Is Matomo or Paperform better?

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

Which is cheaper, Matomo or Paperform?

Matomo starts at Free and Paperform at Free.

Does Matomo or Paperform run on more platforms?

Matomo runs on Web, On-premise. Paperform 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 Paperform is typically brought in for.

What can Matomo do that Paperform cannot?

Matomo covers Web analytics, Real-time reports, Custom dimensions, Goal tracking.

Marketing · head to head

Matomo vs Paperform

Matomo

Marketing

Privacy-focused web analytics

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

Full review Website

Paperform

Surveys

Forms that feel like you

From: Free
Free plan: Yes

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; Paperform free plan limited to 30 submissions per month
Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Matomo and Paperform actually diverge.

Attributes where Matomo and Paperform differ
Attribute	Matomo	Paperform
Platforms	Web, On-premise	Web
Category	Marketing	Surveys
Founded	2007	Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), pricing model (freemium), 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 Paperform

Nothing recorded that Matomo does not also cover.

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 Paperform
Self hosting analytics so visitor data stays on owned infrastructurenot Paperform

Paperform

Creating multi-step application forms with conditional field displaynot Matomo
Building payment collection forms for online invoicingnot Matomo
Setting up appointment scheduling with calendar integrationnot Matomo
Collecting customer signatures on contracts and agreementsnot 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

Paperform

Free plan limited to 30 submissions per month
Additional submissions beyond plan limits incur overage fees
Custom domains require additional $20 per month fee on Pro plan

Pricing, plan by plan

Matomo

Free

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

Paperform

Free

FreeFree
- 1 user
- 30 submissions per month
- 5 payment submissions per month
Essentials$24/month
- 1 user
- 1,200 submissions per year
- 240 payment submissions per year
Pro$49/month
- 3 users
- 12,000 submissions per year
- 3,000 payment submissions per year
Business$99/month
- 5 users plus $9 per additional user (up to 25)
- 120,000 submissions per year
- 30,000 payment submissions per year

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 Paperform if

You want to start without paying.

Paperform review

Questions people ask

Is Matomo or Paperform better?: Neither clearly leads. Matomo starts at Free and Paperform at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Matomo or Paperform?: Matomo starts at Free and Paperform at Free.
Does Matomo or Paperform run on more platforms?: Matomo runs on Web, On-premise. Paperform 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 Paperform is typically brought in for.
What can Matomo do that Paperform cannot?: Matomo covers Web analytics, Real-time reports, Custom dimensions, Goal tracking.

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

Paperform: Is there a free version of Paperform?

Yes, Paperform offers a free plan with 1 user, 30 submissions per month, and 100 MB storage at no cost.

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

Paperform: Does Paperform offer a free trial for paid plans?

Paperform offers a 7-day unrestricted trial for all paid plans without requiring a credit card.

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

Paperform: What payment processing options does Paperform support?

All Paperform plans include payment processing via Stripe, Square, Braintree, or PayPal.

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

Paperform: When does Paperform charge for custom domains?

Custom domains are available on the Pro and Business plans, with an additional $20 per month fee for this feature.

Source

Matomo vs Paperform

Matomo

Paperform

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Matomo

Only in Paperform

What people use each for

Matomo

Paperform

Where each one falls short

Matomo

Paperform

Pricing, plan by plan

Matomo

Paperform

Which should you pick?

Choose Matomo if

Choose Paperform if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Matomo

More on Paperform

Keep looking

Other head to heads