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.
Matomo
Powerful, privacy-respecting web analytics platform
VS
Open Web Analytics
Self-hosted web analytics with click and heatmap tracking
| Feature | Matomo | Open Web Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 96 · Excellent | 87 · Excellent |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | GPL-3.0 | GPL-2.0 |
| Language | PHP | PHP |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Medium |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 512 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, bare-metal |
| GitHub stars | ★ 21,893 | ★ 2,690 |
| First released | 2007 | 2008 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics |
What are Matomo and Open Web Analytics?
Matomo
Matomo is a powerful, open-source web analytics platform that gives full ownership of data as a privacy-friendly alternative to Google Analytics. It targets organizations that need detailed analytics with data control. It is deployed via Docker or a PHP stack.
- Full-featured analytics suite
- 100% data ownership
- Heatmaps and funnels via plugins
- GDPR-friendly configuration
Open Web Analytics
Open Web Analytics (OWA) is a long-standing self-hosted web analytics framework that tracks visitors, click streams, and heatmaps. It can be embedded in WordPress and MediaWiki.
- Click stream tracking
- Heatmaps
- WordPress integration
- Visitor profiles
Matomo vs Open Web Analytics: key differences
Both projects are written in PHP. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Matomo versus GPL-2.0 for Open Web Analytics. Open Web Analytics is the lighter option, starting around 512 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Matomo. Matomo has the considerably larger community, at 21,893 GitHub stars versus 2,690.
Why pick each one
Choose Matomo if…
- Comprehensive analytics
- Privacy-respecting
- Mature and extensible
Watch out for
- Heavier to self-host
- Some features in paid plugins
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
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.
Which is lighter on resources, Matomo or Open Web Analytics?
Open Web Analytics has the smaller minimum footprint at 512 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Matomo. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.