Matomo by Stackhero vs Pirsch Analytics

Compare Matomo by Stackhero and Pirsch Analytics on capabilities, jurisdiction, assurance, and fit for European buyers.

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

Matomo by Stackhero

France· Web Analytics

Needs review

Shortlist when you want full Matomo on a dedicated French-operated bare-metal instance with one-click updates and hourly billing—especially if you prefer unlimited site/seat product framing over hit-metered multi-tenant SaaS. Skip when you need EU-only with no US region option, root/SSH access, or a minimal cookieless counter—consider self-hosted Matomo, Friendly Analytics, or Plausible instead.

Managed MatomoDedicated instanceFrench PaaS operatorISO 27001 (claimed)Automatic DPAEU or US region

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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.

Matomo by Stackhero vs Pirsch Analytics: Snapshot
Feature	Matomo by Stackhero	Pirsch Analytics
Country of origin	France	Germany
Category	Web Analytics	Web Analytics
Open source	Yes	Yes
Self-hosted	No	No
Headquarters	France	Germany
Legal entity	Stackhero (RCS Paris 512 366 378, VAT FR92512366378), 1 rue de Stockholm, 75008 Paris, France	Emvi Software GmbH (Nickelstraße 1b, 33378 Rheda-Wiedenbrück; HRB 11575, AG Gütersloh)
Governing law	French law; courts at registered head office (per Terms of service)	Germany / EU GDPR
US parent / control	No known US parent	No known US parent
CLOUD Act exposure (indicative)	Medium	Medium
Hosting / residency	Primary compute: Stackhero bare-metal cloud, customer-chosen region EU (France) or USA. Backups: stored in the EU per Matomo FAQ; encrypted atomic images retained up to ~3 months. Not built on AWS/GCP/Azure as the stated compute substrate. Payment processor (unnamed) handles card data; privacy policy mentions third-party messaging/stats tools without a full named subprocessor table.	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	French PaaS-managed Matomo on dedicated bare-metal instances: unlimited sites until capacity, one-click updates, EU or US region choice, with hourly billing and an automatic DPA.	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 saas gdpr matomo france managed-hosting iso-27001	analytics privacy open-source saas gdpr web-analytics cookie-free germany server-side-tracking

At a glance: Matomo by Stackhero vs Pirsch Analytics
At a glance	Matomo by Stackhero	Pirsch Analytics
HQ	Paris, France (1 rue de Stockholm, 75008)	Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany
Legal entity	Stackhero — RCS Paris 512 366 378	Emvi Software GmbH
Stack	Open-source Matomo on dedicated Stackhero VM	Not listed
Hosting regions	EU (France) or USA; backups in EU (vendor FAQ)	Not listed
Commercial model	Hourly instance billing; free trial; no standard commitment	Usage-based (monthly page views); trial available
Certifications	ISO 27001:2022 claimed (BAB #254338)	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: Matomo by Stackhero vs Pirsch Analytics
Key capabilities	Matomo by Stackhero	Pirsch Analytics
Managed Matomo	Yes	Not listed
Dedicated instance	Yes	Not listed
French PaaS operator	Yes	Not listed
ISO 27001 (claimed)	Yes	Not listed
Automatic DPA	Yes	Not listed
EU or US region	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

Matomo by Stackhero

Dedicated bare-metal Matomo instance
Each customer gets an isolated VM on Stackhero’s own bare-metal cloud (Stackhero DC OS), not shared multi-tenant Matomo. Local disks and included Redis are positioned for high IOPS and heavy traffic—fit teams that outgrow noisy-neighbor shared analytics clouds.
Unlimited sites, members, segments, and goals until capacity
Stackhero does not meter websites, team seats, segments, or goals as product SKUs; you scale by instance size (published up to 16 vCPUs / 64 GB RAM). Retention is limited by disk, not a fixed product TTL—plan storage for long history.
One-click Matomo updates and managed ops (no SSH)
Stackhero delivers Matomo updates for dashboard application; firewall IP rules are customer-configurable. SSH is intentionally unavailable on the managed service—good for reduced surface area, poor fit if you need custom OS packages.
Custom domain, GeoIP2, and dedicated notification email
Point matomo.yourdomain.com with TLS 1.3/ECDSA, ship visitor location via bundled GeoIP2, and send unlimited Matomo reports/alerts through a per-instance email path—reduces glue work after first deploy.
Atomic encrypted daily backups (EU vault)
24-hour atomic image backups (plus event-driven backups on upgrades) are validated, then encrypted (OpenPGP ECDH/Curve25519) and retained up to three months. Vendor FAQ states backups are stored in the EU even when regions differ—confirm dual-region implications for US instances.
Hourly billing with EU or US region choice
Spin services up/down with hourly charging and a single monthly invoice; free trial without payment method. Choose European (France) or USA placement at create time—region is a first-class control for residency, not a hidden default.

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: Matomo by Stackhero vs Pirsch Analytics
Assurance & compliance	Matomo by Stackhero	Pirsch Analytics
Independent security / no-logs audit	Not found ISO 27001 and bug-bounty openness claimed; no public independent no-logs audit report specific to analytics 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 certificate #254338 from the British Assessment Bureau (PDF). Not re-verified against the issuer’s public register 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 certifications/privacy/GDPR pages reviewed.	Not found No public SOC 2/3 report referenced on official pages reviewed.
GDPR / EU data protection	Vendor claimed French entity; public GDPR & DPA page; customer controller / Stackhero processor model; EU region option for service data.	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 French entity, no known US parent, non-hyperscaler bare-metal hosting claimed. Medium/partial because USA is a first-class hosting region; EU-only only when the customer creates the service in Europe. Backups stated as EU-stored. 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 DPA applies automatically with Terms of service; PDF downloadable from the GDPR & DPA page.	Vendor claimed Downloadable English DPA and German AVV PDFs linked from docs.pirsch.io/privacy.
EU AI Act	Not applicable Web analytics hosting; not positioned as an AI system product.	Not applicable Classical web analytics product; not marketed as an AI system.

Considerations & known limitations: Matomo by Stackhero vs Pirsch Analytics
Considerations & known limitations	Matomo by Stackhero	Pirsch Analytics
Optional US hosting region	Medium Platform offers USA placement alongside France/EU. Mis-selected region or unclear contract language can put visitor analytics outside the EU. Procurements that require EU-only must pin region at create time and in the order form.	Not listed
EU backups when primary is US	Medium FAQ states backups are stored in the EU. If an instance runs in the USA, confirm whether visitor data is dual-homed (US primary + EU backup) and how that affects DPIA and transfer tools.	Not listed
No SSH / managed-only host	Low Cannot install arbitrary system software or agents; support hours stated as CET office hours for basic platform support—not full Matomo application consulting.	Not listed
Limited named subprocessor list	Medium Privacy policy mentions third-party tools and a payment processor without a detailed public subprocessor register. Request the annex in diligence if procurement requires named processors.	Not listed
ISO certificate vendor-published	Low ISO 27001:2022 is claimed with a public PDF and BAB certificate number; validate scope, sites, and validity dates with the certification body before treating it as verified.	Not listed
Matomo privacy configuration is yours	Low Hosting in the EU does not auto-configure consent, IP anonymization, or cookieless modes. Controllers remain responsible for Matomo GDPR tooling and site policy.	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

Matomo by Stackhero

Best fit when

Teams that want Matomo’s full analytics/admin surface without running OS or Matomo upgrades themselves
Buyers who prefer a dedicated VM and capacity-based limits over multi-tenant hit metering
Orgs consolidating Matomo with other Stackhero-managed open-source services under one French operator
Projects that need hourly elasticity and the ability to stop billing with one click
Controllers who will configure Matomo privacy features themselves and want a signed/automatic DPA plus ISO 27001 claims

Poor fit when

Requirements that forbid any US hosting option or dual-region backup stories—platform publicly offers USA regions
Teams that need SSH, custom kernels, or non-Matomo system agents on the host
Buyers seeking only a lightweight cookieless pageview product (Plausible-class tools are simpler)
Organizations that must self-host inside their own cloud account with no third-party PaaS operator
Use cases needing a named public subprocessor register beyond Stackhero’s high-level privacy/GDPR pages

Consider instead when

When: You want Swiss Matomo-as-a-Service with cookieless defaults and CH product hosts
Consider: Friendly Analytics
Different operator, residency story, and privacy defaults; still Matomo-based.
When: You need enterprise analytics packaging beyond plain managed Matomo
Consider: Piwik PRO
Compare modules, contracts, and hosting regions independently.
When: You only need a minimal open-source-friendly counter with simple SaaS UX
Consider: Plausible Analytics
Far less Matomo depth; different product surface.
When: You require full root control and in-house residency guarantees
Consider: Self-hosted Matomo on your own EU IaaS
Maximum control; you own updates, backups, and hardening.

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

Matomo by Stackhero

Will the order form and DPA annex permanently pin the Matomo instance to the EU (France) region with no US failover?
For US-region instances, what exact data is copied to EU backup vaults and under which transfer mechanism?
Who is the unnamed parent company referenced on the About page, and is there any US ownership or PE?
Can ISO 27001 certificate 254338 be validated on the British Assessment Bureau (or successor) public register for current scope/dates?
Which payment, support, and website analytics providers process Stackhero account data (named subprocessor list)?

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?