Is Matomo or Mode better?

Neither clearly leads. Matomo starts at Free and Mode at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Matomo or Mode?

Matomo starts at Free and Mode at Free.

Does Matomo or Mode run on more platforms?

Matomo runs on Web, On-premise. Mode runs on Web.

Can I use Matomo for free?

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

What is Matomo best used for?

Matomo is most often used for privacy focused web analytics as an alternative to google analytics, self hosting analytics so visitor data stays on owned infrastructure. Of those, privacy focused web analytics as an alternative to google analytics and self hosting analytics so visitor data stays on owned infrastructure are not what Mode is typically brought in for.

What can Matomo do that Mode cannot?

Matomo covers Web analytics, Real-time reports, Custom dimensions, Goal tracking. Mode covers SQL Editor, Python/R Notebooks, Interactive Reports, Version Control. Both handle Web support.

Marketing · head to head

Matomo vs Mode

Matomo

Marketing

Privacy-focused web analytics

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Mode

Business Intelligence

Collaborative analytics for data teams

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: 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; Mode free tier limited to 4GB RAM and 1 CPU for SQL notebooks, insufficient for large datasets
They diverge on capability: Matomo covers Web analytics, Mode covers SQL Editor.
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Matomo and Mode actually diverge.

Attributes where Matomo and Mode differ
Attribute	Matomo	Mode
Pricing model	freemium	subscription
Platforms	Web, On-premise	Web
Category	Marketing	Business Intelligence
Founded	2007	2013

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 Matomo

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

Only in Mode

SQL Editor
Python/R Notebooks
Interactive Reports
Version Control
Scheduling
Snowflake
Redshift
BigQuery

Both cover

Web support

What people use each for

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

Matomo

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

Mode

Self-service analyticsnot Matomo
Data explorationnot Matomo
Ad-hoc reportingnot Matomo
Collaborative analysisnot Matomo
Embedded analyticsnot Matomo

Where each one falls short

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

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

Mode

Free tier limited to 4GB RAM and 1 CPU for SQL notebooks, insufficient for large datasets
Requires SQL knowledge for most analysis tasks, creating dependency on technical resources
Paid plan pricing not publicly listed; requires sales consultation
Recently acquired by ThoughtSpot in 2026, creating product direction uncertainty
Limited customization options for visual aspects and embedded analytics

Pricing, plan by plan

Matomo

Free

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

Mode

Free

FreeFree
- SQL Editor
- Python/R Notebooks
- Basic Charts
Business$65/month
- Advanced Visualizations
- Collaboration
- Integrations

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Mode if

You need sql editor.
You want to start without paying.
You also want python/r notebooks.

Mode review

Questions people ask

Is Matomo or Mode better?: Neither clearly leads. Matomo starts at Free and Mode at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Matomo or Mode?: Matomo starts at Free and Mode at Free.
Does Matomo or Mode run on more platforms?: Matomo runs on Web, On-premise. Mode runs on Web.
Can I use Matomo for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Matomo best used for?: Matomo is most often used for privacy focused web analytics as an alternative to google analytics, self hosting analytics so visitor data stays on owned infrastructure. Of those, privacy focused web analytics as an alternative to google analytics and self hosting analytics so visitor data stays on owned infrastructure are not what Mode is typically brought in for.
What can Matomo do that Mode cannot?: Matomo covers Web analytics, Real-time reports, Custom dimensions, Goal tracking. Mode covers SQL Editor, Python/R Notebooks, Interactive Reports, Version Control. Both handle Web support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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

Mode: What languages does Mode support for analysis?

Mode notebooks support SQL, Python (3.11 with pandas, NumPy, scikit-learn, matplotlib), and R (4.2.0 with ggplot2, dplyr, tidyr). Both Python and R allow additional library installation at runtime.

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

Mode: Can I integrate Mode notebook results into reports?

Yes. Mode allows adding notebook cell results directly to reports, with synchronized scheduling so reports re-run to keep data current.

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

Mode: Does Mode support collaborative analysis?

Yes. Mode notebooks provide moveable code blocks and markdown cells enabling exploratory analysis and team collaboration on data queries and visualizations.

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

Matomo vs Mode

Matomo

Mode

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Matomo

Only in Mode

Both cover

What people use each for

Matomo

Mode

Where each one falls short

Matomo

Mode

Pricing, plan by plan

Matomo

Mode

Which should you pick?

Choose Matomo if

Choose Mode if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Matomo

More on Mode

Keep looking

Other head to heads