Plausible vs Matomo
This is the classic "how much analytics do I actually need?" decision. Plausible is deliberately minimal; Matomo is the full, self-hostable GA replacement — heatmaps, session recording, A/B tests and all. One is a clean dashboard; the other is a platform.
The short version
Pick Plausible if you want a beautiful, one-screen answer to "how's my traffic?" with nothing to configure. Pick Matomo if you need a complete GA replacement — heatmaps, session recordings, funnels, A/B testing, form analytics — and you're willing to run it (self-host free) or pay for Cloud. Matomo is also the only option here that can import your Google Analytics history.
How they compare
| Plausible | Matomo | |
|---|---|---|
| License | Open source (AGPL) | Open source (GPL) |
| Pricing | Cloud from $9/mo · CE free | Cloud from ~€19/mo · self-host free |
| Self-host | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cookieless | ✓ by default | ✓ (configurable) |
| Heatmaps / recording | ✗ | ✓ |
| A/B testing / funnels | Funnels on Business | ✓ (full) |
| GA history import | ✗ | ✓ |
| Simplicity | Very simple | Powerful, heavier |
When Plausible wins
- You want simplicity — a single, opinionated dashboard with no setup, plugins or tuning.
- You want a fully hosted, sub-1KB script and don't want to run a database or worry about scaling.
- Privacy-by-default matters — cookieless out of the box with no configuration to get there.
When Matomo wins
- You need the full toolbox — heatmaps, session recording, A/B testing, funnels and form analytics.
- You must keep GA history — Matomo can import it, so trends don't reset to zero.
- You want everything on your own servers — a mature, self-hostable platform with a plugin marketplace.
Migration effort
Plausible → Matomo is a script swap, plus optional GA import if you want history. Expect more setup with Matomo: self-hosting means a PHP/MySQL stack to run and update, and some capabilities (heatmaps, A/B testing) are separate plugins or paid add-ons. If that's more platform than you want but you still need more than Plausible, Fathom or GA4 may be the better middle ground.