Compare digistats Analytics and Hotjar on capabilities, jurisdiction, assurance, and fit for European buyers.
Both listed as alternatives to: Google Analytics
Switzerland· Web Analytics
Needs review
Shortlist digistats when you want managed Swiss cookieless analytics with multi-site, events, API, and CSV on every listed tier and you accept SaaS-only operations. Skip when you need self-host/OSS, GA4-depth product analytics, or published ISO 27001/SOC 2—consider Plausible, Simple Analytics, Pirsch, or Matomo instead.
France· Web Analytics
Needs review
Shortlist for Contentsquare-owned heatmaps and replay with a public DPA and Ireland defaults. Skip if you need an independent recorder or no US-group cloud. Consider Mouseflow.
Highlighted rows differ between the two products.
| Feature | digistats Analytics | Hotjar |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Switzerland | France |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| Open source | No | No |
| Self-hosted | No | No |
| Headquarters | Switzerland | France |
| Legal entity | digistats Analytics Ltd., Täfernstrasse 2A, CH-5405 Dättwil AG (UID CHE-296.235.462) | Content Square SAS, Paris (EU Hotjar contractor). Historical Hotjar Ltd Malta merged 1 July 2025. |
| Governing law | Swiss law; venue Bremgarten AG (per AGB) | Not listed |
| US parent / control | No known US parent | No known US parent |
| CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Medium | Medium |
| Hosting / residency | Privacy policy: customer data processed/stored in Switzerland, not in the USA or outside the EU; pricing lists Switzerland Data Center. Hosting provider legal name not in a public subprocessor list. Payment subprocessors: Stripe, Inc. (USA) and Coinbase (crypto; German entity listed in AGB). | Visitor data: AWS and Azure Ireland for Free/Growth and VoC Observe/Surveys. Pro/Enterprise may pick Ireland or Virginia. Defaults: EU/Japan to EU; US and most other APJ to US. Support: Content Square, Inc. and Zendesk (USA), Atlassian (Australia). Sense AI on AWS Bedrock/Azure; survey AI on Azure OpenAI France. Engage: Twilio, Daily.co, Postmark, Tremendous. |
| Summary | Swiss cookieless web analytics SaaS from digistats Analytics Ltd.: realtime traffic, city-level geo, events, and multi-site dashboards without storing cookies, IPs, or fingerprints. | Contentsquare-owned heatmaps, session replay, and on-site surveys. French-group SaaS with default EU hosting on AWS and Azure Ireland, not an independent Maltese startup. |
| Tags |
| At a glance | digistats Analytics | Hotjar |
|---|---|---|
| HQ | Dättwil AG, Switzerland | Not listed |
| Legal entity | digistats Analytics Ltd. (CHE-296.235.462) | Not listed |
| Hosting | Switzerland data center (host brand not named publicly) | Not listed |
| Deployment | Managed SaaS only | SaaS JavaScript tag; not self-hosted; not open source |
| Open source | No | Not listed |
| Commercial model | Free low-traffic tier + pageview-based subscription | Free tier plus paid Growth, Pro, and Enterprise (see vendor site for current terms) |
| Current HQ / entity | Not listed | Content Square SAS, Paris, France |
| Origin | Not listed | Founded in Malta in 2014 (vendor history) |
| Ownership | Not listed | Contentsquare group (acquired 2021, merged 1 July 2025) |
| Hosting (public) | Not listed | AWS/Azure Ireland default for EU Free/Growth; Virginia optional on higher plans |
| Key capabilities | digistats Analytics | Hotjar |
|---|---|---|
| Cookieless tracking | Yes | Not listed |
| No stored visitor IPs | Yes | Not listed |
| Swiss data center | Yes | Not listed |
| Unlimited websites | Yes | Not listed |
| API + CSV export | Yes | Not listed |
| Managed SaaS | Yes | Not listed |
| EU-operated (Contentsquare) | Not listed | Yes |
| Heatmaps + session replay | Not listed | Yes |
| Surveys and feedback | Not listed | Yes |
| Public B2B DPA | Not listed | Yes |
| ISO 27001 (claimed) | Not listed | Yes |
Cookieless script without stored IPs or fingerprints
Vendor docs describe a sub-1 kB tag that measures traffic without cookies, without retaining visitor IPs (IP used only for live geo lookup), and without fingerprinting—aimed at sites that want analytics without a consent banner for non-essential cookies.
Realtime dashboard with geo, tech, events, and channels
Live visitor and pageview views plus city-level geography, browser/OS/device signals, custom conversion events, referrer/search/social acquisition, landing pages, and continuous site reachability (online status)—enough for content and marketing ops, not a full product-analytics suite.
Ad-blocker-resistant capture (vendor claim)
Marketing materials contrast digistats with Google Analytics being stripped by major blockers and state digistats is not blocked by common ad-block extensions. Useful for traffic completeness debates; treat as first-party claim until you validate on your stack.
Multi-site SaaS with API, email reports, and CSV on every tier
Published plans include unlimited websites and events, API access, email reports, Swiss data-center storage, and CSV export—even on the free low-traffic tier—so agencies can run multiple client properties without plan-gated feature cliffs.
Swiss entity and Swiss analytics data center
Operated by digistats Analytics Ltd. (Dättwil AG); privacy policy commits to storing customer data in Switzerland. Managed hosting only—no self-hosted edition in public materials.
Click, move, and scroll heatmaps with Attention Maps
Aggregated overlays show where visitors click, hover, and scroll. Contentsquare documents Attention Maps (engagement, not only clicks) and, on the wider platform, zone-based heatmaps that attach conversion context to page elements. Use this when a page-level bounce rate does not explain the layout. Coverage is limited to sessions the tag actually captures and to pages the recorder can reconstruct.
Session replay with claimed automatic masking
Replays mouse movement, clicks, taps, and scrolls so UX and engineering can watch a single journey. Official pages describe event-triggered recording, comments, and jump-to-replay from heatmaps or surveys. Contentsquare states that card and bank details are masked automatically. You still must suppress other personal data with blocking scripts or field exclusion. This is a browser reconstruction, not a server-side log archive.
Surveys, feedback widgets, and Engage research
On-site surveys and feedback widgets (Ask) plus user interviews and unmoderated tests (Engage). The DPA treats this as Voice of Customer. Observe and survey visitor data is hosted on AWS Ireland. Interview and user-test recordings are retained for 2 years per the DPA. Engage adds extra subprocessors (Twilio, Daily.co, Postmark, Tremendous). Response volume is plan-gated.
Funnels that open the matching recordings
Build step funnels and open sessions that converted or dropped at a step. That pairing is the reason teams keep a recorder next to GA-style charts. Advanced journey and multi-session funnel work sits on Contentsquare product analytics (Heap lineage), not on the classic Hotjar-only recorder. Funnel depth and comparison features are plan-dependent.
Error and speed context on the Contentsquare platform
The unified platform adds JavaScript error lists ranked by impact and speed analysis tied to behavior. Classic standalone Hotjar was weaker here. Full network-waterfall debugging is a platform capability. If you refuse the DXA transition you may not get this layer. Errors are only as good as what the browser tag can see.
| Assurance & compliance | digistats Analytics | Hotjar |
|---|---|---|
| Independent security / no-logs audit | Not found Vendor claims no IP storage and no fingerprints; no public third-party audit PDF found. | On request / NDA Vendor claims annual external penetration tests and publishes a Trust Portal with pentest reports behind access. No public independent no-logs audit (this is a recorder, not a no-logs VPN). |
| ISO 27001 | Not found Not claimed on reviewed pages. Host partner ISO 14001 (environmental) is not an ISMS cert. | Vendor claimed Contentsquare states it is ISO 27001 certified (also claims ISO 27017, 27018, 27701). Certificates are on the Trust Portal; not independently downloaded for this draft. |
| SOC 2 / SOC 3 | Not found | Vendor claimed Trust portal and security pages claim a SOC 2 Type II report. Report not independently downloaded. |
| GDPR / EU data protection | Vendor claimed Swiss entity; privacy policy cites DSG and GDPR/DSGVO, cookieless design, Swiss storage. Not legal advice. | Vendor claimed EU parent and contracting entity for non-Americas Hotjar Services. Public DPA, SCCs, and GDPR language. Customer is controller and must supply a lawful basis for visitor capture. |
| US CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Partial Swiss Ltd, no known US parent, analytics residency claimed in Switzerland; billing via Stripe, Inc. (US) and Coinbase. EuropeanStack assessment — not a vendor certification. Not legal advice. | Partial Assessment, not a vendor slogan. French parent and no known US parent, but AWS and Azure host visitor data, Content Square, Inc. and Zendesk process support data, and US regions exist. Not legal advice. |
| Data processing agreement (B2B) | Partial Privacy policy describes Art. 28-style processing on behalf of customers; dedicated public DPA download not found — request signed DPA. | Vendor claimed Public Contentsquare DPA incorporated by the MSA. Execution of the MSA or an order form is treated as execution of the DPA and SCCs. |
| EU AI Act | Not applicable Web analytics product; not positioned as an AI system product. | Not applicable Core product is analytics and replay, not an AI system sold as such. Sense AI and survey LLMs exist as optional features. Confirm AI Act role if you enable those modules. |
| CSA STAR | Not listed | Vendor claimed Security page displays a STAR badge. Scope and level not independently verified. |
| Considerations & known limitations | digistats Analytics | Hotjar |
|---|---|---|
| No public independent security audit | Medium Cookieless and no-IP claims are first-party only. Security questionnaires that require audit reports will need vendor outreach or a different product. | Not listed |
| US-linked payment subprocessors | Medium AGB names Stripe, Inc. (San Francisco) for cards and Coinbase for crypto. Billing and account data may leave the pure Swiss analytics path even if telemetry stays in Switzerland. | Not listed |
| Hosting provider not named publicly | Low Switzerland data-center claim without a published host legal name or full subprocessor list complicates transfer and residual-risk assessments. | Not listed |
| No self-host or open-source path | Medium Cannot pin collector versions, run fully air-gapped, or satisfy hard self-host mandates. Operational dependency on digistats uptime and roadmap. | Low No official self-hosted or open-source edition. Practical impact: skip this product if residency rules require your own servers. |
| Registration path may be restricted | Low At research time the login UI stated registrations were disabled and /developers redirected to login. Confirm trial and API access before scheduling migration. | Not listed |
| No longer an independent Maltese company | Not listed | High Acquired in 2021 and described as merged into Contentsquare on 1 July 2025. New contracts are Contentsquare entities. A scheduled DXA transition from 18 August 2026 can move data and retire the old UI unless you elect to stay. Practical impact: vendor risk, product roadmap, and DPA counterparty are the French group, not Hotjar Ltd. |
| US-group cloud and US support path | Not listed | Medium Visitor data sits on AWS and Azure. Zendesk (USA) and Content Square, Inc. handle support. US regions are default for some geographies. Practical impact: an Ireland region does not remove US-group infrastructure from a CLOUD Act discussion. |
| Session replay can capture extra personal data | Not listed | Medium The vendor asks customers to block non-permitted personal data and claims card masking. Misconfigured tags still record inputs or on-screen PII. Practical impact: you need a suppressions review and a consent story before go-live. |
| Optional LLM features add extra processors | Not listed | Low Sense AI and survey AI use AWS Bedrock and Azure OpenAI. Practical impact: disable those features or map their regions if procurement treats LLMs as a separate transfer. |
When: You need open-source and optional self-hosting with a large community
Consider: Plausible Analytics or Matomo
Plausible is cookieless SaaS + self-host; Matomo is the full self-host suite.
When: You want another lightweight EU cookieless SaaS without Swiss seat as a requirement
Consider: Simple Analytics or Pirsch Analytics
NL and DE peers in the same category band.
When: You need enterprise analytics, tag manager, and formal compliance packaging
Consider: Piwik PRO or Matomo Cloud
Heavier stacks with more modules and B2B assurance artifacts.
When: You are comparing global privacy-analytics brands rather than Swiss residency
Consider: Fathom Analytics
Different ownership and data-path story—verify residency independently.
When: You want session replay and heatmaps from an independent European vendor, not the Contentsquare group
Consider: Mouseflow
Danish SaaS with selectable EU or US Google Cloud residency and a public DPA.
When: You only need page or privacy-oriented analytics without replaying mouse paths and form fields
Consider: Plausible Analytics or etracker
Lighter measurement. Not a substitute for session replay.
When: You want a no-contract recorder and will accept a US vendor
Consider: Microsoft Clarity
Free Microsoft product. Different jurisdiction and contract posture than Content Square SAS.
When: You need a US-native event warehouse more than qualitative replay
Consider: Mixpanel or Amplitude
Product analytics incumbents. Pair with a recorder only if you still need heatmaps.