Matomo vs Vince 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
Vince Analytics
Self-hosted, privacy-friendly web analytics in one binary
| Feature | Matomo | Vince Analytics |
|---|---|---|
| Deploy effort | Under-an-hour setup | Under-an-hour setup |
| Health score | 96 · Excellent | 42 · Fair |
| Category | Web Analytics | Web Analytics |
| License | GPL-3.0 | AGPL-3.0 |
| Language | PHP | Go |
| Setup difficulty | Medium | Easy |
| Min. RAM | 1,024 MB | 128 MB |
| Deployment | docker, bare-metal | docker, binary |
| GitHub stars | ★ 21,893 | ★ 2,015 |
| First released | 2007 | 2023 |
| Replaces | Google Analytics | Google Analytics |
What are Matomo and Vince 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
Vince Analytics
Vince is a self-hosted, privacy-friendly alternative to Google Analytics packaged as a single small binary. It focuses on low resource usage and a simple Plausible-style dashboard.
- Single small binary
- Privacy-friendly tracking
- Plausible-style dashboard
- Low resource usage
Matomo vs Vince Analytics: key differences
Matomo is written in PHP, while Vince Analytics is built with Go. Licensing differs — GPL-3.0 for Matomo versus AGPL-3.0 for Vince Analytics. Vince Analytics is the lighter option, starting around 128 MB of RAM against 1,024 MB for Matomo. Matomo is the more established project (first released 2007), while Vince Analytics arrived in 2023. Matomo has the considerably larger community, at 21,893 GitHub stars versus 2,015.
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 Vince Analytics if…
- Trivial to deploy
- Lightweight
Watch out for
- Younger project
- Smaller community
Frequently asked questions
Is Matomo or Vince Analytics better?
Neither is universally better. Matomo has the larger community, while Vince Analytics is simpler to set up (easy difficulty). Choose based on the comparison table above and your own setup.
Are Matomo and Vince Analytics free and open-source?
Yes. Matomo is licensed under GPL-3.0 and Vince Analytics under AGPL-3.0. Both can be self-hosted at no software cost.
Can I run Matomo and Vince Analytics with Docker?
Matomo: yes. Vince Analytics: yes.
Which is lighter on resources, Matomo or Vince Analytics?
Vince Analytics has the smaller minimum footprint at 128 MB of RAM, compared to about 1,024 MB for Matomo. Real-world usage depends on library size, user count, and enabled features.