Is Ghostery or Matomo better?

Neither clearly leads. Ghostery 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, Ghostery or Matomo?

Ghostery starts at Free and Matomo at Free.

Does Ghostery or Matomo run on more platforms?

Ghostery runs on Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari, Opera. Matomo runs on Web, On-premise.

Can I use Ghostery for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is Ghostery best used for?

Ghostery is most often used for blocking ads and sponsored content before they load, preventing tracker profiling by replacing identifying data with random values, automatically rejecting non-essential cookie consent, seeing which companies track a given site through whotracks.me. Of those, blocking ads and sponsored content before they load and preventing tracker profiling by replacing identifying data with random values are not what Matomo is typically brought in for.

What can Ghostery do that Matomo cannot?

Ghostery covers Tracker blocking, Ad blocking, Privacy dashboard, Enhanced anti-tracking. Matomo covers Web analytics, Real-time reports, Custom dimensions, Goal tracking.

Browser Extensions · head to head

Ghostery vs Matomo

Ghostery

Browser Extensions

Block ads and stop trackers

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Matomo

Marketing

Privacy-focused web analytics

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Ghostery database of trackers requires regular updates to remain current; 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: Ghostery covers Tracker blocking, Matomo covers Web analytics.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Ghostery and Matomo actually diverge.

Attributes where Ghostery and Matomo differ
Attribute	Ghostery	Matomo
Pricing model	Unknown	freemium
Platforms	Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari, Opera	Web, On-premise
Category	Browser Extensions	Marketing
Founded	2009	2007

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

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 Ghostery

Tracker blocking
Ad blocking
Privacy dashboard
Enhanced anti-tracking
Chrome support
Firefox support
Edge support
Safari support

Only in Matomo

Web analytics
Real-time reports
Custom dimensions
Goal tracking
E-commerce tracking
Google Search Console
Privacy-focused
Cloud deployment

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Ghostery

Blocking ads and sponsored content before they loadnot Matomo
Preventing tracker profiling by replacing identifying data with random valuesnot Matomo
Automatically rejecting non-essential cookie consentnot Matomo
Seeing which companies track a given site through WhoTracks.Menot Matomo

Matomo

Privacy focused web analytics as an alternative to Google Analyticsnot Ghostery
Self hosting analytics so visitor data stays on owned infrastructurenot Ghostery

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Ghostery

Database of trackers requires regular updates to remain current
Some sites break functionality when trackers are aggressively blocked

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

Ghostery

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Ghostery review.

Matomo

Free

Self-hostedFree
- Open-source
- Full analytics
- Privacy-focused

Which should you pick?

Choose Ghostery if

You need tracker blocking.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari, Opera.
You also want ad blocking.

Ghostery review

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.

Matomo review

Questions people ask

Is Ghostery or Matomo better?: Neither clearly leads. Ghostery 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, Ghostery or Matomo?: Ghostery starts at Free and Matomo at Free.
Does Ghostery or Matomo run on more platforms?: Ghostery runs on Firefox, Chrome, Edge, Safari, Opera. Matomo runs on Web, On-premise.
Can I use Ghostery for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Ghostery best used for?: Ghostery is most often used for blocking ads and sponsored content before they load, preventing tracker profiling by replacing identifying data with random values, automatically rejecting non-essential cookie consent, seeing which companies track a given site through whotracks.me. Of those, blocking ads and sponsored content before they load and preventing tracker profiling by replacing identifying data with random values are not what Matomo is typically brought in for.
What can Ghostery do that Matomo cannot?: Ghostery covers Tracker blocking, Ad blocking, Privacy dashboard, Enhanced anti-tracking. Matomo covers Web analytics, Real-time reports, Custom dimensions, Goal tracking.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Ghostery: Is Ghostery completely free?

Yes. Ghostery is a free ad blocking browser extension that you can install without paying a subscription. All of Ghostery's features are completely free to use, including ad blocking, tracker blocking, and cookie consent banner handling.

Source

Matomo: How much does Matomo cost?

Matomo Cloud starts at EUR 29 per month for the Starter plan, which covers 50,000 hits per month. Matomo On-Premise has a free Community edition, with paid bundles from EUR 275 per month for up to 5M hits and 4 users.

Source

Ghostery: What browsers does Ghostery support?

Ghostery is available for Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Edge and Safari as a browser extension.

Source

Matomo: Is Matomo free?

The On-Premise Community edition is free forever with unlimited users and hits, supported through the forum only. Matomo Cloud is a paid service, though a free trial with access to all core features is offered.

Source

Ghostery: What data does Ghostery collect?

Ghostery collects no personal information, ensuring your privacy remains protected while using the extension.

Source

Matomo: What is the difference between Matomo Cloud and On-Premise?

Cloud plans include hosting, maintenance, automatic updates and daily backups, priced by monthly hits from EUR 29. On-Premise is self-hosted, free in its Community edition, with paid bundles adding support and higher user counts.

Source

Matomo: How many hits do the Matomo On-Premise bundles cover?

The Team bundle covers up to 5M hits per month and 4 users at EUR 275 per month. Business covers up to 30M hits and 20 users at EUR 1,450. Enterprise covers up to 100M hits and 50 users at EUR 3,400.

Source

Ghostery vs Matomo

Ghostery

Matomo

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Ghostery

Only in Matomo

What people use each for

Ghostery

Matomo

Where each one falls short

Ghostery

Matomo

Pricing, plan by plan

Ghostery

Matomo

Which should you pick?

Choose Ghostery if

Choose Matomo if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Ghostery

More on Matomo

Keep looking

Other head to heads