In this paper the authors address the problem of comparing two different smart damping techniques using the numerical modelling of the electro-mechanical impedance for plate structures partially treated with active constrained layer damping treatments. The paper summarizes the modelling procedures including a finite element formulation capable of accounting for the observed behaviour. The example used is a smart cantilever plate structure containing a viscoelastic material (VEM) layer sandwiched between a piezoelectric constrained layer and the host vibrating plate. Comparisons are made between active constrained layer and active damping only and based on the resonance frequency amplitudes of the electrical admittance numerically evaluated at the surface of the piezoelectric model of the vibrating structure.