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Marketing · head to head

Matomo vs Plausible

Matomo logo

Matomo

Marketing

Privacy-focused web analytics

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Plausible logo

Plausible

Marketing

Simple, privacy-friendly analytics

From
$9/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Matomo has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • 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; Plausible there is no free tier, only a 30 day trial
  • They diverge on capability: Matomo covers Web analytics, Plausible covers Page view tracking.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Matomo and Plausible actually diverge.

Attributes where Matomo and Plausible differ
AttributeMatomoPlausible
Starting priceFree$9/month
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, On-premiseWeb
Founded20072018

Identical on both: 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 Matomo

  • Web analytics
  • Real-time reports
  • Custom dimensions
  • E-commerce tracking
  • Google Search Console
  • On-premise deployment
  • On-premise support
  • 50+ languages language support

Only in Plausible

  • Page view tracking
  • Real-time analytics
  • Outbound link click tracking
  • No cookies
  • 20+ languages language support

Both cover

  • Goal tracking
  • Privacy-focused
  • Cloud deployment
  • 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 Plausible
  • Self hosting analytics so visitor data stays on owned infrastructurenot Plausible

Plausible

  • Privacy-focused web analytics without cookies or personal datanot Matomo
  • A Google Analytics replacement that needs no consent bannernot Matomo
  • Self-hosted analytics on your own infrastructurenot Matomo
  • EU-hosted measurement for data residency requirementsnot 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

Plausible

  • There is no free tier, only a 30 day trial
  • Paid plans are metered on monthly pageviews, so a traffic spike moves you up a plan
  • Self-hosting is possible but means running and updating the service yourself
  • Deliberately simple, so there are no user-level profiles or funnel-by-individual reports the way a cookie-based analytics tool provides

Pricing, plan by plan

Matomo

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

Plausible

$9/month
  • Starter$9/month
    • Up to 10k monthly pageviews
    • 1 site
    • 3 years data retention
  • Growth$14/month
    • Up to 3 sites
    • Up to 3 team members
  • Business$19/month
    • Up to 10 sites
    • Up to 10 team members
    • 5 years data retention
  • Enterprise$null/custom
    • 10+ sites
    • Custom pricing

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 Plausible if

  • You need page view tracking.
  • You also want real-time analytics.
Plausible review

Questions people ask

Is Matomo or Plausible better?
Neither clearly leads. Matomo starts at Free and Plausible at $9/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Matomo or Plausible?
Matomo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Matomo and $9/month for Plausible.
Does Matomo or Plausible run on more platforms?
Matomo runs on Web, On-premise. Plausible runs on Web.
Can I use Matomo for free?
Yes. Matomo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Plausible starts at $9/month.
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 Plausible is typically brought in for.
What can Matomo do that Plausible cannot?
Matomo covers Web analytics, Real-time reports, Custom dimensions, E-commerce tracking. Plausible covers Page view tracking, Real-time analytics, Outbound link click tracking, No cookies. Both handle Goal tracking, Privacy-focused, Cloud deployment, 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
Plausible: How much does Plausible Analytics cost?

Plausible offers plans starting at $9/month for the Starter tier, $14/month for Growth, and $19/month for Business. Enterprise pricing is custom. All plans include a 30-day free trial without requiring a credit card.

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
Plausible: Is there a free version of Plausible?

Plausible does not offer a free plan; however, all paid plans include a 30-day free trial with full access to features.

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
Plausible: What is the difference between Plausible's pricing tiers?

The Starter plan covers up to 10k monthly pageviews for 1 site. Growth adds up to 3 sites and 3 team members. Business expands to 10 sites, 10 team members, and includes advanced features like API access and 5 years data retention.

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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