Compare digistats Analytics and StatCounter on capabilities, jurisdiction, assurance, and fit for European buyers.
Both listed as alternatives to: Google Analytics, Matomo
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.
Ireland· Web Analytics
Needs review
Shortlist when you want Irish-hosted, SMB-friendly analytics with real-time individual visitor feeds, optional session replay/heatmaps, and paid-traffic forensics. Skip when you need cookieless/minimal data collection, self-hosting, or published ISO/SOC and subprocessors—consider Plausible Analytics, Simple Analytics, or Piwik PRO instead.
Highlighted rows differ between the two products.
| Feature | digistats Analytics | StatCounter |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Switzerland | Ireland |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| Open source | No | No |
| Self-hosted | No | No |
| Headquarters | Switzerland | Ireland |
| Legal entity | digistats Analytics Ltd., Täfernstrasse 2A, CH-5405 Dättwil AG (UID CHE-296.235.462) | Statcounter Limited (Dublin; VAT IE 9582511F) |
| Governing law | Swiss law; venue Bremgarten AG (per AGB) | Republic of Ireland (venue Dublin) |
| US parent / control | No known US parent | No known US parent |
| CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Medium | Unknown |
| 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). | Vendor describes visitor data as stored on StatCounter servers; no public subprocessor list or named cloud regions (AWS/GCP/Azure etc.) found on primary pages at research time. Marketing site monetization references Snigel—not a documented analytics data-path subprocessor list. |
| 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. | Irish-hosted web analytics with real-time individual visitor feeds, session replay, heatmaps, and paid-traffic tools—cookie and IP based, not cookieless privacy analytics. |
| Tags |
| At a glance | digistats Analytics | StatCounter |
|---|---|---|
| HQ | Dättwil AG, Switzerland | Dublin, Ireland |
| Legal entity | digistats Analytics Ltd. (CHE-296.235.462) | Statcounter Limited (CRO 431839) |
| Hosting | Switzerland data center (host brand not named publicly) | Not listed |
| Deployment | Managed SaaS only | Hosted SaaS only |
| Open source | No | No |
| Commercial model | Free low-traffic tier + pageview-based subscription | Free Basic + session-volume paid tiers |
| Product since | Not listed | 1999 (company 2006) |
| Tracking model | Not listed | Cookies + IP + optional session replay |
| Key capabilities | digistats Analytics | StatCounter |
|---|---|---|
| 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 |
| Ireland-operated SaaS | Not listed | Yes |
| Real-time visitor feeds | Not listed | Yes |
| Session replay + heatmaps | Not listed | Yes |
| Cookie + IP tracking | Not listed | Yes |
| Free Basic tier | Not listed | Yes |
| Hosted only | 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.
Real-time individual visitor feeds
Live and recent-activity views show sessions as they happen with location, system stats, referrers, and navigation paths—not only aggregate totals. Magnify drills into a single visit for ops-style investigation. Best for SMBs and agencies that react to traffic in the moment; free Basic caps monthly sessions and short retention.
Session replay and heatmaps
Optional session replay plays back clicks, taps, scrolling, mouse movement, and form interactions so teams see friction visually. Heatmaps (higher paid tier) show attention and ignored elements. Recording volume is sold as an add-on pack; treat replay as high-sensitivity processing that usually needs clear notice and lawful basis.
Paid traffic, UTM, and Google Ads session detail
Conversion tracking, UTM campaign trends, paid-traffic analysis for repeat IPs, and Google Ads integration that attaches campaign/keyword context to individual sessions. Aimed at marketers defending ad spend and spotting click fraud—not a full marketing automation suite.
Cookie-based unique-visitor tracking with optional IP mask
Official docs describe an is_unique cookie for first-time vs returning visitors plus collection of IP, browser, OS, device, and page metadata. Project settings can mask the last IP octet when you treat addresses as personal data. This is classic analytics tracking—not a cookieless, consent-light design.
Broad CMS installs, API, apps, and Global Stats
Install guides cover 70+ platforms; paid tiers add CSV export and API access; mobile apps cover on-the-go stats and visitor alerts. Separately, Statcounter Global Stats publishes public browser/OS market-share charts from the tracking network—useful industry context, not a substitute for your site's private reports.
| Assurance & compliance | digistats Analytics | StatCounter |
|---|---|---|
| Independent security / no-logs audit | Not found Vendor claims no IP storage and no fingerprints; no public third-party audit PDF found. | Not found No public independent security or no-logs audit PDF found on primary site. |
| ISO 27001 | Not found Not claimed on reviewed pages. Host partner ISO 14001 (environmental) is not an ISMS cert. | Not found No ISO 27001 claim or certificate located on official pages. |
| SOC 2 / SOC 3 | Not found | Not found No SOC 2/3 report referenced on official marketing/legal pages. |
| GDPR / EU data protection | Vendor claimed Swiss entity; privacy policy cites DSG and GDPR/DSGVO, cookieless design, Swiss storage. Not legal advice. | Partial Irish controller/processor entity and GDPR FAQ materials exist, but tracking uses cookies + IPs + optional session replay; vendor IP-not-personal-data stance is contested. Confirm DPA, consent, and retention for your use case. |
| 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. | Unknown No known US parent, but subprocessors and hosting regions are not published—cannot truthfully score low/medium without that list. EuropeanStack assessment, not a vendor claim. 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. | Not found No clearly published self-serve DPA found; request under contract before regulated use. |
| EU AI Act | Not applicable Web analytics product; not positioned as an AI system product. | Not applicable Classic web analytics / session recording product, not an AI-system offering. |
| Considerations & known limitations | digistats Analytics | StatCounter |
|---|---|---|
| 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. | Not listed |
| 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 |
| Classic cookies + IP + visitor-level detail | Not listed | High Not cookieless privacy analytics. is_unique cookies, IPs, and per-visitor forensics increase ePrivacy/GDPR programme burden versus aggregate-only EU tools. |
| Session replay captures rich interactions | Not listed | High Official replay guide includes clicks, scrolling, and form interactions. Usually needs explicit notice/consent and careful redaction policies for sensitive fields. |
| Terms claim joint ownership of visitor data | Not listed | Medium Legal terms state both the site owner and StatCounter own collected visitor data—review implications for controller/processor roles and secondary use. |
| No public subprocessor / region list | Not listed | Medium Hosting described only as vendor servers. Without named providers/regions, transfer and CLOUD Act diligence stays incomplete. |
| No public ISO/SOC/independent audit | Not listed | Medium Enterprise security questionnaires will lack downloadable certs/audit reports from the public site. |
| Vendor IP personal-data interpretation is contested | Not listed | Medium GDPR FAQ leans on older Irish case law; many EU programmes still treat IPs/cookie IDs as personal data. Use IP masking and counsel review where needed. |
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 need cookieless, aggregate-only metrics with a lighter ePrivacy consent story
Consider: Plausible Analytics or Simple Analytics
Both are EU-hosted privacy-oriented analytics; far less per-visitor forensics than StatCounter.
When: You need enterprise privacy packaging, stronger controller tooling, or optional self-host paths
Consider: Piwik PRO (or self-hosted Matomo-class stacks)
Heavier setup and product surface; better when DPA/hosting artefacts are mandatory.
When: You are deep in Google's marketing stack and need free default reporting at huge scale
Consider: Google Analytics (with full transfer/risk review)
US-group processing and steeper UX; stronger ecosystem integrations.