What it does
Matomo measures traffic sources, pages, events and conversions. Teams can use managed hosting or run the software themselves, with JavaScript tracking and documented alternatives for other collection situations.
Matomo lets you choose who operates your website analytics. Its Community edition is free to run on your own server, with unlimited users and hits. Matomo Cloud handles hosting, updates and backups through a paid service; you create a Cloud account to try it without a credit card. The open-source core uses GPL version 3 or later, while premium plugins and service plans have their own terms.
Collection can use JavaScript, an image beacon or server logs. Choose the method that fits the site before comparing page activity, referrals or goals. For a monthly traffic review, select the website at the top of the reporting interface, open the calendar, choose the period and click Apply. Compare to adds the previous period, previous year or a custom window. A segment can restrict the same report to mobile visitors or people from one country.
Cloud Business includes 30 websites, 30 team members and 24 months of raw-data retention, with report data retained indefinitely. Self-hosting gives the operator control over the installation, but also responsibility for running and maintaining it.
Strengths
- Offers managed hosting and self-hosted deployment.
- Documents several ways to collect website activity.
Watch out for
- A self-hosted installation leaves server operation, updates and backups with your team.
Best for
- Teams choosing their own analytics hosting and data-collection setup
Sources
- Matomo pricing (Oct 27, 2026)
- Matomo On-Premise plans (Oct 27, 2026)
- Matomo core licensing notice (Oct 27, 2026)
- Data selectors in Matomo (Oct 27, 2026)
- Privacy-first analytics you can trust - Analytics Platform - Matomo (Oct 25, 2026)
- How do I enable tracking for visitors when JavaScript cannot be used on a page (or for Visitors that have disabled JavaScript)? FAQ - Analytics Platform - Matomo (Oct 25, 2026)