Matomo

Active

Matomo is a web analytics platform that you can install on your own server under the GPL-3.0 license or use as Matomo Cloud, which stores data in Germany. Its tracking code sets first-party cookies by default and can be switched to tracking without cookies; cloud plans are sized by hits, which cover pageviews and other tracked interactions.

Web analytics
Cloud or self-hosted
Based in New Zealand
Founded 2007
Checked 17 Sep 2026

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Tracking script

21.6 KB compressed

66.7 KB uncompressed · measured 17 Sep 2026

Heavier than 30 of the 39 other measured scripts. Each line is one tool; hover to see which.

Measured: the matomo.js file from the Matomo 5.13.0 release, which self-hosted installations serve. Matomo Cloud serves a larger file with its plugins, about 45 KB compressed on the same day.

Price

From$26/mo

At 100k hits$42/mo

Billed by hits · checked 17 Sep 2026

Cheapest monthly price for each published traffic level, in hits. Hover a point for the plan.

All plans and prices →

Privacy and data

Cookies: Optional
Data location: EU
Self-hosting: Available
Source code: Open source

Plans

Free plan: No
Billing unit: Hits
Sites on entry plan: Depends on plan
Data retention: 2 years

Strengths

The self-hosted Community edition is free, with no limit on users or hits, and the core code is published under GPL-3.0. It installs with a web installer or from an official Docker image.
The cloud pricing page lists ecommerce, event, content and campaign tracking, site search, real-time reports, visitor profiles, scheduled email reports, custom alerts, log analytics and HTTP APIs in all plans.
Matomo Cloud stores data in Frankfurt, Germany, and its plan table lists no data sampling; a self-hosted installation keeps data wherever you run it.
Cookies can be switched off in the tracking code for all sites at once, in Matomo for WordPress or in a Matomo Tag Manager configuration.
The vendor says it can import data from a self-hosted installation into Matomo Cloud, or export cloud data for use on your own server.

Watch-outs

The standard tracking code sets first-party cookies, including a visitor ID that lasts 13 months, and the vendor notes that turning cookies off can make reports on returning visitors less accurate.
Cloud plans count hits rather than pageviews: pageviews, events, downloads, outlinks, site searches and content tracking requests. The default code records outlinks and downloads, and hits above the allowance are billed as extra.
On your own server, funnels, users flow, custom reports, heatmaps and session recordings, form analytics and media analytics come in paid plugin bundles; A/B testing and SSO are in the Enterprise bundle.
Self-hosting needs a web server, PHP and MySQL or MariaDB. For sites with more than a few hundred visits a day, the vendor recommends processing reports with a scheduled cron job rather than in the browser.
The cloud Business plan keeps raw data for 24 months and reports without a time limit, sets monthly quotas for heatmaps and session recordings, and leaves SAML sign-in and a custom domain to Enterprise.

Who it suits

Matomo can suit organizations that want web analytics on infrastructure they control, or a hosted service that stores data in Germany, and that need more than traffic reports. The cloud plans list ecommerce and event tracking, site search, visitor profiles and log analytics as included in all plans. Funnels, heatmaps, session recordings, A/B tests and form analytics are part of the cloud Business plan, while self-hosted installations get them through paid plugin bundles.

It can also work for teams with many sites and users: the self-hosted Community edition sets no limit on users or hits, and the cloud Business plan covers up to 30 websites. WordPress sites can run Matomo inside WordPress; for high-traffic and multisite setups, the vendor points to its self-hosted or cloud editions instead.

By default the tracking code uses cookies, so cookieless tracking has to be switched on; see what “cookieless” means here.

Setup

Matomo Cloud starts with a trial account. For a self-hosted installation, you upload the release to a web server with PHP and a MySQL or MariaDB database and finish in the browser-based installer; an official Docker image is also available.

To start tracking, open Administration (the cog icon), choose Tracking Code under Websites or Measurables and paste the JavaScript code into every page, just after the opening body tag or in the head section. The code loads Matomo’s tracker file and records pageviews, outlinks and downloads.

Other routes are Matomo Tag Manager, free on self-hosted installations and part of the cloud Business plan, and Matomo for WordPress, which stores data in the WordPress database.

Single snippet
WordPress plugin
First-party proxy
Public API
Data export
Search Console (partly)
Email reports
Public dashboard

Moving from another tool

Matomo can import reports from Google Analytics, including GA4 properties. In Matomo Cloud, a superuser starts the import under Administration, System, Google Analytics Import; for self-hosted installations and Matomo for WordPress, the Google Analytics Importer plugin is free. Each imported property becomes a new website in Matomo. Only aggregated reports are imported, so the visitor log, ecommerce log, custom reports and segments do not work for imported data. Google limits daily API requests, so a long history can take several days to import.

To move between Matomo Cloud and your own server, contact Matomo by email: the vendor says it can import self-hosted data into the cloud or export cloud data for you.

Features

As documented on the vendor’s own pages. “Partly” means the feature has limits or is only on some plans.

Tracking & Reporting

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
FunnelsPartly
Outbound link tracking: yes
File download tracking: yes
404 / error trackingPartly

Pricing & Plans

Unlimited sites on entry planPartly

Privacy & Compliance

Cookieless by defaultPartly
No personal data collected (vendor’s position)Partly
No consent banner needed (vendor’s position)Partly
Data hosted in EU: yes
Data hosted in US: no
Self-hostable: yes
Open source: yes
Data retention2 years
Bot & spam filtering: yes

Setup & Integrations

Single-snippet install: yes
WordPress plugin: yes
Proxy / first-party domain: yes
Public API: yes
Data export (CSV/JSON): yes
Google Search Console connectorPartly
Email digests: yes
Slack / webhook alerts: no
Public shareable dashboard: yes

Platforms & frameworks

What the vendor documents. A platform that is not listed has no guide, plugin or package from the vendor.

Shopify: yes
WooCommerce: yes
GhostPartly
Webflow: yes
Squarespace: yes
Wix: yes
Drupal: yes
React: yes
Next.jsPartly
Vue / NuxtPartly
Static sites (GitHub / GitLab Pages): yes
Google Tag Manager: yes
Server-side tracking: yes

Questions and answers

Does Matomo use cookies?

By default, yes: the tracking code sets first-party cookies, such as a visitor ID and a session cookie. You can disable cookies in the tracking code or for all sites at once, which can make reports on returning visitors less accurate. Whether you need visitor consent depends on your jurisdiction and configuration.

What counts as a hit in Matomo Cloud?

A hit is a tracked pageview, event, download, outlink, site search or content tracking request. Cloud plans are sized by hits per month, and hits above the allowance are billed as extra.

Is self-hosted Matomo free?

The Community edition is free, with no limit on users or hits. Features such as funnels, heatmaps and custom reports are sold in plugin bundles, and you also pay for the server and the time to maintain it.

Can I move between Matomo Cloud and a self-hosted installation?

The vendor says yes: it can import data collected on your own server into Matomo Cloud, or give you an export of your cloud data to use on your own server. The pricing page asks you to contact Matomo by email for details.

Sources and checks

Status: Active, checked 17 Sep 2026
Prices: Checked 17 Sep 2026 on the vendor’s pricing page ↗
Tracking script: Measured 17 Sep 2026: downloaded and compressed the same way for every tool
Features: From the vendor’s pages, checked 18 Sep 2026
This page: Text updated 17 Sep 2026

How each value is collected: methodology. Why tools get no overall score: our reasoning.

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