Consent or pay — no free way to say no
Short answer: The only free option is to accept tracking. Visitors who say no have to pay or subscribe. This may not meet EU regulator guidance.
Is a “consent or pay” cookie wall allowed in the EU?
EU regulators have said a “consent or pay” choice is unlikely to give valid, freely given consent on large online platforms, and several expect a free option without tracking. The law is still being contested, so treat this as a risk to review rather than a settled breach.
How to fix it
- Offer a free option that doesn’t track, for example a version with non-personalised (contextual) ads.
- If you keep a paid option, keep the price reasonable and show the free choices just as clearly as the paid one.
- Write down why your approach is fair, especially if your site is large; regulators will ask.
How untick detects it
untick loads your pages in a fresh browser with no cookies and an EU locale, records network requests and cookies, inspects the consent banner and forms, and interacts with them the way a visitor would. When this issue is found, the report includes screenshots with the element highlighted, the evidence, and a fix tailored to your setup.