Publytics Web Analytics: Cookieless Metrics for Publishers
More than 1,500 publishers track their traffic with Publytics, a tool built in Italy to replace Google Analytics amid rising privacy concerns. Launched in response to the end of Google Analytics Universal in 2023, Publytics provides real-time data without cookies or personal identifiers. Its dashboard echoes the familiar Universal layout but adds speed and publisher-specific views.
Headquartered in Milan, the platform processes data in the European Union, appealing to sites handling EU visitors. Publishers report using it to monitor pageviews, unique visitors, and bounce rates instantly, helping refine content and ad placements. Unlike sampled data from some rivals, every metric comes from full datasets. The service supports imports from Google Analytics 4 and others, preserving historical trends.
What is Publytics?
Publytics tracks website performance for content publishers through a lightweight JavaScript snippet. No cookies mean no personal data collection, aligning with GDPR, CCPA, and PECR rules. Data stays anonymized and aggregated in EU servers, with users retaining full ownership.
The company started in July 2023 in Milan, Italy, founded by CEO Lorenzo Diaco and fellow publishers with two decades of experience. The trigger was Google's announcement to shut down Universal Analytics (GA3), leaving many dissatisfied with GA4's event-based model, delays, and privacy risks. Existing alternatives like Matomo required self-hosting hassles, while Plausible and Fathom lacked depth for publishers.
Publytics recreates GA3's interface with upgrades: customizable dashboards load in seconds, multi-site "network" views aggregate data across properties, and AI traffic summaries highlight patterns. Metrics cover real-time pageviews, sessions, bounce rates, entrances, exits, and custom events. It filters bots automatically, preserves Core Web Vitals, and offers unlimited retention on higher plans. Users import past data from GA4, Plausible, or Fathom via support-assisted steps. API access enables integrations, and scheduled emails deliver reports. Tools target Google Discover traffic, a key channel for news sites.
Over a year in, Publytics featured at DMEXCO and Web Summit, earned strong AppSumo ratings for reliability, and grew to serve sites like The Golfing Gazette and Bloody Elbow.
Who Uses Publytics?
Publytics targets content publishers, news outlets, and media companies optimizing editorial calendars, ad yields, and audience growth. It suits solo bloggers to networks managing dozens of sites.
Examples include The Golfing Gazette for niche sports coverage, Bloody Elbow for MMA news, Automoto for automotive content, NetAddiction for gaming, and Brocardi.it for legal resources. These users value bot-free counts, Discover optimization, and team access for editors without data expertise. One publisher noted it outperforms GA4 on speed for daily checks, while another praised network views for portfolio oversight.
European Advantage
Based in Milan, Italy, Publytics stores all data in the EU, ensuring sovereignty and swift compliance with GDPR. No U.S. transfers avoid Schrems II issues. Cookieless tracking skips consent banners, boosting load times and visitor trust. The Italian team understands PECR nuances for UK users too. As an EU startup, it prioritizes local hosting for low latency across Europe.
How Publytics Compares
Publytics stands out for publishers against Google Analytics 4, which many find overly complex with delayed, sampled data. Publytics delivers GA3-like simplicity plus real-time accuracy without privacy tradeoffs.
Matomo demands self-hosting and server management; Publytics is fully managed SaaS. Plausible and Fathom offer privacy but limited publisher tools—no deep events, networks, or Discover tracking. Publytics edges on customization and scale, with API and unlimited exports.
Get Started with Publytics
Ready to try Publytics?
Visit Official Website to learn more and get started.