Softwr

Marketing · head to head

Matomo vs Yellowfin

Matomo logo

Matomo

Marketing

Privacy-focused web analytics

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Yellowfin logo

Yellowfin

Business Intelligence

Action-based business intelligence

From
$50/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; Yellowfin the pricing page publishes no rate, no minimum and no per-user price; every model ends in a Get Pricing form
  • They diverge on capability: Matomo covers Web analytics, Yellowfin covers Automated Analysis.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Matomo and Yellowfin actually diverge.

Attributes where Matomo and Yellowfin differ
AttributeMatomoYellowfin
Starting priceFree$50/month
Pricing modelfreemiumsubscription
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, On-premiseWeb, Mobile, Embedded
CategoryMarketingBusiness Intelligence
Founded20072003

Identical on both: 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 Yellowfin

  • Automated Analysis
  • Data Stories
  • Collaboration
  • Signals
  • Embedded Analytics
  • Salesforce
  • Google Analytics
  • SQL Server

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 Yellowfin
  • Self hosting analytics so visitor data stays on owned infrastructurenot Yellowfin

Yellowfin

  • Embedding white-labelled dashboards and analytics into a software productnot Matomo
  • Enterprise reporting with automated business monitoring and alertingnot Matomo
  • Data storytelling and guided natural language querying for business usersnot 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

Yellowfin

  • The pricing page publishes no rate, no minimum and no per-user price; every model ends in a Get Pricing form
  • One of the three embedded models is a revenue share, so Yellowfin takes a cut of the revenue your analytics module earns
  • Another model prices by server core, so scaling deployment hardware raises the licence cost independently of users
  • Getting a quote requires submitting a form with a marketing consent checkbox and a user-count band rather than seeing a rate card

Pricing, plan by plan

Matomo

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

Yellowfin

$50/month
  • Team$50/month
    • Dashboards
    • Stories
    • Collaboration
  • EnterpriseFree
    • Advanced Features
    • Embedding
    • Custom SLA

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 Yellowfin if

  • You need automated analysis.
  • You work on Web, Mobile, Embedded.
  • You also want data stories.
Yellowfin review

Questions people ask

Is Matomo or Yellowfin better?
Neither clearly leads. Matomo starts at Free and Yellowfin at $50/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Matomo or Yellowfin?
Matomo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Matomo and $50/month for Yellowfin.
Does Matomo or Yellowfin run on more platforms?
Matomo runs on Web, On-premise. Yellowfin runs on Web, Mobile, Embedded.
Can I use Matomo for free?
Yes. Matomo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Yellowfin starts at $50/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 Yellowfin is typically brought in for.
What can Matomo do that Yellowfin cannot?
Matomo covers Web analytics, Real-time reports, Custom dimensions, Goal tracking. Yellowfin covers Automated Analysis, Data Stories, Collaboration, Signals. 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
Yellowfin: What pricing models does Yellowfin offer?

Yellowfin offers three flexible models for embedded analytics: Aligned Utility Model (price per unit), Revenue Share Model (based on analytics revenue value), and Server Core (fixed price based on server deployment).

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
Yellowfin: Is Yellowfin pricing predictable and scalable?

Yes, Yellowfin pricing is simple, predictable and scalable with no hidden costs or surprises.

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
Yellowfin: Are there limits on user access or development environments?

No limitations exist on access to functionality across users. There are also no limits on dev and test licenses, ensuring DevOps is covered.

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
Share

Related pages

More on Matomo

More on Yellowfin

Keep looking

Other head to heads