3 modes
Identifier choices
Visitor cookies, a 30-minute session hash, or neither.
vs Piwik PRO
Two privacy architectures. Different trade-offs.
Updated · By Rafa Jiménez, Founder, Sealmetrics
Piwik PRO is a broad suite that lets teams configure identifiers, consent and anonymous collection. Sealmetrics takes a narrower aggregate path: no browser identifiers and last-click campaign and revenue reporting. Compare configuration, reporting depth and governance — not hosting alone.
No migration · Run in parallel · You decide
The gap
Where Piwik PRO falls short.
Piwik PRO offers a configurable privacy spectrum: visitor cookies, a 30-minute session hash, or neither. Sealmetrics uses a fixed aggregate model without browser identifiers. The useful comparison is what each configuration can report.
7 models
Attribution with identifiers
Piwik PRO lists seven attribution models in its richest identifier mode.
1 event
Privacy-maximized sessions
With cookies and the session hash off, each event is treated as a new session.
Dublin
Sealmetrics hosting
Sealmetrics processes analytics data in Ireland using a fixed aggregate model.
Comparison
Feature by feature. No spin.
The honest comparison against Piwik PRO. Acknowledges its strengths; clear about where it falls short for modern European eCommerce.
Technical & data capture
| Capability | Piwik PRO | Sealmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| Data capture | ||
| Visitor cookies | Optional | Not used |
| Session hash | Optional · 30-minute lifetime | Not used |
| Consent handling | Built-in or third-party; behavior depends on configuration | No browser identifiers; legal assessment still depends on purpose and implementation |
| Infrastructure | ||
| Data residency | Multiple public and private cloud locations, including EU options | Dublin, Ireland |
| Deployment flexibility | Public cloud and private cloud options | Managed EU-hosted service |
| Tracker performance (measured) | ||
| Script weight on the wire (gzip) | ~26 KB · ppms.js | 1.1 KB · ~24× lighter |
| JavaScript parsed on the device | ~67 KB | 2.0 KB |
Pricing & customer success
| Capability | Piwik PRO | Sealmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| Operating model | ||
| Product scope | Analytics + consent management + Tag Manager + activation | Aggregate analytics focused on campaign and revenue decisions |
| Privacy posture | Configurable per site and jurisdiction | Fixed identifier-free collection model |
| Implementation decision | Choose identifiers, consent behavior and hosting | Define observed events and reporting needs |
| Where Piwik PRO is the better choice | ||
| Product scope | Analytics + CDP + Tag Manager in one contract | Analytics only — pair with Segment or Rudderstack for CDP |
| Visitor-level analysis | Available when identifiers are enabled and the implementation has a legal basis | Not offered — aggregate event measurement by design |
| Regulated-sector track record | HIPAA with a BAA on Enterprise · public-sector deployments | EU-hosted · DPA and TPSR · no sector certification |
| Customer success | ||
| Onboarding | Implementation assistance on Enterprise | Script or native module · 5–30 min by platform |
| Support | Tiered · SLAs on enterprise | Email from Growth · chat and priority from Scale · account manager on Enterprise |
Reporting
| Capability | Piwik PRO | Sealmetrics |
|---|---|---|
| Attribution and reporting | ||
| With visitor cookies + session hash | Seven listed attribution models and visitor continuity | Not applicable — no visitor identifiers |
| With session hash only | Session recognition and last-click attribution | Last-click on observed aggregate events |
| With neither identifier | Each event is a new session; no traffic-source or channel-attribution report | Campaign and revenue reporting remains part of the aggregate model |
| Reporting parity | ||
| Prebuilt reports | Full classic reporting UI · mature | Decision-ready defaults · channels, funnels, pages |
| Reporting without identifiers | Documented loss of session continuity, traffic sources and channel attribution | Aggregate reporting without visitor-level profiles |
| Custom analysis | Segments + custom reports | Segments + property breakdowns · BigQuery for deep dives |
Not "Piwik PRO is broken". It works for its original use case. For deciding with complete data in today's European context, it falls short. Run both 30 days and decide.
FAQ
The objections, answered.
What CMOs and CTOs ask before switching from Piwik PRO.
Still have questions? Our team — including the founder — is one message away.
Talk to us →Case study · Dreamplace Hotels
How Dreamplace Hotels reconciles channel sales against its CRM.
“What it gives us is what we've always needed: data as real as possible, as close to reality as possible.”
Eduardo Martin · Analytics & Campaigns · Dreamplace Hotels
Dreamplace runs Sealmetrics as an independent measurement layer and uses the sales total in its CRM as the reconciliation point. Sealmetrics attributes 15–20% more sales than the previous tool and measures roughly 30% more traffic than Google Analytics. Meta and Google were the first budgets the team moved on that view.
Read the full Dreamplace case study →Compare the configuration you would actually run.
Run Sealmetrics and Piwik PRO side by side. Compare observed events, attribution, reporting depth and governance under the same traffic.
Built by a founder · EU-hosted by design
How we compared
Methodology + sources
- Sources
- Public vendor documentation for Piwik PRO (pricing, feature lists, EU data residency statements). G2 and Capterra reviews referenced where they illuminate workflow differences. Sealmetrics data points come from our own architecture and from named customer audits (Palladium Hotel Group, Dreamplace Hotels).
- Pricing as of
- Pricing data is current as of . Vendor pricing changes; we review quarterly and re-anchor on every major competitor release. Sealmetrics pricing comes from /pricing (single source of truth).
- Disclosure
- Sealmetrics is our product. We built this comparison to be useful even if you don’t choose us — every competitor mention is verifiable against its public documentation. If you find a fact that’s wrong or has changed, write to us and we’ll correct it within 48 hours.
- Update cadence
- Reviewed quarterly. Flagged for immediate update when a competitor ships a major change (pricing, EU hosting, attribution model). The page “updated” date below the H1 reflects the most recent edit.
The single source of truth eCommerce signs against
Dreamplace Hotels measures +30% more traffic than GA and attributes 15–20% more sales, reconciled against their CRM. Palladium Hotel Group found 35% of GA4 bookings without a channel and improved Display CPS by +165%.
