Matomo — The mature Google Analytics alternative — free forever if you self-host, with unlimited users and unlimited hits on the Community edition.
Short answer: Matomo is a privacy-first analytics platform available as hosted Cloud or self-hosted On-Premise. Cloud starts at €29 a month for 50,000 hits, scaling through Business to 10 million-plus hits and custom Enterprise pricing. On-Premise Community is free forever with unlimited users and unlimited hits; paid plugin bundles run €275, €1,450 and €3,400 a month for Team, Business and Enterprise. A free trial needs no credit card.
On this page
Verdict at a glance
Overall rating: 4.0/5 ★★★★☆
Standout: The Community edition is free forever with unlimited users and unlimited hits. No volume cap, no seat cap, no revenue threshold — you host it and it is yours.
Watch out: The On-Premise paid bundles are expensive. Team is €275 a month for 4 users and 5 million hits, so the gap between free Community and the first paid tier is very large.
Matomo is the grown-up Google Analytics alternative and has been for years. The self-hosted Community edition is free forever with unlimited users and unlimited hits, which is a more generous proposition than almost anything else in software — no volume cap, no seat cap and no revenue threshold, just your own hosting costs. For an organisation with an ops function and a requirement that visitor data never leaves its infrastructure, that combination is close to unbeatable, and Matomo’s feature set is considerably deeper than the lightweight alternatives: real-time reporting, segmentation, custom dashboards, and on paid tiers session recordings and heatmaps that Umami does not attempt. Matomo Cloud is the managed route at €29 a month for 50,000 hits, with Business scaling to 10 million-plus hits and Enterprise on custom terms, and two months free on annual billing. Where the pricing becomes awkward is the On-Premise paid bundles. Team is €275 a month for up to 4 users and 5 million hits, Business €1,450 for 20 users and 30 million hits, Enterprise €3,400 for 50 users and 100 million hits. The step from a free, unlimited Community edition to €275 a month is very large, and it means the plugin bundles only make sense for organisations that specifically need what those plugins add.
Quick facts
| Attribute | Detail |
|---|---|
| Ideal team | Organisations needing a full GA alternative with data ownership |
| Learning curve | Moderate — it is a full analytics platform, not a simple dashboard |
| Setup time | Minutes for Cloud; hours to self-host properly |
| Free trial | ⭐ Yes, all core features, no credit card required |
| Free tier | ⭐ Self-hosted Community — unlimited users and hits, free forever |
| Cloud entry | €29/mo for 50,000 hits |
| On-Premise paid | ⚠️ €275 / €1,450 / €3,400 per month |
| Annual saving | Two months free |
Overview
Matomo is the most mature privacy-first analytics platform available, and it exists in two quite different commercial forms. Self-hosted On-Premise Community is free forever with unlimited users and unlimited hits — no volume cap, no seat cap, no revenue threshold. You run it on your own infrastructure, your visitor data never leaves, and the licence imposes nothing further. For a public body, a healthcare organisation or any business where data residency is a legal requirement rather than a preference, that proposition is very hard to beat.
Matomo Cloud is the managed alternative for teams who would rather not operate it. Starter is €29 a month covering 50,000 hits a month, Business begins at €29 and scales with traffic up to 10 million-plus hits a month, and Enterprise is custom-priced for higher volumes. Annual billing provides two months free. A free trial gives access to all core features without requiring a credit card, which is the right way to evaluate a platform of this size. Every tier includes the core capabilities — real-time reporting, segmentation and customisable dashboards — regardless of price.
The On-Premise paid plugin bundles are where buyers should look carefully. Team is €275 a month for up to 4 users and 5 million hits a month, Business €1,450 for up to 20 users and 30 million hits, Enterprise €3,400 for up to 50 users and 100 million hits, with a VIP tier on custom pricing with dedicated support. The jump from a free Community edition with unlimited users and hits to €275 a month for 4 users and 5 million hits is stark, and it only makes sense if you specifically need the premium plugins those bundles contain. Most self-hosting organisations should start on Community and add individual plugins as required rather than assuming the bundle is the path.
Key features
- Free Community edition — unlimited users and hits, self-hosted forever
- Full data ownership — visitor data stays on your infrastructure
- Real-time reporting — included on every tier
- Segmentation — included on every tier
- Customisable dashboards — included on every tier
- Session recordings and heatmaps — on paid plans
- Cloud hosting — from €29 a month for 50,000 hits
- Free trial with no credit card — all core features
- Two months free — on annual Cloud billing
- Plugin marketplace — extend the self-hosted deployment individually
Pricing (as of 2026-09-17)
Model: hosted Cloud tiers by traffic, or free self-hosted Community with paid plugin bundles · Free tier: ⭐ yes — self-hosted Community, unlimited users and unlimited hits · Entry paid: €29/mo (Cloud Starter, 50,000 hits)
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| On-Premise Community | ⭐ Free forever | Unlimited users · unlimited hits · self-hosted on your own infrastructure · no revenue threshold or seat cap · you pay only hosting |
| Cloud Starter | €29/mo | 50,000 hits per month · real-time reporting, segmentation and customisable dashboards · two months free on annual billing |
| Cloud Business | From €29/mo, scaling by traffic | Scales up to 10 million-plus hits per month · core analytics on every tier |
| On-Premise bundles | ⚠️ €275 / €1,450 / €3,400 per month | Team: up to 4 users, 5M hits · Business: up to 20 users, 30M hits · Enterprise: up to 50 users, 100M hits · VIP on custom pricing with dedicated support |
| Cloud Enterprise | Custom | High-volume deployments on negotiated terms |
⭐ The self-hosted Community edition is free forever with unlimited users and unlimited hits. There is no volume cap, no seat cap and no revenue threshold — an unusually unconditional free offering, and the reason Matomo is the default choice where visitor data legally cannot leave your infrastructure.
⚠️ The On-Premise paid bundles are a very large step up from free: Team is €275 a month for 4 users and 5 million hits, against a Community edition offering unlimited users and unlimited hits at no cost. Those bundles buy premium plugins, not capacity — start on Community and add individual plugins as needed rather than assuming the bundle is the upgrade path.
A free trial provides access to all core features and requires no credit card, and annual Cloud billing gives two months free. Core capabilities including real-time reporting, segmentation and customisable dashboards are present on every tier.
Ratings breakdown
| Criterion | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Ease Of Use | 3.5/5 | A full analytics platform, heavier than Umami by design |
| Features | 4.5/5 | The most complete privacy-first analytics available |
| Value | 4.5/5 | Free unlimited self-hosting; the paid On-Premise bundles are steep |
| Support | 4.0/5 | Good documentation; dedicated support on VIP and Enterprise |
Pros
- Community edition free forever with unlimited users and unlimited hits
- No revenue threshold or seat cap on the free self-hosted version
- Complete data ownership — visitor data never leaves your infrastructure
- Session recordings and heatmaps on paid plans, which Umami lacks
- Real-time reporting, segmentation and dashboards on every tier
- Cloud from €29 a month with two months free on annual billing
- Free trial with all core features and no credit card required
- Plugin marketplace lets you extend a self-hosted install selectively
Cons
- ⚠️ On-Premise bundles jump to €275/mo for 4 users and 5M hits
- ⚠️ Team bundle caps users at 4, against unlimited on free Community
- Self-hosting requires real operational capacity to run well
- Heavier and more complex than lightweight alternatives like Umami
- Cloud Starter’s 50,000 hits is modest for €29
- No free cloud tier — the free option requires self-hosting
- Product analytics depth trails PostHog substantially
Who it’s for
- Organisations where visitor data legally cannot leave their infrastructure
- Public sector, healthcare and regulated businesses needing data ownership
- Teams with ops capacity who can run the free Community edition
- Anyone wanting a complete Google Analytics replacement rather than a subset
Who it’s not for
- Teams wanting the lightest possible deployment — Umami is simpler
- Product teams needing feature flags and experimentation — use PostHog
- Small sites where €29 for 50,000 Cloud hits is poor value
- Organisations without the operational capacity to self-host
Best use cases
- Running unlimited analytics free on your own infrastructure
- Meeting a legal requirement that visitor data stays in your own systems
- Replacing Google Analytics with a full-featured privacy-first alternative
- Adding session recordings and heatmaps on a paid Matomo plan
- Evaluating the platform through a no-credit-card free trial
Integrations
Matomo integrates with the major CMS and ecommerce platforms, offers a comprehensive reporting API, and — most usefully for self-hosted deployments — a plugin marketplace that lets you extend the installation selectively rather than buying a bundle. For a self-hosting organisation that is the practical route: run the free Community edition and add only the specific premium plugins you need, rather than stepping to a €275 monthly bundle.
How it compares
| Matomo | Umami | PostHog | Statsig | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry paid | €29/mo Cloud | $20/mo Cloud Pro | $0 — usage above free tier | $150/mo Pro |
| Self-hosted cost | ⭐ Free, unlimited users and hits | ⭐ Free, MIT licence | Self-hostable | Not available |
| Free cloud tier | Trial only | 100K events/month | ⭐ 1M events/month | 1M MTUs |
| Session recordings | Yes, on paid plans | No | ⭐ 5K free monthly | No |
| Feature flags | No | No | ⭐ 1M requests free | ⭐ Core product |
| Ownership stable | Yes | Yes | Yes | ⚠️ OpenAI, now Amplitude-managed |
| Best fit | Privacy-first GA alternative | Lightweight privacy analytics | Engineering-led product analytics | Experimentation and flags |
PostHog, Matomo and Umami figures are vendor-published or drawn from published documentation and verified 2026-09-17. Heap and Statsig paid pricing is third-party reported, as both publish limited public rates.
Alternatives
Umami is the lighter privacy-first option, also free to self-host under MIT and cheaper in the cloud at $20 with unlimited websites. PostHog gives away a million analytics events a month and adds feature flags, replay and experimentation. Heap and Statsig serve product analytics and experimentation, both with less stable ownership stories.
Recent changes
Matomo continues to offer both hosted Cloud and self-hosted On-Premise deployment. Cloud Starter is priced at €29 a month covering 50,000 hits a month, with Business starting at €29 and scaling by traffic up to 10 million-plus hits a month, and custom Enterprise pricing for higher volumes; annual billing provides two months free. The self-hosted On-Premise Community edition remains free forever with unlimited users and unlimited hits. Paid On-Premise plugin bundles are priced at €275 a month for Team covering up to 4 users and 5 million hits, €1,450 a month for Business covering up to 20 users and 30 million hits, €3,400 a month for Enterprise covering up to 50 users and 100 million hits, and a VIP tier on custom pricing with dedicated support. A free trial provides access to all core features without requiring a credit card, and core capabilities including real-time reporting, segmentation and customisable dashboards are available on every tier.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Matomo cost?
Self-hosted Community is free forever with unlimited users and unlimited hits. Matomo Cloud starts at €29 a month for 50,000 hits, with Business scaling to 10 million-plus hits and custom Enterprise pricing. Paid On-Premise plugin bundles run €275, €1,450 and €3,400 a month for Team, Business and Enterprise. Annual billing gives two months free.
Is Matomo really free if I self-host?
Yes. The On-Premise Community edition has unlimited users and unlimited hits, with no revenue threshold and no seat cap — you pay only for your own hosting. That is an unusually unconditional free offering and the main reason Matomo is the default where visitor data legally cannot leave an organisation’s infrastructure.
Why are Matomo’s On-Premise paid bundles so expensive?
Because they sell premium plugins rather than capacity. Team at €275 a month covers 4 users and 5 million hits — fewer users and fewer hits than the free Community edition, which is unlimited on both. The bundles are only worth buying if you specifically need the plugins they contain; otherwise run Community and add individual plugins from the marketplace.
Matomo or Umami?
Matomo if you need a full Google Analytics replacement — it offers session recordings and heatmaps on paid plans and considerably more analytical depth. Umami if you want the lightest possible deployment and simplest dashboard, and its cloud is cheaper at $20 with unlimited websites against Matomo’s €29 for 50,000 hits. Both are free to self-host.
Does Matomo have a free cloud plan?
No — the free option requires self-hosting. Matomo Cloud offers a free trial with access to all core features and no credit card required, but no permanent free tier. If you want free hosted analytics, Umami‘s Hobby plan covers 100,000 events monthly and PostHog gives away a million events.
Is Matomo GDPR compliant?
Its architecture is designed for it, particularly when self-hosted, since visitor data never leaves your own infrastructure and there is no third party processing it. That removes the hardest part of the compliance question. As always, confirm your specific obligations with your own legal advice rather than relying on a vendor’s positioning.
Does Matomo do session recordings and heatmaps?
Yes, on paid plans — which distinguishes it from Umami, which does neither. It is not as deep as a dedicated experience analytics platform, but for an organisation that wants privacy-first analytics and basic behavioural insight from one tool rather than two vendors, it covers both adequately.
Sources
- Matomo — official pricing page
- Umami — official pricing page
- PostHog — official pricing page
- Factors.ai — what is Heap Analytics: pricing, pros and cons 2026
- Vendr — Statsig software pricing and plans 2026
Compiled from public sources; last verified 2026-09-17. Pricing is subject to change — verify with the vendor. Ratings reflect editorial opinion based on documented capabilities, published pricing, and aggregated user reviews. DigiJaws does not accept payment for review placement or rating.
Matomo Review (4/5): Pricing & Verdict (2026). DigiJaws, 2026. https://digijaws.com/reviews/matomo-review/