You’re comparing GTM server-side hosting options—Stape, TAGGRS, Addingwell, DIY—trying to figure out which one makes sense for your WooCommerce store. The pricing varies. The features overlap. And nobody mentions the actual cost: GTM expertise.

Here’s what the comparison articles don’t tell you. Every GTM hosting option solves the same narrow problem—running a server container. None of them solve the real problem: the 50-120 hours of configuration work that happens before hosting even matters.

Stape: The Popular Default#

Stape is the most common GTM server-side hosting provider. They’ve built a solid product with good documentation and reasonable support. Pricing uses a request-based model that scales with your traffic.

Stape pricing tiers:

• Starter: $20/month—small sites, limited requests
• Growth: $50-100/month—moderate traffic
• Scale: $200+/month—high-traffic stores

The infrastructure is reliable. Custom domain setup works smoothly. Server-side GTM with a first-party subdomain can set cookies that bypass Safari’s 7-day ITP limit (WebKit/Apple)—a real benefit for attribution.

But Stape hosts your GTM container. It doesn’t configure it. You still need to build the container, set up tags for each destination, configure variables and triggers, and maintain everything when platforms update their requirements. Stape is infrastructure, not implementation.

You may be interested in: The Real Cost of GTM Server-Side: What Nobody Tells You

TAGGRS: The European Alternative#

TAGGRS positions as the EU-focused alternative to Stape. European data centers, GDPR-compliant infrastructure, and support that operates in European time zones.

TAGGRS pricing:

• Starter: €29/month
• Professional: €99/month
• Enterprise: €199+/month

For businesses where data residency matters—and in the EU, it often does—TAGGRS offers peace of mind that your server-side container runs within European jurisdiction.

The same limitation applies. TAGGRS hosts GTM containers. Configuration, tag management, and ongoing maintenance remain your responsibility. European hosting doesn’t eliminate European-level GTM complexity.

DIY: The Control Illusion#

Self-hosting GTM server-side sounds appealing. Full control. No vendor lock-in. Pay only for infrastructure.

DIY infrastructure costs:

• Google Cloud Run: $50-100/month typical
• AWS Fargate: $75-150/month typical
• DigitalOcean: $50-100/month typical

Looks cheaper than Stape or TAGGRS. Until you factor in human time.

DIY setup requires 50-120 hours of developer time. Container deployment. Custom domain configuration. SSL certificates. Scaling rules. Monitoring. Debugging when things break. At $120/hour—typical agency rates for GTM specialists—that’s $6,000-14,400 before your first event fires.

Then there’s maintenance. Platform APIs change. Google updates GTM requirements. Your container needs updates. DIY means ongoing developer involvement, not a one-time project.

The Hidden Cost Nobody Mentions#

Stape, TAGGRS, and DIY all answer the wrong question. “Where should I host my GTM container?” assumes you want a GTM container at all.

All GTM hosting options require the same expertise:

• Container architecture and configuration
• Tag setup for each platform (GA4, Facebook CAPI, Google Ads)
• Variable and trigger configuration
• Testing and debugging
• Ongoing maintenance as platforms evolve

The hosting provider doesn’t do this work. You do—or you hire someone who does. GTM expertise costs $70,000-145,000 over five years in developer time, regardless of where you host.

You may be interested in: Is GTM Server-Side Overkill for Your WordPress Store?

For a WooCommerce store doing $500K/year, GTM server-side makes the hosting decision feel important. But the hosting cost is 10% of the real cost. The other 90% is GTM itself.

The WordPress-Native Alternative#

What if you didn’t need GTM at all?

Transmute Engine™ is a first-party Node.js server that runs on your subdomain—data.yourstore.com or track.yourbrand.com. The inPIPE WordPress plugin captures WooCommerce events and sends them via API to your Transmute Engine server. From there, events route simultaneously to GA4, Facebook CAPI, Google Ads, BigQuery, and more.

No GTM container. No tag configuration. No ongoing container maintenance.

The architecture eliminates GTM entirely. WooCommerce hooks capture events natively. Your tracking server formats and routes them per platform requirements. The destinations receive properly formatted data without you learning GTM’s configuration language.

First-party delivery from your subdomain bypasses ad blockers. 31.5% of global users run ad blockers (Statista, 2024), blocking third-party tracking scripts. Requests to your own domain sail through. Safari’s ITP? First-party cookies from your subdomain have full lifespan, not the 7-day limit.

Cost Comparison: 5-Year Reality#

Let’s run real numbers for a mid-sized WooCommerce store.

Stape + GTM Expertise (5 years):

• Hosting: $100/month × 60 = $6,000
• Initial setup: 80 hours × $120 = $9,600
• Ongoing maintenance: 10 hours/month × $120 × 60 = $72,000
• Total: ~$87,600

DIY Hosting (5 years):

• Infrastructure: $75/month × 60 = $4,500
• Initial setup: 120 hours × $120 = $14,400
• Maintenance: 15 hours/month × $120 × 60 = $108,000
• Total: ~$126,900

Transmute Engine (5 years):

• Service: $149/month × 60 = $8,940
• Setup: Plugin installation, done
• Maintenance: Included
• Total: $8,940

The gap isn’t $50/month in hosting fees. It’s $70,000-$120,000 in GTM expertise you don’t need.

Key Takeaways#

• Stape pricing runs $20-200+/month—good infrastructure, but hosting only, not configuration
• TAGGRS offers EU data residency—€29-199/month, better for GDPR-focused businesses
• DIY hosting looks cheap—$50-150/month infrastructure, but $6,000-14,400 in setup time
• All GTM options require the same expertise—container configuration, tag management, ongoing maintenance
• WordPress-native alternatives eliminate GTM entirely—first-party server on your subdomain, no container complexity

Stop comparing hosting options for a system you might not need. Explore GTM-free server-side tracking built for WordPress.