Google Analytics 4 vs Matomo
Google Analytics 4
Google's event-based analytics platform and the default measurement tool on the open web, with a native BigQuery export.
Full directory entry →Matomo
The longest-running open-source web analytics platform, self-hosted or cloud, with session-based reporting and full data ownership.
Full directory entry →Facts, side by side
| Google Analytics 4 | Matomo | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | freemium | freemium |
| Pricing notes | Standard GA4 is free. Analytics 360 is enterprise-priced (quote-based) and raises limits — e.g. BigQuery daily export up to 20B events/day vs 1M on standard, and event-data retention up to 50 months vs 14. | On-Premise Community edition is free (GPLv3) with unlimited users and hits; Matomo Cloud starts at €29/month for 50,000 hits, data hosted in Frankfurt. Marquee features (heatmaps & session recording, funnels, form analytics) are premium plugins on-prem, sold individually or in bundles. |
| Open source | No | Yes |
| Self-hostable | No | Yes — Runs on a standard PHP/MySQL stack; official Docker images available. |
| Categories | Analytics | Analytics |
| Who it's for | implementation engineers, measurement managers, marketing managers | measurement managers, implementation engineers, agency partners |
| Integrations listed | 4 | 2 |
Directory entries last updated: Google Analytics 4 2026-07-18 · Matomo 2026-07-18.
In brief
Google Analytics 4 — Google's event-based analytics platform and the default measurement tool on the open web, with a native BigQuery export. Pricing: freemium. Standard GA4 is free. Analytics 360 is enterprise-priced (quote-based) and raises limits — e.g. BigQuery daily export up to 20B events/day vs 1M on standard, and event-data retention up to 50 months vs 14. Self-hosting: No. Listed integrations: google-tag-manager, bigquery, google-ads, looker-studio.
Matomo — The longest-running open-source web analytics platform, self-hosted or cloud, with session-based reporting and full data ownership. Pricing: freemium. On-Premise Community edition is free (GPLv3) with unlimited users and hits; Matomo Cloud starts at €29/month for 50,000 hits, data hosted in Frankfurt. Marquee features (heatmaps & session recording, funnels, form analytics) are premium plugins on-prem, sold individually or in bundles. Self-hosting: Yes — Runs on a standard PHP/MySQL stack; official Docker images available.. Listed integrations: matomo-tag-manager, google-tag-manager.
Which one, when
Derived mechanically from the structured facts above — deltas only, not an editorial verdict. Where the facts tie, read both entries.
- its entry lists marketing managers in "who it's for"; Matomo's does not
- you want an open-source codebase — Google Analytics 4 is not open source
- you need to self-host — Matomo supports it and Google Analytics 4 does not
- its entry lists agency partners in "who it's for"; Google Analytics 4's does not
Also compare
GOOGLE ANALYTICS 4 VS: Adobe Analytics · Cloudflare Web Analytics · Heap · Mixpanel · Piwik PRO · Plausible Analytics · Snowplow
MATOMO VS: Adobe Analytics · Piwik PRO · Plausible Analytics · Umami