# Piano Analytics — Web Analytics

Piano Analytics by Applied Technologies Internet SAS holds a panel rating of 3/5 from 6 AI judges (category median 2.5/5), as of 2026-10-30. Provenance: EU origin, foreign-owned; sovereignty: not determined.

- Vendor: Applied Technologies Internet SAS (https://www.piano.io/product/analytics)
- Category: [Web Analytics](https://whats-best.ai/software/web-analytics.md)
- Provenance (editorial classification): EU origin, foreign-owned
- Canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/web-analytics/piano-analytics
- Alternatives: https://whats-best.ai/software/web-analytics/piano-analytics/alternatives ([markdown](https://whats-best.ai/software/web-analytics/piano-analytics/alternatives.md))
- Data as of: 2026-11-04 · evaluated 2026-10-30 · oldest source captured 2026-10-29

**AI-generated.** Every score, rationale and verdict here is written by a panel of AI judges from public evidence — an analysis, not a hands-on test. Every fact quotes the vendor page it was read from. No score can be bought. How scores are made: https://whats-best.ai/methodology

## At a glance

- Vendor: Applied Technologies Internet SAS
- Headquarters: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026
- Data hosting: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026
- Free plan: Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026

## The panel's verdict

Piano Analytics is the web analytics suite of Applied Technologies Internet SAS, a French company controlled by Piano Software Inc. of Philadelphia. Traffic reporting is the strongest criterion, sitting at 6: the documentation covers organic sources including a generative-AI source, UTM or Piano nomenclature, configurable source priority, CSV URL-list import, and an attribution module for comparing models. Conversions and events lands at 5-6 on the strength of the funnel module. Consent and privacy splits 5 to 6 — two judges credit the unusually granular anonymisation documentation, four hold at 5 because counting rests on cookies and terminal IDs, IP truncation is optional, and judges found no public information on a consent-free mode. Sovereignty and data ownership score 6-7, on published transfer safeguards and a thirty-day termination download window, though listed hosting regions span EU, USA and Japan and residency is not confirmed on the vendor's pages. Implementation is the weak spot, sitting at 4. Pricing transparency scores 1-2 and is not counted; persona-weighted verdicts range 5.4 to 5.8.

**Speaks for it:**
- Traffic-source documentation runs deep — organic sources including a generative-AI source, UTM or Piano nomenclature, configurable source priority and CSV-importable URL lists
- Funnel module supports per-step filters, breakdowns, segments, visit/visitor/user scopes, drop-off and execution times per step
- Anonymisation is documented per data type, with hashed terminal IDs standard and IP truncation, visitor-ID masking and property emptying as options
- Transfer chain is published — EDPB-approved binding corporate rules, standard contractual clauses, a GDPR Article 28 DPA, ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and a subprocessor list with locations
- Exit terms are fixed by contract, with a thirty-day download window after termination and deletion of all data at contract end

**Held against it:**
- Implementation scores a flat 4: the documented path is JavaScript tagging libraries and native-app SDKs, with no public information on plugins for named CMS or shop systems, script size or single sign-on
- We found no public information on e-commerce tracking of orders, revenue or products, or on conversions sent back to ad platforms
- We found no public information on the everyday dashboard layer — real-time views, date comparisons, country and device reports or shared dashboards
- Counting is documented to rely on cookies, mobile IDs and web beacons, with IP truncation offered as an option rather than a default
- The analytics stack's listed hosting regions span EU, USA and Japan, and where a given customer's visitor data resides is not confirmed on the vendor's pages

**Best for:**
- You need deep traffic-source and campaign analysis — configurable sources, UTM compatibility and an attribution module to compare models beyond the default last touch
- Your procurement or privacy review requires published transfer documentation — an Article 28 DPA, EDPB-approved binding corporate rules, SCCs and ISO/IEC 27001:2022 — with EU contracting entities available
- You want firm exit terms and raw data in your own warehouse — a thirty-day download window after termination, deletion at contract end, and Data Flow export to FTP/SFTP or Amazon S3
- You measure conversions through events and funnels rather than e-commerce transactions

**Avoid if:**
- You need counting that runs without cookies or a consent banner — the documented collection uses cookies, mobile IDs and web beacons, and IP truncation is an option
- You require confirmed EU residency for visitor data — the analytics stack's listed hosting regions include the USA and Japan, and residency is not confirmed on the vendor's own pages
- You must compute an annual cost before a sales conversation — ask the vendor: the public pages we read do not show it
- Your team expects prebuilt plugins for named CMS or shop systems — the documented installation path is JavaScript tagging libraries and native-app SDKs

## Scores by judge and criterion

Scores out of 5, each judge scoring independently against the published rubric (v1). "n/r" = not rated: the vendor publishes no price, or the judge found no public information on that criterion.

| Criterion | The E-Commerce Marketing Lead | The Data Protection Officer | The Agency Developer | The Growth Analyst | The Public-Sector Site Owner | The Skeptic |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Traffic, sources & campaign reports | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Goals, events, funnels & e-commerce | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2.5/5 |
| Consent-free operation & data minimisation | 2.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 | 2.5/5 |
| Data access, export & self-hosting | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Installation, integrations & performance | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 |
| European sovereignty | 3.5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Pricing transparency | n/r | n/r | n/r | n/r | n/r | n/r |
| **Weighted verdict** | **3/5** | **3/5** | **3/5** | **3/5** | **3/5** | **2.5/5** |

### The judges

- **The E-Commerce Marketing Lead** (v1.0): Runs marketing for a Shopware shop selling outdoor gear in Germany and Austria, with a monthly ad budget split between Google, Meta and two price comparison sites. Since the consent banner went live, a third of the orders no longer show a source. Wants revenue per campaign that matches the shop backend, a checkout funnel that shows where carts are left, conversions sent back to the ad platforms, and numbers that hold without a click on "accept".
- **The Data Protection Officer** (v1.0): External data protection officer for eleven mid-sized companies, three of which still ran Universal Analytics when the Austrian authority ruled on it. Reads the data policy before the feature page: which fields are stored, how a visitor is counted without a cookie, whether the IP address is cut before it is written, who the subprocessors are and where. Signs off a site without a banner only when the vendor states its reading of §25 TDDDG in writing.
- **The Agency Developer** (v1.0): Lead developer at a twelve-person web agency that runs forty client sites on WordPress and TYPO3 and a few Shopify shops. Installs the analytics once per site and answers for it for years. Wants a small script or server-side collection, a plugin per CMS, an own tracking domain so ad blockers do not cut the numbers in half, client accounts with their own logins, and a price that does not jump when one client goes viral.
- **The Growth Analyst** (v1.0): Product and growth analyst at a B2B SaaS in Munich with a marketing site, a web app and a mobile app. Needs signups traced from the first campaign click to the first paid invoice, funnels and cohorts on custom events, and the raw events in the company's warehouse every night. Has moved tracking twice and knows that a tool without a raw export means starting the history again from zero.
- **The Public-Sector Site Owner** (v1.0): Web editor for a district administration whose site serves 400,000 residents, from vehicle registration to daycare places. The state data protection authority publishes guidance on analytics, and the council will not show a cookie banner on a public service. Needs to know which pages people search for and where forms are abandoned, with data that stays in Germany or on the municipal data centre's own servers, and a contract the procurement office can sign.
- **The Skeptic** (v1.0): Has seen "no cookie banner needed" on a tool that fingerprints every visitor, "EU-hosted" on a proxy in front of a US data store, and "unlimited" data history that ends with the subscription. Reads that a product is "GDPR-compliant" and asks which ruling the vendor means, what is stored per visit, whether the history can be exported in a format another tool imports — and what leaving would cost.

## European sovereignty — proven facts

Built only from facts on the vendor's own pages; a dimension we could not prove is left open, never scored as zero. Headline: not determined.

| Dimension | Finding | Points | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal entity | Not determined | — | — |
| Hosting location | Not determined | — | — |
| Hosting options | Not determined | — | — |
| Open source | Not determined | — | — |
| Data processing agreement | Not determined | — | — |
| Transfer impact assessment | Not determined | — | — |

## Key facts

Each fact is the vendor's own statement, cited to the source page it was read from ([S*n*] → Sources).

**Compliance**
- Aws cispe: yes [S6]
- Bcr: yes [S6]
- Csr ecovadis: yes [S5]
- DPA required: yes [S7]
- Dsr rights: Information · Access · Rectification · Erasure · Portability · Objection [S6]
- Dsr support: yes [S6]
- GDPR article references: data minimisation and anonymisation principles applied to products [S13]
- GDPR europrivacy: yes [S5]
- HIPAA: yes [S5]
- Incident response: yes [S6]
- ISO 27001: ISO/IEC 27001:2022 · yes [S5]
- Legal commitments: yes [S5]
- Legal disclosure history: 0 [S6]
- No data sale: no · no [S6]
- Opt out: yes [S6]
- Pci dss: yes [S5]
- Pipeda: yes [S6]
- Security measures: yes · yes · yes [S6]
- Sensitive data: no [S6]
- Transfer mechanisms: yes · yes [S6]

**Data**
- Collected types: IP address (anonymizable) · terminal ID (cookie/mobile ID) · navigation data · behavior info · registered user info (name, email) [S6]
- Collection methods: tagging libraries (JavaScript on web, SDK for native apps) [S6]
- Retention: yes [S5]
- Return on termination: 30 [S7]
- Sharing: no [S6]
- Subject rights: yes [S5]

**Legal**
- Acceptable use policy: https://piano.io/aup [S7]
- Affiliate access: no [S6]
- Affiliates: Applied Technologies Internet GmbH (Germany) · Applied Technologies Internet SAS (France) · Newzmate Sp. z o.o. (Poland) · Piano Japan Co. Ltd (Japan) · Piano Software B.V. (Netherlands) · Piano Software GmbH (Germany) · Piano Software Inc… [S6]
- Contracting entities: Piano Software, Inc. (Philadelphia, PA) · Piano Software Norway (Oslo) · Applied Technologies Internet SAS (Merignac, France) · Piano Software GmbH (Berlin, Germany) [S7]
- Dmca notice: yes [S5]
- DPA conflict precedence: yes [S7]
- Entity: Piano Software Inc. · data processor · Philadelphia, USA [S6]
- Ip ownership deliverables: Piano · Client [S7]
- Last updated: October 1, 2026 [S13]
- Order of precedence: Software Schedule · Schedules · Agreement · other incorporated documents [S7]
- Privacy policy: yes [S5]
- Subscription orchestration terms: https://www.piano.io/legal/subscription-orchestration-terms · Piano Activation subscription platform [S7]
- Termination for breach: 30 [S7]

**Pricing**
- Annual increase: annually upon one-year anniversary or each Renewal Term · CPI (U.S. All Items) · 7 [S7]
- Currency: USD [S7]
- Data flow option: Data Flow option subscription · yes [S14]
- Late fee: daily · 1.5 [S7]
- Payment terms: 30 [S7]
- Refund on termination: termination by Piano for Client's breach · yes [S7]
- Refund policy: yes · yes · yes · yes [S7]
- Taxes excluded: no · Client (except Piano income taxes) [S7]

**Product**
- AI features: Piano documents use of AI in SaaS products and Piano AI features [S5]
- Analytics data management privacy: Data Management for Privacy: correction and deletion of data [S13]
- Analytics extended optout dependency: Personal data indicators essential to Extended opt-out consent mode [S13]
- Analytics gps rounding standard: GPS coordinate · Anonymisation (rounding to 1 decimal) · Standard [S13]
- Analytics ip truncation option: IP Address · Anonymisation · Option [S13]
- Analytics optout aggregation: Aggregation of the opt-out traffic · Visitor ID · Anonymisation · Standard [S13]
- Analytics personal data flag: "Contains personal data" flag [S13]
- Analytics property emptying option: Any information · Anonymisation (emptying) · Option [S13]
- Analytics right to be forgotten nulling: Anonymisation via nulling · Standard [S13]
- Analytics user id random recommendation: User ID · Pseudonymisation (random value) · Option [S13]
- Analytics visitor id masking option: Visitor ID · yes · Anonymisation (masking) · Option [S13]
- Analytics visitor id pseudonymisation: Hashing the original value · Terminal ID · Pseudonymisation · Standard [S13]
- Attribution model: Last Touch [S8]
- Attribution module explorer: Explorer · yes [S8]
- Audience device id pseudonymisation: Browser/Device ID · Pseudonymisation [S13]
- Audience identifier expiry six months: Identifier (browser/device) · 6 [S13]
- Audience ip not stored: IP Address · no · Restriction of storage [S13]
- Audience reporting aggregated: Reporting data · Anonymisation (aggregated) [S13]
- Audience unique identifier removal twelve months: Unique identifier · analysis only without identifier · 12 [S13]
- Beta services: no · no · yes · yes [S7]
- Campaign detection nomenclature: at_ or UTM_ tracking link parameters, user-selectable nomenclature [S8]
- Campaign properties: src_medium · src_campaign · src_format · src_cl [S8]
- Campaign required parameters: medium · campaign [S8]
- Consent management: yes [S5]
- Content spread activation: on request to support center [S10]
- Content spread on conversion: content spread on conversion propagates last viewed article info to conversion events [S10]
- Content spread propagated properties: content_article_name · content_section · content_event_url · content_publication_date · content_authors · tags_array [S10]
- Conversion metrics: conversions · secondary conversions · conversion rate · converted visits [S10]
- Conversions measurement: Piano Analytics supports measuring conversions [S10]
- Csr carbon footprint: yes [S5]
- Custom campaign parameters: yes [S8]
- Custom source deletion: yes [S8]
- Custom traffic sources: yes [S8]
- Data anonymization: ID · Billing · ESP · Analytics · Composer · DMP [S6]
- Data flow export video tutorial: Piano Analytics offers a Data Flow export feature, with a video tutorial titled 'Create a new Data Flow export' in its documentation [S15]
- Data minimization: yes [S5]
- Digital accessibility: yes [S5]
- DPA: yes [S6]
- Funnel analysis purpose: Funnel analysis tracks sequences of events to identify where users experience difficulties [S11]
- Funnel API call: A button retrieves the API call for the funnel [S11]
- Funnel breakdown: Breakdown by property is supported; property value must be filled on the first step [S11]
- Funnel creation methods: Library · Data Query [S11]
- Funnel kpis: Visits (1 step) · Average time · Conversion rate · Bounces · max/min completion times [S11]
- Funnel scope options: Visit · Visit · Visitor · User [S11]
- Funnel segment support: Segments can be applied to funnels [S11]
- Funnel step events: Steps can use a single event, multiple events, or all events [S11]
- Funnel step execution time: Step pop-up shows converted/outgoing visits and min/avg/max execution time [S11]
- Funnel step filters: Steps can be refined with filters [S11]
- Generated exports: PDF · 30 [S14]
- Generative AI source: ChatGPT (OpenAI) · Gemini (Google) · Perplexity · yes [S8]
- Goal types: conversions measured via configurable goal types [S10]
- Integration definition: An integration is a connector with a partner solution [S16]
- Integration directions: yes · yes [S16]
- Mv test segment use: MV Test campaigns can be used as segments in funnel analysis [S11]
- Og type requirement: page_content_type must take the value of the og:type meta tag content attribute [S10]
- Organic detection event type: page.display [S8]
- Organic source types: Direct Access · Webmails · Social media · Search engines · Generative AI · Portal sites · Referrer sites [S8]
- Organic sources default: 6 [S8]
- Partnership categories: 3 [S16]
- Partnership listing info: name · logo · description · documentation_link [S16]
- Partnership type visibility: Partnership type shown in top-right corner of each entry [S16]
- Platform components: Analytics · Subscriptions (Composer, ID, Billing) · Audience (DMP, CDP) · Amplifier (ESP, Socialflow) [S6]
- Portal referrer not movable: Portal sites · Referrer sites [S8]
- Premium technology partner: Premium technology partner · yes · yes · yes [S16]
- Privacy mission: Compliance and data privacy commitment stated as core to customer service [S4]
- Processing rule goal type: conversions can be configured via processing rules on the Goal type property in Data Management [S10]
- Raw data export attribution: Data Flow · Data Sharing [S8]
- Retention: yes · yes · 25 [S6]
- Scheduled export expiry: 12 [S14]
- Scheduled export frequency period: Month · Day · Daily · Weekly [S14]
- Scheduled export renewal: 12 · 1 [S14]
- Scheduled export send modes: E-mail · FTP [S14]
- Scheduled export types: Dashboard · Data Query [S14]
- Scheduled exports list: Scheduled exports menu lists exports for dashboards, Data Query or Data Flow [S14]
- Sending config fields: configuration name · server IP/name · port · identifier · drop folder [S14]
- Sending configurations: FTP/SFTP · Amazon S3 [S14]
- Services scope: content monetization · hosted SaaS [S7]
- Site group configuration: yes [S8]
- Software modules: Piano Analytics · Piano Amplifier (Socialflow, ESP) · Piano Audience (Insight, DMP, CDP, Long Term Storage) · Piano Activation (Composer, Subscription Orchestration, ID) [S7]
- Source conditions limit: 10 [S8]
- Source detection order: direct access · webmail · social network · search engine · portal site · referring site [S8]
- Source priority configurable: yes [S8]
- Standard source deactivation: no · yes [S8]
- Subscription insights default: content spread deployed by default for Subscription Insights module; recommended for Content Profiles [S10]
- Subscriptions address retention: Complete address · security and fraud investigation · one month in raw logs [S13]
- Subscriptions device consent restriction: Device characteristics · Restriction of collection [S13]
- Subscriptions geo consent restriction: Geolocation data · Restriction of collection [S13]
- Subscriptions ip not sent to providers: IP Address · subsequent transactions · Restriction of transmission [S13]
- Subscriptions ip pseudonymisation: IP Address · Pseudonymisation [S13]
- Tagging goal type: conversions can be tagged by setting the goal_type property on the conversion event [S10]
- Technology partner: Technology partner · yes · yes [S16]
- Trackers: cookies · mobile IDs · local storage · server-to-server · clear gifs · pixel tags · web beacons [S6]
- Traffic source categories: organic sources · campaigns (marketing sources) [S8]
- Traffic source properties: src · src_details · src_type [S8]

**Subprocessors**
- Analytics: EU · USA · Japan · Cloud computing · EU · USA · Data platform [S6]
- Audience: USA · Japan · Germany [S6]
- Shared: EU · EU · EU · EU [S6]
- Stripe note: yes · payments, analytics, business services [S6]
- Subscriptions amplifier: AWS · Braintree · Snowflake · Stripe · Alchemer · Cloudflare · MailChimp · Mode Analytics · EU · USA · Japan · Australia [S6]

**Support**
- Documentation: yes · yes [S2]

4 more facts on the canonical page: https://whats-best.ai/software/web-analytics/piano-analytics

## Questions

### Is Piano Analytics European?

Partly. whats-best.ai classifies Piano Analytics as EU origin, foreign-owned.

### Where does Piano Analytics store data?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026.

### Does Piano Analytics have a free plan?

Not stated on the vendor’s pages as of 29 Oct 2026.

### What are the best alternatives to Piano Analytics?

As of 4 Nov 2026, the panel rates [Matomo (4/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/web-analytics/matomo), [Piwik PRO Analytics Suite (3.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/web-analytics/piwik-pro) and [Pirsch Analytics (3.5/5)](https://whats-best.ai/software/web-analytics/pirsch) highest among the other 17 Web Analytics products evaluated. Ratings that look equal are rounded to half stars; the order uses the unrounded rating, then the name. The highest-rated European alternative is [Piwik PRO Analytics Suite](https://whats-best.ai/software/web-analytics/piwik-pro) (EU-Made). Ratings are the AI panel’s opinion, formed from public evidence: [how scores are made](https://whats-best.ai/methodology#ordering). The full list, with European products first: [Piano Analytics alternatives](https://whats-best.ai/software/web-analytics/piano-analytics/alternatives).

## What this page leaves out

- 41 product facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 9 compliance facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 3 legal facts could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and were left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 1 data fact could not be confirmed on the vendor’s page as captured and was left out of this page and of the panel’s material.
- 5 sovereignty dimensions could not be confirmed on the vendor’s own pages and are shown as unknown.
- 6 of the readings below were written against an earlier fact sheet — a fact has been corrected, added or pulled since. Until the panel next runs on this product you are reading the older judgement.

## Sources

- [S1] Vendor homepage (analytics product): https://www.piano.io/product/analytics (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S2] Features page (data management): https://www.piano.io/product/analytics/data-management (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S3] Features page (data sources): https://www.piano.io/product/analytics/data-sources (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S4] Security / trust page (compliance): https://www.piano.io/compliance (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S5] Documentation (compliance centre): https://docs.piano.io/en/compliance (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S6] Privacy policy: https://www.piano.io/legal/privacy-policy (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S7] Terms of service and data processing agreement (dpa): https://www.piano.io/legal/msa-dpa (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S8] Traffic, sources & campaign reports — found from sitemap: https://docs.piano.io/en/analytics/traffic-sources (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S9] Traffic, sources & campaign reports — found from sitemap: https://docs.piano.io/en/analytics/presentation-of-the-traffic-sources-sub-section (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S10] Goals, events, funnels & e-commerce — found from sitemap: https://docs.piano.io/en/analytics/conversions (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S11] Goals, events, funnels & e-commerce — found from sitemap: https://docs.piano.io/en/analytics/create-funnels (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S12] Consent-free operation & data minimisation — found from sitemap: https://docs.piano.io/en/analytics/faq-privacy (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S13] Consent-free operation & data minimisation — found from sitemap: https://docs.piano.io/en/compliance/data-minimization-and-anonymization (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S14] Data access, export & self-hosting — found from sitemap: https://docs.piano.io/en/analytics/exports (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S15] Data access, export & self-hosting — found from sitemap: https://docs.piano.io/en/analytics/create-a-new-data-flow-export (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S16] Installation, integrations & performance — found from sitemap: https://docs.piano.io/en/analytics/integrations (checked 2026-10-29)
- [S17] Installation, integrations & performance — found from sitemap: https://docs.piano.io/en/analytics/google-tag-manager-pa-sdk-template (checked 2026-10-29)

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Cite as: whats-best.ai, "Piano Analytics — Web Analytics", AI panel analysis, as of 2026-11-04. https://whats-best.ai/software/web-analytics/piano-analytics

Corrections: https://whats-best.ai/correct/1141?target=page