Cookie Consent Tool for Indie Hackers

I Spent 3 Days Building Cookie Consent for My Side Project. Then I Decided to Just Build It Right.

Originally posted on r/SideProject and r/indiehackers

Last year I was 2 hours from launching a side project. Everything was ready. Domain, Stripe, landing page, the works.

Then I thought: "Wait, I have Google Analytics. I'm selling to Europe. Do I need cookie consent?"

I Googled it. The answer was yes. Very yes.

So I spent the next 3 days:

• Reading GDPR documentation
• Learning about Google Consent Mode v2
• Trying to understand what "ad_user_data" signals mean
• Implementing a consent banner
• Debugging why my analytics broke
• Questioning whether shipping software was worth it

After 3 days, I had something that probably worked. Maybe. I wasn't entirely sure.

Then I launched another side project. Same problem. Another 3 days.

After the third time, I decided: never again. I'll build this once, properly, and use it on everything.

That became GetCookies.

Why Existing Solutions Didn't Work

OneTrust

Googled "cookie consent tool." First result was OneTrust. Clicked through. Big enterprise site. Clicked pricing. "Contact Sales."

I'm one person. I don't have a sales team to contact sales. Pass.

Cookiebot

€12/month minimum. For my side project with 100 visitors. That's more than my hosting costs. Also pass.

DIY

I tried. I really tried. But cookie consent in 2024 requires:

• Google Consent Mode v2 (4 different signals)
• A registered CMP Developer ID with Google
• Third-party pixel integration (Meta, TikTok, etc.)
• Script blocking until consent
• Proper consent logging for audits

It's not "just show a banner."

"Just ignore it"

GDPR fines are up to €20M or 4% of annual revenue. For a side project that might make €100/month, the risk isn't worth it.

What I Built

One script tag. Works on everything.

<script src="https://getcookies.co/api/v1/widget/loader.js"
        data-domain-id="your-id"
        async></script>

That's the entire implementation. Add it to your <head>. Done.

What It Actually Does

1. Shows a cookie consent banner - Customizable, looks decent by default
2. Blocks tracking until consent - Respects user choice
3. Handles Google Consent Mode v2 - All 4 signals, set before GTM loads
4. Notifies third-party pixels - Meta, TikTok, Pinterest automatically
5. Logs consent for audits - If someone asks, you have proof

The Free Tier

Because I'm an indie hacker building for indie hackers:

• 1 domain
• Unlimited page views (no 100-page limit like some competitors)
• All core features
• No credit card required
• No "upgrade or we remove your banner" pressure

I'm not going to nickel and dime you on page views. That's annoying.

Numbers (Transparency)

Since I know this sub likes real numbers:

• Launched: ~6 months ago
• Domains using it: ~800
• Monthly consent events: ~3M
• Paid customers: ~40
• MRR: ~$500
• Downtime: 0 (so far, knock on wood)

Not getting rich, but it's sustainable and growing. More importantly, it solves my own problem on every new project.

Technical Decisions (For the Nerds)

Why ~1.6 KB?

The first version was 40KB. I looked at competitors—they were all 30-150KB. This seemed wrong for showing a banner and tracking yes/no.

I rewrote it as:

• ~1.6 KB synchronous loader (sets consent defaults immediately)
• Async widget load (banner UI, not blocking)

Result: Zero impact on Core Web Vitals.

Why Python/FastAPI?

I know Python. I ship fast with Python. The backend is simple—accept consent events, store them, serve configs. Doesn't need to be rocket science.

Why Preact for the widget?

React is 42KB. Preact is 3KB with the same API. For a consent banner that needs to load fast, every KB matters.

Why Railway for hosting?

Easy deployment, fair pricing, good DX. I tried Vercel first but hit serverless cold start issues for the API. Railway just runs the container.

Lessons Learned

1. Solve your own problem first

I built this for myself. Every feature decision was "would I use this?" That made product decisions easy.

2. Bundle size is a feature

Developers care about performance. When I tell them it's ~1.6 KB, they immediately trust it more than competitors. Tiny bundle = fast site = happy users.

3. Free tiers should be useful

A free tier with 100 page views is useless for testing. Unlimited page views means people can actually try it on their side project without worrying.

4. The "boring" parts are the hardest

The banner UI was easy. Google Consent Mode v2 compliance was hard. Third-party pixel integration was hard. Consent logging for audits was hard. The invisible work is most of the work.

5. Marketing is still hard

I'm a developer, not a marketer. Getting the word out is the challenging part. This Reddit post is my marketing budget.

The Stack

For the curious:

Layer	Tech
Backend	Python / FastAPI
Frontend	TypeScript / Preact
Database	PostgreSQL
Hosting	Railway
CDN	Cloudflare
Payments	Stripe

Nothing fancy. Just works.

What's Next

Based on user feedback:

• More banner customization
• Better analytics dashboard
• A/B testing for consent rates
• More framework-specific guides
• Whatever users actually ask for

Try It

If you have a side project that needs cookie consent:

1. Go to getcookies.co
2. Sign up (Google = fastest)
3. Add your domain
4. Copy the script tag
5. Add to your site
6. Done

Takes about 60 seconds. Free tier has no time limit or page limits.

Questions?

Happy to answer anything about:

• Technical implementation
• GDPR/compliance details
• Building as a solo dev
• Why I made specific decisions
• Whether something is actually compliant

I'm not a lawyer, but I've read more GDPR documentation than any human should.

---

Built by an indie hacker, for indie hackers. Because enterprise tools for enterprise problems shouldn't cost enterprise budgets.