Logo: nilly

nilly

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.

nilly is a privacy-first web analytics SaaS for site owners who want pageviews, referrers, geography, technology breakdowns, custom events, and real-time traffic without cookies, IP logging, or browser fingerprinting. It is developed by Gianluca Pirrera through Lyo GmbH in Zurich.

It exists as a lightweight Swiss alternative to Google Analytics. Public pages describe an independent, founder-owned setup. Marketing still brands the service as nilly; the live public site and API currently resolve on kandur.one.

The concrete differentiator is that cookieless, sub-1kB tracking with unlimited sites and a REST API. Confirm the current hostname and legal pages before procurement, because the historic nilly.io hostname did not resolve in research.

Cookieless trackingSwiss-hosted (claimed)Swiss entitySub-1 kB scriptREST APISaaS only

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.

Key capabilities

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

At a glance

HQ
Zürich, Switzerland (Lyo GmbH)
Legal entity
Lyo GmbH (CHE-417.675.763)
Product model
SaaS web analytics (not self-hosted)
Tracking
Cookieless; no IP/fingerprint claims
Hosting (claimed)
Switzerland (multi-site)
Commercial model
Traffic-based plans; trial; no permanent free tier
Live site note
kandur.one (nilly branding; nilly.io DNS failed at research)

Best fit when

  • Privacy-conscious SMBs and indie sites replacing GA4 with aggregate metrics only
  • Teams that want Swiss legal entity and Swiss-located analytics servers
  • Operators running many sites who benefit from unlimited websites on traffic tiers
  • Builders who need a simple REST API for pageviews, referrers, geo, and events
  • Sites prioritizing minimal JS weight and fewer analytics consent prompts

Poor fit when

  • Organizations that must self-host or review open-source analytics code
  • Buyers needing published ISO 27001/SOC 2 or a full public DPA/subprocessor pack
  • Marketing teams requiring session replay, heatmaps, or advanced e-commerce/ad sync suites
  • Enterprises that need SSO/SCIM, formal SLAs, and large-vendor assurance paperwork as table stakes

Consider instead when

  • 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.

Jurisdiction & ownership

Legal entity
Lyo GmbH, Europaallee 41, 8004 Zürich (CHE-417.675.763)
Governing law
Switzerland (terms)
US parent / control
No known US parent
CLOUD Act exposure (indicative)
Medium
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.

No known US parent. CLOUD Act exposure is medium mainly due to US-group SaaS on the account/billing path (Stripe; Gravatar), not because visitor metrics are marketed as US-hosted. Indicative only — not legal advice.

  • Independent security / no-logs auditNot found
  • ISO 27001Not found
  • SOC 2 / SOC 3Not found
  • GDPR / EU data protectionVendor claimed
  • +4

Considerations & known limitations

  • MediumBrand/domain transition (nilly.io vs kandur.one)

    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.

  • MediumUS SaaS on customer account path

    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.

  • MediumThin public assurance pack

    No public ISO 27001/SOC 2, independent security audit, or DPA page found. Fine for many SMB shortlists; friction for regulated enterprise questionnaires.

  • LowNo self-host or open-source edition

    Cannot run on your own infra or audit server code from a public repo. Hard limit for sovereignty programs that require self-host.

  • LowSmall independent operator

    Founder-owned Swiss GmbH without VC narrative—positive for independence, but buyers should assess support SLAs, roadmap continuity, and single-vendor concentration.

Open questions for due diligence

  • Will Lyo GmbH sign a B2B DPA and provide a current full subprocessor list (including backups, monitoring, CDN)?
  • Is analytics data retained only on Swiss hosts, or are any DR/replicas outside Switzerland?
  • What is the durable public domain for tracking scripts and API (kandur.one vs nilly.io) for the next 12 months?
  • Are there enterprise features (SSO, roles, retention controls, MSA/SLA) beyond self-serve traffic plans?
  • Can the vendor provide any independent security assessment under NDA?

Frequently Asked Questions

The vendor states tracking uses no cookies, no IP addresses, and no fingerprinting, and markets compliance with FADP, GDPR, CCPA, PECR/ePR, and PIPL by design, arguing cookie banners are unnecessary for its analytics. That is a product claim, not legal advice: whether your site can omit a banner depends on all tags you load (ads, chat, fonts, etc.) and counsel in your jurisdiction. Treat nilly as reducing analytics-specific consent friction, not as a blanket CMP replacement.

FAQ: analytics servers are located and operated in Switzerland (multiple locations). Privacy policy for customer accounts names Stripe (payments) and Mailerlite (newsletters/service mail); avatars use Gravatar. Marketing host reverse-DNS points at Swiss hosting (KreativMedia/METANET in Zürich). No full public subprocessor matrix (backups, monitoring, CDN) was found—request a current list and DPA before enterprise procurement.

Public materials describe a proprietary SaaS only: no official self-host guide and no open-source license/repo for the core product. If you need on-prem or code audit rights, shortlist Matomo (self-host), Plausible (open source + cloud), or Pirsch instead.

Install via a single script line on arbitrary HTML, with marketing mentions of WordPress, Webflow, Shopify, and Squarespace-style embeds. UTM campaigns work in Acquisitions without special setup. A REST API exposes stats dimensions (pages, referrers, campaigns, geo, devices, events, etc.) plus website and account management for custom pipelines.

nilly is a Swiss, founder-owned, cookieless SaaS with an ultra-light script, city-level geo, custom events, unlimited sites, and API—optimized for simple site analytics. Plausible (Estonia) and Simple Analytics (Netherlands) are closer EU peers with larger public ecosystems; Plausible also offers open source/self-host paths. etracker (Germany) targets deeper marketing/e-commerce analytics and tag/consent tooling. Pick nilly for Swiss residency story + simplicity; pick peers when you need OSS, self-host, or suite depth.