PostHog vs Matomo
Both are alternatives to Amplitude. Here's how they stack up — verified facts, no spin.
Also searched as Matomo vs PostHog — same comparison, one verdict.
PostHog
TOP PICKProduct analytics, session replay, flags and experiments in one self-hostable product.
PostHog is the most complete answer here because it collapses several line items into one: product analytics, session replay, feature flags, A/B testing, surveys and a data warehouse, all in a product you can run on your own infrastructure. For teams currently paying Amplitude for analytics and LaunchDarkly for flags, that consolidation is often the real saving rather than any single rate. Around 37.4k stars and pushed to daily. The licence needs stating precisely: the core is MIT, but the `ee/` directory is licensed separately as enterprise — so it is MIT-with-a-carve-out rather than plain MIT, which is how it is usually described.
Matomo
GPL analytics you host yourself — the compliance answer.
Matomo is the veteran of privacy-respecting analytics: GPL-3.0, self-hosted, with 100% data ownership, no sampling, and configurations that let it run without cookie consent in many jurisdictions. Around 21.7k stars and well over a decade of continuous development. It leans web analytics rather than product analytics — sessions, sources, campaigns, goals — with product-style funnels and cohorts available as paid plugins. If the reason you are on this page is a legal or procurement requirement rather than a product question, Matomo is usually the shortest route to a yes.
Side by side
| PostHog | Matomo | |
|---|---|---|
| Sovereignty Score | 85 | 92 |
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| Self-hostable | Yes | Yes |
| Local-first | Yes | Yes |
| License | MIT core, with an `ee/` enterprise directory carve-out | GPL-3.0 (core; some plugins are paid) |
| Pricing | Generous free tier on cloud; self-hostable at no licence cost for the MIT core. | Self-hosted core free. Cloud hosting and premium plugins are paid. |
PostHog is Macrostack's recommended Amplitude alternative, so it's our pick here.
PostHog
Strengths
- +Replaces analytics, session replay, flags and experiments with one tool
- +Self-hostable, so behavioural data never leaves your infrastructure
- +Autocapture means useful data before anyone writes a tracking plan
- +Very generous free tier if you would rather use the hosted version
Trade-offs
- −Self-hosting at volume means operating ClickHouse — a real commitment
- −The `ee/` directory is not MIT despite the project's reputation
- −Heavier and more complex than a focused analytics tool
- −Analysis depth still trails Amplitude for sophisticated cohort work
Matomo
Strengths
- +Full data ownership with a mature, well-trodden self-host path
- +Can be configured to run without cookie consent in many jurisdictions
- +No sampling — the numbers are the numbers
- +Over a decade of development and a large plugin ecosystem
Trade-offs
- −Web analytics first; product analytics needs paid plugins
- −Interface feels dated next to PostHog and Amplitude
- −PHP and MySQL need tuning at high traffic
- −Several of the features people expect are premium add-ons
Related alternative guides
Facts verified 2026-07-31. Licenses and pricing change — spotted something out of date? That's a correction we want.