Publytics vs Google Analytics
Publytics is a European alternative to Google Analytics: same web analytics use case, headquartered in Spain and operating under GDPR by default, while Google Analytics (Google) is based in the United States.
By the EU Alternatives team Last updated
Accurate, unsampled web analytics built specifically for digital publishers
- Jurisdiction
- EU / EEA
- GDPR by default
- Yes
- US CLOUD Act exposure
- No
- Open source
- No
- Free tier
- No
Google Analytics tracks visitor behaviour on a majority of the world's websites, and the standard GA4 product costs nothing. The catch is that measurement data flows through Google's US infrastructure, which led Austrian, French and Italian regulators to rule its use unlawful under the GDPR in 2022. A paid enterprise tier, Analytics 360, exists for large publishers.
- Jurisdiction
- US
- GDPR by default
- Requires DPA + TIA
- US CLOUD Act exposure
- Yes
Publytics vs Google Analytics at a glance
| Publytics | Google Analytics | |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Spain | US |
| Data jurisdiction | EU / EEA | US law applies |
| GDPR by default | Yes | Requires DPA + transfer assessment |
| US CLOUD Act exposure | No | Yes |
| Open source | No | — |
| Free tier | No | — |
| Best for | Teams that need web analytics with EU data residency | Teams already invested in the Google ecosystem |
Choose Publytics if…
- You want your data to stay under EU law without extra legal paperwork
- GDPR compliance or public-sector requirements apply to you
- You'd rather back the European tech ecosystem
Stick with Google Analytics if…
- You depend on integrations only available in the Google ecosystem
- Your organisation has no EU data-residency constraints
- Migration costs outweigh the jurisdiction benefits for now
About Publytics
What Publytics does
Publytics is a web analytics platform built specifically for digital publishers, positioned as a GA4 alternative for media companies that need accurate traffic data without sampling. Founded by Lorenzo Diaco and based in Spain with European infrastructure, it serves more than 1,500 publishers.
Features
The platform offers real-time traffic monitoring, historical data migration from GA4 and other tools, a lightweight tracker that doesn't hurt Core Web Vitals, and a Network feature for analyzing multiple sites together. Reports are publisher-focused, from article performance to author dashboards and referrer breakdowns, with both pre-built views and customizable reporting. No cookies are required, and it's compliant with GDPR, CCPA, and PECR out of the box.
Pricing and positioning
Publytics ships three tiers (Lite, Business, and Enterprise) priced against monthly pageviews, with a 14-day free trial and no credit card required. Its value prop against Google Analytics is unsampled data, publisher-oriented metrics, and EU hosting; against Plausible or Fathom, it's the publisher-specific toolkit.
Why choose Publytics over Google Analytics?
The decisive argument is data jurisdiction. Google Analytics is headquartered in US, which means personal data processed through it can be subject to non-EU legal regimes: the US CLOUD Act, FISA 702, or similar laws depending on the provider. After the 2020 Schrems II ruling, EU organisations must carry out a transfer impact assessment for every such data flow.
Publytics removes that overhead. As a Spain-based provider, it operates natively under GDPR, and data stays inside the EU/EEA by default. For regulated sectors such as health, public administration, and finance, that's not a nice-to-have but a requirement. For everyone else, it's concentration-risk insurance: you avoid depending on a single non-EU jurisdiction that can change the rules without warning.