Compare Insights and Pirsch Analytics on capabilities, jurisdiction, assurance, and fit for European buyers.
Both listed as alternatives to: Fathom Analytics, Google Analytics, Matomo
Austria· Web Analytics
Needs review
Shortlist when you need cookie-free hosted analytics with first-class custom events for SPAs from an Austrian operator. Skip when you need self-host, public ISO/SOC packs, or infrastructure without Google Firebase—consider Plausible Analytics, Simple Analytics, or Pirsch Analytics instead (or self-hosted Matomo).
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.
Highlighted rows differ between the two products.
| Feature | Insights | Pirsch Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Austria | Germany |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hosted | No | No |
| Headquarters | Austria | Germany |
| Legal entity | Unsourced Digital OG | Emvi Software GmbH (Nickelstraße 1b, 33378 Rheda-Wiedenbrück; HRB 11575, AG Gütersloh) |
| Governing law | Not listed | Germany / EU GDPR |
| US parent / control | No known US parent | No known US parent |
| CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Medium | Medium |
| Hosting / residency | Operator: Unsourced Digital OG (Austria). Vendor-documented infrastructure includes Google Firebase—Cloud Functions, Firebase Authentication (customer accounts), and Firebase Hosting—with temporary IP handling described for those Google services. Visitor analytics designed without cookies and without IP storage in DB/logs; still a US-group cloud path for processing/hosting/auth. | 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 | Austrian privacy-first hosted web analytics: page views and custom events without cookies or stored visitor IPs, with an MIT open-source JS client (backend uses Google Firebase). | 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 |
| At a glance | Insights | Pirsch Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| HQ / law | Austria (Unsourced Digital OG; Austrian governing law) | Not listed |
| Product type | Hosted privacy web analytics + custom events | Not listed |
| Client license | MIT (insights-js); backend proprietary | Not listed |
| Self-host | No public self-host option | Enterprise on-prem option; not free CE |
| Commercial model | Free low-volume tier; paid by monthly event/pageview volume | Usage-based (monthly page views); trial available |
| Known infra | Google Firebase (Functions, Auth, Hosting) per vendor docs | Not listed |
| HQ | Not listed | Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany |
| Legal entity | Not listed | Emvi Software GmbH |
| Category | Not listed | Web analytics (SaaS) |
| Open source | Not listed | Core library AGPL-3.0; full SaaS commercial |
| Primary hosting (claimed) | Not listed | Hetzner Germany (Nuremberg/Falkenstein) |
| Key capabilities | Insights | Pirsch Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Cookie-free tracking | Yes | Yes |
| Custom events | Yes | Not listed |
| MIT client (insights-js) | Yes | Not listed |
| Austrian entity | Yes | Not listed |
| Hosted SaaS | Yes | Not listed |
| Firebase data path | Yes | Not listed |
| 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 |
Cookie-free page views and user flows
Tracks bounce rate, referrers, visits, and user-flow style page statistics without setting analytics cookies, so sites can avoid cookie banners driven solely by analytics. Script init plus trackPages() is the usual path for SPAs.
Custom and cancelable event tracking
insights-js supports named events with string parameters, unique-per-session flags, parameter-only updates, and remove/cancel for long-lived events (e.g. subscribe then unsubscribe). Built for product and funnel metrics, not pageviews only.
MIT open-source TypeScript client
The browser/npm client (insights-js) is MIT-licensed on GitHub with TypeScript types and helpers for locale, screen type, path, referrer, and duration buckets. Supports React, Angular, Vue, UMD script, and multi-project App instances. Backend remains proprietary SaaS.
Visitor anonymization pipeline (vendor-described)
Vendor docs: IPs hashed only in RAM for fraud checks (not stored in DB or logs); user agents reduced to browser/OS; optional screen sizes rounded to 50px; Do Not Track honoured. Confirm fit with your DPO—anonymous design is not a legal certification.
Developer-oriented integration
One-minute script install or npm package; docs cover multi-project tracking, ignoreErrors/disabled flags for production environments, and hash/search options on page paths. Lightweight client positioned against heavier GA-style tags.
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 | Insights | Pirsch Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Independent security / no-logs audit | Not found Vendor describes no IP storage in DB/logs and RAM-only hashing; no public third-party audit PDF found. | Not found Open-source core allows code review; no public third-party audit PDF located in this research pass. |
| ISO 27001 | Not found No public certificate on getinsights.io at research time. | Not found No ISO 27001 certificate or registry entry found on official trust pages reviewed. |
| SOC 2 / SOC 3 | Not found No public SOC report found. | Not found No public SOC 2/3 report referenced on official pages reviewed. |
| GDPR / EU data protection | Vendor claimed Austrian entity; privacy policy and data-collection docs; cookie-free/no-stored-IP design for visitors. Firebase/Google processing still requires transfer/DPA diligence. | 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 EU entity / no known US parent, but Google Firebase (US-group) used for Cloud Functions, Auth, and Hosting per vendor data page. Indicative medium exposure. 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) | Not found No standalone public DPA page found; request from contact@getinsights.io for B2B use. | Vendor claimed Downloadable English DPA and German AVV PDFs linked from docs.pirsch.io/privacy. |
| EU AI Act | Not applicable Web analytics product, not an AI system product page. | Not applicable Classical web analytics product; not marketed as an AI system. |
| Considerations & known limitations | Insights | Pirsch Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Google Firebase on critical path | High Vendor documents Firebase Cloud Functions, Auth, and Hosting. Anonymous visitor design does not remove US-group cloud dependency for hosting/auth/processing—material for sovereignty-sensitive buyers. | Not listed |
| No public independent audit or certs | Medium No ISO 27001, SOC 2, or third-party no-logs audit found on the public site. Rely on vendor claims plus your own review of the open client. | Not listed |
| Client open source only; no self-host | Medium insights-js is MIT; dashboard/backend are closed SaaS. You cannot run the full product on your infrastructure. | Not listed |
| Small team / continuity | Medium Product presented as built by two freelance developers under Unsourced Digital OG. Assess vendor longevity and support SLAs for business-critical analytics. | Not listed |
| Bounce/unique metrics need SPA routing | Low Client docs: trackPages bounce and unique views expect a client-side router and do not use cookies/localStorage; multi-page full reloads can skew metrics. | 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. |
When: You want simple hosted EU privacy page analytics with a strong Plausible-style product footprint
Consider: Plausible Analytics
Compare event depth: Insights markets custom events as a core differentiator vs simpler page-focused tools.
When: You want cookie-free analytics with an explicit privacy brand and different commercial packaging
Consider: Simple Analytics
Verify each vendor's hosting and subprocessor pages side by side.
When: You prefer a German peer privacy analytics product
Consider: Pirsch Analytics
Compare event features, regions, and legal docs for your DPA process.
When: You need full control of the stack or on-prem processing
Consider: Self-hosted Matomo (or similar open analytics)
Higher ops cost; no dependency on Insights SaaS or Firebase.
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.