Vendor comparison

GDPR Register vs OneTrust: capability comparison

A side-by-side comparison of GDPR Register and OneTrust across RoPA, DPIA, DSAR, vendor risk, AI governance and evidence workflows - with Acompli shown as a focused, human-approved, evidence-traceable alternative to both for Ireland, UK and EU teams.

GDPR RegisterOneTrustComparisonAcompli alternative
Fit

Who each option is best for, and where either supplier is deliberately narrower.

Evidence

Which public claims, review signals, caveats and capability rows are evidenced.

Operations

How much work it takes to implement, maintain and export the privacy record.

Decision

The questions a privacy team should ask before switching or shortlisting.

Key takeaways

  • GDPR Register and OneTrust are compared here on public, evidence-framed capability coverage: GDPR Register is evidenced for 15 of 20 tracked capabilities, OneTrust for 19.
  • The clearest differences: GDPR Register adds Public pricing; OneTrust adds Consent management, Cookie/tracker scanning, Policy/notice management, Training module, Spreadsheet import.
  • Acompli is the focused third option: connected RoPA, DPIA, DSAR, risk, vendor and AI-governance records, each human-approved and traceable to its source evidence, built around GDPR Article 30, the Irish DPC and the UK ICO.
  • "Y" means publicly evidenced in the reviewed sources, "N" means not clearly evidenced here (not proof a vendor cannot provide it). Verify live scope, pricing and exports with each vendor.

Comparison workflow

From company profile to shortlist decision

GDPR Register profilePositioning, strengths, caveats
Market lanechecked
Best-fit buyerchecked
Public strengthschecked
Capability evidencechecked
Acompli overlapTools, services, limits
Overlapchecked
Gapschecked
Exportschecked
Shortlist fitchecked

01Short answer

GDPR Register vs OneTrust

GDPR Register is positioned as: European GDPR compliance platform. OneTrust is positioned as: Enterprise privacy, trust, consent, third-party risk, AI governance and GRC suite.

For an Irish, UK or EU privacy team weighing GDPR Register against OneTrust, Acompli is the focused alternative to both: it keeps RoPA, DPIA, DSAR, risk, vendor and AI-governance records connected and defensible, with every record human-approved and every Article 30 field traceable to the assessment that produced it.

Published by Acompli and last reviewed on 29 June 2026. Capability coverage below is evidence-framed from public sources for all three.

02At a glance

GDPR Register vs OneTrust vs Acompli at a glance

Decision questionGDPR RegisterOneTrustAcompli
Best fitTeams looking for a structured, audit-ready GDPR compliance platform centred on RoPA, DPIA, LIA, vendors, risk assessments, breach handling and AI Act, with public pricingLarge enterprises that need a broad privacy automation and trust platform spanning privacy, consent, third-party risk, AI governance and related programmesDPO-led teams that need connected records, provenance, imported evidence and reviewed outputs across GDPR and AI workflows, anchored in Ireland, the UK and the EU
Operating modelA structured, audit-ready EU GDPR compliance platform: RoPA, DPIA, LIA, vendors, risk assessments, breach logs and AI Act workflowsA broad enterprise privacy, trust, consent, third-party-risk and AI-governance suite for global programmesConnected, evidence-traceable privacy and AI-governance records across RoPA, DPIA, DSAR, risk, vendors, data mapping and code scan
When to choose itChoose GDPR Register when its structured GDPR compliance feature set, breach handling and transparent public pricing match the team's operating needsChoose OneTrust when enterprise-suite breadth, existing OneTrust investment, partner ecosystem or global programme scale is the primary requirementChoose Acompli when the comparison turns on evidence provenance, imports, connected outputs and human-reviewed automation

03Capability comparison

GDPR Register vs OneTrust: capability by capability

Each capability is marked Y (publicly evidenced in the reviewed sources) or N (not clearly evidenced here, which is not proof the vendor cannot provide it). Acompli is shown in the final column.

CapabilityGDPR RegisterOneTrustAcompli
DPIA/PIA assessmentsYYY
RoPA / Article 30YYY
DSAR / privacy rightsYYY
Data mappingYYY
Vendor riskYYY
Privacy riskYYY
AI governanceYYY
Consent managementNYN
Cookie/tracker scanningNYN
Breach/incident managementYYN
Retention managementYYY
Policy/notice managementNYN
Training moduleNYN
Approval workflowsYYY
Audit trailYYY
Role-based access controlYYY
Multi-entity supportYYY
Spreadsheet importNYY
PDF/CSV/Excel exportYYY
Public pricingYNN

04Where each is stronger

GDPR Register vs OneTrust: the differences that matter

On the tracked capabilities, GDPR Register and OneTrust overlap heavily; the decision usually turns on the handful of capabilities only one of them evidences, plus depth, jurisdiction fit and price.

  • Only GDPR Register (not OneTrust) is evidenced for: Public pricing.
  • Only OneTrust (not GDPR Register) is evidenced for: Consent management, Cookie/tracker scanning, Policy/notice management, Training module, Spreadsheet import.
  • Acompli's wedge versus both: assessment-fed, evidence-traceable records (every Article 30 field links back to the approved assessment that produced it), human approval on every record, and a per-entity export the DPC or ICO can read without a platform login.

05Shortlisting notes

Choosing between GDPR Register, OneTrust and Acompli

GDPR Register and OneTrust should each be assessed on their published fit above. Acompli belongs on the shortlist where the priority is connected, defensible privacy records that stay current between audits, with a short route from draft to reviewed decision.

  • Shortlist GDPR Register or OneTrust where their broader suite, integrations or specific modules match the programme you want to run.
  • Shortlist Acompli where the pain is stale RoPA fields, isolated DPIAs, disconnected DSAR files, supplier evidence drift, or risk registers that do not trace back to source evidence.
  • Ask all three to demonstrate the same workflow end to end: a new processing activity, its assessment, the RoPA update, supplier evidence, the privacy risk and an exportable audit trail.

06Ireland & UK

GDPR Register vs OneTrust for RoPA in Ireland and the UK

Records of processing activities are required under GDPR Article 30 - a controller record under Article 30(1) and a separate processor record under Article 30(2). In Ireland the Data Protection Commission (DPC) publishes Article 30 guidance; in the UK the ICO sets out what must be documented under UK GDPR.

Whichever of GDPR Register or OneTrust you weigh, the question for an Irish or UK team is the depth of the Article 30 record and how defensibly it exports. Acompli's difference is provenance: every Article 30 field traces back to the approved assessment that produced it, and each legal entity gets a self-contained export the DPC or ICO can read without logging in.

  • GDPR Article 30(1) and 30(2) - controller and processor records modelled separately, scoped by legal entity.
  • DPC (Ireland) and ICO (UK) Article 30 documentation, with EU and UK GDPR distinguished on one register.
  • Per-entity, self-contained export so each subsidiary can answer its own supervisory authority.

Acompli answers

Acompli: the focused alternative to both

Is Acompli an alternative to both GDPR Register and OneTrust?

Acompli is a focused alternative to both GDPR Register and OneTrust for teams that want connected, evidence-traceable RoPA, DPIA, DSAR, risk, vendor and AI-governance records rather than the broadest feature set. Every record is human-approved and every Article 30 field traces back to the approved assessment that produced it, built around GDPR Article 30, the Irish DPC and the UK ICO.

GDPR Register vs OneTrust: which is better for Irish and UK GDPR?

For Irish and UK GDPR the deciding factors are Article 30(1)/(2) coverage, DPC and ICO fit, and a self-contained per-entity export - so the better choice between GDPR Register and OneTrust is the one that documents both controller and processor records and exports them defensibly. Acompli is built specifically around that: EU and UK GDPR distinguished on one register, every field evidence-linked, and an export the DPC or ICO can read without a platform login.

What should I compare when choosing between GDPR Register and OneTrust?

Compare GDPR Register and OneTrust on one real workflow end to end: a new processing activity, its assessment, the resulting Article 30 RoPA update, the supplier evidence, the privacy risk entry and an exportable audit trail. Whether each value is evidenced (the capability table above) matters less than whether the records stay connected and defensible after approval - which is the test Acompli is designed to pass.

Compare GDPR Register, OneTrust and Acompli against a real workflow.

Bring one RoPA, DPIA, DSAR, vendor, risk or AI-governance requirement and map which parts GDPR Register covers, which OneTrust covers, and where Acompli keeps the evidence connected and defensible.