)

Enzuzo integrates all of the key features described above to make a genuinely great software package. It helps reach GDPR compliance with adequate security measures, well-integrated tools like consent forms and data subject requests, and a clean, easy-to-use interface.

Let's show you why it's our most recommended tool.

Built-In Cookie Scanning and Consent Management Dashboards

As we mentioned above, website consent management is a crucial aspect of GDPR compliance. With Enzuzo, you do not have to manually enter cookies into your consent manager as the scanner automatically detects and categorizes cookies.

For example, let's assume that you use Facebook pixel to track conversion events. That's a cookie script that identifies users based on IP addresses, browser type, and more. Some software will ask you to add this manually to your consent manager — not Enzuzo, though. 

Enzuzo's cookie scanning and consent management tools are expertly engineered and battle-tested to be compliant with GDPR and other data privacy laws. It's a straightforward plug-and-play solution that hits the ground running.

DSAR Workflows and Data Deletion Requests 

Data access and deletion requests are critical to comply with GDPR's 'Right to be Forgotten'. A data subject access request form is the best way to go about this. Enzuzo includes DSAR workflows in its Growth Plan for just $29/month, and installation is quick — only a few lines of JavaScript added to your website's <head> tag.

Compliance with Google Consent Mode

Enzuzo is a Google-certified consent management provider, meaning it is able to offer compliance with consent mode and can help organizations use Ads in Europe. 

This is hugely important; Google updated its guidelines recently to mandate that companies must integrate with a certified vendor to use its ads service. 

Enzuzo worked with regulators in Europe to obtain the IAB Europe Transparency and Consent Framework (TCF) certification, followed by Google CMP vetted status just a few weeks later.

Notice of Data Collected

Enzuzo's privacy policies are vetted by human lawyers and deal with this aspect of GDPR compliance perfectly. What's more, they auto-update whenever regulations change.

Record of Processing Activities & Incident Management

This is an advanced GDPR compliance feature, but it’s offered in Enzuzo’s enterprise plan. This feature isn't a requirement for small companies, and we recommend only mid-market enterprises and above take it into consideration. Enzuzo's advanced GDPR compliance features also include data mapping, data remediation, vendor risk assessment, and more. 

👉 Read How Global Conglomerate Lucy Group Picked Enzuzo As Its Data Privacy Partner 

Onboarding, UX, and Customer Support

These are critical aspects to evaluate, as any software must be intuitive and easy to use. Data privacy compliance is a sensitive issue, so customer support must be friendly and readily available to solve any implementation issues. And the software itself must not affect website performance or conversion — a compliance tool should hold its own and allow the other core software to do its job.

Enzuzo's reviews talk favorably about all three aspects. For example, here's one showing how easy it is to install the app:

Here's another review with glowing praise of Enzuzo's customer support.

Pricing

We're of the opinion that compliance shouldn't create a hole in your budget so large that you need to scale back marketing or customer acquisition spend. And that's where Enzuzo shines.

GDPR compliance for smaller companies can be achieved in as little as $29/month. Enterprise customers with advanced needs will get a custom pricing plan, but one that will certainly be priced at a discount to the competition. What's more, all plans ship with: 

• Support for 25+ languages: The EU is home to many non-English speakers, including Spanish, Portuguese, German, and more. Enzuzo offers support for 25+ languages, making it easy for consumers worldwide to understand how you protect their data and stay compliant with GDPR as well as other data privacy laws.
  
  
• Varied platform integration: Enzuzo has a native Shopify app and integrates with a host of other platforms, including WordPress, Webflow, Wix, and more. 
• Automatic software and policy updates: Data privacy laws are never static. Enzuzo's legal workflows adapt according to changes in the privacy and regulatory landscape, meaning there's no need to keep in-house counsel or engage a privacy lawyer. 

Learn more about how Enzuzo can assist with your GDPR compliance needs. Book 1-1 time👇

2. Termly

You will probably want to compare several consent management platforms (CMPs) before you commit to subscribing. Termly is a popular solution, providing a cost-effective, simple solution to the process of meeting stringent data protection regulations. 

If you are running a low-volume website as a side hustle, Termly’s free plan will probably be enough for you. That option will handle up to 10,000 impressions per month. Those running a full online business from a site will need to jump up to a paid plan for features such as Google Consent Mode and weekly cookie scans.

This service has a lot in common with Enzuzo, such as policy page generation. You get more features with successively higher plans – there are four in total. The Agency plan lets you manage multiple websites within the same account, meaning you don’t have to pay out for a separate subscription for each of the sites that you run. 

Termly can give you a form to put on your site in order to receive DSARs. However, that feature doesn’t automate the entire DSAR management process and it is a little less sophisticated than the Enzuzo service. 

3. Auditboard

Auditboard is another comprehensive data compliance, network auditing, and IT protection digital security platform. Besides offering a ton of risk management and operational evaluation systems, it helps your organization stay compliant with over 10 different regulatory systems around the world, including GDPR. Auditboard is easy to update, and offers a free plan for those who only need access to its more basic features.

However, Auditboard has a few different issues that hold it back. While the free plan is great, the pricing escalates quickly as you try to use more features. It doesn’t integrate well with some platforms, and offers very limited customization once it is implemented into your system. 

It also doesn't offer things like gap analysis, unauthorized disclosure protection, and data mapping.

Lastly, Auditboard doesn’t offer automation for some features that are performed automatically through other software services. You’ll likely need a dedicated engineer or data compliance officer focused on using this software to utilize Auditboard to its full potential. 

4. OneTrust

OneTrust is a good choice for companies with large budgets. The platform helps in staying compliant with over 25 regulatory bodies, including GDPR, with features to enhance privacy management, data governance, IT risk & security assurance, and a host of other features. Automation, cloud data storage and discovery, privacy, training, and other digital research tools make it a great data management and risk assessment platform.

However, like we mentioned above, OneTrust is built for large enterprise companies with their own established IT network and is priced accordingly. The free trial is only for 14 days, after which you’re locked into a lengthy contract. While you do get truly global data privacy compliance and a long list of other great network protection features, only the biggest companies will need that much guidance and protection. 

While OneTrust is working on a network data platform solution for small and mid-size businesses, it is still too expensive for the average company to justify. Unless you need features such as automated data discovery, sensitive data redaction, integrated ISMS workflows, data processing activities, and similar features, your firm will be just fine using another data compliance software package.

Looking for companies similar to OneTrust? Check out our blog on OneTrust alternatives. 

5. Transcend

Transcend advertises its software as privacy on autopilot, and they mean it. This is one of the most user-friendly solutions, helping you stay compliant with the GDPR and several other important global data privacy laws. Along with solid privacy management tools, Transcend helps your organization improve its organizational data handling visibility and improve data handling consent. This is also one of the most affordable GDPR compliance software solutions on our list.While it is very easy to use, Transcend is also one of the most basic in terms of GDPR compliance software functionality. There’s no API key and limited system integration, no analytics and little data mapping to see how your users interact with your applications, and few security enhancements to protect consumer data. 

Transcend's limited range of key features makes it an okay-ish tool, but firms looking for better data management,

6. Axeptio

Axepito is an easy-to-integrate and unobtrusive cookie widget. Highly customizable, it’s a fantastic way to manage consumer consent when they visit your website. Besides consent storage, higher price plans provide great analytics and other advanced data tools to improve the consumer experience when interacting with your company.

The flip side is that Axepito plans are based on pageviews, with progressive pricing that can skyrocket if you exceed your monthly allotted use. Furthermore, it is very limited to just a simple cookie and consent widget. While this is a fantastic way to handle consumer consent and some personal information, Axeptio doesn’t offer the same analytics or processing activities as other software packages.

Axepito helps with GDPR compliance, but due to its limited focus, you will have to consider using it in tandem with other compliance software, especially if you are concerned about other global data regulations like CCPA or PIPEDA.

7. PrivacyPage

PrivacyPage is a simple-to-use app focused on consent management. It is very user-friendly for both consumers and businesses, allowing compliance professionals to build things like consent forms and handle customer data.

Paying for more expensive plans doesn’t give you many features beyond additional integrations though, and there is little network support and security enhancements beyond basic consent and personal information data storage.

8. TrustArc

TrustArc offers a comprehensive menu of governance, risk and compliance tools for all types of businesses. The company’s products include a cookie consent management tool as well as AI compliance, DSAR management, and vendor risk assessments. This is a suitable supplier for large companies and it is particularly competent at training and guidance for all privacy regulation issues, including GDPR.

Additional Criteria for the Best GDPR Compliance Software

Other than the key requirements listed above, we also took into account the following aspects while reviewing the top twelve software in this list. These are:

• Secure & sensitive data handling: Compliance software handles a lot of personally identifiable information, and the security safeguards must be at an ironclad level. We evaluated each software based on how well it followed best-in-class security protocols.
  
  
• Easy to use UI: The best software balances functionality with user interface and user experience needs. Clunky, and difficult to use apps may deliver a basic level of GDPR compliance but will frustrate users and cause implementation hurdles. Our list takes into consideration whether the compliance management software has an easy-to-use user interface, along with a well-designed dashboard and a quick operational learning curve.
   
• Automatic privacy policy updates: GDPR and many other data privacy acts around the world, are in constant flux. Regulations about privacy policies can change rapidly. The top GDPR compliance software platforms help organizations adjust with each legislative update while helping consumers understand how their data will be handled differently with each policy update.
   
• Personalization and customization: Organizations and businesses have different needs, meaning that certain GDPR regulations will apply more than others. GDPR compliance software that caters to businesses and their specific needs offers a clear advantage over software and platforms that do not.
  
  
• Global data privacy protection: If your organization needs software to ensure compliance with GDPR data privacy laws, chances are you’ll need to be compliant with similar laws like CCPA, PIPEDA, and more. When looking for the best tools, you should also look at data platforms that also provide compliance with the other major data privacy regulations around the world.
  
  
• Pricing plans: There are many different pricing plans for data platform solutions. Some charge per page view. Others charge based on the features that you want. A few offer discounts on annual plans, while others lock you into a contract for a period of time.  

GDPR Compliance Software FAQs

Is cookie consent management necessary for GDPR?

GDPR is one of the main reasons that you encounter messages about the use of cookies and pop-ups that require site visitors to accept or reject them. So, if you haven’t set up a cookie consent banner for your website, you need to address this issue quickly. 

Not all cookies and tracking scripts need to be declared. Marketing cookies need consent, but operational cookies that help your site function, such as those that help a shopping cart to work, do not. It is advisable to subscribe to a cookie consent management package in order to properly manage this complicated matter.

Is DSAR part of GDPR?

A data subject access request (DSAR) is a mechanism by which a person on whom you hold data can request to see exactly what information you hold about them and also correct that data if it is incorrect. If you operate your site through a content management system or a selling platform and that system deals with data storage, you won’t need to implement data storage. 

If you process your sales yourself or invite site visitors to give you email addresses, you will need to implement a DSAR option. This is a requirement of GDPR’s Article 15.

Is Google Consent Mode the Same as GDPR?

Google Consent Mode is not part of GDPR. It is a mechanism that Google created in order for its services, particularly Google Ads, to become GDPR compliant. You will need a consent management provider that is Google Consent Mode compliant in order to use Google Ads. However, that feature is less important if you don’t want to sign up for the Google advertising service. 

Is GDPR the same as CCPA?

GDPR is the European Union’s data protection standard, while CCPA is a requirement in California. It doesn’t matter where in the world your business is based when working out which standard you need to comply with because the area of legislation depends on where the site visitor is. That means you potentially have to comply with every data protection standard in the world – and there are a lot of them. 

Fortunately, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and its amendment, the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) are very similar. The UK was part of the EU when GDPR was implemented and when it left the organization, it just copied over GDPR into its own laws. Many other states in the USA have regulations similar to CCPA, so you will encounter many different data privacy obligations. It is better to outsource privacy-related issues to a consent management platform so you don’t need to deal with all of the regulations around the world.

How do I know if I need to be GDPR compliant?

All companies in and outside of the EU that collect any personal information from a citizen of the EU are required to be GDPR compliant. So whether you're a U.S., Canadian, or British company, you're still required to be compliant with GDPR if you sell to folks in the EU.   

As per GDPR Article 4, personal data is defined as:

“Any information relating to an identified or identifiable natural person (‘data subject’); an identifiable natural person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, in particular by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural or social identity of that natural person.” 

How do GDPR compliance platforms identify data that belongs to EU residents?

This is where data mapping and data governance platforms step in. Enzuzo's advanced features assist in identifying data sources and categorizing them according to location status. 

Am I required to use European software or store data in European data centers to be GDPR compliant?

No, you don’t have to worry about opening a business or bank account in Europe, using EU-designated software, or relying on EU-based data servers. In fact, it’s likely your organization will never even have to contact an authority in the EU as long as you follow the proper protocols.