Google Analytics 4 vs Matomo
They differ on 9 of the 14 things buyers in this category actually ask about. Here is where, and what each one asks you to give up.
The free default, now event-based, with BigQuery export and a steep relearning curve.
Strongest argument
Free at volumes most sites will never exceed
Biggest objection
Requires a cookie banner, and consent refusals silently gut your data
Free and powerful, in exchange for a cookie banner, a hard interface and Google holding your data.
Matomo
$26The full-featured open-source alternative to Google Analytics, self-hostable end to end.
Strongest argument
Self-hosted means you own 100% of the data, with no sampling
Biggest objection
Self-hosting a high-traffic instance is a real infrastructure commitment
Total data ownership, paid for with the operational work of running it yourself.
The differences that matter
Where they actually diverge
Only the rows where the two disagree. Everything they both do is listed below.
Cost
What each costs at 50 people
List price only. It ignores add-ons, seat minimums and the cost of the move itself — all of which routinely dwarf the difference below.
Prices are unverified estimates — useful for comparing orders of magnitude, not for budgeting. Confirm the current figure with the vendor before you commit to anything.
Common ground
What both of them do
These will not help you choose — which is exactly why they are worth knowing about before a vendor pitches one as a differentiator.
- Funnels and retentionYes
- Real-time reportingYes
- Raw data exportYes
- SAML single sign-onYes
- Public APIYes
In full
Every pro and con, both sides
Google Analytics 4
- Free at volumes most sites will never exceed
- Raw event export to BigQuery is included, which no other free tool offers
- Integrates with Google Ads and Search Console without configuration
- Requires a cookie banner, and consent refusals silently gut your data
- GA4 discarded most of Universal Analytics’ mental model and reporting
- Data thresholding hides rows without telling you which ones
Matomo
- Self-hosted means you own 100% of the data, with no sampling
- Feature parity with GA including heatmaps, replay and A/B testing
- Can be configured to run without cookies and without consent
- Self-hosting a high-traffic instance is a real infrastructure commitment
- Many capabilities are paid plugins on top of the free core
- The interface inherits Google Analytics’ complexity along with its features
Questions
Google Analytics 4 vs Matomo, answered
Google Analytics 4 or Matomo — which is better?
Neither, in the abstract. Google Analytics 4 suits you if free at volumes most sites will never exceed matters most; Matomo if self-hosted means you own 100% of the data, with no sampling does. The honest trade-offs are: Google Analytics 4 — Free and powerful, in exchange for a cookie banner, a hard interface and Google holding your data. Matomo — Total data ownership, paid for with the operational work of running it yourself.
Is Google Analytics 4 cheaper than Matomo?
Google Analytics 4 is cheaper at 50 people — Free against $26/mo, roughly $0 against $312 a year. That gap of about $312 is rarely the whole story though — add-ons, seat minimums and the cost of migrating routinely outweigh it.
Can we migrate from Google Analytics 4 to Matomo?
Usually yes, and the difficulty depends on history, integrations and headcount far more than on the two products. Data export quality is the thing to check first: ask both vendors what you can take with you before you commit to either. Our questionnaire produces a scoped estimate for the move.
What else should we consider besides Google Analytics 4 and Matomo?
In product & web analytics the other credible options are Fathom Analytics, Plausible, PostHog. Narrowing to two before you have written down your requirements is the most common way to end up with the wrong one.
Do not stop at two