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Plausible Analytics vs Matomo
Compare Plausible Analytics and Matomo to find the best tool for your needs.
Plausible Analytics
Lightweight and privacy-focused web analytics tool with a simple, clean interface.
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Matomo
Open-source analytics platform that gives you full control over your data with Google Analytics-like features.
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Pricing
From $9/month based on pageviews
Self-hosted: Free (open source), Cloud: from €19/month
Pros & Cons
Plausible Analytics
Pros
- Extremely lightweight script (<1KB)
- Privacy-focused with no cookies
- Simple, intuitive dashboard
- Open-source with self-hosting option
Cons
- Less detailed than full analytics suites
- Limited custom reporting
- Fewer integrations than established tools
- No free tier for hosted version
Matomo
Pros
- 100% data ownership
- Self-hosted option available
- No sampling, full data set
- Comprehensive feature set similar to Google Analytics
Cons
- Self-hosted version requires technical setup
- Cloud version is relatively expensive
- Interface less intuitive than some alternatives
- Can require server resources when self-hosted
Features comparison
| Feature | Plausible Analytics | Matomo |
|---|---|---|
| Basic Features | ||
| Cookieless tracking | Yes | Yes Uses first-party cookies by default, but has a cookieless option |
| Real-time dashboard | Yes | Yes |
| Data retention period | Unlimited | Unlimited Self-configurable retention period in self-hosted version |
| Custom event tracking | Yes | Yes Very extensive event tracking capabilities |
| Conversion/goal tracking | Yes Goal conversion tracking | Yes Advanced goal and funnel tracking |
| Heatmaps/Click maps | No | Yes Via Heatmap & Session Recording plugin |
| Content Analytics | ||
| Session duration | Yes | Yes |
| Bounce rate | Yes Called 'Visit duration' in Plausible | Yes |
| Traffic sources | Yes | Yes Detailed referrer and campaign tracking |
| Most popular content | Yes | Yes |
| User journey | No | Yes Detailed user flow reports |
| Download tracking | Yes Via custom events | Yes |
| Internal search tracking | Limited Via custom events | Yes Built-in site search analytics |
| Technical | ||
| Self-hosted | Yes Self-hosted version available on GitHub | Yes |
| Open source | Yes AGPL license | Yes GPL license |
| Cloud managed version | Yes | Yes Matomo Cloud with various pricing tiers |
| API available | Yes Stats API and events API | Yes |
| Data export options | Yes CSV export of all stats | Yes CSV, TSV, XML, JSON, PHP, RSS |
| CMS integrations | Yes WordPress, Ghost, Webflow, and more | Yes WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, Magento, and many more |
| Product analytics | ||
| Conversion funnels | No | Yes Advanced funnel visualization and analysis |
| User segmentation | Limited Basic filtering by UTM tags, device, country | Yes Advanced segmentation capabilities |
| Cohorts | No | Yes Available with additional plugin |
| A/B testing | No | Yes Via A/B Testing plugin |
| User flow visualization | No | Yes |
| Session recording | No | Yes Via Heatmap & Session Recording plugin |
| Administration | ||
| Multi-user/access management | Yes | Yes Comprehensive user and permission management |
| White-labeling/customization | Yes Custom domain on higher plans | Yes Highly customizable UI and branding |
| Automated reports/alerts | Yes Weekly/monthly email reports | Yes Scheduled email reports and custom alerts |
| IP filtering | Yes | Yes Advanced IP exclusion and anonymization options |
| Privacy & Compliance | ||
| GDPR/CCPA compliance | Yes Built with privacy regulations in mind | Yes |
| Cookie banner requirement | No | Yes Required if using default cookie-based tracking |
| Privacy options | Yes Privacy-first approach, no personal data collection | Yes Extensive privacy features including data anonymization |
| Visitor consent required | No | Configurable Can be configured to respect visitor consent |
| Other Features | ||
| Active Reading time | Not specified | No |