Compare Alceris Analytics and Friendly Analytics on capabilities, jurisdiction, assurance, and fit for European buyers.
Both listed as alternatives to: Fathom Analytics, Google Analytics, Matomo
Germany· Web Analytics
Needs review
Shortlist when you need German-operated, cookieless pageview/event analytics with a free monthly allowance and one-line install. Skip when you need self-hosting, open-source core, enterprise cert packs, or deep product analytics—consider Plausible, Simple Analytics, Pirsch, or Matomo instead.
Switzerland· Web Analytics
Needs review
Shortlist when you need full Matomo depth (heatmaps, funnels, ecommerce, API) with Swiss product hosting and managed privacy defaults—especially regulated CH/EU orgs leaving Google Analytics. Skip when you only want a minimal pageview counter, a free self-serve tier, or pure DIY Matomo ops—consider Plausible, etracker, or self-hosted Matomo instead.
Highlighted rows differ between the two products.
| Feature | Alceris Analytics | Friendly Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Germany | Switzerland |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Self-hosted | No | Yes |
| Headquarters | Germany | Switzerland |
| Legal entity | Manuel Bauer, Innere Passauer Str. 45, 94315 Straubing, Germany (VAT DE353601960) | Friendly LLC (Friendly GmbH on DPA), Werkhofstrasse 5, 6052 Hergiswil, Switzerland |
| Governing law | Germany | Swiss law (per customer principal agreement / DPA framework) |
| US parent / control | No known US parent | No known US parent |
| CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Medium | Medium |
| Hosting / residency | Vendor claims analytics data is stored and served only on European servers and aggregated on arrival. Named external paths: Paddle (paid billing MoR) and optional Google Search Console. No official named infrastructure/subprocessor inventory beyond those; public site IP/ASN currently associated with netcup GmbH (Germany). DNS nameservers observed on Hetzner. | Analytics product: Infomaniak (CH) primary hosting; Netstream and Hosttech (CH) backups. AWS listed only for Friendly Automate email, not Analytics. Enterprise marketing also offers EU or on-premise hosting. Company ops: US SaaS including Google Workspace, HelpScout, Stripe, Notion, Calendly, Cloudflare (help docs). |
| Summary | German cookieless website analytics SaaS: aggregate pageviews, events, and UTM campaigns without cookies or IP logs, operated from Straubing with EU-oriented hosting claims. | Swiss Matomo-as-a-Service: cookieless-by-default web analytics with heatmaps, funnels, and ecommerce, product data hosted in Switzerland, plus enterprise DPA and on-prem options. |
| Tags |
| At a glance | Alceris Analytics | Friendly Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| HQ | Straubing, Germany | Hergiswil, Switzerland |
| Legal entity | Manuel Bauer (sole operator) | Friendly LLC / Friendly GmbH |
| Deployment | Hosted SaaS only | Not listed |
| Open source | Product SaaS closed; WP plugin on WordPress.org | Not listed |
| Commercial model | Free volume-capped tier; paid via Paddle | Hit-based SaaS; enterprise custom; no free trial |
| Governing law | Germany (per terms) | Not listed |
| Stack | Not listed | Matomo (unmodified + premium plugins) |
| Product hosts | Not listed | Infomaniak; backups Netstream & Hosttech (CH) |
| Open source base | Not listed | Matomo; portable to other Matomo hosts |
| Key capabilities | Alceris Analytics | Friendly Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Cookieless by design | Yes | Not listed |
| EU-operated (Germany) | Yes | Not listed |
| Realtime dashboard | Yes | Not listed |
| Free tier (volume-capped) | Yes | Not listed |
| SaaS only (no self-host) | Yes | Not listed |
| Matomo-as-a-Service | Not listed | Yes |
| Cookieless by default | Not listed | Yes |
| Swiss product hosting | Not listed | Yes |
| ISO 27001 (claimed) | Not listed | Yes |
| DPA available | Not listed | Yes |
| EU / on-prem option | Not listed | Yes |
Cookieless aggregation without IP storage
Per the privacy policy, Alceris does not set cookies, session IDs, or similar client storage; IPs are not logged; the full User-Agent is not stored. Only aggregated fields such as page URL, referrer, parsed browser/OS, language, and timezone-based country are retained—aimed at sites that want stats without an analytics cookie banner.
One-line async script, deferred events, WordPress plugin
Install via a single async script from alceris.com with your site data-id (docs include a deferred alceris() queue so early events are not lost). WordPress operators can use the official plugin and paste the dashboard site ID. SaaS-only—there is no self-hosted server package.
Realtime pageviews and custom events with metadata
Pageviews and events are processed immediately into the dashboard. Custom events are sent with alceris('event', name, { ...metadata }), useful for button clicks, form steps, or content attributes without building a full product-analytics stack.
UTM campaigns, outbound links, and cross-domain flows
UTM parameters are extracted for campaign reporting; outbound link clicks are tracked automatically; cross-domain tracking follows visitors across owned domains. Scope is web traffic measurement—not session replay or heatmaps.
Optional Google Search Console and first-party proxy
Connect Search Console to import query impressions, clicks, and terms (data removed on unlink). Docs also describe reverse-proxying script.js and the img.alceris.com data endpoint through your own domain so ad-blockers are less likely to drop hits—at the cost of operating that proxy yourself.
Matomo-as-a-Service with privacy defaults
Runs unmodified Matomo plus selected premium plugins, preconfigured for cookieless tracking, IP truncation, and nFADP/GDPR-oriented defaults so teams avoid operating Matomo themselves while keeping exit paths to another Matomo host.
Heatmaps, funnels, session recording, and ecommerce
Beyond pageviews: heatmaps, privacy-oriented session replays, conversion funnels, form analytics, A/B tests, and ecommerce reporting for UX and revenue analysis without bolting on a separate US product suite.
Swiss product hosting with EU or on-prem options
Visitor analytics hosted with Infomaniak in Switzerland; backups via Netstream and Hosttech (CH). Enterprise can contract Swiss, EU, or on-premise placement—confirm region in the order form rather than assuming SaaS-only CH.
Ads conversion export without third-party pixels
Advertising Conversion Export sends conversions to Google or Bing via API so campaigns can be optimized without placing those vendors' tracking codes on your site—useful when privacy policy bans extra ad tags.
GA import, reporting API, and Matomo portability
Historical Google Analytics data can be imported (manual, effort-billed). Reporting API and live export links feed BI tools; data can move to another Matomo instance, limiting classic SaaS lock-in.
Enterprise contracts, SSO, and dedicated instances
Enterprise tier adds custom DPA/DORA/NDA/SLA paperwork, dedicated account management, SSO, custom domain, dedicated instance, and phone/video support for banks, insurers, and public bodies.
| Assurance & compliance | Alceris Analytics | Friendly Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Independent security / no-logs audit | Not found No public third-party audit of cookieless/no-IP claims found | Not found Vendor describes anonymization defaults and mentions external pen tests in ISO materials; no public independent no-logs audit report found. |
| ISO 27001 | Not found No ISO 27001 claim on public site/security pages (none published) | Vendor claimed Vendor publishes ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification covering the company/products with a certificate PDF; not independently re-verified against the cert body registry in this draft. |
| SOC 2 / SOC 3 | Not found No SOC 2/3 report referenced publicly | Not found No SOC 2/3 claim found on security/about pages reviewed. |
| GDPR / EU data protection | Vendor claimed German controller; cookieless/no-IP design claims on privacy policy (last updated 2022). Not legal advice—confirm with counsel and DPA. | Vendor claimed Swiss entity; public materials assert nFADP and GDPR alignment; cookieless defaults and CH processing described in DPA. |
| US CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Partial EU sole proprietor, no known US parent; vendor EU-hosting claims and DE-associated hosting for the public site. Optional Google Search Console involves Google; Paddle handles payments; infrastructure subprocessors not fully named. Indicative only—not legal advice. | Partial Swiss entity, no known US parent; Analytics product hosts are Swiss (Infomaniak/Netstream/Hosttech). Medium/partial because company subprocessors include US SaaS (e.g. Google Workspace, HelpScout, Stripe, Cloudflare). AWS not used for Analytics per vendor list. Indicative only—not legal advice. |
| Data processing agreement (B2B) | Not found No public DPA page or in-product DPA download found; ask vendor before production use | Vendor claimed Public DPA text for Friendly GmbH; customers asked to contact to sign. Enterprise also references DORA/NDA/SLA packs. |
| EU AI Act | Not applicable Web analytics measurement product; not marketed as an AI system | Not applicable Web analytics SaaS; not positioned as an AI system product. |
| ISO 9001 | Not listed | Vendor claimed Vendor publishes ISO 9001 certification materials alongside ISO 27001. |
| Considerations & known limitations | Alceris Analytics | Friendly Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Solo / small-operator continuity | Medium Imprint shows an individual operator in Straubing. Terms provide service as-is with email support on reasonable effort and reserve the right to modify or discontinue the service. Practical impact: backup exports and an exit plan matter more than with a large SaaS vendor. | Not listed |
| Thin public compliance packaging | Medium No ISO/SOC claims, no independent audit, no public DPA template, and no named infrastructure subprocessor list despite terms referring to third-party hardware/storage vendors. Practical impact: slower security review for regulated buyers. | Not listed |
| Optional Google Search Console path | Low Connecting Search Console pulls query metrics from Google into Alceris. Leave it disconnected if US providers are out of policy for any analytics-adjacent data. | Not listed |
| Billing via Paddle MoR | Low Paid plans are contracted with Paddle, not Alceris directly. Review Paddle's terms and data role for finance/procurement. | Not listed |
| WordPress plugin maintenance signal | Low WordPress.org lists the plugin as not tested with the latest major WP releases and few active installs. Prefer manual script install or re-test thoroughly on your WP version. | Not listed |
| US company-operation subprocessors | Not listed | Medium Support, email/calendar, payments, CRM/docs, and help-docs edge use US-headquartered SaaS even though Analytics visitor data hosts are Swiss. Material for DPIAs that demand zero US processors in any vendor process. |
| Cookie features can reintroduce consent needs | Not listed | Low Default is cookieless, but enabling cookie-based Matomo capabilities may require banners for EU visitors—configuration discipline required. |
| Small Swiss operator dependency | Not listed | Low Seven-person-scale Open Startup; mitigations include Matomo portability and open financial transparency, but capacity and roadmap still depend on a small firm. |
| Certifications vendor-published | Not listed | Low ISO 27001/9001 are claimed with PDFs on the vendor site; procurement should verify certificate validity with the issuing body. |
| Do not conflate with Friendly Automate | Not listed | Medium Automate uses AWS for email sending. Scope assessments to Analytics-only subprocessors unless you also buy Automate. |
When: You want a more established cookieless SaaS brand with stronger public compliance packaging
Consider: Plausible Analytics or Simple Analytics
Similar lightweight privacy analytics category; different ownership and documentation maturity
When: You need self-hosted or on-prem control of the analytics stack
Consider: Matomo (self-hosted) or catalog Matomo hosting variants
Alceris is cloud-only; proxying the script still sends data to Alceris
When: You need German-hosted open-source cookieless analytics with a different product surface
Consider: Pirsch Analytics
Peer German privacy-analytics option for side-by-side evaluation
When: You need full GA4-class product and marketing analytics depth
Consider: Google Analytics (accept its data model) or a heavier EU suite
Alceris intentionally stays narrow
When: You want a minimal, open-source, cookieless counter with simpler SaaS UX
Consider: Plausible Analytics
Less Matomo plugin depth; different hosting/operator story (Estonia).
When: You need German enterprise analytics with long public-sector track record
Consider: etracker
Different stack (not Matomo); compare cookieless claims and contracts directly.
When: You prefer a modern EU analytics product with open-source core and lean UI
Consider: Pirsch Analytics
Germany-based; trade Matomo feature breadth for a different product surface.
When: You already run Matomo well and only need software, not a Swiss operator
Consider: Self-hosted Matomo
Maximum control; you own privacy config, updates, and hosting risk.