Simple Analytics vs Google Analytics
Simple Analytics is a European alternative to Google Analytics: same web analytics use case, headquartered in Netherlands and operating under GDPR by default, while Google Analytics (Google) is based in the United States.
By the EU Alternatives team Last updated
Gain website insights with a privacy-first, EU-based analytics tool. Understand visitors, track events, and ensure GDPR compliance without cookies or complex reports.
- Jurisdiction
- EU / EEA
- GDPR by default
- Yes
- US CLOUD Act exposure
- No
- Open source
- No
- Free tier
- Yes
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
Simple Analytics vs Google Analytics at a glance
| Simple Analytics | Google Analytics | |
|---|---|---|
| Headquarters | Netherlands | 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 | Yes | — |
| Best for | Teams that need web analytics with EU data residency | Teams already invested in the Google ecosystem |
Choose Simple Analytics if…
- You want your data to stay under EU law without extra legal paperwork
- GDPR compliance or public-sector requirements apply to you
- You want to start free and scale up later
- 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 Simple Analytics
Simple Analytics is a Dutch privacy-first analytics platform that tracks website traffic without cookies, without personal data, and without requiring a GDPR consent banner. Every metric (page views, referrers, devices, countries, and goals) is derived from aggregate signals, never from individual fingerprinting or cross-site tracking.
A lightweight tracking script under 6 KB adds minimal page weight, and a full export API makes all data available for custom dashboards or data warehousing. Goals, funnels, and UTM parameter tracking give marketers the campaign intelligence they need without the privacy trade-off of heavier analytics platforms.
Key benefits:
- No cookies keeps you fully compliant without a consent banner in any EU country
- No personal data, meaning no IP addresses, no fingerprinting, no cross-site user IDs
- Lightweight script under 6 KB with minimal impact on page load performance
- Real-time reporting on a clean, single-screen dashboard
- Goals and funnels for conversion tracking without individual user tracking
- UTM campaign tracking for attributing traffic across marketing channels
- Export API for pulling data into custom tools and data warehouses
- Unlimited team members on all paid plans
Simple Analytics stores all data on servers in the Netherlands, with no data ever leaving the EU. Based in Amsterdam and built entirely around GDPR compliance, it uses no U.S. sub-processors and shares no data with advertising networks. The architecture is designed so that no personally identifiable information ever enters the system.
Ideal for businesses, agencies, and developers who want accurate website insights without compromising visitor privacy or adding cookie consent friction to every page.
Why choose Simple Analytics 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.
Simple Analytics removes that overhead. As a Netherlands-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.