Pirsch Analytics vs Simple Analytics

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

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

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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Simple Analytics

Netherlands· Web Analytics

Needs review

Shortlist when you need EU-operated, cookieless web metrics without visitor IDs or stored IPs—especially as a visibility layer beside GA4. Skip when you need self-host/open-source control, session replay, or identity-rich marketing analytics; consider Plausible Analytics or Matomo/Piwik PRO instead.

Cookieless analyticsNo stored IPs / visitor IDsEU-hosted (NL focus)Dutch B.V.Works beside GA4API & BI export

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Highlighted rows differ between the two products.

Pirsch Analytics vs Simple Analytics: Snapshot
Feature	Pirsch Analytics	Simple Analytics
Country of origin	Germany	Netherlands
Category	Web Analytics	Web Analytics
Open source	Yes	No
Self-hosted	No	No
Headquarters	Germany	Netherlands
Legal entity	Emvi Software GmbH (Nickelstraße 1b, 33378 Rheda-Wiedenbrück; HRB 11575, AG Gütersloh)	Simple Analytics B.V., Amsterdam (KVK 88269922, VAT NL864560011B01)
Governing law	Germany / EU GDPR	Netherlands / EU
US parent / control	No known US parent	No known US parent
CLOUD Act exposure (indicative)	Medium	Low
Hosting / residency	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).	Analytics data claimed processed in the Netherlands/EU. Public subprocessors (May 2026): Worldstream + Leaseweb (NL hosting), Hetzner (DE hosting), Bunny (SI CDN/DNS), Hyperping (FR uptime), Intention (NL domains). Vendor states this list covers website visitor-data subprocessors only—not payments/internal ops.
Summary	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.	Dutch privacy-first web analytics SaaS: cookieless pageviews and campaigns without visitor IDs or stored IPs, EU-hosted by Simple Analytics B.V. in Amsterdam.
Tags	analytics web-analytics privacy gdpr saas cookie-free open-source germany server-side-tracking	analytics web-analytics privacy gdpr saas cookieless api eu-hosted

At a glance: Pirsch Analytics vs Simple Analytics
At a glance	Pirsch Analytics	Simple Analytics
HQ	Rheda-Wiedenbrück, Germany	Amsterdam, Netherlands
Legal entity	Emvi Software GmbH	Simple Analytics B.V. (KVK 88269922)
Category	Web analytics (SaaS)	Not listed
Open source	Core library AGPL-3.0; full SaaS commercial	No (proprietary)
Self-host	Enterprise on-prem option; not free CE	Not listed
Commercial model	Usage-based (monthly page views); trial available	Free hobby tier + usage-based paid + enterprise
Primary hosting (claimed)	Hetzner Germany (Nuremberg/Falkenstein)	Not listed
Founded	Not listed	2018
Product type	Not listed	Hosted web analytics SaaS (not self-hosted)
Data focus	Not listed	Cookieless, non-identifying aggregate metrics
Primary hosting	Not listed	Netherlands (EU); see subprocessors

Key capabilities: Pirsch Analytics vs Simple Analytics
Key capabilities	Pirsch Analytics	Simple Analytics
Cookie-free hashing	Yes	Not listed
Open-source core (AGPL)	Yes	Not listed
Hetzner DE hosting (claimed)	Yes	Not listed
Server-side tracking	Yes	Not listed
Agency white-label	Yes	Not listed
Public DPA/AVV	Yes	Not listed
Cookieless analytics	Not listed	Yes
No stored IPs / visitor IDs	Not listed	Yes
EU-hosted (NL focus)	Not listed	Yes
Dutch B.V.	Not listed	Yes
Works beside GA4	Not listed	Yes
API & BI export	Not listed	Yes

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.

Simple Analytics

Cookieless metrics without visitor IDs or stored IPs
Collects pageviews, referrers, UTMs, time-on-page, and scroll depth without cookies, localStorage, fingerprints, or stored IP addresses. Unique visits are inferred from referrer hostname matching, not device IDs. Built for sites that want analytics without a consent banner solely for this tool—and without building visitor profiles.
Country from time zone, not geo-IP
Country-level location is derived from the visitor’s IANA time zone rather than IP lookup, so IPs can be dropped end-to-end. City/region is not available; some border and multi-country zones can mis-tag. Useful when legal teams reject IP-based geolocation even when hashed.
Cookieless layer beside GA4 and BI stacks
Positioned to measure traffic lost when consent is denied in cookie-based tools. Import historical Google Analytics data; export via Stats/Export APIs and integrations toward Looker Studio, Power BI, and warehouse workflows so analysts can compare consented vs observed traffic without replacing every GA report.
Lightweight script, events, goals, and ad-blocker bypass
Vendor claims a single script under 5 KB. Supports events, automated events (e.g. downloads, outbound links), goals, filters, email reports, and robot/referrer-spam controls. Ad-blocker resilience is via first-party proxy or custom subdomain CNAME—not automatic immunity for every blocklist.
Team access, SSO, and EU-operated SaaS
Hosted product from Simple Analytics B.V. (Amsterdam) with role-oriented team features on higher tiers and documented SAML SSO for Okta and Microsoft Entra. No official self-host edition—operations and residency follow the vendor’s EU infrastructure and public subprocessor list.

Assurance & compliance: Pirsch Analytics vs Simple Analytics
Assurance & compliance	Pirsch Analytics	Simple Analytics
Independent security / privacy audit	Not found Open-source core allows code review; no public third-party audit PDF located in this research pass.	Not found Searched security/trust pages; no public independent audit PDF found.
ISO 27001	Not found No ISO 27001 certificate or registry entry found on official trust pages reviewed.	Not found No ISO 27001 certificate claimed on primary security pages.
SOC 2 / SOC 3	Not found No public SOC 2/3 report referenced on official pages reviewed.	Partial Vendor states SOC 2 Type II is in progress / coming soon—not completed certification at research time.
GDPR / EU data protection	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.	Vendor claimed Dutch EU entity; vendor claims no personal data collection (no cookies/IPs/visitor IDs) and GDPR-friendly design. Not legal advice—confirm for your processing facts.
US CLOUD Act exposure (indicative)	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.	Partial EU entity, no known US parent, public analytics subprocessors are EU-based (Worldstream, Leaseweb, Hetzner, Bunny, Hyperping). Residual risk remains; reconcile Cloudflare mention on GDPR page vs Bunny on subprocessors. Assessment by EuropeanStack—not a vendor 'safe' claim. Not legal advice.
Data processing agreement (B2B)	Vendor claimed Downloadable English DPA and German AVV PDFs linked from docs.pirsch.io/privacy.	Partial Vendor says DPA usually not required (no personal data) but will review/sign customer-provided DPAs aligned with architecture.
EU AI Act	Not applicable Classical web analytics product; not marketed as an AI system.	Not applicable Web analytics product; not marketed as an AI system subject to AI Act high-risk regimes.

Considerations & known limitations: Pirsch Analytics vs Simple Analytics
Considerations & known limitations	Pirsch Analytics	Simple Analytics
US-group account/ops subprocessors	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.	Not listed
No public ISO/SOC or third-party audit	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.	Not listed
Open-source core ≠ free full self-host	Low Teams assuming AGPL means free on-prem of the entire product may be surprised; full on-prem is positioned as Enterprise.	Not listed
Fingerprinting still needs legal fit review	Low Cookie-free hashing is not automatically lawful everywhere without information/consent analysis. Banner removal should be validated for your jurisdiction and tag stack.	Not listed
Page-view usage limits	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.	Not listed
Hosted SaaS only—no self-host	Not listed	Medium No official self-host edition. Orgs with air-gap or on-prem telemetry mandates need Plausible self-host, Matomo, or similar instead.
SOC 2 not yet complete	Not listed	Medium SOC 2 Type II is publicly 'in progress'. Enterprise security reviews may block until a report is available or accept compensating controls (minimal data + EU hosts).
Referrer-based uniques and timezone country	Not listed	Low Uniques are not durable visitor IDs; country is timezone-based with known mis-tag edge cases. Totals will differ from GA client-ID models—set stakeholder expectations.
CDN/DDoS vendor documentation inconsistency	Not listed	Low Subprocessors list Bunny (EU) for CDN/DNS; GDPR page still references Cloudflare for CDN/DDoS. Ask for current edge path before asserting zero US-group infrastructure touch.
Small independent operator	Not listed	Low Public About page describes a three-person self-funded team. Fine for many sites; large enterprises should assess continuity, support SLAs, and roadmap capacity explicitly.

Fit

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.

Simple Analytics

Best fit when

Teams measuring traffic lost when consent is denied in cookie-based analytics (GA4/Adobe)
Public-sector and regulated sites that need no cookies/IPs/visitor profiles for web stats
EU procurement that requires Dutch legal entity + published EU subprocessors for visitor data
Agencies/multi-site operators wanting a simple hosted dashboard, reports, and API/BI egress
Sites that want essential pageview/referrer/UTM metrics without an analytics-only consent banner

Poor fit when

Product analytics needing session replay, heatmaps, or person-level funnels
Organizations that must self-host analytics or prefer open-source governance (see Plausible/Matomo)
Buyers requiring city/region geolocation accuracy (country is timezone-derived)
Teams whose primary need is identity-rich attribution, audiences, and marketing automation inside the analytics suite

Consider instead when

When: You need open-source and/or official self-hosting of privacy-first analytics
Consider: Plausible Analytics (catalog: plausible_analytics) or Matomo
Simple Analytics is hosted SaaS only; Plausible and Matomo cover self-host paths many security policies require.
When: You need a deeper EU enterprise analytics platform with configurable processing and on-prem options
Consider: Piwik PRO (catalog: piwik_pro)
Heavier suite and procurement surface than Simple Analytics’ minimal cookieless product.
When: You need identity graphs, remarketing audiences, and full marketing analytics depth
Consider: Google Analytics or Adobe Analytics
Keep those for consented deep analysis; Simple Analytics is the opposite design tradeoff.
When: You want another lightweight EU cookieless tracker and are comparing peers
Consider: Pirsch Analytics (pirsch_analytics) or Friendly Analytics (friendly_analytics)
Compare retention, multi-site, SSO, and API maturity rather than GDPR slogans alone.

Open questions for due diligence

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?

Simple Analytics

Is Cloudflare still used for any CDN/DDoS path, or has Bunny fully replaced it for edge services?
When will SOC 2 Type II complete, and will the report be available under NDA?
What exact data-retention windows apply per plan for your expected traffic volume?
Will the vendor sign your standard DPA/SCC pack as-is for public-sector procurement?
Are any non-EU subprocessors used for account email, payments, or support that could affect broader vendor risk (visitor analytics list excludes these)?