Matomo by Stackhero vs Publytics

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

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

Logo: Matomo by Stackhero

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
Logo: Publytics

Publytics

Italy· Web Analytics

Needs review

Shortlist when you need cookieless, unsampled publisher analytics with multi-site Network views and a public EU DPA from an Italian SaaS operator. Skip when you need self-hosting, product analytics at GA4/Adobe depth, or product-level ISO/SOC—consider Plausible (simpler privacy analytics / self-host options) or Matomo (self-host ownership) instead.

Cookieless trackingNo default samplingMulti-site NetworkEU-hosted (EuroVPS/Hetzner)Public B2B DPAPublisher-focused UX
Matomo by Stackhero vs Publytics: Snapshot
FeatureLogo: Matomo by StackheroMatomo by StackheroLogo: PublyticsPublytics
Country of originFranceItaly
CategoryWeb AnalyticsWeb Analytics
Open sourceYesNo
Self-hostedNoNo
HeadquartersFranceItaly
Legal entityStackhero (RCS Paris 512 366 378, VAT FR92512366378), 1 rue de Stockholm, 75008 Paris, FrancePublytics S.r.l. / Publytics SRL, Via Val Leventina 3 INT 1, 20148 Milan (MI), Italy (VAT IT13079420967)
Governing lawFrench law; courts at registered head office (per Terms of service)Italy / EU GDPR (processor under published DPA)
US parent / controlNo known US parentNo known US parent
CLOUD Act exposure (indicative)MediumLow
Hosting / residencyPrimary 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 infrastructure subprocessors in public DPA: EuroVPS (Euclid Services Ltd, Cyprus) and Hetzner Online GmbH (Germany). Data policy/DPA: EU storage (NL, DE, FI; DPA also IT); no transfer outside the EU for analytics processing. Account path: Stripe (payments), Brevo/Sendinblue (email).
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.

Cookieless web analytics SaaS for digital publishers: unsampled real-time and historical metrics, multi-site Network views, GA import, and EU-hosted measurement from an Italian company.

Tags
At a glance: Matomo by Stackhero vs Publytics
At a glanceLogo: Matomo by StackheroMatomo by StackheroLogo: PublyticsPublytics
HQParis, France (1 rue de Stockholm, 75008)Milan, Italy
Legal entityStackhero — RCS Paris 512 366 378Publytics S.r.l. (VAT IT13079420967)
StackOpen-source Matomo on dedicated Stackhero VMNot listed
Hosting regionsEU (France) or USA; backups in EU (vendor FAQ)Not listed
Commercial modelHourly instance billing; free trial; no standard commitmentPageview tiers; free trial
CertificationsISO 27001:2022 claimed (BAB #254338)Not listed
HostingNot listedEuroVPS + Hetzner (EU regions)
DeploymentNot listedManaged SaaS (not self-hosted)
Open sourceNot listedNo (tracker uses MIT library code)
Key capabilities: Matomo by Stackhero vs Publytics
Key capabilitiesLogo: Matomo by StackheroMatomo by StackheroLogo: PublyticsPublytics
Managed MatomoYesNot listed
Dedicated instanceYesNot listed
French PaaS operatorYesNot listed
ISO 27001 (claimed)YesNot listed
Automatic DPAYesNot listed
EU or US regionYesNot listed
Cookieless trackingNot listedYes
No default samplingNot listedYes
Multi-site NetworkNot listedYes
EU-hosted (EuroVPS/Hetzner)Not listedYes
Public B2B DPANot listedYes
Publisher-focused UXNot listedYes

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.

Publytics

  • Unsampled real-time and daily publisher metrics

    Dashboard and Real-time views show active users (including last-minute and 30-minute windows), top pages, sources, social referrals, and day trends—with minute-level trend comparison documented for real-time. Vendor states no default data sampling, so reports reflect full counted client-side traffic rather than GA-style estimates on large properties.

  • Multi-site Network mode for content portfolios

    Business and Enterprise plans can group properties into Networks (plan caps apply: e.g. up to three Networks on Business, unlimited on Enterprise). Network views mirror site dashboards with split-by-site filters, combined real-time tables, and PDF/CSV export across the portfolio—built for multi-brand publishers rather than single blogs.

  • Cookieless measurement with daily-rotating visitor hash

    Tracking avoids cookies and permanent device IDs. Per the DPA, IP and User-Agent are used only to derive a daily salted hash for unique visitors, then discarded; metrics stay aggregated (URL, referrer, browser/OS, device, country). Designed so many sites can skip consent banners for analytics alone—confirm with counsel for your jurisdictions and any custom IDs you add.

  • Historical import, custom events/dimensions, and API

    Import paths cover GA4 and other tools (Plausible/Fathom mentioned) with support-assisted finalization. Custom events, dimensions, and metrics scale by plan; REST API uses Sanctum Bearer tokens scoped to subscribed sites. Fits teams rebuilding GA-era reporting without rebuilding infrastructure.

  • AI referral traffic reporting

    Dedicated documentation for traffic referred from AI systems (ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Perplexity, Copilot, Mistral, Google AI Overviews, Deepseek, and others). Useful for publishers optimizing for answer-engine and AI-overview discovery alongside classic SEO sources.

Assurance & compliance: Matomo by Stackhero vs Publytics
Assurance & complianceLogo: Matomo by StackheroMatomo by StackheroLogo: PublyticsPublytics
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

Searched official site; no public third-party security or no-logs audit PDF found. DPA describes hashing and non-retention of raw IP/UA.

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 Publytics product certificate found. Host EuroVPS markets ISO certifications; that is infrastructure provider scope, not Publytics certification.

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 found on official Publytics pages.

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

Italian controller/processor entity; cookieless design; public Art. 28 DPA; EU hosting named. Not legal advice.

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; analytics hosts EuroVPS + Hetzner in EU with DPA no third-country transfer for service data. Account billing via Stripe (US company). Not a vendor 'safe' claim—EuropeanStack assessment only.

Data processing agreement (B2B)
Vendor claimed

DPA applies automatically with Terms of service; PDF downloadable from the GDPR & DPA page.

Vendor claimed

Full public DPA at https://publytics.net/dpa with Annex B subprocessors and Annex C security/transfer instructions.

EU AI Act
Not applicable

Web analytics hosting; not positioned as an AI system product.

Not applicable

Web analytics product; AI-referral reporting is measurement of referrers, not an AI system product.

Considerations & known limitations: Matomo by Stackhero vs Publytics
Considerations & known limitationsLogo: Matomo by StackheroMatomo by StackheroLogo: PublyticsPublytics
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
SaaS-only (no self-host)Not listed
Medium

All measurement depends on Publytics cloud availability and vendor roadmap. Teams with residency or air-gap requirements need Matomo/Plausible CE-style self-host alternatives.

No public independent security auditNot listed
Medium

Hashing and non-retention claims are first-party (DPA/docs). No public third-party audit was found—enterprise security reviews will need questionnaires, DPA audit rights, and possibly NDA materials.

Feature depth tied to pageview tiersNot listed
Low

Networks, API rate limits, custom dimensions/metrics, retention years, and time granularity differ by Lite/Business/Enterprise. Validate limits against portfolio size before migration.

US payment processor on account pathNot listed
Low

Stripe processes payments (US company). Separate from DPA Annex B analytics hosts, but relevant if procurement treats all vendor SaaS touchpoints as in-scope for CLOUD Act diligence.

Customer-injected identifiers can re-identifyNot listed
Medium

DPA warns controllers not to inject unique user IDs that re-identify visitors via the script. Misconfiguration can undermine the cookieless privacy model.

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.

Publytics

Best fit when

  • Content publishers and media sites that want GA3-style reporting without cookies or default sampling
  • Multi-brand portfolios that need Network dashboards, split-by-site filters, and shared exports
  • Teams migrating historical series from GA4 (or Plausible/Fathom) into a privacy-oriented SaaS
  • EU-oriented controllers who want Italian legal entity, published DPA, and EU infrastructure subprocessors named in annexes
  • Editorial/SEO leads who need real-time active users, sources, and AI-referral reporting without operating self-hosted analytics

Poor fit when

  • Organizations that require self-hosted or open-source analytics only
  • Product/growth teams that need GA4/Adobe-class event modeling, experiment stacks, and ads ecosystem integrations
  • Buyers that need verified product ISO 27001/SOC 2 certificates before shortlist (none found for Publytics itself)
  • Very simple single-site blogs that only need minimal privacy metrics—lighter tools may be enough

Consider instead when

  • When: You want open-core privacy analytics with optional self-host

    Consider: Plausible Analytics

    Simpler surface; stronger self-host/open-core path than Publytics SaaS-only model

  • When: You must run analytics on your own infrastructure

    Consider: Matomo (self-host) or Plausible Community Edition

    Publytics is managed cloud only—no official on-prem product

  • When: You need deep product analytics and marketing stack integration

    Consider: Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics

    Trade privacy/EU-hosting priorities for ecosystem breadth

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)?

Publytics

  • Will Publytics provide completed security questionnaire, pen-test summary, or ISO evidence under NDA for enterprise procurement?
  • Exact current pageview tier limits, Network caps, and retention for the sites you will migrate?
  • Is GA4 historical import complete for your property structure (events, custom dimensions) or only core traffic series?
  • How are subprocessors for account services (Stripe, Brevo) contractually covered relative to the analytics DPA annex?
  • Any planned US or non-EU hosting options that would change the current EU-only transfer instruction?