Stape - the biggest server-side tracking company with Ukrainian origin

Ukraine is famous for its people, who have been fearlessly protecting their country for the last 3 (and, in fact, 11) years. However, it is not fair to forget that it is also the land of tech brains and IT specialists. Ukrainian developers keep getting jobs all over the world, and around a dozen Ukrainian startups showed great results and gained popularity at the Luxembourg Venture Days 2024.

The title of our interest today is definitely not a startup. Stape is already a well-established title in the market, with clients from all corners of the world and a good reputation. What brought them recognition, and why has Stape server-side tracking become a synonym for quality? We are here to tell you, and if you are on this page already - keep reading to find out!

Stape’s origins and mission

Stape was founded to solve a rising problem that everyone doing online business started facing: tightening privacy regulations and outdated data-gathering technologies that needed to be adapted to modern reality. In 2020, they started by offering server-side tagging services and later enhanced them with various additional features and power-ups.

As the title suggests, Stape is from Ukraine. Five years ago, a team of talented tech specialists created a platform that would allow companies allow companies level up their tracking to bypass ad blockers, extend cookie lifespans, and manage all tracked data in accordance with global privacy standards, such as GDPR or CCPA.

To get away from the standard description of “making things better for the sake of making things better”, we will describe it in a bit more detail. As GDPR, CCPA, and similar privacy policies become more strict, online marketing companies risk having legal problems if they share their clients’ private data with analytical platforms. In addition to that, browser extensions that block ads and built-in technologies that stop tracking scripts from execution worsen the overall data quality analysts get. That, in turn, affects the company’s strategies, budgeting, and profits.

Stape was created to help businesses overcome these problems without breaking any laws and regulations. Not allowed to share the client’s personal data with third parties? No problem! Keep losing data because of blockers? These guys know how to help you (no promotion, it is a fact).

Server-side tracking basics explained

To make it simple, server-side tracking is a type of information gathering that before being sent to the analytical platforms, all the data is reviewed on the server and modified if necessary. By modified, we mean everything that is private encrypted (names, e-mails) and everything that is missing added back (UTM tags, user IDs).

Thanks to these simple “manipulations”, businesses are able to get more correct data about their clients and be on the safe side in terms of compliance with the privacy policies active in the areas where they operate. Although many companies still feel unsure about switching to this technology as it requires money, time, and some tech proficiency to switch, the benefits server-side tracking brings are undoubtable and overwhelming. It would not be surprising if it become the new standard for everyone in a couple of years.

Stape’s core offerings

As for today (the first quarter of 2025), the company has a decent set of features and power-ups available for everyone who decides to switch to server-side tracking, and they keep expanding their toolkit. Here are some of the most popular ones.

• sGTM and Signals Gateway hosting. These are the most basic offers Stape has had from the very beginning. Google Tag Manager is a tool many marketers use to place marketing tags on websites and Signals Gateway - to track events. Moving GTM to a server makes it much less vulnerable to different types of blockers. It also allows the business to review all the received data for private information and remove/encrypt it before sending it to the analytical platforms. Privacy policies are to be followed. The same applies to Signals Gateway.
• Conversions API solutions. Nowadays, businesses operate on various platforms, such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, etc. It is common to present on several social media platforms simultaneously. Stape provides solutions for integrating Conversion APIs with the most popular platforms, which leads to businesses getting more accurate conversion data.

The company constantly monitors the market and adds new tools to its arsenal whenever there is a demand.

What makes it stand out from others?

Of course, as for a Ukrainian resource, one of the main things that makes Stape stand out in our eyes is its Ukrainian origin. However, being objective, there are several other things we can praise it for (only facts, no personal opinion).

• Stape offers solutions for companies of any size. Tiny businesses even have a chance to get assistance with server-side tracking for free, while larger entrepreneurs benefit from payment plans based on the actual number of events processed.
• If you want to host an sGTM with Stape, you can benefit from almost a hundred different templates available. It makes configuration and operation much easier.
• It does not matter where your business is located. Stape has servers around the whole globe, covering the majority of populated areas. Thus, you can expect high processing speed and good service almost anywhere.

We think we will stop here as we risk rolling into pure praising, and we are doing our best to be as objective as possible. Talking about some negative points, there are several worth mentioning:

• server-side tracking is not free, you have to pay for the cloud services, but in return, you get better data (client-side tracking costs nothing, but the data quality leaves much to be desired);
• although Stape offers ongoing support and maintenance, business owners should monitor and audit their server-side tracking systems themselves to be able to inform the company when there are problems. To be fair, though, Stape offers a Monitoring tool that will inform you about any problems that may arise while tracking.

Conclusion

If you are looking for a platform to implement server-side tracking for your business or feel that you have issues tracking clients’ data, Stape might be a good solution. Of course, you must evaluate your technical resources and budget, as well as the platforms you need integration with, beforehand to ensure it is a good investment. You cannot entrust this responsibility to anyone. If everything indicates that hosting an sGTM and integrating with CAPIs is the solution you seek, Stape might be a good choice.