Software · head to head
Countly vs Matomo
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Countly the private cloud plan starts at $175 a month and is described as usage based without stating the unit; Matomo the self hosted Community Edition is free but excludes A/B testing, heatmaps, session recording, cohorts, crash analytics and multi channel attribution, all of which are paid plugins
- They diverge on capability: Countly covers Event tracking, Matomo covers Web analytics.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Countly and Matomo actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
What each one covers
Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.
Only in Countly
- Event tracking
- Crash reporting
- Analytics dashboard
- User retention
- Open-source
- Mobile support
- Api support
- Multiple languages language support
Only in Matomo
- Web analytics
- Real-time reports
- Custom dimensions
- Goal tracking
- E-commerce tracking
- Google Search Console
- Privacy-focused
- On-premise support
Both cover
- Cloud deployment
- On-premise deployment
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Countly
- Product analytics for mobile and web applicationsnot Matomo
- Self hosting analytics where data cannot leave the organisationnot Matomo
Matomo
- Privacy focused web analytics as an alternative to Google Analyticsnot Countly
- Self hosting analytics so visitor data stays on owned infrastructurenot Countly
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Countly
- The private cloud plan starts at $175 a month and is described as usage based without stating the unit
- No event cap, data point limit or user limit is published for either paid plan
- The self hosted Enterprise edition is custom priced and billed annually
- Adaptivity and intelligence features are separately priced add ons on the cheaper plan
Matomo
- The self hosted Community Edition is free but excludes A/B testing, heatmaps, session recording, cohorts, crash analytics and multi channel attribution, all of which are paid plugins
- Premium plugin bundles for self hosted installs run from 275 EUR a month for 4 users to 3,400 EUR for 50
- Cloud pricing is banded by monthly hits, and anything above 10 million requires contacting sales
- Self hosting places all operation and upgrades on the operator while still needing paid plugins for the advanced features
Pricing, plan by plan
Countly
Free- Open SourceFree
- Open-source
- Self-hosted
- Full features
Matomo
Free- Self-hostedFree
- Open-source
- Full analytics
- Privacy-focused
Which should you pick?
Choose Countly if
- You need event tracking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Mobile, Api.
- You also want crash reporting.
Choose Matomo if
- You need web analytics.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, On-premise.
- You also want real-time reports.
Questions people ask
- Is Countly or Matomo better?
- Neither clearly leads. Countly starts at Free and Matomo at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Countly or Matomo?
- Countly starts at Free and Matomo at Free.
- Does Countly or Matomo run on more platforms?
- Countly runs on Web, Mobile, Api. Matomo runs on Web, On-premise.
- Can I use Countly for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Countly best used for?
- Countly is most often used for product analytics for mobile and web applications, self hosting analytics where data cannot leave the organisation. Of those, product analytics for mobile and web applications and self hosting analytics where data cannot leave the organisation are not what Matomo is typically brought in for.
- What can Countly do that Matomo cannot?
- Countly covers Event tracking, Crash reporting, Analytics dashboard, User retention. Matomo covers Web analytics, Real-time reports, Custom dimensions, Goal tracking. Both handle Cloud deployment, On-premise deployment, Web support.