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Google Cloud Run
JENTIS
ElevarRating
Summary
Google Cloud Run is Google's documented way to host a server-side Google Tag Manager container in your own Google Cloud project, billed by Google Cloud usage.
JENTIS is a managed server-side tracking and tag management platform with its own Twin Server engine, native connectors and EU hosting.
Elevar is a Shopify-focused server-side tracking platform with a data layer, session enrichment and its own servers on Google Cloud, priced by orders per month.
Pros
- You own the Google Cloud project and the data in it
- Official Google setup guide, with automatic provisioning from Tag Manager
- Custom domain on a subdomain or on a path of your own site
- Runs in EU, UK and US regions, with multi-region setups possible
- Works with any sGTM tag template
- Own platform with connectors built and maintained by JENTIS
- Runs on your first-party domain, with extended cookie lifetimes
- Consent rules applied per data point, plus Essential Mode for pseudonymized capture without consent
- Health Center alerts when tags fail after publishing
- ISO 27001 certified company
- Free Base plan with server-side tracking
- Built for Shopify, with a data layer and checkout events
- Server Events Log shows success or error for each event sent
- Automated alerts when tracking accuracy drops below a target
- Failed messages are retried and Shopify webhook events are replayed after an outage
Cons
- Google estimates about $45 per month per server, at least 2 servers recommended
- Custom loader, cookie lifetime control and bot detection are not built in
- Geo headers need load balancer configuration, which adds a per-request fee
- Request logging can add charges above about 1 million requests per month
- You set up, monitor and maintain the servers yourself
- No published prices, every plan is quote-based
- Synthetic Users, data enrichment, raw data access and US cloud need the Professional plan
- SSO and dedicated infrastructure need the Enterprise plan
- Proprietary platform, so tag setups cannot be moved to Google's server-side GTM as is
- No self-hosting option mentioned
- Priced by orders per month, with overage per extra order
- Number of destinations is capped per plan, extra ones cost $125 per month each
- Base and Core plans only allow advertising and analytics destinations
- Running on your own server or in your own cloud is not supported
- Server regions are not documented
Pricing information
Starting Price
| Production setup (Google recommended) | About $45 per server p/m (about $90 per month for 2 servers) |
| Preview server and local testing | Not published separately |
| Core | On req. |
| Professional | On req. |
| Enterprise | On req. |
| Base | Free |
| Core | $225 p/m |
| Advanced | $650 p/m |
| Premium | $1,250 p/m |
| Elite | $3,000+ p/m |
Free trial period
15 days
Free tier
Not documented
Not documented
Base plan: up to 100 orders per month and up to 2 destinations
Billed by
Cloud Run servers (instances) per month, plus logging and load balancer charges
Not documented
Orders per month
Platform
Tagging engine
Server-side Google Tag Manager
Own tagging platform
Own tagging platform
Product type
Self-hosted sGTM on Cloud Run in your own Google Cloud project
Managed server-side tracking and tag management platform with its own Twin Server engine
Shopify-focused server-side tracking platform with a data layer, session enrichment and its own servers
Destinations
Any sGTM tag template you add yourself. No connectors are built in by the hosting setup.
Native connectors built and maintained by JENTIS, including GA4, Meta Conversions API and Google Ads; the pricing page says 'Unlimited' integrations and '100+ more'
Server-side destinations including Google Ads, GA4, Meta, TikTok, Klaviyo, Attentive, Awin, BigQuery and Google Pub/Sub; the Shopify listing says 50+ integrations
Shop and CMS apps
Not documented
Shopify app (linked from the site footer); web and app tracking
Shopify app (Plus, non-Plus and headless); non-Shopify and headless sites through a subdomain source
Account Security
Not documented
- Single Sign-on
- Two-factor Authentication
Not documented
Hosting
Hosting
Your own Google Cloud project
JENTIS runs the servers on a Kubernetes-based, auto-scaling infrastructure, hosted in the EU. Cloud provider not named. Professional plan lists a choice of EU or US infrastructure, Enterprise lists dedicated infrastructure
Elevar runs the servers on Google Cloud Platform (serverless, with Pub/Sub for message delivery). Own servers are not supported. Regions are not stated
Data Center Locations
- European Economic Area (EEA)
- United Kingdom
- United States
- European Economic Area (EEA)
- United States
Not documented
Custom domain
Map a custom domain or subdomain to the tagging server
Tracking runs through your first-party domain with a JENTIS snippet and a DNS A-record
On Shopify, requests go to the same subdomain as the storefront. Headless and non-Shopify sites must use a subdomain of the main domain
Same-origin serving
Google lists serving under a path of your own site (such as /metrics) as best practice; needs a CDN or load balancer
Not documented
Non-Shopify subdomain code can be sent through a proxy path of your own choosing on your site (target hits.getelevar.com); plans not stated
Uptime SLA
Not documented
Not documented
Not documented
Compliance
Not documented
- GDPR
Not documented
Data quality features
Custom script loader
Not built in. Needs a third-party template or your own work
Not documented
Not documented
Cookie lifetime extension
Not built in. A custom domain gives server-set cookies, but the lifetime is not extended by default. Needs a third-party template or your own work
Cookie Lifetime Extender is listed in the Core plan; no duration is stated
Session Enrichment uses a 1-year server-set cookie; attribution data is also kept server-side. Whether it is on every plan is not stated
Bot detection
Not built in. Needs a third-party template or your own work
Not documented
Not documented
Geo and device headers
Via a Google Cloud load balancer with custom request headers (X-Gclb-Country, X-Gclb-Region); a per-million-request fee applies
Not documented
Not documented
Data enrichment
Not documented
Real-Time Data Enrichment is listed in the Professional plan
Session Enrichment links emails and phone numbers to a user ID and stores click IDs, UTMs and referrers server-side; all plans list session enrichment
Monitoring
Request logs
Cloud Run request logs in Google Cloud logging; Google warns of significant charges above about 1 million requests per month
Not documented
Server Events Log shows each event sent and its result; retention and plans not stated
Monitoring and alerts
Not documented
Health Center checks tag execution after publishing and alerts the team when something fails; plan not stated
Automated alerts when tracking drops below a target accuracy; all plans list monitoring and alerts
Support
Support description
Google documents the setup in its developer guides. There is no vendor support specific to this setup in the pages reviewed; support depends on your Google Cloud support plan.
JENTIS lists 24/7 in-house support, with implementation and migration help. The Professional plan adds a dedicated Customer Success Manager and priority support. The Enterprise plan adds enterprise support, professional services and a dedicated solution architect.
Base plan customers get an in-app chatbot and a knowledge base. Core and Advanced plans get in-app support tickets with a stated response within 24 hours, and Premium and Elite get priority support within 12 hours. Paid add-ons include implementation services and analyst services.
Support Options
- Phone
- Live Chat
- Ticketing system
- Knowledge base
- Community
Not documented
- Phone
- Live Chat
- Ticketing system
- Knowledge base
- Community