Compare Alceris Analytics and Swetrix 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.
United Kingdom· Web Analytics
Needs review
Shortlist Swetrix when you want cookieless traffic plus product-oriented tools (funnels, RUM, errors, optional Cloud replays) under a UK company with Hetzner DE hosting and AGPLv3 self-host CE. Skip when you need public ISO/SOC packs, zero US-group subprocessors, multi-year cookie retention cohorts, or free forever hosted analytics—consider Plausible Analytics or Simple Analytics for minimal traffic-only privacy analytics, or Matomo for heavyweight self-host control.
Highlighted rows differ between the two products.
| Feature | Alceris Analytics | Swetrix |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Germany | United Kingdom |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Self-hosted | No | Yes |
| Headquarters | Germany | United Kingdom |
| Legal entity | Manuel Bauer, Innere Passauer Str. 45, 94315 Straubing, Germany (VAT DE353601960) | Swetrix Ltd (SC797389), Edinburgh, Scotland |
| Governing law | Germany | Not listed |
| 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. | Cloud analytics data: Hetzner Online GmbH (Germany) per DPA/Data Policy. End User error monitoring sub-processor: Sentry / Functional Software Inc. (United States). Customer-side Privacy Policy list also includes Paddle (UK payments), Fastmail (Australia business email), AWS (US transactional/marketing email), OpenRouter (US optional AI chat). No known US parent. |
| 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. | Cookieless, privacy-first web analytics from a UK company: traffic, funnels, errors, and performance on Hetzner in Germany, with AGPLv3 self-host Community Edition and optional Cloud session replays. |
| Tags |
| At a glance | Alceris Analytics | Swetrix |
|---|---|---|
| HQ | Straubing, Germany | Edinburgh, United Kingdom |
| Legal entity | Manuel Bauer (sole operator) | Swetrix Ltd (SC797389) |
| Deployment | Hosted SaaS only | Not listed |
| Open source | Product SaaS closed; WP plugin on WordPress.org | Yes — github.com/Swetrix/swetrix |
| Commercial model | Free volume-capped tier; paid via Paddle | Event-volume Cloud subscription; free self-host CE; timed trial |
| Governing law | Germany (per terms) | Scotland (Terms) |
| Primary hosting | Not listed | Hetzner Online GmbH, Germany |
| License | Not listed | AGPLv3 (Community Edition) |
| Key capabilities | Alceris Analytics | Swetrix |
|---|---|---|
| Cookieless by design | Yes | Yes |
| 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 |
| Hetzner DE hosting | Not listed | Yes |
| Open source (AGPLv3) | Not listed | Yes |
| Self-host CE | Not listed | Yes |
| Funnels + errors + RUM | Not listed | Yes |
| Public DPA | 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.
Cookieless traffic analytics with hashed sessions
Lightweight script captures pageviews, referrers/UTMs, devices, and city-level geo without cookies or client-side storage. Per the Data Policy, IP and User-Agent are hashed in memory with a daily rotating salt; only a random session id is stored—so you get sessions without long-term cross-day visitor retention.
Funnels, custom events, and goals
Instrument signups, purchases, and other conversions as custom events; build multi-step funnels and goals in the dashboard. Useful for product and growth teams who need drop-off analysis without bolting on a second product-analytics SaaS.
Real-user performance and client error tracking
Records Web Performance API timings (TTFB, DNS, TLS, render, full page load) and optional JavaScript errors with stack/context by page and browser. Bridges marketing traffic views with engineering signals that pure pageview tools omit.
Opt-in Cloud session replays with privacy modes
Cloud projects can call startSessionReplay() to record DOM and interactions; default modes mask text/inputs. Replays are not created by ordinary pageviews—customers must enable them and own consent, masking, and page exclusions. Cloud-only versus Community Edition.
AGPLv3 open source with Docker self-host CE
Core platform is public on GitHub under GNU AGPLv3; Community Edition deploys via official Docker docs with MySQL, ClickHouse, and Redis. CE includes core analytics, events, sessions, funnels, performance, and errors—but not all Cloud extras (replays, some alerts/org/AI features).
Alerts, API, GA import, and team access
Configure alerts to email, Slack, Telegram, Discord, webhooks, or push; pull or push data via the API; import GA4 history; invite organisations with roles or share password-protected/public dashboards. Fits agencies and multi-site operators who outgrow single-user tools.
| Assurance & compliance | Alceris Analytics | Swetrix |
|---|---|---|
| Independent security / no-logs audit | Not found No public third-party audit of cookieless/no-IP claims found | Not found Searched marketing, DPA, privacy, and data policy; no public independent audit PDF located. Open-source code is available for review. |
| ISO 27001 | Not found No ISO 27001 claim on public site/security pages (none published) | Not found No public ISO 27001 certification claim found on primary pages. |
| SOC 2 / SOC 3 | Not found No SOC 2/3 report referenced publicly | Not found No public SOC 2/3 report found. |
| 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 UK company; public GDPR/PECR discussion in Data Policy; cookieless design with non-stored IPs for standard analytics; Hetzner DE hosting; public DPA. Optional replays may be personal data depending on configuration—customer assesses legal basis. |
| 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 No known US parent; primary analytics on Hetzner DE. Material exception: Sentry (US) processes End User error data per DPA; Privacy Policy also lists AWS and OpenRouter (US) for customer email/AI. Indicative medium exposure—not a clean bill. 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 at swetrix.com/dpa incorporated by Terms; acceptance by use of Service; signed copy on request. |
| EU AI Act | Not applicable Web analytics measurement product; not marketed as an AI system | Not applicable Core product is web analytics, not an AI system. Optional Ask AI / OpenRouter is ancillary; confirm if your deployment enables it. |
| Considerations & known limitations | Alceris Analytics | Swetrix |
|---|---|---|
| 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-group subprocessors (Sentry, AWS, OpenRouter) | Not listed | Medium Primary analytics hosting is Hetzner DE, but Sentry (US) is an End User error-tracking sub-processor on the DPA, and AWS/OpenRouter appear for customer email/AI. Orgs with strict no-US-cloud rules need explicit acceptance or self-host CE to avoid those paths. |
| Session replay is opt-in and controller-owned | Not listed | Medium Cloud replays can capture DOM and inputs unless masked. Customers must enable startSessionReplay(), configure privacy modes/exclusions, and provide notices/consent where required—misconfiguration can reintroduce personal data risk that standard cookieless pageviews avoid. |
| No public ISO/SOC or third-party audit | Not listed | Medium Assurance relies on first-party policies, Hetzner infrastructure claims, and open source. Enterprise questionnaires that hard-gate on certs will stall until materials are provided under NDA or produced. |
| Cloud vs Community Edition feature gap | Not listed | Low Self-host CE is free and covers core analytics, but replays and several Cloud growth/ops features are limited or Cloud-only. Budget and feature planning must not assume feature parity. |
| Daily salt rotation limits retention metrics | Not listed | Low Cookieless design deliberately prevents classic multi-day visitor retention. Teams that need that metric class need another product or consented identity. |
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 only need minimal cookieless pageviews/referrers with the smallest possible product surface
Consider: Plausible Analytics or Simple Analytics
Swetrix adds funnels, errors, RUM, and Cloud replays; peers stay closer to pure traffic analytics.
When: You need deep on-prem control, plugins, and mature enterprise self-host packaging
Consider: Matomo (self-host or managed EU hosts such as Matomo by Stackhero)
Heavier ops and optional cookies; stronger fit for large controlled deployments.
When: You must stay inside Google advertising measurement and free GA4 ecosystem tooling
Consider: Google Analytics
Trade privacy, consent, and transfer complexity for ads integration and zero software fee.