Plausible vs Matomo
Both are alternatives to Google Analytics. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as Matomo vs Plausible — same comparison, one verdict.
Plausible and Matomo are closely matched on ownership (92 vs 86) — this one comes down to pricing and to which trade-offs below you can live with.
Plausible
TOP PICKLightweight, cookieless, privacy-first analytics.
Plausible is a simple, privacy-friendly analytics tool with a tiny script and no cookies, so you usually skip the consent banner. Self-host the open-source Community Edition or use the hosted plan.
Matomo
The full-featured, self-hosted GA replacement.
Matomo is a mature, GPL-licensed analytics platform that matches most of Google Analytics feature-for-feature while letting you keep 100% of the data on your own server.
Side by side
10 points of comparison, every one read from a verified field. Green marks the side that wins a row outright. A dash means we do not hold that fact — never that it is zero.
| Plausible | Matomo | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty ScoreOur transparent 0–100 composite for data ownership and exit cost. | 92 | 86 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first data | No | No |
| License | AGPL-3.0 | GPL-3.0 |
| Pricing | Free self-host (Community Edition); paid cloud | Free self-host; paid cloud |
| RAM to run it wellThe figure that actually matters, not the vendor's minimum. | 4 GB | 4 GB once traffic is real, and MySQL wants most of it |
| Realistic running costWhat the box costs each month if you run it yourself. | $15–25/mo, against their cloud from $9/mo. Self-hosting is about data ownership here, not saving money. | $25–45/mo for a moderately busy site |
| Setup timeHonest first-install estimate, not the marketing quickstart. | 1 hour | 1–2 hours |
| Ongoing maintenanceThe part nobody budgets for. | Low. Two databases to keep happy rather than one. | Active. Archiving must be moved to cron or the site slows down. |
Plausible is Macrostack's recommended Google Analytics alternative, so it's our pick here.
Weighing both against staying on Google Analytics? Is Google Analytics free? What it actually costs →
Plausible
Strengths
- +Under ~1 KB script, no cookies
- +GDPR-friendly by design
- +Clean, focused dashboard
Trade-offs
- −Fewer deep-dive reports than GA
- −Self-host needs a database
Matomo
Strengths
- +Closest GA feature parity
- +You own 100% of the data
- +Mature and extensible
Trade-offs
- −Heavier than Plausible/Umami
- −More to maintain
Which one fits you
The trade-offs above, turned into a decision. Find the line that describes your team.
Choose Plausible
if a lower exit cost matters more to you than any single feature, and under ~1 KB script, no cookies.
Choose Matomo
if closest GA feature parity.
Neither, yet
if both carry a real cost you should weigh first — fewer deep-dive reports than GA, and heavier than Plausible/Umami. If either of those is a dealbreaker for your team, the shortlist is wrong rather than the choice.
What it takes to run these yourself
Real requirements and honest running costs, not the vendor quickstart.
Plausible vs Matomo — common questions
Is Plausible a better fit than Matomo for web analytics?
It depends on what you are optimising for, and the honest split is this: Plausible scores 92 to Matomo's 86 on data ownership and exit cost, so it is the safer choice if you care about being able to leave. Matomo earns its place on a different axis — closest GA feature parity. Neither is a wrong answer for every team; the table above is the actual comparison.
What happens if we want to switch later?
Neither of these is local-first by default, so plan the exit at the point you adopt rather than later. Export what matters on a schedule instead of trusting you can retrieve it on demand — that is the most common way a web analytics migration turns into a project instead of an afternoon.
Can I self-host Plausible or Matomo?
Both can be self-hosted. The difference is what it costs you in time rather than whether it is possible — see the setup and maintenance rows above.
Are Plausible and Matomo both alternatives to Google Analytics?
Yes — both appear in our Google Analytics comparison, which is why they are worth putting side by side. People usually arrive here already having decided to move off Google Analytics and now choosing between the two replacements, which is a narrower and much easier question.
More Google Analytics head-to-heads
Related alternative guides
Facts verified 2026-07-04. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.