SHSelfHostIndex

Matomo vs Open Web Analytics

A side-by-side comparison of two self-hosted web analytics options — licensing, setup difficulty, resource needs, and what each one replaces.

Not the right match-up?
MA Matomo Powerful, privacy-respecting web analytics platform VS OP Open Web Analytics Self-hosted web analytics with click and heatmap tracking
FeatureMatomoOpen Web Analytics
CategoryWeb AnalyticsWeb Analytics
LicenseGPL-3.0GPL-2.0
LanguagePHPPHP
Setup difficultyMediumMedium
Min. RAM1,024 MB512 MB
Deploymentdocker, bare-metaldocker, bare-metal
GitHub stars★ 21,749★ 2,682
First released20072008
ReplacesGoogle AnalyticsGoogle Analytics

Why pick each one

Choose Matomo if…

  • Comprehensive analytics
  • Privacy-respecting
  • Mature and extensible
Matomo details

Choose Open Web Analytics if…

  • Released under the GPL-2.0 license
  • First-class Docker support for quick deployment
  • Active community (2.7k GitHub stars)
  • Written in PHP
Open Web Analytics details

Frequently asked questions

Is Matomo or Open Web Analytics better?

Neither is universally better. Matomo has the larger community; both share a medium setup difficulty, so the decision comes down to features and licensing.

Are Matomo and Open Web Analytics free and open-source?

Yes. Matomo is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Open Web Analytics under GPL-2.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.

Can I run Matomo and Open Web Analytics with Docker?

Matomo: yes. Open Web Analytics: yes.

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