Sovereign alternative to Google Analytics
Google Analytics measures your audience for free, but your visit data goes to Google, in the United States, and feeds its advertising ecosystem. Matomo measures the same things and Bunker hosts it in Europe, on your own instance: you keep 100% of your data.
Google Analytics is the most widely used audience measurement tool, and it costs nothing to install. The price is paid elsewhere: your visitors' browsing data is processed by Google, transferred to the United States and cross-referenced with the rest of its ecosystem. In 2022, several European data protection authorities ruled that this use transfers personal data outside the EU without adequate safeguards, in breach of the GDPR.
Matomo is the open-source analytics platform that replays the same measurements: page views, traffic sources, conversions, heatmaps. Bunker hosts it in Europe, on an instance reserved for you. Your visitors' data stays with you, in a sovereign infrastructure, out of reach of the CLOUD Act.
Point-by-point comparison
| Criterion | Matomo (Bunker) | Google Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Where visit data lives | Your instance, hosted in Europe | Google servers (United States) |
| Data ownership | 100% yours, never resold | Processed by Google, cross-referenced with its ecosystem |
| CLOUD Act exposure | Out of reach | Subject (US publisher) |
| GDPR compliance | Configurable without consent (cookieless mode) | Ruled non-compliant by EU regulators in 2022 |
| Cookie banner | Optional (cookieless mode available) | Required |
| Report sampling | None, 100% of visits | Sampled above a threshold |
| Data retention | You decide | Capped (14 months by default on GA4) |
| Google Analytics history import | Yes | Not applicable |
| Source code | Open source | Proprietary |
| On-premise reversibility | Yes, re-internalizable | No |
Your visit data is no longer yours
When you drop the Google Analytics tag on your site, every visit is sent to Google, which processes it on its servers in the United States. You read reports, but the raw data also serves Google: advertising profiles, cross-referencing with the other services in its ecosystem. You supply the raw material, and the real customer of this free tool stays Google's ad business.
With Matomo hosted by Bunker, the data lands on an instance reserved for you, in Europe. Nobody resells it, nobody cross-references it with anything else. You keep the measurement without giving away the audience.
What EU regulators say about Google Analytics
In 2022, following the invalidation of the Privacy Shield by the Court of Justice of the European Union, several national data protection authorities held that using Google Analytics transferred personal data to the United States without sufficient safeguards, and issued formal notices to site operators. The transfer question stays sensitive as long as identifying data leaves the Union.
Self-hosted Matomo solves the problem at the root: the data never leaves the European infrastructure. Run in cookieless mode, Matomo is among the tools that regulators exempt from consent, which also lets you drop the cookie banner for audience measurement.
When Google Analytics still makes sense
Let's be honest: Google Analytics is still a powerful tool, free to start, and natively wired into Google Ads and Search Console. For a site with no sovereignty or personal-data stakes, driven mostly by paid acquisition on Google channels, it does the job.
Managed Matomo becomes the right call as soon as you want to keep ownership of your data, measure without a consent banner, get unsampled reports, and be able to bring everything back onto your own infrastructure. You can even import your Google Analytics history so you lose none of your past trends.
Frequently asked questions
Does Matomo measure the same things as Google Analytics?
Yes, on the essentials: visits, page views, traffic sources, conversions, goals, e-commerce, heatmaps and session recordings. The interface differs, but the metrics you track day to day are there. Matomo also offers an import of your Google Analytics history so you keep your past trends.
Can I really do without the cookie banner?
Yes, for audience measurement. Run in cookieless, anonymized mode, Matomo is among the solutions that regulators exempt from consent. Your visitors no longer see a banner for analytics, and you keep measuring 100% of traffic, without the statistical gap left by cookie refusals.
How is managed Matomo more sovereign than Google Analytics?
Visit data is hosted in Europe, on a dedicated instance, with no subprocessor under US jurisdiction. Nothing goes to Google, nothing falls under the CLOUD Act. You decide the retention period, and since the code is open source, you can bring the whole thing back onto your own infrastructure at any time.
Your audience, measured and hosted in Europe
Dedicated Matomo instance, data 100% yours, GDPR-compliant without a consent banner.
Bunker is not affiliated with Google Analytics. "Google Analytics" is a trademark of its publisher, referenced here for comparison to designate the competing service.