Software · head to head
Simple Analytics vs Matomo
Simple Analytics
Software
Privacy-friendly analytics without cookies
- From
- $20/month
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Only Matomo has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Simple Analytics the free plan requires a Simple Analytics badge on your site and is limited to 1 user, 5 websites and 30 days of history; 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: Simple Analytics covers Page view tracking, Matomo covers Web analytics.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Simple Analytics and Matomo actually diverge.
| Attribute | Simple Analytics | Matomo |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $20/month | Free |
| Pricing model | subscription | freemium |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Platforms | Web | Web, On-premise |
| Founded | 2016 | 2007 |
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Simple Analytics
- Page view tracking
- Real-time analytics
- GDPR compliant
- English language support
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
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.
Simple Analytics
- Cookie-free website analytics that avoids a consent bannernot Matomo
- Keeping visitor data hosted in the EU for GDPR purposesnot Matomo
- Replacing or running alongside Google Analytics with a single-page dashboardnot Matomo
Matomo
- Privacy focused web analytics as an alternative to Google Analyticsnot Simple Analytics
- Self hosting analytics so visitor data stays on owned infrastructurenot Simple Analytics
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Simple Analytics
- The free plan requires a Simple Analytics badge on your site and is limited to 1 user, 5 websites and 30 days of history
- Data older than 30 days is automatically deleted on the free plan
- The paid plan starts at $20 per month for 100,000 pageviews and includes only 1 user, with each extra user costing another $20 per month
- Single Sign-On, role-based access, SOC 2 documentation, an SLA and raw data export are Enterprise features quoted only by demo request
- On yearly plans, exceeding your estimated limit gives you one week to raise it before Simple Analytics raises it for you
- Paying by Bitcoin adds 10% and is only offered on yearly billing
- Bank transfer is only available for bills from $500 and adds 10% in banking and service fees
- Unlimited pageviews on the free plan are subject to a fair use policy rather than a stated number
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
Simple Analytics
$20/month- Standard$20/month
- Up to 100k page views
- Real-time analytics
Matomo
Free- Self-hostedFree
- Open-source
- Full analytics
- Privacy-focused
Which should you pick?
Choose Simple Analytics if
- You need page view tracking.
- You also want real-time analytics.
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 Simple Analytics or Matomo better?
- Neither clearly leads. Simple Analytics starts at $20/month and Matomo at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Simple Analytics or Matomo?
- Matomo has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $20/month for Simple Analytics and Free for Matomo.
- Does Simple Analytics or Matomo run on more platforms?
- Simple Analytics runs on Web. Matomo runs on Web, On-premise.
- Can I use Matomo for free?
- Yes. Matomo has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Simple Analytics starts at $20/month.
- What is Simple Analytics best used for?
- Simple Analytics is most often used for cookie-free website analytics that avoids a consent banner, keeping visitor data hosted in the eu for gdpr purposes, replacing or running alongside google analytics with a single-page dashboard. Of those, cookie-free website analytics that avoids a consent banner and keeping visitor data hosted in the eu for gdpr purposes are not what Matomo is typically brought in for.
- What can Simple Analytics do that Matomo cannot?
- Simple Analytics covers Page view tracking, Real-time analytics, GDPR compliant, English language support. Matomo covers Web analytics, Real-time reports, Custom dimensions, E-commerce tracking. Both handle Goal tracking, Privacy-focused, Cloud deployment, Web support.