Google Analytics vs Matomo
Google Analytics is free and tied to Google's ad tools; Matomo is open source and lets you keep the data on your own server, with paid Cloud and bundles.
Pick Google Analytics if…
You want free measurement that connects to Google Ads and Search Console and you're fine with Google's limits, such as 14 months of retention on standard properties.
Pick Matomo if…
You want to own the data, self-host for free, or use cookieless tracking. Be ready to run a server, or pay for Matomo Cloud from US$26 per month.
Price
- Free
- Freemium
- Open source
Starting price
Free plan
Open source
Works on
| Feature | Google's tool for measuring how people use your websites and apps. | Open-source web analytics you can self-host or run on Matomo Cloud. |
|---|---|---|
| Price |
|
|
| Starting price | — | US$26 per month (Cloud, 50,000 hits per month, excl. tax) |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Works on | Web | Web, API |
| Try Google Analytics (opens the Google Analytics website in a new tab) | Try Matomo (opens the Matomo website in a new tab) |
Google's product page says Google Analytics gives you its tools free of charge. Google also sells Analytics 360 for large enterprises, but its page shows no price and only offers 'Talk to Sales'. On standard properties, data retention is up to 14 months and daily BigQuery export is 1 million events.
Matomo's code is on GitHub under GPL v3 or later. Its On-Premise Community edition is free forever with unlimited users and hits, though support is forum only. Paid On-Premise bundles start at 275 EUR (Team), excluding tax, and Matomo Cloud starts at US$26 per month for 50,000 hits, with a free trial and no free plan.
Matomo lists cookieless tracking, data anonymisation, unsampled data, and full data ownership with raw data export. Its pricing page also lists a Google Analytics data importer.
The trade-off is cost and effort. Google Analytics costs nothing in fees but sends data to Google. Matomo gives control, but you pay either in server work (self-hosted) or in monthly fees (Cloud).
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Last updated 16 October 2026. How we make money