Friendly Analytics vs Pirsch Analytics

Compare Friendly Analytics and Pirsch Analytics on capabilities, jurisdiction, assurance, and fit for European buyers.

Both listed as alternatives to: Fathom Analytics, Google Analytics, Hotjar, Matomo

Friendly Analytics

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.

Matomo-as-a-ServiceCookieless by defaultSwiss product hostingISO 27001 (claimed)DPA availableEU / on-prem option

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Pirsch Analytics

Germany· Web Analytics

Needs review

Shortlist Pirsch when you want German-operated, cookie-free web analytics with funnels/events, agency white-label, and a public DPA—hosted on Hetzner per vendor docs. Skip when you need free full-product self-host, session replay/heatmaps, or a stack with zero US-group subprocessors; consider Plausible or Simple Analytics instead.

Cookie-free hashingOpen-source core (AGPL)Hetzner DE hosting (claimed)Server-side trackingAgency white-labelPublic DPA/AVV

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Highlighted rows differ between the two products.

Friendly Analytics vs Pirsch Analytics: Snapshot
Feature	Friendly Analytics	Pirsch Analytics
Country of origin	Switzerland	Germany
Category	Web Analytics	Web Analytics
Open source	Yes	Yes
Self-hosted	Yes	No
Headquarters	Switzerland	Germany
Legal entity	Friendly LLC (Friendly GmbH on DPA), Werkhofstrasse 5, 6052 Hergiswil, Switzerland	Emvi Software GmbH (Nickelstraße 1b, 33378 Rheda-Wiedenbrück; HRB 11575, AG Gütersloh)
Governing law	Swiss law (per customer principal agreement / DPA framework)	Germany / EU GDPR
US parent / control	No known US parent	No known US parent
CLOUD Act exposure (indicative)	Medium	Medium
Hosting / residency	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).	Analytics: Hetzner Online GmbH, Germany (vendor claims Nuremberg/Falkenstein). Account/ops subprocessors named in privacy policy include AWS SES (Amazon Web Services EMEA), Google Workspace (Google Cloud EMEA), Stripe, Inc. (US), Intuition Machines, Inc. (US CAPTCHA), and Datev eG (DE).
Summary	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.	Cookie-free web analytics from Emvi Software GmbH in Germany: hash-based visitor IDs, open-source core, Hetzner-hosted SaaS with funnels, events, and agency white-label.
Tags	analytics privacy open-source gdpr matomo switzerland nfadp enterprise self-hosted	analytics privacy open-source gdpr web-analytics cookie-free saas germany server-side-tracking

At a glance: Friendly Analytics vs Pirsch Analytics
At a glance	Friendly Analytics	Pirsch Analytics
HQ	Hergiswil, Switzerland	Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany
Legal entity	Friendly LLC / Friendly GmbH	Emvi Software GmbH
Stack	Matomo (unmodified + premium plugins)	Not listed
Product hosts	Infomaniak; backups Netstream & Hosttech (CH)	Not listed
Commercial model	Hit-based SaaS; enterprise custom; no free trial	Usage-based (monthly page views); trial available
Open source base	Matomo; portable to other Matomo hosts	Not listed
Category	Not listed	Web analytics (SaaS)
Open source	Not listed	Core library AGPL-3.0; full SaaS commercial
Self-host	Not listed	Enterprise on-prem option; not free CE
Primary hosting (claimed)	Not listed	Hetzner Germany (Nuremberg/Falkenstein)

Key capabilities: Friendly Analytics vs Pirsch Analytics
Key capabilities	Friendly Analytics	Pirsch Analytics
Matomo-as-a-Service	Yes	Not listed
Cookieless by default	Yes	Not listed
Swiss product hosting	Yes	Not listed
ISO 27001 (claimed)	Yes	Not listed
DPA available	Yes	Not listed
EU / on-prem option	Yes	Not listed
Cookie-free hashing	Not listed	Yes
Open-source core (AGPL)	Not listed	Yes
Hetzner DE hosting (claimed)	Not listed	Yes
Server-side tracking	Not listed	Yes
Agency white-label	Not listed	Yes
Public DPA/AVV	Not listed	Yes

Friendly Analytics

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.

Pirsch Analytics

Cookie-free 24-hour visitor hashing
Recognizes visitors without cookies by hashing IP, User-Agent, date, and a per-site salt into a short ID. The vendor states IPs are not stored and cross-site linkage is blocked by the salt; sessions expire after 24 hours so long-term profiles are not built. Best for sites that want aggregate traffic metrics without a dedicated analytics cookie banner—confirm ePrivacy/TTDSG fit with counsel.
Server-side and script integrations
Instrument via JS snippet, CMS plugins (e.g. WordPress, Shopify, Webflow, Framer), or backend SDKs/API (Go library and other stacks). Server-side collection improves resilience when ad blockers strip client scripts. Tradeoff: backend integration costs more engineering time than a single script tag.
Funnels, events, goals, and tag segmentation
Goes past pageviews with custom events, conversion goals, multi-step funnels, session path exploration, outbound/download/404 tracking, and tags for A/B tests or channel segmentation. Webhooks and email reports push insights into existing tools. Some advanced metrics (e.g. custom event metrics, e-commerce revenue tracking) sit on higher commercial tiers—verify the live feature matrix.
Agency white-label and shared dashboards
Custom domains, themes, logos, and broader white-label options let agencies present analytics under their own brand. Public dashboards and unique access links support clients without full account sprawl; roles/teams scale collaboration. Strong fit for multi-client portfolios; less relevant for a single personal blog.
Migration imports, API, and unlimited retention (stated)
Import historical data from Google Analytics, Plausible, or Fathom; export CSV; use the REST API and SDKs for custom pipelines. Pricing docs state unlimited data retention across Standard, Plus, and Enterprise. Limits are usage-based on monthly page views (events and a share of session extensions count)—plan for growth, not perpetual free volume.

Assurance & compliance: Friendly Analytics vs Pirsch Analytics
Assurance & compliance	Friendly Analytics	Pirsch Analytics
Independent security / no-logs audit	Not found Vendor describes anonymization defaults and mentions external pen tests in ISO materials; no public independent no-logs audit report found.	Not found Open-source core allows code review; no public third-party audit PDF located in this research pass.
ISO 27001	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.	Not found No ISO 27001 certificate or registry entry found on official trust pages reviewed.
SOC 2 / SOC 3	Not found No SOC 2/3 claim found on security/about pages reviewed.	Not found No public SOC 2/3 report referenced on official pages reviewed.
GDPR / EU data protection	Vendor claimed Swiss entity; public materials assert nFADP and GDPR alignment; cookieless defaults and CH processing described in DPA.	Vendor claimed German controller/processor Emvi Software GmbH; cookie-free hashing design; public DPA; German Hetzner hosting claims. Vendor also cites CCPA/PECR/Schrems II—treat as claims, confirm with counsel.
US CLOUD Act exposure (indicative)	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.	Partial EU entity / no known US parent and Hetzner DE analytics hosting, but privacy policy names AWS SES, Google Workspace, Stripe, and Intuition Machines (US-group services) for email/CAPTCHA/payments. Not legal advice.
Data processing agreement (B2B)	Vendor claimed Public DPA text for Friendly GmbH; customers asked to contact to sign. Enterprise also references DORA/NDA/SLA packs.	Vendor claimed Downloadable English DPA and German AVV PDFs linked from docs.pirsch.io/privacy.
EU AI Act	Not applicable Web analytics SaaS; not positioned as an AI system product.	Not applicable Classical web analytics product; not marketed as an AI system.
ISO 9001	Vendor claimed Vendor publishes ISO 9001 certification materials alongside ISO 27001.	Not listed

Considerations & known limitations: Friendly Analytics vs Pirsch Analytics
Considerations & known limitations	Friendly Analytics	Pirsch Analytics
US company-operation subprocessors	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.	Not listed
Cookie features can reintroduce consent needs	Low Default is cookieless, but enabling cookie-based Matomo capabilities may require banners for EU visitors—configuration discipline required.	Not listed
Small Swiss operator dependency	Low Seven-person-scale Open Startup; mitigations include Matomo portability and open financial transparency, but capacity and roadmap still depend on a small firm.	Not listed
Certifications vendor-published	Low ISO 27001/9001 are claimed with PDFs on the vendor site; procurement should verify certificate validity with the issuing body.	Not listed
Do not conflate with Friendly Automate	Medium Automate uses AWS for email sending. Scope assessments to Analytics-only subprocessors unless you also buy Automate.	Not listed
US-group account/ops subprocessors	Not listed	Medium Even with German analytics hosting claims, customer email, CAPTCHA, and payments involve AWS, Google, Stripe, and Intuition Machines. Sovereign or “no US cloud” policies need explicit exception handling or Enterprise architecture review.
No public ISO/SOC or third-party audit	Not listed	Medium Procurement teams that require ISO 27001 or SOC 2 evidence will need vendor questionnaires or NDA materials; public pages did not show those certs.
Open-source core ≠ free full self-host	Not listed	Low Teams assuming AGPL means free on-prem of the entire product may be surprised; full on-prem is positioned as Enterprise.
Fingerprinting still needs legal fit review	Not listed	Low Cookie-free hashing is not automatically lawful everywhere without information/consent analysis. Banner removal should be validated for your jurisdiction and tag stack.
Page-view usage limits	Not listed	Low Plans are metered on monthly page views (with events and partial session extensions counting). Hitting the cap can restrict dashboard access until upgrade or cycle reset—model traffic before cutover.

Fit

Friendly Analytics

Best fit when

Teams that want Matomo's full feature set without self-hosting ops burden
Swiss and EU organizations prioritizing CH product residency (Infomaniak + CH backups)
Sites aiming for cookieless measurement under default privacy configuration
Marketing teams needing heatmaps, funnels, ecommerce, and ad conversion export without Google Analytics
Enterprises needing DPA/DORA/SLA paperwork, SSO, or dedicated instances

Poor fit when

Buyers who only need lightweight pageview analytics and prefer a free tier (see Plausible-class tools)
Teams that must self-operate every component with no SaaS operator in the path
Orgs that require zero US-headquartered tools anywhere in the vendor's company stack (support/billing SaaS is disclosed)
Use cases outside web/app analytics (Friendly Automate is a different product with different subprocessors)

Consider instead when

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.

Pirsch Analytics

Best fit when

EU sites replacing Google Analytics that need pageviews, campaigns, events, and funnels without analytics cookies
Agencies needing multi-site dashboards, client access links, and white-label branding
Teams that can instrument server-side or proxy scripts for better ad-blocker resilience
Buyers who want a German GmbH, downloadable DPA, and Hetzner-Germany residency claims for analytics data
Orgs evaluating Enterprise SAML, raw data access, or on-prem/managed private deployment

Poor fit when

Teams that require a free, full-product self-hosted community edition (core library ≠ full SaaS)
Product or UX research needing session replay, heatmaps, or persistent cross-site user identity
Procurement policies that forbid any US-group subprocessor (email CAPTCHA/billing still touch AWS/Google/Stripe/Intuition Machines)
Heavy product-analytics / multi-product identity graphs (closer to Amplitude/Mixpanel class tools)

Consider instead when

When: You need a free full-stack self-hosted analytics product with AGPL community edition
Consider: Plausible Analytics (CE) or other open full products in your shortlist
Pirsch open-sources the tracking core; on-prem of the full product is Enterprise-scoped.
When: You want the simplest possible privacy-first metrics with a Dutch vendor
Consider: Simple Analytics
Fewer advanced funnel/white-label features; different packaging tradeoffs.
When: You need heatmaps or session replay more than classical web analytics
Consider: Hotjar, Microsoft Clarity, or EU UX-analytics peers
Expect heavier consent and data-minimization review.
When: You must stay inside Google’s advertising and BigQuery measurement ecosystem
Consider: Google Analytics / Google Tag Manager stack
Opposite privacy and transfer posture—only if legal review accepts it.

Open questions for due diligence

Friendly Analytics

Will the signed DPA and order form pin hosting to Switzerland only, or allow EU/on-prem variants?
Which company subprocessors (HelpScout, Google Workspace, Stripe, etc.) receive which categories of customer personal data in practice?
Can the current ISO 27001 certificate be validated against the certification body's public register (scope, dates, sites)?
For enterprise: what is the RPO/RTO and whether backups remain exclusively in Switzerland?
If both Analytics and Automate are purchased, how are subprocessors and data paths segmented contractually?

Pirsch Analytics

Can Enterprise on-prem exclude AWS SES / Google Workspace / Stripe / CAPTCHA US-group dependencies for the customer’s deployment?
Is any ISO 27001, SOC 2, or independent penetration-test summary available under NDA?
Exact data centers, backup locations, and encryption-key custody for multi-tenant SaaS—beyond marketing Hetzner claims?
Which feature flags on Standard vs Plus vs Enterprise apply to funnels, A/B tags, e-commerce metrics, and white-label depth at contract time?