Full Answer

The question matters because most WooCommerce stores operate with incomplete data, and incomplete data produces incomplete answers. GTM server-side hosting starts at $90/month for Google's recommended 3-server minimum, but that is the floor — not the cost. The true total cost of ownership includes 40–80 hours of developer setup ($4,000–$16,000), 5–20 hours/month of ongoing maintenance at developer rates, log storage, monitoring tools, and debugging incidents. For a typical WordPress store, the all-in monthly cost exceeds $1,000. That's the surface-level picture — the deeper issue is structural.

WooCommerce's default analytics stack runs entirely client-side, which means every measurement depends on a browser loading a JavaScript tag without interference. Ad blockers, Safari ITP, consent rejection, and in-app browsers each suppress a portion of those tags independently, and the suppression rates compound. A store losing 15% to ad blockers, 10% to ITP, and 20% to consent rejection isn't losing 45% — some overlap — but the real loss is still 30–40% of events that never reach the analytics platform.

Server-side event tracking captures these events at the server before they ever touch a browser, which means the data survives every client-side suppression mechanism. The conversion count becomes reliable, the attribution chain stays intact, and the store owner gets a measurement foundation solid enough to actually optimise against ([server-side tracking for WordPress](https://seresa.io/blog/server-side-tracking-wordpress/)).