Compare Simple Analytics and StatCounter on capabilities, jurisdiction, assurance, and fit for European buyers.
Both listed as alternatives to: Google Analytics, Hotjar, Matomo
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.
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 | Simple Analytics | StatCounter |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Netherlands | Ireland |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| Open source | No | No |
| Self-hosted | No | No |
| Headquarters | Netherlands | Ireland |
| Legal entity | Simple Analytics B.V., Amsterdam (KVK 88269922, VAT NL864560011B01) | Statcounter Limited (Dublin; VAT IE 9582511F) |
| Governing law | Netherlands / EU | Republic of Ireland (venue Dublin) |
| US parent / control | No known US parent | No known US parent |
| CLOUD Act exposure (indicative) | Low | Unknown |
| Hosting / residency | 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. | 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 | 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. | 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 | Simple Analytics | StatCounter |
|---|---|---|
| HQ | Amsterdam, Netherlands | Dublin, Ireland |
| Legal entity | Simple Analytics B.V. (KVK 88269922) | Statcounter Limited (CRO 431839) |
| Founded | 2018 | Not listed |
| Product type | Hosted web analytics SaaS (not self-hosted) | Not listed |
| Open source | No (proprietary) | No |
| Data focus | Cookieless, non-identifying aggregate metrics | Not listed |
| Primary hosting | Netherlands (EU); see subprocessors | Not listed |
| Commercial model | Free hobby tier + usage-based paid + enterprise | Free Basic + session-volume paid tiers |
| Product since | Not listed | 1999 (company 2006) |
| Deployment | Not listed | Hosted SaaS only |
| Tracking model | Not listed | Cookies + IP + optional session replay |
| Key capabilities | Simple Analytics | StatCounter |
|---|---|---|
| Cookieless analytics | Yes | Not listed |
| No stored IPs / visitor IDs | Yes | Not listed |
| EU-hosted (NL focus) | Yes | Not listed |
| Dutch B.V. | Yes | Not listed |
| Works beside GA4 | Yes | Not listed |
| API & BI export | 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 |
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.
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 | Simple Analytics | StatCounter |
|---|---|---|
| Independent security / no-logs audit | Not found Searched security/trust pages; no public independent audit PDF found. | Not found No public independent security or no-logs audit PDF found on primary site. |
| ISO 27001 | Not found No ISO 27001 certificate claimed on primary security pages. | Not found No ISO 27001 claim or certificate located on official pages. |
| SOC 2 / SOC 3 | Partial Vendor states SOC 2 Type II is in progress / coming soon—not completed certification at research time. | Not found No SOC 2/3 report referenced on official marketing/legal pages. |
| GDPR / EU data protection | 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. | 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 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. | 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) | Partial Vendor says DPA usually not required (no personal data) but will review/sign customer-provided DPAs aligned with architecture. | 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 subject to AI Act high-risk regimes. | Not applicable Classic web analytics / session recording product, not an AI-system offering. |
| Considerations & known limitations | Simple Analytics | StatCounter |
|---|---|---|
| Hosted SaaS only—no self-host | Medium No official self-host edition. Orgs with air-gap or on-prem telemetry mandates need Plausible self-host, Matomo, or similar instead. | Not listed |
| SOC 2 not yet complete | 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). | Not listed |
| Referrer-based uniques and timezone country | 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. | Not listed |
| CDN/DDoS vendor documentation inconsistency | 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. | Not listed |
| Small independent operator | 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. | 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 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.
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.