Compare
Compare Analytics Tools
Google Cloud Run
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.
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
- 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
- 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 |
| 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
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
Orders per month
Platform
Tagging engine
Server-side Google Tag Manager
Own tagging platform
Product type
Self-hosted sGTM on Cloud Run in your own Google Cloud project
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.
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 (Plus, non-Plus and headless); non-Shopify and headless sites through a subdomain source
Account Security
Not documented
Not documented
Hosting
Hosting
Your own Google Cloud project
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
Not documented
Custom domain
Map a custom domain or subdomain to the tagging server
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
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
Compliance
Not documented
Not documented
Data quality features
Custom script loader
Not built in. Needs a third-party template or your own work
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
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
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
Data enrichment
Not documented
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
Server Events Log shows each event sent and its result; retention and plans not stated
Monitoring and alerts
Not documented
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.
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
- Phone
- Live Chat
- Ticketing system
- Knowledge base
- Community
Google Cloud RunElevar