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Marketing · head to head

Kissmetrics vs Matomo

Kissmetrics logo

Kissmetrics

Marketing

Customer analytics and behavioral data

From
Free
Rated
-
Matomo logo

Matomo

Marketing

Privacy-focused web analytics

From
Free
Rated
-

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Kissmetrics overages are added automatically to the next invoice rather than blocked, so exceeding an event allowance bills without a decision point; 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: Kissmetrics covers Customer analytics, Matomo covers Web analytics.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kissmetrics and Matomo actually diverge.

Attributes where Kissmetrics and Matomo differ
AttributeKissmetricsMatomo
PlatformsWebWeb, On-premise
Founded20092007

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Marketing).

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 Kissmetrics

  • Customer analytics
  • Behavioral tracking
  • Cohort analysis
  • Funnel analysis
  • Salesforce
  • GDPR
  • English language support

Only in Matomo

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

Both cover

  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Kissmetrics

  • Product analytics and user behavior trackingnot Matomo
  • Event-based analyticsnot Matomo
  • Data integration and reportingnot Matomo

Matomo

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

Where each one falls short

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

Kissmetrics

  • Overages are added automatically to the next invoice rather than blocked, so exceeding an event allowance bills without a decision point
  • The free plan allows 100,000 events a month
  • Per event rates fall with volume, from $0.20 per 1,000 events on Growth to $0.10 on Gold, so smaller customers pay double per event
  • The vendor states Growth, Silver and Gold are the identical product, so the paid tiers differ only in unit price and volume
  • Anything above 5 million events is custom priced

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

Kissmetrics

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 100,000 events/month
    • Autocapture tracking
    • AI chat
  • Growth$99/month
    • Starting at 500k events
    • $0.20 per 1k events
    • Populations
  • Silver$null/month
    • $0.15 per 1k events
    • All Growth features
  • Gold$null/month
    • $0.10 per 1k events (at 5M+ events)
    • All Growth features

Matomo

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

Which should you pick?

Choose Kissmetrics if

  • You need customer analytics.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want behavioral tracking.

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 Kissmetrics or Matomo better?
Neither clearly leads. Kissmetrics 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, Kissmetrics or Matomo?
Kissmetrics starts at Free and Matomo at Free.
Does Kissmetrics or Matomo run on more platforms?
Kissmetrics runs on Web. Matomo runs on Web, On-premise.
Can I use Kissmetrics for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Kissmetrics best used for?
Kissmetrics is most often used for product analytics and user behavior tracking, event-based analytics, data integration and reporting. Of those, product analytics and user behavior tracking and event-based analytics are not what Matomo is typically brought in for.
What can Kissmetrics do that Matomo cannot?
Kissmetrics covers Customer analytics, Behavioral tracking, Cohort analysis, Funnel analysis. Matomo covers Web analytics, Real-time reports, Custom dimensions, Goal tracking. Both handle Cloud deployment, Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Kissmetrics: Does KISSmetrics have a free plan?

Yes, KISSmetrics offers a free plan with 100,000 events/month including autocapture tracking, dashboards, and core reports. No card required.

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
Kissmetrics: What does KISSmetrics charge for paid plans?

Growth plan starts at $99/month for 500k events, charging $0.20 per additional 1k events. Silver and Gold tiers offer lower per-event rates at higher volumes.

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
Kissmetrics: Does KISSmetrics offer annual discounts?

Yes, annual plans receive 20% off monthly rates. Overage charges are automatically added to the next invoice.

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
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