vs
Google Analytics 4 vs Matomo
The numbers side by side
15 of the 47 features we record differ, though one of those is a value we have not confirmed on one side. Matomo’s script is 124.3 KB lighter than Google Analytics 4’s.
| What we check | Google Analytics 4 | Matomo |
|---|---|---|
| Status | Active | Active |
| Cookies in the browser | Optional mode | Optional mode |
| Where it runs | Cloud | Cloud or self-hosted |
| Data in EU | No | Yes |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Free plan | Yes | No |
| Entry price | Free | $26 / month |
| At 100k / month | Free (events) | $42 (hits) |
| Script, gzip | 145.9 KB | 21.6 KB |
| Data retention | Configurable | 2 years |
Prices are monthly, without VAT, in the vendor’s currency, and are comparable only between tools that bill in the same unit. See how we check every value.
Where the feature lists differ
Values come from each vendor’s own pages. “Partly” means the feature has limits or is only on some plans.
| Feature | Google Analytics 4 | Matomo |
|---|---|---|
| FunnelsTracking & Reporting | Yes | Partly |
| 404 / error trackingTracking & Reporting | No | Partly |
| No personal data collected (vendor’s position)Privacy & Compliance | No | Partly |
| No consent banner needed (vendor’s position)Privacy & Compliance | No | Partly |
| Data hosted in EUPrivacy & Compliance | No | Yes |
| Data hosted in USPrivacy & Compliance | Yes | No |
| Self-hostablePrivacy & Compliance | No | Yes |
| Open sourcePrivacy & Compliance | No | Yes |
| Data retentionPrivacy & Compliance | Configurable | 2 years |
| Google Search Console connectorSetup & Integrations | Yes | Partly |
| Public shareable dashboardSetup & Integrations | No | Yes |
| WooCommercePlatforms & frameworks | Partly | Yes |
| DrupalPlatforms & frameworks | Partly | Yes |
| ReactPlatforms & frameworks | Partly | Yes |
| Static sites (GitHub / GitLab Pages)Platforms & frameworks | Not confirmed | Yes |
Where they match
32 features have the same value in both
- Pageviews & visitors Yes
- Live visitor count Yes
- Top pages report Yes
- Top referrers Yes
- UTM campaign tracking Yes
- Country & city breakdown Yes
- Device, browser, OS Yes
- Bounce / engagement Yes
- Time on site Yes
- Custom events Yes
- Goals / conversions Yes
- Outbound link tracking Yes
- File download tracking Yes
- Cookieless by default Partly
- Bot & spam filtering Yes
- Single-snippet install Yes
- WordPress plugin Yes
- Proxy / first-party domain Yes
- Public API Yes
- Data export (CSV/JSON) Yes
- Email digests Yes
- Slack / webhook alerts No
- Unlimited sites on entry plan Partly
- Shopify Yes
- Ghost Partly
- Webflow Yes
- Squarespace Yes
- Wix Yes
- Next.js Partly
- Vue / Nuxt Partly
- Google Tag Manager Yes
- Server-side tracking Yes
Price by traffic volume
Google Analytics 4
- Google Analytics (standard)Free
Matomo
What the numbers say
Four of the rows that differ are one decision written four times. Self-hostable, open source, data in the EU and data in the US all turn on one question: whose machine keeps the records. Matomo Cloud stores data in Frankfurt, a self-hosted installation stores it wherever you put the server, and the code is published under the GPL-3.0 license. Google collects data from EU, Swiss and UK devices through servers in those regions, drops those IP addresses before logging and processes the rest on Analytics servers; no setting picks a storage region.
The price rows are counted in different things. Matomo Cloud sizes plans by hits, and a hit is any tracked interaction: a pageview, event, download, outlink, site search, content tracking request, or a request from an AI assistant. The standard tracking code records outlinks and downloads on its own, so a site full of file links climbs that ladder faster than its pageview count suggests. The standard Google property is free under terms that cap hits only for the retired Universal Analytics properties.
Retention meets the same fork. The cheapest Matomo Cloud plan keeps raw data for 24 months and report data with no end date. A standard Google property chooses 2 or 14 months for event-level and user-level data, and that setting reaches explorations and funnel reports while standard aggregated reports carry on past it. The funnels row is about packaging rather than absence: in Matomo Cloud funnels sit in the plan table with the other reports, and on your own server they arrive as a plugin from the Matomo marketplace.
Who picks which
Matomo answers to whoever runs it. The self-hosted edition installs onto a web server with PHP and a MySQL or MariaDB database, or from the official Docker image, and the vendor recommends processing reports with a scheduled task on busier sites. That work buys control of the place and the schedule, and the plan table lists no data sampling. There is a WordPress plugin, a tag manager and a Google Analytics importer. The cloud and self-hosted comparison sets out what changes between the two editions.
Google Analytics 4 answers to the account that pays for the advertising. Its value sits in the links: Ads, Search Console, BigQuery for raw events, Site Kit on WordPress. Collection starts with a property, a data stream and a tag, and nobody has to keep a server alive. In exchange the storage region, the retention ceiling and the release schedule belong to Google.
Questions and answers
Can Matomo import my Google Analytics data?
Yes, GA4 properties included, with one limitation that decides its value. The importer takes aggregated report data rather than raw visits and actions, so for imported days the Visitor Log, Ecommerce Log, Custom Reports and segments do not work, and GA4 goals arrive without their metrics. Each imported property becomes a separate website in Matomo. The plugin is free for the self-hosted edition and for Matomo for WordPress; in the cloud a superuser starts the import under Administration, System, Google Analytics Import.
Do the two price columns compare?
No. One counts hits and the other is free, and the directory converts neither. What matters is the breadth of a hit: with downloads, outlinks, site searches and events all counted, a site reaches a higher rung than its pageviews alone would put it on.
Which of them keeps working without cookies?
Both document a mode, and neither position is a legal conclusion. Matomo’s tracking code sets first-party cookies by default and can be switched to run without them, with the vendor noting that reports on returning visitors become less accurate. Google’s tags set two first-party cookies by default, and in the advanced setup of consent mode a visitor who declines analytics storage is measured without them. The cookieless page explains the mechanics.