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Analytics comparison

Plausible Analytics vs Matomo: which should you self-host in 2026?

Pick Plausible for a simple, cookieless dashboard that anyone on your team can read; pick Matomo if you need ecommerce reports, segments and the depth of Google Analytics.

Both are open source and run on your own server. Below: a side-by-side of license, stack and features, live GitHub activity, and our verdict on who should pick which.

Matomo

matomo-org/matomo

22k GitHub starsLast commit Oct 6, 2026

Web analytics that protects your data and your customers' privacy (alternative to Google Analytics).

  • GPL-3.0
  • PHP
  • Actively maintained
Matomo details

Head-to-head

Plausible Analytics vs Matomo, side by side

Hand-checked differences first, then live numbers from GitHub, refreshed with every catalog update.

Plausible Analytics compared with Matomo
AspectPlausible AnalyticsMatomo
LicenseAGPL-3.0 (Community Edition); some features are cloud-only.GPL-3.0; premium plugins are sold separately.
Language/stackElixir with ClickHouse and PostgreSQL.PHP with MySQL or MariaDB.
ScopeOne-page dashboard: sources, pages, goals, custom events, UTM campaigns.Full analytics suite: ecommerce, segments, tag manager, log analytics, A/B tests via plugins.
PrivacyCookieless, no personal data.Cookies by default, with a cookieless mode and consent tools.
Hardware needsDocs recommend at least 2 GB RAM and an SSE 4.2 or NEON capable CPU.Standard PHP/MySQL host; larger sites need cron archiving and database tuning.
GitHub stars29,32321,925
Commits, last 12 months545954
Last commitOct 6, 2026Oct 6, 2026
Latest releasev3.2.1May 15, 20265.14.1Oct 4, 2026
Main languageElixirPHP
Official Docker imageNoNo
Repositoryplausible/analyticsmatomo-org/matomo

Swipe the table sideways to see both apps. GitHub figures come from the public API. Highlighted values are the higher of the two.

Verdict

Plausible deliberately keeps analytics to one readable page and avoids cookies, which suits content sites, startups and anyone tired of Google Analytics complexity. Matomo is the better choice for marketing and ecommerce teams that need goals, segments, a tag manager and plugins, and it runs on a classic PHP and MySQL stack without ClickHouse.

Best for

Choose Plausible Analytics for

Lightweight, privacy-first analytics with minimal setup.

Best for

Choose Matomo for

Marketing and ecommerce teams that need deep reports.

Deploy either in minutes

Not sure yet? Spin up a small VPS or a managed instance, try both for a week, and keep the one that fits.

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FAQ

Plausible Analytics vs Matomo: FAQ

Still curious? Email info@appsgit.com.

Is Plausible or Matomo better for GDPR?

Both can be run in a privacy-friendly way on your own server. Plausible is cookieless by default, while Matomo needs to be configured for cookieless tracking or used with a consent banner.

Can Matomo import Google Analytics data?

Yes. Matomo provides a Google Analytics importer plugin for bringing historical data across.

Which is easier to self-host?

Plausible ships an official Docker Compose setup, but needs ClickHouse. Matomo runs on any PHP and MySQL host, which many people already have, but takes more configuration.

Which is more popular on GitHub, Plausible Analytics or Matomo?

Plausible Analytics has 29,323 GitHub stars against 21,925 for Matomo. Over the last twelve months Plausible Analytics received 545 commits and Matomo received 954, so Matomo is the more actively developed of the two right now. Stars measure interest, not fit, so weigh them against the differences above.

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