Compare nilly and StatCounter on capabilities, jurisdiction, assurance, and fit for European buyers.
Both listed as alternatives to: Google Analytics
Switzerland· Web Analytics
Needs review
Shortlist nilly when you want Swiss-entity, cookieless, ultra-light site analytics with realtime dashboards, city geo, custom events, unlimited sites, and an API—without GA4 consent weight. Skip when you need self-host/open source, enterprise audit packs, or deep marketing-suite analytics; consider Plausible Analytics, Simple Analytics, or etracker 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 | nilly | StatCounter |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Switzerland | Ireland |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| Open source | No | No |
| Self-hosted | No | No |
| Headquarters | Switzerland | Ireland |
| Legal entity | Lyo GmbH, Europaallee 41, 8004 Zürich (CHE-417.675.763) | Statcounter Limited (Dublin; VAT IE 9582511F) |
| Governing law | Switzerland (terms) | Republic of Ireland (venue Dublin) |
| US parent / control | No known US parent | No known US parent |
| CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Medium | Unknown |
| Hosting / residency | Vendor FAQ: analytics servers in Switzerland (multiple locations). Public site reverse-DNS: KreativMedia/METANET Zürich. Customer-account subprocessors named in privacy policy: Stripe (US payments), Mailerlite (email). Avatars via Gravatar. No full public subprocessor list for backups/monitoring/CDN. | 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 privacy-first web analytics (Lyo GmbH): cookieless, sub-1kB tracking with realtime dashboards, city-level geo, custom events, unlimited sites, and a REST API as a lightweight Google Analytics alternative. | 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 | nilly | StatCounter |
|---|---|---|
| HQ | Zürich, Switzerland (Lyo GmbH) | Dublin, Ireland |
| Legal entity | Lyo GmbH (CHE-417.675.763) | Statcounter Limited (CRO 431839) |
| Product model | SaaS web analytics (not self-hosted) | Not listed |
| Tracking | Cookieless; no IP/fingerprint claims | Not listed |
| Hosting (claimed) | Switzerland (multi-site) | Not listed |
| Commercial model | Traffic-based plans; trial; no permanent free tier | Free Basic + session-volume paid tiers |
| Live site note | kandur.one (nilly branding; nilly.io DNS failed at research) | Not listed |
| Product since | Not listed | 1999 (company 2006) |
| Deployment | Not listed | Hosted SaaS only |
| Tracking model | Not listed | Cookies + IP + optional session replay |
| Open source | Not listed | No |
| Key capabilities | nilly | StatCounter |
|---|---|---|
| Cookieless tracking | Yes | Not listed |
| Swiss-hosted (claimed) | Yes | Not listed |
| Swiss entity | Yes | Not listed |
| Sub-1 kB script | Yes | Not listed |
| REST API | Yes | Not listed |
| SaaS only | 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 |
Sub-1 kB cookieless tracking script
Vendor documents a client script under 1 kB with no cookies, no IP tracking, and no fingerprinting for site visitors. Suited to teams that want aggregate traffic metrics without analytics cookie banners; still get counsel for your jurisdiction and CMP setup.
Realtime dashboard with geo, tech, and campaigns
Dashboards cover live visitors, overview metrics, top pages, referrers, UTM campaigns, geography from continent to city, and device/browser/OS breakdowns—enough for content and acquisition decisions without a full product-analytics suite.
Custom events, CSV export, and email reports
Define custom events for conversion-style actions, export statistics as CSV, and receive email reports. Fits operators who need lightweight conversion signals and offline analysis rather than session replay or multi-step funnels.
REST API for stats, websites, and account
Documented API endpoints (Bearer API key) manage stats queries (pageviews, visitors, referrers, events, geo, devices, and more), websites, and account objects—useful for internal dashboards or automations on traffic-based plans that include API access.
Unlimited websites on traffic-based plans
Public pricing model is pageview-tier SaaS with unlimited websites per account and a short free trial—not a permanent free tier. Good for agencies or multi-brand operators who outgrow per-site free plans elsewhere; confirm current tiers on the vendor site.
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 | nilly | StatCounter |
|---|---|---|
| Independent security / no-logs audit | Not found No public third-party audit report found for tracking claims. | Not found No public independent security or no-logs audit PDF found on primary site. |
| ISO 27001 | Not found No vendor ISO 27001 certificate published on product site (underlying Swiss host DCs may be certified separately). | 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 includes GDPR rights language; cookieless visitor tracking claimed. Confirm DPA for B2B. | 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 operator, no known US parent, Swiss-claimed analytics hosting; US SaaS subprocessors Stripe (payments) and Gravatar (avatars) on customer path. 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) | Not found No public DPA download found; request from vendor. | Not found No clearly published self-serve DPA found; request under contract before regulated use. |
| EU AI Act | Not applicable Web analytics product; not marketed as an AI system. | Not applicable Classic web analytics / session recording product, not an AI-system offering. |
| Swiss Made Software / Swiss Web labels | Vendor claimed Cited on About and Swiss Union member page as recognition/labels—not a security audit. | Not listed |
| Considerations & known limitations | nilly | StatCounter |
|---|---|---|
| Brand/domain transition (nilly.io vs kandur.one) | Medium Product still branded nilly, but the live marketing/API host is kandur.one; nilly.io did not resolve in DNS during research. Verify tracking domains, docs, and status before production cutover. | Not listed |
| US SaaS on customer account path | Medium Stripe (payments) and Gravatar (avatars) are US-group services. Visitor metrics are claimed Swiss-hosted and non-personal, but account/billing data is not Switzerland-only end-to-end. | Not listed |
| Thin public assurance pack | Medium No public ISO 27001/SOC 2, independent security audit, or DPA page found. Fine for many SMB shortlists; friction for regulated enterprise questionnaires. | Not listed |
| No self-host or open-source edition | Low Cannot run on your own infra or audit server code from a public repo. Hard limit for sovereignty programs that require self-host. | Not listed |
| Small independent operator | Low Founder-owned Swiss GmbH without VC narrative—positive for independence, but buyers should assess support SLAs, roadmap continuity, and single-vendor concentration. | 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 want open-source and/or self-host privacy analytics with a larger community
Consider: Plausible Analytics or Pirsch Analytics
nilly is proprietary SaaS only.
When: You want another European cookieless SaaS with a simple product story
Consider: Simple Analytics
Dutch peer; compare geo depth, API, and residency claims side by side.
When: You need deeper marketing, shop, and tag/consent analytics for EU enterprises
Consider: etracker
German suite-oriented alternative; heavier than nilly's lightweight dashboard.
When: You depend on free unlimited scale and Google ads/ecosystem integration
Consider: Google Analytics (GA4)
Different privacy and residency tradeoffs; not a sovereignty shortlist.
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.