- Pick it if you are:
- Sites running Google Ads; Marketers with an analyst
- Top complaint:
- Why is Google Analytics showing no data?
- Price:
- Free plan
- Pick it if you are:
- EU businesses needing GDPR-friendly analytics; Teams replacing Google Analytics with similar depth
- Top complaint:
- Matomo shows 'no data' even though tracking code is installed
- Price:
- Free plan, paid from $29/mo
Score Comparison
Signals Comparison
Google Analytics
- Why is Google Analytics showing no data?(8/10)
- What does (not set) mean in GA4?(6/10)
- Events not showing as key events(7/10)
Matomo
- Matomo has a steep learning curve and dated interface(5/10)
Google Analytics
- GA4 data thresholds hide rows in reports(7/10)
- GA4 keeps only 2 or 14 months of exploration data(7/10)
- Sampling and Large property limits(7/10)
Matomo
- Matomo archiving is slow or runs out of memory on busy sites(8/10)
- Matomo for WordPress can bloat the database and slow the site(5/10)
Google Analytics
- Consent mode drops data when users decline cookies(7/10)
Matomo
- Matomo still needs a cookie banner outside France(6/10)
Google Analytics
- GA360 costs a reported $50,000+ per year(6/10)
Matomo
- Matomo Cloud prices by 'hits' and charges overage fees(6/10)
- Heatmaps, funnels and search keywords cost extra with self-hosting(6/10)
Google Analytics
- Standard property limits on events and dimensions(6/10)
Matomo
No signals
Google Analytics
- BigQuery export capped at 1 million events a day on free(5/10)
Matomo
- 'Keyword not defined' replaces organic search keywords(5/10)
Google Analytics
- Reports in GA4 are hard to find and understand(5/10)
Matomo
- Matomo shows 'no data' even though tracking code is installed(7/10)
Google Analytics
No signals
Matomo
- Matomo reports not updating: archiving cron not running(7/10)
- 'Oops... there was a problem during the request' error in Matomo(6/10)
- Ad blockers make Matomo undercount visitors(6/10)
- Matomo visitor numbers don't match Google Analytics or Search Console(5/10)
- Self-hosting means you own upgrades, backups and security patches(6/10)
Google Analytics
No signals
Matomo
- Matomo support is email-only and community-driven for free users(5/10)
Pricing Comparison
Google Analytics
Users: Unlimited users
Storage: Event data kept 2 or 14 months
Limits: 25 event parameters, 30 key events, 50 event-scoped custom dimensions per property; retention 2 or 14 months; no SLA stated
Storage: Retention up to 50 months
Limits: Requires a Google Marketing Platform 360 contract
Matomo
Users: Unlimited users
Storage: Unlimited hits (you provide the server)
Limits: No premium plugins (heatmaps, session recording, funnels, custom reports, form analytics, A/B testing), email support not included, you run upgrades and cron archiving yourself
Users: 30 team members
Storage: 24 months of raw data, 30 websites
Limits: Entry tier limited to 50K hits, higher tiers cost more, email cancellation not accepted
Users: 30 team members
Storage: 24 months of raw data, 30 websites
Limits: Auto-renews, cancellation applies at the end of the billing period with no proration
Users: Up to 4 users
Storage: Up to 5M hits per month
Limits: Max 4 users, no Cohorts, Multi-Channel Attribution or White Label
Users: Up to 20 users
Storage: Up to 30M hits per month
Limits: No trial listed, no A/B testing or SAML/LDAP SSO
Users: Up to 50 users
Storage: Up to 100M hits per month
Limits: VIP tier (51+ users, 100M+ hits) is custom priced
Feature Comparison
| Feature | Google Analytics | Matomo |
|---|---|---|
| Tracking | ||
| Event-based tracking | ||
| Deployment | ||
| Self-hosting (GPL) Free Community edition | ||
| Cloud hosting Frankfurt, Germany | ||
| Reporting | ||
| Explorations and funnels Retention limited to 2 or 14 months on free | ||
| Unsampled explorations 360 only | ||
| Data | ||
| BigQuery export 1M events/day on free | ||
| Privacy | ||
| Cookieless / consent-exempt mode CNIL exemption requires correct configuration | ||
| Consent mode modeling Volume prerequisites apply | ||
| IP anonymisation | ||
| Cookieless first-party hosting | ||
| Analysis | ||
| Segments | ||
| Goals and e-commerce E-commerce analytics may need consent | ||
| Behavior | ||
| Heatmaps and session recording Premium plugin | ||
| Funnels and users flow Premium plugin | ||
| Optimization | ||
| A/B testing Enterprise bundle | ||
| SEO | ||
| Search keywords from Google Search Console Premium plugin on-premise, aggregated only | ||
| Migration | ||
| Google Analytics import | ||
| Developer | ||
| Tracking and reporting API | ||
| Tag manager Matomo Tag Manager | ||
| Pricing | ||
| Free managed cloud plan Cloud has a trial only | ||
| Usability | ||
| Lightweight single-page dashboard Interface is dense compared with Plausible | ||
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